Page 37 of Bear's Midlife Bridesmaid
“For right now, I think you and I could both benefit from a nice hot shower. I think we can both fit in there. I’ll wash your back.”
Erin knew that could only lead to one thing. Sex wouldn’t solve anything, although it might make her feel a bit better for a while. She felt grimy from her encounter with Gretchen last night, and plenty of sand had made its way into her shorts since she’d come out there onto the beach. Her stomach grumbled, less nauseous this time and more demanding. “Will you make me breakfast afterward?”
“I can manage that.” He stood and helped her up. Jace took her hand in his as they slowly made their way back into the house.
She followed him up the stairs to the master bath. Erin looked forward to the warm water streaming over her body, but her mind was still weighted with worry.
17
“I’mglad to hear you’re back behind the wheel, Rodney.” Jace walked slowly down the beach, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “I guess you didn’t let the surgeon’s knife keep you down for long.”
“No, especially not these days. They slice you open and want to throw you right back out into the world. It’s fine for me, though. I could only lay around in a hospital bed for so long, and then I could only watch TV for so long. I think my wife was about ready to kick me out of the house after listening to me grumble so much. Serves me right for bursting my appendix.” Rodney let out his signature hoarse laugh that Jace had come to know over the years.
“Well, you have to get back on a boat for yourown good, then. You wouldn’t want to lose a girl like her,” Jace replied.
“No, sir. Got a beautiful woman who puts up with me, and that’s more than most men can say.”
That was what every man wanted, Jace figured, himself included. He glanced back at his house. He’d been spending the past day putting all sorts of plans together, catching dreams and trying to weave them into a future that might work. Some sacrifices would have to be made, but that was fine. That was life. “Um, listen, Rodney. I hate to ask you about anything regarding myself when you’ve got so much going on, but I thought I’d check and see if you heard anything about that favor I asked.”
“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I sure did. Sorry, I’m still getting my mind back to sorts after vegging out for a couple of weeks. Anyway, it’s all taken care of. You’re in.”
Relief settled over Jace’s shoulder, and excitement surged up from his stomach and into his chest. He’d been hoping for a quick answer, but he hadn’t actually anticipated that it would come so easily. “Really?”
“Sure thing.”
“Wow. Thank you, Rodney. I really appreciate it. You don’t know what a difference this makes for me.”
That whistling laugh came through the lineagain. “I have an idea, considering what you told me earlier. But it was no problem at all. Besides, I owe you a favor after you took that job for me. I’m sure sorry it went down like that. I know Hugo Bradford was a pompous rich guy like any of them, but I didn’t know he’d be that much of an ass.”
“You knew, and that’s why you decided to have surgery instead of dealing with him,” Jace joked. He lifted a hand to wave at Rick, who was out for a jog on the beach.
“Sounds like surgery saved me a lot of hassle,” Rodney returned. “You shouldn’t have had to put up with that.”
“No, it’s okay. I still got plenty out of that trip.” Jace wondered if fate would’ve found some other way for him and Erin to meet if he’d happened to turn Rodney down. He hoped so, because he’d already been waiting for so long. “I just hope you didn’t have too much crap to put up with. I did tell Hugo that there were no refunds.”
“Oh, I’m sure you did. You know how these fatcats are, though. They act like they have all the money in the world until they think someone else took it from them. My boss has it all sorted out, though. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Okay. Well, thanks again, Rodney.” Jace hung up right as he reached Dylan’s house.
“Hey,” Stacey said with a smile when she answered the door. “Dylan is in his study getting some paperwork done. You can go right in.”
“Thanks.” He made his way through the house, a place he’d known well ever since he was a child. He turned down the hall and found the door to the den standing open. Dylan was there behind his desk, frowning at his computer. “Is Solitaire still giving you that much hell?”
“I wish,” Dylan grunted. “There’s a lot I like about being Alpha, but the financial side of things is kind of a pain in the ass.”
“I’m sure,” Jace murmured. He took in the comfy room, which had served as the Alpha’s den for a long time now. “I remember when Dad used to hole up in here for hours at a time. Back in those days, he was frowning over papers and account books. You know, back when paperwork still involved actual paper.”
Dylan raised a dark brow. “Feeling wistful?”
“I guess you could say that.” A lot was about to change. Jace knew it would all be good, but that didn’t mean it was easy. “I’ve just been thinking too much lately.”
“I know. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone tothe trouble of making a formal appointment with me,” Dylan noted. He picked up a pencil and twirled it casually between his fingers. “You know I’m always here if you need something, so what’s up?”
“I’m just getting antsy as I’m trying to put all of this together,” Jace admitted. “I haven’t given myself a very spacious timeline.”
Dylan chuckled, a sparkle in his dark eye. “Not really much of a chance to do that, all things considered.”
“No, and I think everything is coming together. I just wanted to check in with you about the discussion we had earlier and see if that would work.”
