Tempted (The Lottery Winners Book 2) Read online

  “She’s a good woman,” the other guy commented.

  Rocco pulled his eyes away from the kitchen where Daisy’s strawberry blond hair was bathed in the glow of the warm, overhead lights. With effort, he inhaled, trying to breathe normally. But it was hard, waiting for her to come back to his side.

  “Tell me about this foundation,” he demanded, desperately needing the distraction.

  Jason waved him over to the leather sofa and chairs and Rocco sat down opposite the man, bracing his elbows on his knees as he settled.

  They discussed the principals of the foundation and the reason for its existence, the houses that had already been renovated and modernized, the way the foundation worked, and the benefits offered. There was health, dental, and vision benefits, none of which he’d ever had before. He’d always needed to get his own health insurance or go without, which hadn’t been a problem in the past, except when he’d injured himself on the job. In most of those cases, the company he’d been working for had covered the cost of his medical care through worker’s compensation, but the possibility of having a job with actual health insurance sounded nice. Really nice!

  When Daisy appeared, easily carrying three large mugs of coffee in her hands, he was impressed. She wasn’t just a bit of fluff, he thought.

  “Do you take cream or sugar?” she asked, glancing at Rocco. Was that a hint of pink to her cheeks as she handed him the coffee? He liked the fact that he could do that to her. And it didn’t happen when she handed a cup to Jason. And even better, she seemed to move away from the Rayburn guy and closer to him. The gesture was unconscious but indicated that she was part of his team, on his side.

  He’d never had anyone on his side. Ever! His father was rarely out of prison long enough to take his side and his mother…well, she was too busy doing…other things to take his side. His mother had definitely spent a good portion of her life in jail, but she’d somehow landed on her feet. He hadn’t seen his parents since he was sixteen years old. He’d grown up tough, more than able to handle anything life threw his way, but having someone on his side, especially someone as sweet and pretty as Daisy would be…nice.

  After a half hour of discussion, Rocco glanced down at Daisy who was staring up at him with hope and excitement in her appealing brown eyes. Everything inside of him told him to walk away. Instinctively, he knew that taking this job would change his life. He wasn’t sure if that change would be for the better or worse. But when he opened his mouth to turn it down, the words that came out of his mouth were, “When do I start?”

  Daisy literally jumped up with her excitement. Rocco vaguely heard the other man chuckle and assumed the amusement was caused by Daisy’s enthusiasm and not because he’d just lied through his teeth, and Rocco’s shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

  “You won’t regret it!” she exclaimed, no longer jumping up and down, but still bouncing slightly. “And to celebrate, I’ll take you out to lunch!”

  Jason laughed. “Tony’s?” he suggested.

  Daisy turned to the other man who was collecting empty coffee mugs. “Is there any other place worth eating?” she teased.

  “Not really,” Jason agreed. Turning back to Rocco, he said, “I’ll have the office send you an official offer letter.”

  “Not necessary,” Rocco snapped, trying to pull his eyes away from Daisy’s breasts which were bouncing enticingly under the material of her shirt. She was cute and hot. How was that possible? Women should be one or the other, not both, damn it!

  Chapter 3

  Rocco was losing his mind.

  He’d been working with Daisy for two weeks now. He’d even brought on four other guys, all solid employees and the renovations were moving along ahead of schedule and definitely under budget. Daisy had some great ideas, but he’d looked over the design aspect of the renovation plans that first weekend and had offered some suggestions that would save time, make the changes sturdier, and lower the cost.

  Even that experience had been interesting. After his last two jobs, he’d been prepared to have his ideas rejected so he’d been stunned when Daisy had enthusiastically agreed with him. So he’d gone further, suggesting other solutions that would make both houses they’d been working on more usable by taking out some walls and adding different cabinetry.

  A landscaping company had come through that first day, mowing the weeds and clearing out the worst of the trash, but they hadn’t done anything else. Daisy had plans for the yards as well, but she knew better than to start on the landscaping before the interior and exterior fixes had been finished. His crew would stomp all over any new plants that were put near the house as they replaced the roof and gutters. Even the interior work would need to be done before her landscaping plans. It wasn’t easy bringing in new cabinets.

