The Troublemaker Next Door

Chapter 12




The following Friday, Maddie dusted off her hands and took great pleasure in her finished work—the Horror on Howe Street, as she’d privately labeled her first big job. Linda had already taken a quick walk-through, and she’d been more than pleased.

Maddie glanced down at the check in her hands, still stunned that she was actually making a go of being her own boss. Her first job, and she’d nailed it.

Still high on her success, she treated herself to an iced tea at her favorite coffee shop and basked in the afternoon sun. She’d scored the last table with an umbrella, and thank God for that. Sweat made her shirt cling to her back. Moving furniture, designing, and stressing about the job had taken their toll. She felt greasy, sweaty, and knew her hair probably looked more limp than a dish rag. She could only hope she didn’t run into anyone she recognized.

So of course she glanced up and saw the annoying man of her dreams. “Hell.”

On the sidewalk coming toward her, Flynn argued with Brody. They both wore stained jeans and work shirts emblazoned with McSons Plumbing in bold blue letters.

On cue, Flynn zeroed in on her, and a huge smile lit his face. He left Brody behind and joined her without asking for an invitation.

“Hey, Maddie. How’s it going?”

“I’m celebrating. Linda’s house is ready for sale.”

“Congrats.” Flynn cupped her shoulder and squeezed. “Any problems?”

“Your cousin was a big help. I’m hoping to bribe Theo away from you. And Linda’s planning on giving me a lot of work in the future.”

Brody joined them. “Hey, Maddie. What’s with the big grin?”

Flynn answered for her. “Maddie just nailed the deal with Linda.”

“Good job.” He grabbed Maddie’s drink without asking and took a big swig out of it.

“Ahem. That was mine.” She glared at him.

“What’s his is mine.” Brody winked. “So by extension…”

“Brody,” Flynn warned.

“Kidding, kidding.” Brody kicked Flynn. “Then go get me something to drink. It’s your turn.”

She watched Flynn leave, her gaze lingering a little too long on his ass, if the knowing look on Brody’s face meant anything.

“So. I hear you spent some time this past weekend with my boy.” He nodded to the shop behind them, where Flynn had disappeared. “Should I ask about your intentions?”

She flushed. “You know, you’re much more irritating than you look.”

He laughed. “I don’t know if that’s possible.” His grin faded. “Flynn says you’re mean, sexy, and for me to mind my own f*cking business. And yeah, he said ‘f*cking.’ So I’m telling you to go easy on him. He’s fragile.”

She snorted. “Fragile my ass. Your ‘boy’ is a lady killer. That grin, those pecs, gimme a break. If I were interested in a relationship—which I’m not—I’d be worried I’d get my poor little heart broken. But since he and I are keeping things casual, I’m not worried.”

“Casual. Right. Is that woman-speak for f*ck-buddies?”

She stared at him, agog. “Do you talk to every woman like this? Or should I consider myself lucky?”

He flushed. “Sorry. I just worry about Flynn. He’s my best friend. And I think he really likes you.”

She didn’t know if she liked Flynn sharing so much with Brody.

As if he read her mind, Brody shook his head. “No. Dumbass won’t talk about you. Even at dinner Sunday night, with Bitsy and Pop drilling him, he kept tight-lipped. Of course, I had Colin run interference. He bats those big baby-blue eyes and Bitsy melts.”

She smiled. “He’s a cute kid. And according to you and Flynn, he’s devious.”

Brody laughed. “You should see what he can do with a deck of cards. And he’s not even six yet!”

Flynn returned with three bottles of water. He set two of them in front of Brody and claimed the last for himself, then sat next to her in a huff. “Tell me you are not hitting on Brody. I could see you two chatting it up like best pals from the inside of the store.”

Brody cracked up laughing. “Oh man. All this jealousy. It’s like Days of Our Lives, only real.”


“Relax, Flynn.” Maddie ran a hand through her hair, in desperate need of a shower. “I don’t think anyone will ever love Brody as much as he loves himself.”

Brody looked wounded and drank down one bottle of water before starting on another one. “Well at least I wasn’t obviously staring at my girlfriend’s rack. Really, dude. We’re in public.” He smirked.

Flynn cleared his throat and jerked his gaze from her chest.

Maddie’s cheeks heated. “Thanks a lot, Flynn.”

