Home Sweet Mess Read online

  “Oh. Well, you chose the last vegetarian sandwich.”

  His frown deepened, and his chin moved back an inch. “So?”

  A voice called out, “Next in line, please.”

  Jeni quickly waved at the heavyset lady behind her, gesturing that she should go around. “We’re not ready yet.”

  The man’s eyes went wide, and he swiveled his head around, looking confused as hell.

  “It’s just, I don’t eat meat, and I was going to buy that sandwich,” she said, beyond caring that she seemed like the one out of her mind. “If you’re not a vegetarian, maybe you could choose something else. The ham and cheese or the roast beef?”

  He blinked, looking between her and the food case. “No, this is the one I want.” He spoke slowly, almost like he wasn’t sure she understood English. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He shot her an irritated look and marched up to stand behind the woman Jeni had allowed to precede them.

  Jeni’s mouth dropped open. She stepped forward and grabbed his sizeable bicep—and damn if it wasn’t like granite. She released her grip as if she’d been burned. “You’re really not going to give it to me?”

  He peered down at her like he couldn’t believe she was still standing there. “I’m really not.”

  She let out something between a huff and a grunt. Her face heated, and she fisted her hands at her sides.

  What a jerk.

  As he paid for his food, she belatedly realized she still had nothing to eat and swiped a yogurt parfait, the first meatless item she saw. She basically threw cash at the employee and ran outside, crossing the street to the parking lot.

  He walked with casual, long strides toward the silver truck, sandwich in his hand. She jogged up behind him.

  “Seriously, guy?” she said. “It wasn’t enough to ruin my morning?”

  The guy stopped short and, in slow motion, turned on his heel. This time, when he met her eyes, there was recognition. His full lips slowly spread in a grin. “I thought you looked familiar. I can’t comment on yours, but I had a great morning.”

  “I heard.”

  His smile widened, and she had the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

  “Was there something else you wanted from me? I already extended an invitation for you to join in next time.”

  Jeni snorted in disgust. “All I want is that sandwich.”

  “Just how hungry are you?”

  “On a scale from one to ten? Seventeen.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Wow. You’re one of those people who get hangry, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t see how that’s relevant. All damn day you’ve been everywhere I turn, messing with my routine. Even if I put aside this morning’s noise disturbance, you took my parking spot and stole my food.”

  Confusion passed over his features. “I don’t know about the parking spot, but I paid for this sandwich. And unless you’re willing to offer me something in return, I’ll take it and be on my way.”

  She grimaced at her sad-looking cup of yogurt. She held it out to him.

  He sighed, shaking his head in mock sadness. “Not what I had in mind, I’m afraid. You have a good day, now.”

  Jeni could only stand there in consternation as he got into his truck. He backed out, and when he put the truck in drive, he held up his hand in a wave that would have appeared friendly to anyone passing by.

  Jeni knew better, and she nearly offered him a single finger in return.

  Could this day get any worse?

  * * *

  As it turned out, it could. After a perfectly mundane experience at the planned home visit—in this job, boring was good—she returned to chaos at the office. A set of twins were in the holding room, and Sandra, who rarely got directly involved with placements anymore, pulled Jeni into the fray. They were four years old and inconsolable. One was a little boy with red hair that looked as if it hadn’t seen a pair of scissors in a year or shampoo in a month. The other was a girl who wore a winter hat despite the midday heat in the nineties. Both were thin and dirty.

  “These two were walking down a major street,” Sandra said in a low voice. “The police picked them up and, when they took them home, found their father high on something and completely out of it.” She touched the cross hanging from her neck, the only outward sign she was bothered by the situation. Sandra had been around long enough to curb her reactions. “I don’t have a foster family with two beds. They’ll have to be separated.”

  Jeni’s stomach dropped to the floor. In the room next to where she and Sandra stood, the children clung to each other, fear in their eyes and tears running down their cheeks.

  When she and her twin brother Andrew were that age, they were inseparable.