  Rocco had found a small apartment in one of the old Victorian homes in LowPoint. Since he’d been on a month to month lease at his old place, it was easy to move out of Louisville. He liked LowPoint better now that he’d gotten used to it. There weren’t a lot of restaurants other than the sandwich shop and that one restaurant. But he avoided both of them. The sandwich shop seemed to be the place where Daisy went almost daily for lunch, and she generally met up with a group of women. Not a place he needed to be, he thought. Besides, after working with her morning until night, he couldn’t handle sitting across the table from her. He’d make a fool of himself watching her eat, enjoying her soft voice as she talked.

  And boy could that little woman talk! At first, he’d though it would irritate him. But after working around her, he found that he liked it. She was funny and intelligent, always kind to the others. He found that he looked forward to her soft smiles and sweet blushes during the day. Wherever he looked, he could see her working on various parts of the house. No wimpy miss was Daisy! She worked just as hard as the others, hauling materials, scraping up the flooring, lugging out the debris after they’d demolished the old stuff in each room. She looked cute in the jeans and leather gloves and she never hesitated to get dirty and help out.

  She was fast and efficient, never complaining about any task that needed to get done. So in addition to watching her sweet, lithe figure all day long, he admired the hell out of her! She was classy and strong, funny and he really admired her plans, as well as how she listened to everyone’s ideas, never rejecting anything just because she hadn’t though up the idea first.

  All things considered, she should be an absolute delight to work with.

  But Rocco was in hell.

  The first few nights, he’d knocked off work and gone to the worn out apartment. By rights, he should have fallen into a deep sleep, his muscles worn out from working hard to keep on schedule. Daisy had been right – there was a lot of work to get done and the schedule was difficult.

  But after being unable to sleep due to constant thoughts and images of Daisy flashing through his mind, which made his body hard as a rock, he’d taken to renovating his apartment as well. He was making more money than he’d ever thought possible, why not use it to make his living environment better?

  So for the past two weeks, he’d renovated the two houses during the day and renovated his apartment at night. Both projects were incredibly satisfying, allowing him to create things he hadn’t ever realized he wanted to create.

  But now, just two weeks into the job, he was exhausted from lack of sleep and hadn’t taken the time to make lunch for himself this morning. Which was why he found himself standing in the diner right off the exit that was currently filled to the breaking point with truckers and traveling families. No seats were available, so he leaned to the side to wait, needing food and a break from the gorgeous strawberry blonde.

  “Hi Laurie!”

  Rocco’s whole body stiffened at the familiar voice. Sure enough, as he turned, he found Daisy was standing next to him.

  The waitress, apparently named Laurie, hurried over to the entryway, grabbing two menus from the stack by the register. “Daisy! You haven’t been in here in ages! Wh
at’s going on with you?” she asked, reaching over to give Daisy a friendly hug.

  The wind blew in from behind them and Laurie twisted, peering around the huge man at one of her favorite customers. “Betty! What are you doing here on a weekday? Have those little tyrants finally forced you out of the school?”

  The woman with softly greying hair and pretty hazel eyes stepped into the entryway of the diner, tugging the silk scarf from her head. “Goodness, it’s crazy out there today!” She hugged Daisy and turned to Laurie. “And no, the adorable elementary school children haven’t scared me off yet, but there are three that might just finish the job,” she admitted cheerfully, stuffing her silk scarf into her leather bag.

  Laurie laughed and gave the newcomer a hug. “Well, it’s great to see you.”

  “What’s today’s special?” Betty asked, but then turned to look around. “Hi Daisy! What are you up to these days?”

  Daisy turned to both ladies and stepped back. “Betty, Laurie, this is Rocco Barnes. The foundation hired him two weeks ago to help out with the renovations.” Turning to Rocco, Daisy gestured to the silver haired lady first. “Rocco, this is Betty Jackson. She’s the principal of the elementary school over near the houses we’re working on this month.”