“Well, hell, Maddie, they’re out there. It’s like they’re begging me to…” He grabbed the bottle in front of him. “Man, is it hot out here or what?”

Brody snickered. “Like they’re begging you to what, Flynn?” Brody wiggled his eyebrows at her. “We just finished a monstrous job roughing in the lines. Then Flynn’s laying down some pipe—”

Laying pipe brought back memories of Flynn’s apartment, and she choked on her own drink when Flynn did the same.

“What’s with you two?” Brody shook his head. “Anyway, so we’re done for the day. Flynn keeps insisting he’s too tired to hit the club the rest of us are thinking of going to. Maddie, how about it? You think you and your roomies might want to go?”

“Go where, and who all is going?”

“Me, Flynn. Cam’s out of town and not Mike, because he’s Daddy Dearest now and refuses to ‘find solace in a woman’s arms again.’ Heard that in a chick flick once, but it fits the big guy.”

The sunlight danced past the umbrella and struck Flynn’s face, highlighting the chisel of his chin. The dark stubble on his cheeks gave him a rough, sexy look. And when the sun lit his eyes, they flashed like precious gems. She wanted to sigh into his mouth, to kiss him in front of Brody and all the other women eyeing him up like their next meal. From the look of him, Flynn wanted the same.

“Well, well, well.” Brody’s sly tone broke the moment. “Aren’t we in a good mood? I tell you, Maddie, Flynn wasn’t so happy earlier. When Patty Haynes shoved her hands down his pants, he nearly hit the ceiling.”

“What?” She hadn’t meant that to come out so strong. “I mean, what happened?”

Flynn glared at Brody. “Nothing. A grabby client didn’t figure no meant no. When she tried to shove her hand down the back of my pants for a squeeze, she found out differently.”

Brody started laughing.

“I don’t know, Brody. I don’t think that’s funny.” She remembered too clearly how humiliated she’d felt when Fred had done something similar to her.

“No, no. You have to understand the whole picture. Patty Haynes is tipping eighty. But she moves like lightning when she wants something. Personally, I think she keeps clogging things down her sink so Flynn will show up in his tight jeans and flex for her.”

Maddie tried to keep a straight face. “Eighty, Flynn?”

“She’s seventy-eight,” he snapped. “And she looks a lot younger.”

Brody continued to laugh. His eyes watered and he sounded out of breath. Then Maddie joined in. The sheer joy of the moment, the humor and the chagrined look on Flynn’s face as he watched her, added up to gales of mirth she didn’t try to temper.

Until an older woman at a table next to them politely asked them to tone it down.

***

Later that night, Maddie, Vanessa, and Abby followed Brody, Flynn, and four of their male friends into a popular downtown club.

Maddie considered the place more sophisticated than the typical college hangouts. This club seemed to cater to an older crowd. Patrons in their late twenties and up, by the look of things. The chrome and bright lights gave the whole place a spacey yet retro feel that blended seamlessly with the music. Rave and dance, her personal favorites. The bass thumped, and the atmosphere smelled of sweat, alcohol, and a wash of cologne and perfume covering blazing hormones.

Two bars sat on either end of the first floor. In between, a raised platform filled with tables and chairs surrounded an expansive wooden dance floor. A length of counter ran the perimeter of the platform, providing a haven for the predators watching scantily clad women and men gyrate to the music.

Most of the guys wore jeans or casual suits. Dressy but not flashy. The women looked like a mix of fashionistas, divas in costumes, and well-dressed hookers. Maddie hadn’t seen so much blue eye shadow since the eighth grade.

She looked almost matronly compared to the women on the dance floor. She’d chosen a short black skirt and baby-blue top that hung off her shoulder, baring a blue bra strap that looked like part of the shirt, and a pair of strappy heels.

The club scene had never been her thing, but after the day she’d had, she’d wanted to reward herself with something new and fun. And something that involved Flynn.

Vanessa sighed. “I knew I was going to regret this.”

“What?” Abby cupped her ear, managing to look both sexy and demure at the same time. Vanessa rolled her eyes and sat at the table Brody found for them away from the dance floor. The music didn’t sound as loud back here, and Maddie sat with her, rubbing the back of her neck, aware of a tension headache developing. She removed the clip holding her hair off her neck and felt worlds better.

