Her fingers itched to reach out and touch.
“Um.” She shook her head, disgusted with how flustered he always seemed to make her. He’d been her neighbor for going on two years, so there was no reason to get fluttery, but every single time she spoke to him he seemed to turn her into a twit.
Georgie barked and Carmella pushed the storm door open. “Sorry, where are my manners? Come in.”
She let the familiarity of her front entryway calm her a little as she bent to free Georgie from the harness and leash.
Duke’s hand landed on her shoulder when she stood again. “Here, let me help you with your coat.”
She shrugged free, suppressing a shiver as his fingers brushed the side of her neck. Carmella thanked him as he hung the coat on the peg next to his.
Removing herself from the temptation to touch him or his leather jacket, Carmella stepped back with a smile. “You have excellent manners. Your parents did a good job.”
“The army gets most of the credit for that.” Again the grin.
“Want some tea? I was just going to make a pot.” Of course, she’d been pondering whether or not to add a big dollop of whiskey to hers, but those were easily changed plans.
“Sure.”
He placed his hand at the small of her back as he followed her through the house and into her kitchen. Which really threw a wrench into her plan of trying not to think about this big, tall, broad-shouldered man right behind her.
He took up a lot of space, his scent seemed to push itself ahead of everything else, and the electricity of his body seemed to hum from him at a frequency she wanted a lot more of.
Duke was a toucher. Not in a creepy way at all, but he frequently touched her when they spoke. In another man she’d have said something or made enough of a movement away that her Don’t touch me would have been clear. But she liked it when he did it, so she allowed herself that sensual treat.
She pointed to a stool at the kitchen island. “Have a seat and tell me what brings you here at eleven in the morning.”
Georgie kept staring at Duke lovingly until Carmella sighed. “George, leave the man alone.” So easy. Give her a bone and she’d love you forever.
“Aw, she just wants some love. It’s okay, I’ve got some.” Duke leaned down and gave Georgie scratches and pets until she made a groaning sound of joy and fell over on her side.
Carmella wanted him to do something to her to make her create that sound too. And she bet he could. With any combination of his hands, his mouth, and that roll of quarters he carried around in his pocket that was probably a cock that got shit done.
And as if he’d heard her thoughts, he flicked his gaze up from the dog to her and smiled, bringing a blush to heat her cheeks and neck.
“I have a proposition for you.”
She blinked, clearing her throat as she kept her hands busy putting tea bags in the mugs. “You do?” If it had anything to do with his penis, she was ready to accept.
He touched her hand briefly. “Our accounts payable person just quit. As in she’s-moving-across-the-country-in-a-few-days-and-leaving-us-high-and-dry quit. I know you did books before for a few years and I hope you don’t mind, but I called your old boss and he had nothing but great things to say about you. Asa and I would really love it if you took over as soon as possible. It could be a win-win for us both. You need a job. We need an employee. We pay well. We have good benefits. The hours are pretty flexible. The only time you have to be there is when we do inventory, but that’s only once every six months and it’s pretty easy.”
Georgie growl-barked and Duke’s attention shifted for a moment. “Oh, and we’re dog friendly, so you could bring her with you if you wanted to.”
“You called my old boss? He’s my uncle. You know that, right?”
Duke laughed. “I did, yes. He told me several times, along with a few dire warnings that you were a good girl not to be messed with. He still had nothing but nice things to say about you. You have the experience we need. Our shop is bigger, but you understand the basics.”
Her uncle’s auto repair business had been a mainstay in North Seattle for thirty-five years. When the economy took a hit, he did too. And though things had begun to recover, he hadn’t ever been the same. It’d been hard to compete with the quick-serve corporate repair places and in the end, he’d taken it as a sign to close up and retire.
“He’s family, so he has to say nice things about me.” He was her mother’s brother, and more of a parent to her than her mother had ever been.
A job would be really good. She’d been unemployed about five months and it was wearing on her. Her unemployment was enough to keep the lights on, but not much more.
Duke’s smile was one of the sexiest things about him, she realized as she nearly poured boiling water on her hand instead of in the mug.
“You know the industry. We’re nice guys, I promise. We bring in food every Friday. Free soda in the fridge and ice cream bars in the freezer. I did mean it about the dog friendly thing. One of our guys has a Jack Russell terrier. Xena, as in the warrior princess? She hangs out a few days a week. She’ll love Georgie. What do you say?”
Carmella should say that routinely being in close quarters with Duke Bradshaw was bad for all her promises to stay away from bikers and grease monkeys and the like.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t see his appeal. No, it was the opposite. He was pretty much a total package. He stood well over six feet. He was handsome. Like really handsome in that rugged, works-with-his-hands way, which in her opinion was the best kind of man. Duke wouldn’t be thrown off by hard work. If something broke, he got it fixed. Broad shoulders, work-strong muscled arms and legs. She’d seen him in enough T-shirts to know he had detailed ink on his arms and belly. A really flat belly too. He moved with confidence, like he always knew exactly where he was going and how to get there.
Duke was at ease with himself. That sort of confidence was a sensual punch to the gut. She knew she wasn’t alone in liking him. Friends were often at his house on the weekends and in the evenings. Never so rowdy that she considered calling the cops. Always cleaned up afterward.
He owned his business. Owned his home and a number of vehicles. At times he had a slow-as-molasses delivery with a hint of New England. And then he’d say Right on like some sort of Zen surfer.
No matter what he said, when he said it he made her hot and wet and tingly.
On top of all those things? He had an amazing ass.
She was beyond any ability to deny his appeal. If she could have ticked a bunch of her favorite man-type things and the result was rendered human, it would look a hell of a lot like the guy in her kitchen just then.
And none of that erased the fact that she couldn’t afford a man like him. Her mother would love him, which was Carmella’s general meter for unacceptability in a gentleman companion.
But he wasn’t there asking her to nail him. He was offering her a job. And damn if she didn’t need one of those. The number he rattled off as a starting salary was higher than her old one. She needed the benefits and the income and he was right, she was familiar with the industry, so it would probably be pretty easy to get started.
“Wow, you’re doing a lot of thinking in there.” He tapped her temple and she smiled.
“Not thinking gets a girl caught in too many dead ends.” She paused. “You said you needed me right away?”
He nodded. “The sooner you can start, the better. Even if it’s just a few hours here and there until you can start full-time.”
“All right then. Sounds like you have a new office manager.”