  “What can I do?” Jeni asked.

  By the time she walked out of the office several hours later, she was beat, physically and emotionally. Part of her wanted to just go home and run a hot bath, but she’d been looking forward to this evening. She had plans with one of her favorite people in the entire world. The fact that Andrew lived in Kansas City was an added bonus to the job offer at Child Protective Services and made the decision to move incredibly easy.

  She sent a text to let Andrew know she was running late, but the silver lining was she’d missed rush hour traffic. After she’d settled into the booth with a Boulevard Wheat in her system, Jeni started to relax a little bit. Andrew sat across from her, sending a text message.

  “Talking to Caroline?” she asked flatly. She wasn’t a fan of the girl Andrew had been dating the last few months. He’d brought her to Nebraska for a long weekend in May, and she’d been standoffish and moody the entire time.

  “No, she’s out with some friends tonight.” He didn’t look up as he spoke. “I invited my friend, Logan. I hope that’s okay. He should be here soon.”

  “Sure.” She’d heard a lot about Logan over the years but had yet to meet him. “I need to meet some people. So far, the only friends I have are you and my sixty-five-year-old boss.”

  “You’ve been busy, little sister.”

  Jeni rolled her eyes as she did every time he called her his little sister. She was a measly three minutes younger than him.

  “Started you off running, didn’t they?” he continued.

  She nodded, though Andrew was in the same boat. He was in law school and interning at the District Attorney’s office and working way too much for what he was being paid. Jeni had barely talked to him since moving day. She said, “The girl they hired me to replace was supposed to be around for another month to train me, but last week she went into pre-term labor. Left a ton of stuff half-done that I’m having to work through.”

  “That sucks.”

  “Yeah. This afternoon was rough. I was late to meet you because—”

  Andrew sat up and waved a hand in the air. “Sorry, hold that thought. There’s Logan.”

  A light, pleasing scent of cologne reached Jeni’s nose as Logan approached their table from behind her, sitting down to Andrew’s left.

  “Hey, man,” the guy said, giving Andrew a slap on the shoulder. “Glad you texted. I really need a beer after the day I’ve had.”

  Jeni looked at the newcomer and blinked, hoping her eyes were playing a trick on her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Chapter Two

  Logan looked across the table and laughed.

  “Do you know each other?” Andrew asked.

  “No,” they said in unison. Logan definitely did not know the beautiful brunette he’d encountered twice that day. But he damn sure wanted to.

  She didn’t appear amused, and Logan curbed his laughter.

  “Uh, okay,” Andrew started, appearing unconvinced. “Logan, this is my sister, Jeni. She just moved here…what was it, a month ago? She’s a social worker for Child Protective Services.”

  Logan sat a little straighter. She worked for CPS?

  “Jeni, this is my friend, Logan Davis,” Andrew continued. “He’s from Kansas City and is a social me
dia manager for the Chiefs.”

  Logan flashed his most charming smile and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jeni.”

  Jeni didn’t return the gesture—the smile or the handshake. “The Chiefs? As in, the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL team? Strike three.”

  “Huh?” His hand still hovered above the table.

  Her unique gold eyes flashed. “You had one more chance with me, and maybe—maybe—we could have been friends. But that’s it. You’re out.”

  Andrew bounced his gaze between them and opened his mouth to speak, but Logan let his hand drop to the tabletop and cut him off. “Dare I ask what my first two offenses were?”

  Andrew frowned and lifted his beer to his lips just as Jeni offered a scowl eerily similar to her brother’s.

  “One.” She held up a finger. “The loud sex this morning.”

  Andrew lurched forward and spit his drink out on the table. Logan calmly clapped him on the back without taking his eyes from Jeni’s face. Her cheeks flushed, and she pushed her thick-framed glasses higher up on her adorably freckled nose.

  “What sex?” Andrew ground out between coughs.

  “Not sex with me,” Jeni clarified, tossing a few napkins in her brother’s direction.

