Shame the Devil (Portland Devils #3) - Rosalind James Page 0,6

go?”

He grimaced. “About like you’d guess. Like I kicked a dog. And don’t say it. Wrong word. I’ve fired about a hundred people, so why do I feel like an asshole?”

“You said you’d help her get something else, though, right?” Dakota said. “And you’ve made her life better, just like you did with me. Well, when you weren’t making my life worse. I’m pretty sure you paid her a whole lot more than she was making before, anyway. I’m also sure she’s saved some of it. Except that there’s Dyma’s college, and she had to bury her mom, which costs more than you’d imagine.”

Blake said, “I know. I asked her if I could chip in, but she didn’t take me up on it. Took exactly one day off, too. Day of the funeral, and that was it. Hardest woman in the world to help. Other than you, of course. Irritating as hell.”

“Yeah,” Dakota said, “but that was because you didn’t want to help me.”

“I did too. I was extremely helpful. Constantly helpful.”

She snorted. “Anyway. How did she react to the Portland idea?”

“Like you said. Like there was no way. You sure she isn’t holding out for the boyfriend? Except that I said, take your boyfriend to Yellowstone, and her eyes didn’t exactly light up.”

“I don’t think Jennifer’s ever thought she could hold out for anything in her life,” Dakota said. “She’s sure never expected anybody to do anything for her.”

“What do you think about me setting her up, then?”

Dakota eyed him narrowly. “Like how? If you mean something besides the job, I think it sounds like Blake Orbison getting delusions of grandeur.”

Blake sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and perched on a stool. An extremely comfortable stool, which he was sure Jennifer had carefully hand-selected from among all the possible stools in the world, with the ideal rung to hook your boot onto. “I guess not,” he said. “I was thinking, set her up to work for some guy who’s perfect for her.”

“Called it,” Dakota said.

“Yeah.” He grinned sheepishly. “Stupid. Sexual harassment. Plus, she should have one of those good guys. Settled guys. You know. A little boring. And those kinds of guys somehow all got married back when the rest of us were— Well. Yeah. Not getting married. How about a widower? A widower would be good. Do I know any widowers, though? Why aren’t there more widowers?”

“Because they’re all over seventy? Or maybe you have no idea what kind of guy she should have. It’s possible. She probably doesn’t even know.”

“Maybe you could set her up, then,” Blake said. “All right, not with the guy, but how about one of those makeover deals? She dresses like she has no clue she’s that good-looking. You could ask her to go for a girl’s weekend, your treat, and make helpful suggestions. And pull out the credit card. That way it’s you, not me.”

“Except,” Dakota said, “that I don’t really have girlfriends like that. I practically have to watch a video just to put on makeup, and I have no idea how to make myself over, much less anybody else. Hello? This is me you’re talking to. Anyway, you just married me. You’re not supposed to want to send me away for the weekend already.”

She was scowling, but not really, so he pulled her into him, kissed her like he meant it, felt her up a little—the stool really was a good height—and said, during a break in the action, or possibly while he was unbuttoning her sweater, “I guess I’ll have to let her find the guy who likes her the way she is.”

“In overalls,” Dakota said, gasping a little, because his mouth had found her favorite spot on her neck. “And … painter’s goggles. And, uh … knee pads.”

“Yeah,” Blake said, getting rid of her bra. “Somebody sexy like that. How do you feel about doing it on the floor, darlin’?”

“I’m all … good with that,” she said. “As long as I’m not on the bottom.”

He sighed. “Well, a man’s got to sacrifice. Get those jeans off. If I’m going to be on the bottom, you’d better be all the way naked, because I’m going to need a view.”

After that, he got a little distracted from the Jennifer topic. He figured he’d give it a shot, though, the setup thing. He didn’t have to tell Dakota. Not unless it worked out. Then, he’d tell her for sure, because he’d have won.

And he did like winning.

3

Fancy Free

Jennifer stopped at