“Damn.” Flynn stared at her, looking less than pleased, and walked away.

She noted Vanessa’s attention focused on someone over her shoulder and turned to see Brody talking to Abby and some huge guy standing way too close.

“I thought she was right behind us.” Maddie ran a hand through her hair, then set her clip on the table.

“And so it begins.” Vanessa waved over a waitress and ordered two pitchers of beer for everyone.

“Should we help her?”

Flynn joined Brody, said something, and the big guy with them shrugged and left.

“Nah,” Dave, Brody’s friend, said next to her. “They have it under control. Trust me, Brody doesn’t need Flynn’s help. He’s mean when he’s riled.”

Dave, Ted, Gary, and Rick seemed like nice guys. She’d met them earlier in the afternoon before she’d left the coffee shop. Flynn hadn’t seemed to like all the compliments they’d given her, which boosted her ego, she had to admit.

“So Maddie.” Dave scooted closer. “You and Flynn got something going on?”

“Why do you ask?”

Dave put his hand on the back of her chair, the way Flynn liked to. A classic guy move, apparently. An attractive man, his brown eyes met hers and traced her features, the gesture one of interest and speculation. “He was a little insistent about us keeping our distance.”

She hoped her blush didn’t show. “We’re just friends. He’s probably just being nice. I think he and his family have adopted us. We live next door to his brother Mike.”

“Oh. Good to know.” He grinned and opened his mouth to say something else. Then he disappeared.

Flynn had yanked his chair back and inserted his own. “Back off, Dave.”

“I knew it.” Dave slapped Flynn on the back and focused on the pitcher the waitress put in front of him.

“So how do you know these guys? You never said.” Maddie accepted the glass of beer Vanessa handed her and watched Flynn. How did the man look so handsome but at the same time not look like he put effort into it?

“Dave and Ted know Brody from way back. Gary and Rick we met a few years ago on a job. They’re electricians. When you work in trade, you kind of get to know the competition and the folks that have a knack for what they do. Gary and Rick are good. Ted and Dave, who the hell knows?”


He didn’t seem too fond of Dave, who winked at her over Flynn’s shoulder. Then Dave asked Abby to dance, and she happily said yes.

Brody plunked down next to Vanessa. “Good to see Dave’s having fun.”

“Hey, he’s your friend.” Flynn put his beer down. “What do you think of the place, Maddie?”

“It’s loud.”

He laughed.

“The color scheme is actually perfect for what they’re trying to sell.”

He leaned closer. “What’s that?”

“Booze and sex. The contemporary colors, the flashy glitter of mirrors and lights. It’s exciting, functional, and a little overwhelming, to tell the truth.” On television, the club scene always seemed so electrifying and sexy. Maddie just wanted to dance to the music minus all the people. She felt on display. The term meat market definitely came to mind, though in this place one would think more along the lines of filets.

Even the sight of Flynn in form-fitting black slacks and a button-up gray shirt, the sleeves rolled back to show off his sexy forearms, wasn’t enough to stave her annoyance with the crowd.

His lips brushed her ear when he leaned closer to speak again. She couldn’t contain a shiver. “You think like a designer even when you’re not designing. So what do you think of my apartment?”

She pulled back, nonplussed when his dark gaze focused on her mouth. When one of the songs seemed to grow louder, she said into his ear, “It suits you. It’s contemporary, sexy, and basic.”

“Base?”

When had he put his hand on her thigh? He handled her under the table, where no one could see, but she didn’t want their relationship to be so obvious.

She stopped his hand with her own and put it back on his lap. Except he wouldn’t let her go. He pulled her hand closer and brushed it against his erection.

“Mmm. Yeah. Base. Like my instincts right now.”

She yanked her hand back and glared at him, not pleased he was getting so cozy with her while Vanessa and Brody sat across the table from them. None of this with Flynn tonight felt casual. She knew better than to let herself get too attached. Brody and Vanessa stood and asked if Maddie wanted to dance with them. She nodded. Time to get some air away from Flynn. She stepped onto the dance floor and lost herself in the music. She didn’t look back for a long time.

An hour and a half later, she’d finally found her groove. Flynn kept his distance, and for the most part she forced herself to ignore him. She’d danced with Ted, Brody, and some other guys, surprised to find she was having fun.