  Technically, Logan had extended an offer. Probably best not to bring that up.

  “My neighbor,” Jeni said, as if that would explain everything to Andrew. She turned back to Logan. “Second was the dick move you pulled at the deli this afternoon.”

  Whoa, were they going so far to call it a dick move? “Hold on—”

  “And now,” she interrupted. “I find out that you work for the Chiefs. The only thing worse would be if you worked for the devil.” She lifted her eyes in thought. “Or the Oakland Raiders.”

  Still struggling to compose himself, Andrew found the strength to muster up a nod of agreement at the last comment.

  Not surprising. “I should have known she’d be a Broncos fan like you,” Logan replied easily, elbowing his friend. The way this introduction was going, he needed a drink before it continued. “I think I need that beer.” He glanced down at Jeni’s empty glass. “Can I buy you another? I can’t in good conscience let a beautiful woman be without a drink.”

  “Pump the brakes with the flirting, man,” Andrew said. “That’s my sister.”

  Shit. “Right, sorry,” he said. “Habit.”

  Jeni’s face contorted like something smelled bad. “You’re obnoxious.”

  “That opinion would be widely refuted around town,” Logan replied, raking his fingers through his hair. This girl needed to loosen up. “That’s a no, then?”

  “I’ll have a Guinness,” she said. “It’s the least you can do.”

  Logan grinned and winked at her before sliding out of the booth. “What about you, Andrew? Need another?”

  “Seems like that would be a good idea.”

  “Great.” Logan crossed the room to the bar, which stretched along the back wall, processing what just happened. He couldn’t believe that woman was Andrew’s sister. The entire day considered, Logan would say he’d never met a woman so frustrating.

  Or so frustratingly arousing.

  And not only was his body sending confusing signals, so was she.

  He could have sworn she was checking him out in line at the deli before she demanded he hand over his lunch.

  Logan thought of himself as a gentleman and a chivalrous one, at that. His mother taught him well. But that deli made the best hummus, and he’d been thinking about it all morning. He’d wavered for a split second to consider a salad and avoid the carbs, but he just couldn’t. He wanted that hummus, and she wasn’t the only one who got hangry. So when she made her audacious request, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  Andrew spoke so highly of Jeni, and she worked in child welfare, a career Logan couldn’t put any higher on a pedestal if he tried. It was a beautiful thing for her to be doing and surely meant she had compassion and kindness somewhere in that nicely shaped body of hers.

  He couldn’t be sure, though, with her hostile attitude. She’d obviously decided she didn’t like him.

  All because of sex and hummus.

  Oh, and because of his job. His dream job, no less, one he’d never imagined landing at the age of twenty-seven. What kind of woman held a man’s job against him anyway? Was he not supposed to eat or pay his mortgage? She didn’t want him to pay the taxes that went back into the system and ultimately paid her salary at the child welfare office?

  The bartender approached. “What can I get you?”

  “Two Guinness drafts and a Michelob Ultra, please.”

  The bartender nodded and moved down the counter. Logan leaned his elbows on the bar to wait.

  “Thirsty?” came a feminine voice.

  To his left sat a woman with long, black hair and a sultry smile. She was probably ten years older than Logan, but that didn’t bother him.

  He smiled and angled his body toward her. “Will it disappoint you they’re not all for me?”

  One dark eyebrow raised. “Michelob Ultra for your girlfriend?”

  “No, that’s for my friend who worries about his physique more than any woman I know. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  The woman rotated on the stool so that her body faced him and crossed her long legs. “That’s good news.”

  Well, all right then. He moved closer and held out his hand. “I’m Logan.”

  This woman didn’t hesitate to slip her thin hand into his. “Amber. Nice to meet you.”

  Logan considered asking if he could buy her next drink, but he didn’t want to bail on Andrew. That irritating sister of his, maybe. But nah, better not.

  The sound of glasses being set down on the bar pulled his attention away from the woman. He paid for the beers and looked at her again. “I’d love to chat more, but I’d better get back to my friends.”

