He dropped his chin. “You do that. I’m not keeping it from her for you.”
Her plump lips parted, and her mouth dropped open. “What difference does it make to you, Punc?”
That was a great question. It shouldn’t matter to him, but her being there fired up a newfound protective instinct.
“A woman like you doesn’t belong here. It’ll change you.”
She cocked a brow at him. “I can see that. It’s definitely changed you.”
He reared his head back at that. If he’d changed that noticeably it wasn’t because of Platinum’s, but because of his choice to be part of the Riot MC. Another reason she didn’t belong at Platinum’s.
She waved her hands in front of herself for a beat. “Sorry. That came out wrong. But seriously, Punc. The past few months have already changed me. Mom dying, helping Catalina deal with that, moving into their house.” She nodded her head. “I’m sure I can deal with whatever changes a job at Platinum’s is going to bring my way.”
He shook his head. “You should figure out something else, Savannah. I mean it. You’ll be a temptation around here.”
“As if,” she scoffed. “There’s no way I’d be a temptation to you.”
He couldn’t stop himself from leaning toward her, his chest grazing her tits. “The hell you won’t be. You already are and I mean that. Now get out of here before I do something I’ll regret.”
3
Just Pizza
Savannah
Idrovehomefeelingtwo kinds of excitement. I had a new job which was always exciting even if this job filled me with extreme trepidation. My second kind of excitement came from the niggling feeling that Ted—no,Punc—was as attracted to me as I was to him.
Thatexcitement, I had to nip in the bud.
I didn’t have time for being attracted to any man right now - especially if that man were Punc.
To be fair, I had forced myself to forget how sexy he’d become. Far sexier than when I’d seen him at Dalton’s second birthday party. Punc’s blond hair had darkened to more of a honey hue, maybe because working nights he’d need to sleep during the day. I knew his eyes were blue, but this afternoon, I swore they seemed a more pure shade of sapphire blue. He had stubbledotting his cheeks. When my eyes strayed along the sharp line of his jaw, I had an overwhelming urge to drag my lips - or better, my tongue - along it.
Taking care of my sister was my first priority. Even though she was old enough she thought she could take care of herself, losing Mom had been rough on her. Rougher than she let on most of the time, and that worried me.
My second priority was getting out from under Frank’s debt. No man wanted a woman who had that kind of baggage.
Giving into my attraction could create a huge problem with Alanis.
Yeah, I had to ignore Punc; not just because we worked together, but because I’d never ruin my oldest friendship. Not a chance I would do that. Alanis and I didn’t talk much about her brother… hell, until my senior year of high school, I hardly noticed Ted.
Plus, Turk and Yak made it explicitly clear: no dating coworkers or customers. That last was a no-brainer. I couldn’t imagine going there with a customer.
My first shifts were slated for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. Those would actually be more of a training-slash-getting-my-feet-wet. Sunday would be my first full night.
My phone rang on the in-car system. The same number Frank Darren had used when he’d followed Catalina.
Ugh.
“Hello?”
“Where are you? I’m at your house.”
Alarm bells were clanging in my head at the idea of him being at the house, and that he’d forgotten the terms he mentioned last Monday. I didn’t want him to know more about me than absolutely necessary.
A lie rolled right off my tongue. “I’m working and on my way to a job site. You said I had until this Friday.”
A hollow laugh came across the line. “You’re right, I did, but you better have the money in cash, Savannah.”