  Rocco stuck his hand out to shake both ladies hands. “Pleasure to meet both of you.”

  Laurie eyed the big guy up and down, shaking her head. “Boy, they sure do make them big now, don’t they?” she asked, teasing Daisy. Of course, Daisy blushed, which was exactly her intention. “We’re pretty busy right about now, but I know there’s a table about to free up in the back. And you don’t want to miss Jeremy’s latest version of the panini Tony taught him last week.” She sighed. “It’s amazing!”

  Both ladies and the gentle giant followed behind her as she wove through the tables. That’s when the waitress saw the trucker step out of the semi-truck he’d just parked in the huge parking lot. “Oh my!” Laurie gasped and she stared out the window. “He’s here!”

  Rocco watched in amazement as the two other ladies went into action. “Here, give me the menus,” Daisy ordered, taking them both out of her hands. “You go! Your hair looks beautiful but touch up your lipstick.”

  Laurie immediately handed the menus over to Daisy. Patting her hair, she swung around to the two ladies. She took a tube of lipstick out of her apron, applying it to her lips from memory then pressing her lips together, that way women always do after applying lipstick.

  “Do I look okay? Do you think he’ll notice that I’ve gained a few pounds?” she asked, ignoring the big guy’s raised eyebrows. He was definitely the silent type, Laurie thought. She watched with fascination as the man in question reached back into his truck and pulled something out.

  “Oh, he’s here! And he has more salsa!” she clapped her hands together excitedly.

  “You look great!” Daisy whispered quickly, fluffing Laurie’s hair.

  “Don’t you worry about him at all!” Betty added as she pulled her silk scarf from her purse and wrapped it around Laurie’s neck, adding a dash of color.

  Laurie let her fingers drifted over the silk, wondering if she looked like she was trying too hard. Smoothing her fingers down over her apron, she wished she’d put on the other tee shirt today. If she’d known that Ralph would be coming through on another truck run, she would have…well, gussied up a bit!

  “He’s not supposed to be coming through here for another week!” she hissed to Daisy and Betty.

  Betty just laughed. “Well, honey, sometimes we are surprised, but this is a good thing! You look lovely!”

  Laurie looked at Daisy, knowing that the gorgeous younger woman would lie to her, but willing to take the encouragement anyway. “Do I look okay, honey?”

  Daisy beamed and fluffed a corner of the scarf. “You look beautiful! Ralph won’t be able to keep his head about him.”

  Laurie allowed Daisy to turn her around but reached for the plastic covered menus so she could use them as a shield. But nope, even that small bit of protection was whipped from her hands. She looked back at the big, silent guy. “What do you think? Will Ralph think I look too exhausted? Or messed up? Is my makeup okay?”

  One look from him and Daisy’s beautiful cheeks turned a lovely color of pink and Laurie glanced over at Betty, wondering if the older woman had caught the look as well.

  Sure enough, Betty’s mouth opened slightly in surprise. “Wow!” Laurie heard Betty hiss. “Well, I never thought I’d see the day!”

  Laurie laughed, in complete agreement. “I’m with you there,” she said, then turned around.

  “You look very pretty,” a deep, rough voice came from behind her.

  Laurie turned and glanced up at the previously silent giant. He was looking directly at her and, was there a softness in his eyes? Then he glanced down at Daisy and Laurie completely understood. The big guy did want to impress Daisy. The big guy was smitten! Did he know it? Probably not. Men were pretty clueless most of the time.

  With a chuckle, she turned back to the entryway and headed towards the gruff trucker who was just now entering the truck stop diner.