  The woman stood and sidled up next to him. She smelled nice, like some sort of fruity perfume. She slid a business card across the wood countertop. “If you want to meet up sometime, give me a call.”

  Logan smiled and slid the card into his pocket. “I’ll do that.”

  He tucked Andrew’s beer bottle against his body with his forearm and grabbed the pint glasses. He carefully made his way back to the table where Andrew and Jeni sat, setting the drinks on the table.

  “Jeni was just filling me in on your…interactions today,” Andrew said.

  Logan sat down. “In vivid color, I’m sure.”

  Jeni pulled her beer to her side of the table. “Just telling it like it was. I was almost to the part where you took the last vegetarian sandwich and wouldn’t give it to me.”

  Andrew laughed at that. “Did you ask nicely?”

  “Yes, did you ask nicely?” Logan echoed.

  Jeni scowled.

  “How about this?” Logan said. “I’ll buy you lunch another day. You name the day and place, and you can order whatever you want. Will that make up for it? Andrew, you can come too.”

  Andrew regarded his sister with a raised eyebrow and took a swig of his beer.

  Jeni seemed to consider that for a moment, taking a long sip of her own beverage. “No, thanks. Looked like you already picked up a date at the bar for this week anyway.”

  Logan wasn’t sure which part of that sentence disarmed him more—her reference to his friendly offer as a ‘date’ or the fact that she’d noticed him speaking to the woman at the bar.

  “Not so fast, I’ll take a free lunch,” Andrew said.

  “Only if Jeni comes,” Logan said. “I don’t need to woo you, man. She’s the one who doesn’t like me, and you know how much I hate that.”

  Andrew nodded. “It’s weirding me out. And also kind of refreshing.”

  “What is?” Jeni asked.

  “The fact that you’re a woman and you don’t seem to be a fan of Logan. Ladies usually love this guy.” Andrew chuckled wryly. “He’s a great wingman.”

  “Gross,” Jen
i said.

  “I’m here for you buddy,” Logan said, and Andrew laughed again.

  Jeni scrunched her nose. “Seriously, stop talking about picking up women with my brother.”

  “Fine. So, lunch then?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Logan shrugged and took a long drink of the smooth, dark beer, eyeing Jeni as she did the same.

  Andrew looked at Logan. “You’ll have to excuse my sister. We grew up in a small town where we knew everything and everyone. She hasn’t had to make new friends in a while, and I think she’s forgotten how.” Jeni set her glass down and opened her mouth to object, but Andrew kept going. “You’re my two favorite people in Kansas City, so I hope you can start over and get along.”

  “Favorite? Really? Wow, thanks, man,” Logan said with a sincere nod of gratitude.

  “Of course I’m your favorite,” Jeni said. “I’m the only member of our family you can stand to be around for more than ten minutes.”

  “That sentiment runs both ways,” Andrew shot back. “Don’t even try and deny it.”

  Logan waited a moment to make sure this sibling confrontation was complete before he once again held his hand out to Jeni. “He’s right. Let’s try this again. Fresh start?”

  Jeni regarded his hand, and just when he thought she would refuse him a second time, reached up and shook it firmly. “Okay.”

  The table was silent for a moment before Andrew spoke again. “Before Logan got here, you were about to tell me about something that happened at work this afternoon.”

  Jeni’s face turned downcast for a moment. Then she straightened, and her expression shuttered. “You know. The usual drama—stoned parent, two toddlers roaming their neighborhood alone in a rough part of town. Couldn’t find a foster family with beds together, so they had to be separated.”

  Logan’s breath caught in his throat, and the blood drained from his face.

  Usual drama.

  Stoned parent.

  Couldn’t find a foster family.

  He swallowed thickly while Jeni continued.

  “Took some time to get them situated, and that’s why I was late.”

  He watched her closely as she spoke and got the feeling she wasn’t as unaffected as she seemed.