Forget about cute. Petite, redheaded, shy Carly McKenzie with the killer ass was fucking adorable.

  The other girl glanced his way. Her gaze ran the length of him, down and back, then she offered, “I’d be happy to help him if you’re busy.”

  “No, Jana, I think I’ve got this,” she replied, a slight edge to her voice.

  He didn’t say a word, only stepped aside to let her enter and followed her to the control panel.

  “Talk me through your lockdown routine before you leave at night.”

  She nodded, her eyes glued to the keypad, her nervousness written clearly in the color of her cheeks.

  “As you know, the mall closes at nine. I’m supposed to be out by 9:15 unless we have special permission to stay for inventory or something. It isn’t a lot of time.” She shot him an accusatory look, deservedly so because it was his rule.

  His lips twitched, but he didn’t comment other than to say, “That’s right. Go on.”

  “At closing, I arm the system first before counting the drawer or making out the night deposit. Afterward, I do a quick walk-through and make sure the metal security gate upfront is locked down tight. Then, I turn off the lights, come back here, disarm the system to exit, and set it to rearm after I’m gone. I take the stairs at the end of the hall which leads to the side entrance where I usually park. Curt in security comes through at 9:10 sharp. I know this because he’s been here within seconds when the alarm went off on me a few times. With his help, I was still able to get out of here before the 9:15 deadline. I’m not sure what would happen if I wasn’t, but I don’t want to be around to find out.”

  This time he couldn’t contain his grin. “It’s when the motion detectors inside are set to activate, Carly.”

  Her head came up and her blue eyes wide with curiosity. “Really? I didn’t know we had those.”

  It was one of the many features his customers demanded, but most employees didn’t know about. It wasn’t top-secret, though not common knowledge. Along with the silent alarm set to trigger at 9:15 if the system wasn’t armed. Another failsafe in the event an absentminded employee left without doing what he or she needed to do to protect the expensive merchandise inside.

  “Most stores here at Northpointe do. I want you to change one thing in your process. You need to close and lock the security screen before you count your drawer.”

  “Oh, I always do, but I like to recheck it before I go. I’m a little OCD that way.”

  “Good. Nothing wrong with being careful. I wouldn’t want you here, alone, counting money in an unsecured area while customers might still be exiting the mall.”

  She nodded. “That’s what Monica says.”

  “Show me how you set the alarm.”

  She pressed the large gray button which armed and disarmed the system, then while the timer was counting down, she punched in the code, hit the star key, then pressed enter. It flashed red, as he expected.

  “You forgot a step.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I did? What?”

  “You’re a corner shop with a large display window. You’ve got to set the alarm for it, too.”

  “I knew that,” she muttered. “Shoot.” Her finger hovered over the clear key, but in her uncertainty, she waited too long, the timer counted down to zero, and the alarm went off.

  Trent quickly entered the code to silence it before he reminded her, “You’ve only got thirty seconds.”

  “I know.” Then she said under her breath, “Crap.”

  “It’s okay. Stay calm, focus, and try again.”

  She grumbled, “I hate this thing,” but when she repeated the process a second time through, she remembered both codes and all the other steps. With ten seconds remaining, she hit the star key and the light flashed green right before “system armed” scrolled across the LED screen.

  “Good girl,” he praised, which earned him a dazzling smile.

  “The countdown clock makes me nervous. I’m afraid I’ll key in the wrong number and the alarm will go off. After it happened the first time, it got worse. It’s as if I have ten thumbs. Now, I have this fear I won’t be able to shut it down before the SWAT team comes busting in and holds me at gunpoint.”

  He chuckled while he punched the reset on the alarm to ensure it was cleared. “I’ve got men on site, remember? They’d be here in a jiff. So, I doubt something as dramatic as SWAT coming in with guns blazing is gonna happen if you enter the code wrong, sweetheart. Want to practice again?”