  “Hi Ralph,” she called happily. “I wasn’t expecting you back through this area for another week. What brings you back?” she asked, drinking in his big, scruffy beard and those sweet eyes that told her he liked what he saw. He had a big belly and enough facial hair to remind her of a grizzly bear, but he was sweet and kind. Laurie had been sweet on him going on three years now. Ralph had been her first customer working here at Janice’s diner. She’d been in love with him from the moment he hadn’t yelled at her for pouring him cold coffee. Or when she’d dumped his bowl of hot soup into his lap. Or when she’d messed up his order the next three times he’d come through on his way from one side of the country to the other. He was quick to laugh and always had a gentle smile for her, plus, he was a good tipper, not to mention, she thought he was the most amazing man she’d ever met.

  “Laurie,” he smiled softly, his eyes conveying that he’d stopped by this place specifically to see her. At least, she hoped that’s what his look meant because that’s how she was interpreting it.

  “Hi,” she breathed, moving closer to him, just wanting to smell that special scent. It was a touch of cinnamon, lots of peppermint, and a bit of tobacco, all mixed together to make a special grizzly bear man. “You look good,” she blurted, feeling awkward, wondering if the rest of the people in the diner were watching. He’d been coming through here often enough over the years and she always acted like a ninny when she saw his big rig pull into the parking lot.

  “You look pretty enough to eat,” he replied, causing her to blush but she was fairly certain that her blushing looked more like a hot flash than the pretty tinting of cheeks, like what happened with Daisy. Laurie didn’t care. This was Ralph and…well, a sweeter man never walked the earth.

  “My station is this way, if you want to…?”

  “You know I wouldn’t sit in anyone else’s section of the restaurant,” he interrupted and Laurie blushed again. Darn it! She was forty-five years old! She should be finished with blushes at this age!

  She turned and led him over to an empty table, handing him another menu. “The paninis are mind-blowing today. Tony showed Jeremy how to add some basil to the bread recently and they’re…”

  “I’ll have a turkey panini then,” he agreed, not even opening the menu. “Is he still making those sweet potato fries? I didn’t think I would, but I really enjoyed them. Thanks for suggesting them the last time.”

  Her grin widened and she took the menu back. “Turkey panini, no mustard, light mayo and lettuce, no tomato, right?”

  He winked and nodded. “You got it, beautiful.”

  Rocco sat at the table with his back to whatever was happening over by the window with the pretty waitress and the trucker. He didn’t need to see anything since Daisy and the older woman had their chins propped up on their open palms and were staring, sighing whenever something �
�sweet” happened. Rocco thought he’d probably throw up if he had to watch, but then again, watching Daisy was pretty cute. She liked romance, he realized. He wasn’t much of a romantic guy but…

  He sat up straighter in his chair as he realized where his mind had wandered. He wasn’t romantic. Not in any way! Hell, he was about the least romantic guy ever! He hated romance, wouldn’t even watch one of those ridiculous chic flicks some of his past dates had begged him to see.

  But seeing Daisy look so awestruck by a guy approaching another woman…well, he wasn’t sure how to take that. Or how to react to it. Because he sure as hell wasn’t going to be romantic! He definitely wasn’t the romantic kind of guy!

  “That’s so sweet!” Betty sighed.

  “Wait!” Daisy reached across the table to touch Rocco’s arm. “He’s giving her something!”

  “More salsa!” Betty gasped. Both women leaned forward, both of them putting a hand on his arm as if to warn him not to look. Rocco wasn’t going to look. Hell, he was having a hard enough time not rolling his eyes.

  “You’re getting all excited because the guy is giving a woman some salsa?” he scoffed.

  Both women glared at him as if he’d just said suggested the guy was pressing the waitress’ arm through a wood chipper. “What?” he demanded, not sure what he’d said that was so wrong. “Salsa isn’t romantic,” he argued, explaining his comment.

  Thankfully, their horrified expressions melted into understanding. Although, what they understood was beyond him.

  Betty patted his arm in a grandmotherly fashion, even though she definitely wasn’t old enough to be his grandmother. Maybe his mother but…no, his mother was ridiculous. This woman was much more elegant and refined than his mother could ever hope to be.

  Daisy tilted her head to the side slightly. “The romantic part isn’t the salsa,” she explained as if she were talking to a two year old. “It’s just the fact that he brought her a gift. That’s what is important.”