Need You for Mine (Heroes of St. Helena)(23)

And apparently his former Special Forces brother.

“You already traded in your gun and holster for an apron. There would be no coming back from this for you.”

“Says the man who carries his deflated hose around town,” Emerson said, and Dax smiled—as if Emerson giving him shit took away from Dax wearing an apron. “And you know what I get behind?”

“Driving customers away?” Adam said.

“Supporting my friends.” She rested her elbows on the counter and leaned in—so close Adam could see just how narrow her eyes were. “Not delivering them a shit sandwich on a lingerie-covered platter.”

“Ah man,” Adam said, closing his eyes so he didn’t have to watch his brilliant plan explode in front of his face. “It was just a kiss.”

“Yeah, well your kiss totally screwed with Harper’s week, which screwed with mine.”

“Really?” Adam asked, because Harper would have had to feel something a hell of a lot more than Not interested if the kiss screwed with her entire week. “Define screwed?”

“Easy. Pissing off the only caterer in town who would cater your party for pennies.” Emerson gripped the plastic partition above the window and jerked it down. “Enjoy the latte.”

“Mine is straight drip.”

Adam grabbed both cups seconds before they would have gone flying and crashing to the ground—like his career if he couldn’t get her to open the partition. “Come on, Em.” He tapped on the plastic. “I need you.”

The partition was flung back up and Emerson’s eyes glared out. “Yeah, and I needed Harper to help me prep for the big wine convention last weekend, but she couldn’t because she was too busy dealing with your mess.”

“I wouldn’t call it a mess.” He’d call it more of a one-taste-wasn’t-enough kind of situation, but certainly not a mess. They were both adults, both enjoyed the moment, both, apparently, were still thinking about it. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I rocked her world.”

Emerson furrowed her brow in confusion, then rolled her eyes and reached for the partition again.

“Wait.” Adam blocked her from slamming it. “Here’s the deal—I have to meet with Chief Lowen Friday, and if I don’t have you on board then I’m more than screwed.” He might find the occupational ceiling lowered permanently.

“Not my problem,” she said, but he could tell he was getting to her. Beneath that ballbuster exterior, his soon-to-be sister-in-law was a softie who couldn’t turn her back on someone in need.

And he needed her bad.

“What can I do to change your mind? You name it, I’ll do it.”

Emerson studied Adam for a long moment, and he smiled his most trustworthy smile, then popped that dimple just in case.

Unimpressed, she looked at Dax, who needed to hand over his man card immediately because he shrugged and cocked his head adoringly. That I’m behind you one hundred percent, baby shrug/head cock combo that suckers gave their women after they’d handed over their balls for eternity.

Adam threw up in his mouth a little.

“Are you really sorry?” she asked.

No, Hell no, and No f*cking way all would have been truthful responses, because kissing Harper had been the most exciting thing Adam had done in weeks. Months. And he’d just worked one of the worst fires of the season.

Knowing she was fixated on that kiss made it even better. But since none of those would win over Emerson, he said, “From the bottom of my heart.”

“Which isn’t saying much, but fine. You convince Harper that you’re sorry you almost screwed the barely legal coed stripper who stole your jacket and I will reconsider catering the event.”

“She was an NFL cheerleader not a stripper, and she’s a college graduate, which means she has to be at least twenty-two.” He hoped to God she was closer to twenty-eight, because he was closer to thirty-five than fraternity, and saying twenty-two out loud made him cringe. “And I didn’t give her my jacket. I forgot it at the shop, and she was neighborly enough to hold on to it for me.”

“She looked a whole lot more than neighborly on Facebook.”

“I took the photo down.”

“How noble of you.” She put her hand over her heart. “I’m sure it was right after you called Harper to apologize?”

“I did apologize to Harper.”

“Did you make it a good one?” she asked, and Adam had to think really hard about that. He’d been so distracted by talk of Honeysuckle and her in that red dress that he wasn’t sure. “You better have, because we both know that giving up on someone, even when they deserve it, totally screws with that whole save the world mantra Harper subscribes to.”

Ah, Jesus. He sighed, feeling like a grade-A douche bag. Because he was the someone in question.

“Yeah, she spent the entire weekend picking up the pieces, balancing her own job while filling in for the fired coed,” Emerson said.

“I didn’t know Baby wasn’t supposed to have guests in after closing,” Adam said, knowing it was a lame excuse. “But I should have.”

That he’d added to her stress by crashing her meeting with the rep made him a bastard. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of behavior Roman had warned him about? Acting without a care about the repercussions?