  She made a slight choking sound. When he glanced down, he saw her smile had faded, and rather than pink, she’d gone pale. Noting he was watching her, she quickly turned back to the unit and murmured, “Okay, I’m ready to conquer my fear.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Sure,” she assured him, sounding anything but.

  “What has been sticking?

  Her brows were drawn together when she looked over her shoulder. “Pardon?

  “Curt mentioned some of the numbers on the keypad were sticking. Which ones?”

  “Oh, it’s the, uh, seven and sometimes the nine.”

  He paused, then shook his head, saying softly, “You don’t have a nine in your code, Carly.”

  Her color heightened. “Oh, I meant the five. I’m sorry. This whole thing makes me jumpy. It’s the only part of the job I don’t like.”

  She did it faultlessly the third time through.

  “Good job. I’ll swap out the keypad to be safe.”

  “Thanks, Trent.”

  “Not a problem. That’s what I’m here for.”

  She waited the ten minutes it took him to unscrew the cover, swapped out the old touchpad, and gathered his tools. As they walked toward the entrance, she commented, “I’ve been seeing you around more lately, haven't I?”

  “Curt has been out, but he’s back today.”

  “I know. He came by first thing and showed us the pictures. His son is precious.”

  “Curt’s a proud papa, for sure. He only took two weeks of parental leave, though I’d have given him more, except he was driving Missy nuts, so he came back early.”

  “How so?”

  “Evidently, he kept going in and picking up the baby while he slept, just to hold him.”

  Carly smiled. “I can picture him doing it. How sweet.”

  “Maybe, but a new mother who’s getting up at night for feedings appreciates all the daytime sleep she can get. The kid is ten pounds and eats constantly, according to Curt. When Curt wakes him, she has to feed him again, every time.”

  “I get it now,” she said as she laughed. “Poor Missy, and poor Curt for getting the boot.”

  “He said he gets plenty of snuggles in the morning while he’s wide awake and momma is napping. So, evening shift works out great for him.”

  “Does this mean we won’t see you around much after today?”

  “One of my other regulars on days is out, too. That’s why I’m here today. I was heading out, but wanted to check everything was in order here, first.”

  “I’m sorry to have put you out,” she replied. At the mall entrance, she turned. No more than five feet four, she had to angle her chin way up to meet his gaze. The motion sent her hair sweeping toward her delectable ass. Sex-deprived as he was, he could think of nothing except wrapping the length around his wrist as he drove into her.

  “I bet it’s hard.”

  Her soft voice startled him back to the conversation. Only he must have lost the thread of it. She couldn’t possibly be referring to what he thought she was, could she?

  “Excuse me?”

  “Being the boss. You cover for your men, and you’re the only one who does the installs, right? I just thought being pulled in so many directions must be hard.”

  “Oh, uh, no.”

  What a fool, Jacobs. Thinking this sweet, shy girl would discuss where his brain had apparently taken up residence—about three feet lower than usual. Sheesh.

  With Carly patiently waiting for his answer, he said into the protracted silence, “I have a few other installers, but they stay swamped.”

  “Oh,” she said quietly. “Well, thanks again for coming to check on ours after working all day. It was nice of you to stay late to see it done.”

  “I’m a nice guy,” he said with a wink.

  Little lines appeared between her brows, and as suddenly smoothed out. Again, what had he said?

  They lapsed into silence a moment before she blurted out, “So, you don’t need to shop for a girlfriend while you’re here?”

  “That’s twice you’ve asked about a girlfriend, Carly. Are you fishing for information?”

  She tilted her head, meeting his gaze directly despite the renewed color in her face. “What would the answer be if I was?”

  “No girlfriend, not right now, but...” He shifted, moving closer though only slightly, not willing to crowd her and risk scaring her off. But he lowered his voice to see how she reacted when he added, “Someone recently caught my attention.”

