At least one of us is excited. I feel like I’m about to shit my pants. To be fair, she might also be ready to shit her pants. Time will tell.
I scoop her out, tucking her tight to my chest as I peer over one shoulder and try to figure out how in the hell to dismount.
“Hold on tight.”
It’s all the warning I get before Tucker is lifting me away from the truck and setting my feet onto the pavement. I’m so flustered, it takes me a second to remember I need the diaper bag from the floorboard.
“I forgot?—”
Tucker turns away from the truck, the floral bag I was worried about looped over one shoulder as he closes the door and reaches one hand toward me. “You ready, Ruthless?”
I stare at his hand, hesitant to take it. Not because I don’t want to.
But because I do.
I don’t really have a choice in the matter though, so I pull in a deep breath and slide my hand into his, hating how grounded I feel when his fingers link with mine and hold tight.
Tucker leads me into the building housing the company he and his brothers own, greeting everyone we pass with an easy smile and a nod. There’s a large circular desk set up in the center of the spacious glass entryway. The area is bustling with people wearing badges clipped to their waistbands, security guards with walkie talkie things strapped to their shoulders, and…
Giant dudes in all black with weapons attached to nearly every part of their muscular bodies.
I can’t help but stare at them. With their stern expressions, broad shoulders, and intimidating auras, they’re sort of scary looking.
They’re also very, very hot.
I’m for sure not the only one thinking that, either. There’s a woman about my height with a cute bob watching the trio of men move through the lobby. Her eyes follow their movements, tracking their path with an interested gaze.
Right up until they stop to speak with an attractive man in an expensive suit. Then her eyes narrow and a snarl twists her lips. She shoots the suited man a glare before spinning to march away.
Fancy suit looks just as unhappy to see her, his scowl holding long after the woman has disappeared from view.
“There’s Trevor. Might as well get him out of the way.”
Tucker tugs me in the direction of the group of men in black. They walk away before we get close enough for me to get a better look at their faces, leaving the man in the suit standing alone, cell phone in hand.
“Morning.” Tucker greets him as we approach, and once they’re side-by-side, it’s easy to see the resemblance. They’re the exact same height with similar builds. They also have the same nose and lips. Except while Tucker’s are almost always smiling, his brother’s seem to be stuck in a perpetual frown.
One that only deepens when he lifts his eyes, their dark depths moving from Tucker to me before fixating on our joined hands. One of his well-maintained brows slowly angles. Like he’s questioning what the fuck is going on.
I get it. I’m starting to wonder the same thing.
Before he can ask anything, Tucker releases my hand, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Ruth, this is my brother, Trevor.” His grin is the kind I’ve started to recognize happens when he’s about to be ornery. “He’s an asshole.”
I already had my mouth open to greet Trevor, but it ends up just hanging there, gaping wide at Tucker’s name calling. I brace, expecting the already grumpy-looking man in front of me to start raging.
Instead, he starts laughing. “I’m not the one who just cussed in front of a toddler.”
Tucker’s face pales a little, like what he did is just now registering.
Trevor focuses all his attention on me and Birdie, all trace ofhis earlier sourness gone as he smiles wide at my daughter. “What’s your name, little bit?”
“Bernadette,” I answer, since my daughter’s vocabulary doesn’t yet include the name she shares with my mother. “But I call her Birdie.”
Trevor lifts his brows in an exaggerated way. “That’s a great name.” He bends at the waist, bringing himself closer to her level. “Did you come to apply for a job? I need a new assistant.”
“No freaking way.” Tucker shakes his head almost violently. “You’re not hiring either of them.”
“Hang on.” I have a job lined up across the country, but a woman in my position needs to have options. “How much does the position pay?”