Abby and even Vanessa seemed to be having a blast. They stayed with their group, pretty much, while she didn’t discriminate between dance partners. All of it remained innocent. If a guy put his hand where she didn’t want it, she simply stepped back to the safety provided by Brody and the others.

She would have been having a stellar time if she could stop fighting with herself. On the one hand, she didn’t want Flynn crowding her, acting like her boyfriend in front of their friends. On the other, she didn’t like him dancing with the cute blond… three times in a row.

Needing to get a handle on her conflicted desire and the grabby blond holding Flynn too close, Maddie excused herself from her current dance partner and headed for trouble.

***

Flynn contained his boredom and kept his smile in place. Tricia had been hounding him to follow her into a back room, where some of the club-goers went to hook up. There were a few rooms scattered in the back, supposedly for supplies. But a twenty to the dude guarding the roped-off area and you could f*ck like bunnies for as long as you needed—Tricia’s words, not his.

He’d done his best to keep his patience, trying to politely but firmly refuse. He should have stayed closer to the group, but his “date” had made it pretty plain he wasn’t welcome.

Touching Maddie with friends nearby had been a stupid thing to do, but Christ. She couldn’t wear those clothes and not expect him to react. Her glare had only made matters worse. When angry, with all that dark red hair framing her face, she made him so f*cking hard.

To top off his frustration, she’d been dancing with every a*shole in the place. Everyone but him. Not that he’d asked. He wouldn’t want to burden his friend with unwanted advances. But this distance stuff grated. Sitting with her earlier today had felt right. Normal. His best friend, his best girl… Maddie fit him. Sexually he’d never had better. Orgasms with her sent his mind spinning, and he couldn’t keep himself from becoming aroused two seconds in her presence.

The sex part he could handle. But wanting to talk to her? Stopping himself twenty times a day from texting just to see how the new job was going? He felt like a goddamn p-ssy, wishing she’d call him just to hear her voice. When she’d seduced him last week, he’d felt like the king of the mountain. And when she’d blinked away thankful tears over that card case, he’d wanted to hold her. To offer comfort, not to cop a quick feel.

“Come on, sexy. Just once in the back. You’re too pretty to be by yourself.” Tricia, his new best friend, slurred her words. Was there anything more unattractive than a drunken woman who smelled like the last guy she’d f*cked and wouldn’t take no for an answer? She was too hungry for it.

But not as hungry as he was for a certain stubborn redhead.

At the thought, he frowned. What would really be so bad about them actually dating? Maddie could fit him into her schedule if she wanted. He’d devoted all last Saturday to her, when he should have been showing Theo the ropes.

“Tricia, I told you before. I’m here with someone.”

A glance over her shoulder showed that same someone zeroing in on him with a frown. Thank God.

“Flynn?” Maddie arched a brow at Tricia, who clung to him like a vine.

“Maddie, meet my very drunk friend Tricia. Tricia, honey, you have to let go.” He sighed when the woman tripped and knocked into him, then giggled.

Maddie’s eyes lost their touch of frost and crinkled.

“Glad you find this funny.” He hissed out a breath. “I’ve been telling her I’m not available, but she won’t let go.”

“Tricia?” Maddie had to call her name twice more to get her attention. “See that guy over there?” She pointed toward Brody. “He was asking who the hot blond dancing with Flynn was.” She leaned closer, right over Flynn, giving him a perfect look down her shirt. Oh man, she was wearing another one of those sheer bras.

“And Tricia, Brody’s loaded. He’s rich and wants you.” Maddie eased Tricia away, and the blond stumbled toward the dance floor.

Flynn didn’t wait. He yanked Maddie with him and moved past the bar and away from the masses, where Brody’s buddy Carl guarded one of the roped-off areas Tricia had mentioned. Carl stepped aside, taking the bill Flynn discreetly handed him before moving back to guard the narrow hallway that led to a smaller corridor lined by three doors.

“Flynn?” Maddie’s breathless voice made him groan. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” he repeated, aroused, angry, and tired of feeling so out of sorts around her. Up one minute, down the next. He glanced at his cock—up again. He chose one of the doors and pulled her into a small closet that smelled like pine cleanser.

He tugged on the light cord and closed the door behind them at the same time, then locked them inside.


When Maddie just stared at him as if he were crazy, he lost it.