  Her face fell in obvious disappointment. He must have been overly subtle because his signals weren’t getting through. When she caught her lip between her teeth and averted her gaze, he decided maybe it was for the best.

  No matter what Curt said, she couldn’t be more than twenty-three, much too young for him. And, if her blushes, how nervous she got only from talking to him, and the way she’d fumbled with the panties and almost ignited with embarrassment were any barometer, she was inexperienced and much too naïve for him.

  If he told her he yearned to fuck her, wrapping his wrist with her fucking gorgeous hair while he drove into her tight little pussy from behind, she’d probably faint. But if he went further, exposing his darker side and disclosed how badly he wanted to bend her over his knee and warm her bottom until it blushed a rosy red, both for play and for real, she'd undoubtedly run screaming for the cops at the top of her lungs.

  “Carly, could you come help me with this?”

  “Be right there, Jana,” she called to her trainee. “Well, thanks again for helping me with the alarm. Hopefully, your private lessons will keep things quiet around here at nine o’clock.”

  Christ, now he was picturing her in a plaid skirt and pigtails, staying after school for detention with him, her teacher. He needed to go.

  “I’ll let you get back to work.”

  She laid her hand lightly on his arm. “No problem. I’m glad you stopped by.” Her fingers flexed on his forearm, briefly, then dropped away. “If it works out with your girl, come back and...” She hesitated, peering down at her tightly clasped hands when she continued. “I’ll give you advice on something nice for her for Valentine’s Day. They have beautiful things, even for new girlfriends.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to explain her mistake, but said instead, “Thanks for the offer, Carly. Be good now.”

  Her cheeks flushed to a rosy hue again as she hurried away.

  “GOD HE’S HOT,” JANA sighed when Carly joined her at the register.

  “Yeah, too bad he’s interested in someone else.” Her heart ached because of it, too. She should have said or done something long before now, but only had herself and this damn shyness to blame.

  “It seemed to me the only someone he was interested in was you.”

  Carly’s head snapped around, and she stared at her. “What makes you say that?” “Oh, I don’t know, maybe the way his eyes kept going to your ass, and your boobs, and your hair. And he smiled at everything you said. The man is seriously crushing back on you, babe.”

  She frowned. “Then why doesn’t he say anything? I’ve been flirting with him for weeks and get nothing. I’m beginning to think he’s gay.”

  Jana burst into laughter. “That hunk of a man is not gay, trust me. Something must be holding him back.” She patted her shoulder. “It’s up to you to figure out what. Now, show me again how to do a void.”

  Only half paying attention, she talked Jana through cancelling her error, for the fifth time at least. The girl was awful at the register, but she was a born salesperson. She had upsold almost all her customers today, talking them into expensive items they “simply had to have.” Her commissions would be killer, so if it took Carly correcting her accounting mistakes, so be it. Monica would be happy, and so would the books.

  Jana got through the rest of the shift without screwing up on the register, but she was distracted, replaying her encounter with Trent over and over. From now on, every time she entered the code, she’d think of him. Of how he’d called her a good girl in his deep, rumbling voice, or sweetheart. Odds-on they were casual endearments men often used, but it meant something to her, coming from him.

  Could Jana be right? Was he attracted to her but holding back for some reason? But why? She racked her brain except she didn’t know enough personal information about him to hazard a guess.

  Curt would know. Tomorrow, she’d pump him for information.

  After she cashed out and did the deposit, she armed the system without trouble, although she felt a bit guilty. There’d never been any sticky numbers on the key pad. She made it up to cover for her fumbling the codes, repeatedly. It was a way of sparing her further humiliation with Curt when she’d set off the alarm three times in one week. It had kept her from being utterly mortified in front of Trent, too.

  You don’t have a nine in your code, Carly.

  She groaned at her stupid slip. That was all she needed, to come across as an incompetent airhead to the man she wanted more than anything.

  Chapter Four

  WITH ONLY THIRTY MINUTES for her supper break, which wasn’t very long considering the Courtyard—what the developers at classy Northpointe called the food court—was located on the opposite end of the mall from Sweet Nothings and one flight up. Eyeing the long lines, Carly sighed and gave serious consideration to brown bagging it. But she’d miss Jamba Juice and Johnny Rockets, as well as the other thirty-some options from high-fat to healthy, including sweet treats and gourmet coffee and were far too tempting to pass up.

  When she arrived, hungry and slightly out of breath from rushing at a near jog, she migrated to the comfort of an old favorite—Auntie Anne’s.

  Her mouth watered when the apron-clad girl passed her golden-brown freshly baked twist of salty goodness across the counter. But Carly’s taste buds had to wait because until she slathered it in mustard, it wasn’t quite finished. With a wad of napkins and her diet Coke in one hand and the downfall of her New Year’s resolution in the other, she turned to find a quiet spot to enjoy it.

  The next moment, tragedy struck. She smashed into the wall of muscle standing behind her and bounced off a seriously solid chest. The impact shut her jaw with a snap, although she noticed he didn’t budge an inch, and to her horror, she dropped her pretzel with a wet splat—she really liked mustard. With her head down, she stared at her ruined dinner in disappointment then noticed the yellow splatters on the man’s black boots and dark jeans.

  Crap. It would stain, and she was responsible.

  “I’m sorry. My fault entirely. I’ll pay for the cleaning or replacement.”

  “We have to stop meeting this way, Carly.”

  Her head flew up and she found herself gazing into unforgettable green eyes alight with concern.

  “Trent.”

  “Are you all right?”

  Heat rose up her throat and into her face, flooding her cheeks, nothing unusual around him these days. “I’m good, but my pretzel isn’t, and neither are your pants and boots.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “But I probably ruined them; mustard is hard to get out.”

  “I don’t care about the boots and jeans, sweetheart. I’m more concerned about you.”

  The endearment didn’t sound casual or throwaway this time. She forgot about food and stains, and pretty much everything else, as her heart leaped into her throat.

  “You sure you’re okay? I heard your teeth clack together.” A curl had come loose from her ponytail evidently because he reached up and gently tucked it behind her ear. The fingers brushing her cheek were warm, and the gesture so affectionate, a dizzying current of desire zipped from where he touched her and coursed throughout her body. Sadly, it also robbed her of the ability to speak and she could only nod like a besotted idiot.

  His lips twitched, then tipped into a smile, which lingered as he glanced over her shoulder at the girl in the apron and held up two fingers. This time, when she moved toward the tables, a warm, fragrant pretzel in hand, Trent was beside her, splayed fingers resting low on her back, ensuring another accident didn’t happen.

  He surprised her when he pulled out a chair and joined her. She took a bite, but could have been eating cardboard, and wouldn’t have noticed, not with Trent sitting across from her.

  Despite the awkward start, he put her at ease with no-pressure conversation, engaging her with his quick wit and getting a laugh when he teased her about liking a little pretzel with her mustard. The only tense moment was when she’d tried to pay him for the replacement pretzel.

  His firmly uttered “don’t even” accompanied a stare which made her decide against arguing over five bucks and change.

  All too soon, the time passed, and she was due back at the boutique.

  After they’d bussed their table and made it to the perimeter of the dining area, she waited to say more until after he dumped the contents of the tray. “Thanks again for the pretzel, Trent. You didn’t have to.”

  “Least I could do after making you fumble the first one, kiddo.”

  If she were a balloon and he a pin, she couldn’t have deflated faster. When he joined her, she thought she was making some progress, but nothing had changed. He felt responsible for her dropping her dinner and was merely being nice.

  Nice! She was beginning to hate the word.

  Carly didn’t hang around after that. What was the point? Breaking out of the friend zone was hard, but after being relegated to the ranks of a kid, recovery was near impossible. Her wounded heart sank straight to her stomach.

 

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