Rent-A Husband Read online

Lucas

  That evening, Camila and I are heading out for dinner. I insisted on taking her to a steakhouse in a nearby town so that she could actually eat a good meal. I don’t know how she’s so active with what she eats. I joke that she has the diet of a six-year-old, but it’d be more accurate to say it’s the same as a college student.

  Normally at some point over the weekend I’d try to get ahead on the invoicing and financials from the week past, and that’s been niggling at my brain all day. Maybe if I have the paperwork with me, I’ll be more apt to separate from Camila at some point tomorrow to do my work.

  “Do you mind if I swing by my office to pick up a few things I need to work on tomorrow?”

  “Oh, I get to see your house and your office in one day.”

  I chuckle. “Not much to see really. We bought the place as an investment rather than fork out rent every month, but we haven’t really done anything other than set a desk in each of the three bedrooms. Not that my brothers ever do paperwork and have a need for a desk but…”

  “Makes sense. This way you should be able to sell it for a profit and you still get to write off the mortgage as an expense.”

  “Exactly.” I click on my turn signal and pull into the driveway of the business.

  “Wow, I didn’t even know this place was here. I’ve probably driven by it a million times.”

  My forehead wrinkles. We’re on a main road specifically so people will notice us. Maybe it’s time to invest in some new signage and some lights to light it up at night. “You can wait here if you want. I won’t be long.”

  “No way,” she says, unclicking her seat belt. “I’m coming in.”

  I walk to the back door of the house and use my key to open the door, then I flick on the light, motioning for her to lead the way. The hallway leads straight from the back of the house to the front, where the living room spans the width of the house.

  “Which office is yours?” Camila asks.

  “The first door on your right.”

  She steps in ahead of me and must find the light switch because it turns on a second later. “Now this is more along the lines of what I expected when I went to your house.” She laughs.

  I look around the space, understanding what she means. The room has just a desk and a chair floating in the center of the room and a filing cabinet against the wall. “Most of what I need is in my work truck. We don’t need an office each, but we have the space and needed a central spot to run the business, so this is all we get.” I shrug.

  Camila glances at the papers strewn across my desk. “Have you ever thought of hiring someone to handle all the bookkeeping and administrative stuff for you?”

  “We talked about it last year but decided to reinvest the money we’d have spent on that person’s salary in equipment and ads. Which worked. We have a steady stream of regular clientele, not to mention new customers calling all the time, along with our emergency calls.”

  “Sounds like maybe it’s time.” She bites her bottom lip before speaking again. “You know… I could help you if you want.”

  I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I do match qualified candidates with employers for a living.” She gives me a duh look.

  “You’d be willing to help find someone for the job?”

  “Absolutely. If you can give me a list of what the person would be doing and tell me the minimum qualifications, I could put together a job posting and go through the resumes, do a phone interview with a few candidates, and pass the most promising people on to you to choose from.”

  I’d planned to broach the idea with my brothers next week. We can’t go on not talking to each other indefinitely, and I’m going to continue to be at the end of my rope until we find a solution. And having Camila vet potential candidates would make the process that much easier… especially since I know hiring will likely be a solo effort on my part.

  “You sure you don’t mind?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “Not even a little.”

  I grin at her and pull her into my embrace. “That would be awesome. Best.” I lean in and place a chaste kiss on her lips. “Girlfriend.” Then I kiss the tip of her nose. “Ever.” And finally, her forehead.

  “Well, I’d only do it for the best boyfriend ever.” She squeezes me.

  I kiss her deeply, trying to convey how much I appreciate her offer of help. I’ve felt as if I’m drowning under the weight of all my responsibilities lately and my girlfriend just threw me a lifeline.

  I sent my brothers a text on Sunday night telling them to meet me in the office earlier than normal on Monday morning. I’m there even earlier so that I can have all the calls sorted for who’s doing what before they arrive. I have no idea how long this conversation will take, whether it’ll take a lot of convincing or whether they’ll be on board right away.

  “This better be good,” Josh says with a yawn when he walks into my office. “I had to drag myself out of bed and let’s just say I wasn’t alone.”

  I refrain from making the kind of crack I normally would, figuring it’s not a good tone to set for the beginning of this meeting, especially since the three of us haven’t really spoken since last week. “Thanks for coming. Why don’t we head to the front of the house?”

  Josh shrugs and leads the way to what’s supposed to be a living room but is really what I’m thinking will be our new employee’s area. We currently have a few random chairs spread out over the space. This is neutral territory and a better place for us to have this conversation.

  Travis joins us about thirty seconds later, saying a gruff hello before taking a seat.

  I take a deep breath. “First I want to say that I’m sorry for our argument last week. My frustration boiled over and I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

  Josh raises his hand for me to stop. “We owe you an apology.” He glances at Travis, who nods. “We know you take on more work than the two of us, so we can’t really blame you for being frustrated with us. We need to help pick up the slack where we can. We know that.”

  I smile at him. “Thanks, bro. That means a lot.”

  “To be honest, we thought it made you happy in some weird sort of way to be the one who always took the reins,” Travis says.

  I think about that for a moment. “I guess it did for a while. But as the business has grown, it’s become too much and now…”

  “Now you have Camila.” Josh waggles his eyebrows, and I chuckle.

  “Yeah, now I have other things I want to spend my time doing.”

  “Literally.” Josh coughs into his fist.

  Even Travis smiles at that one. “Josh and I have talked, and we’d love to help you with the paperwork stuff, but you know as well as I do that spells trouble. We’d only be making a bigger mess for you to clean up.”

  I nod. “Fair enough.”

  “But we can pick up the slack in other places,” Josh says. “Like taking the extra calls and always handling the after-hours line. Or making sure we take the vehicles for their maintenance… whatever you need.”

  I shift in my seat. “I appreciate that.”

  “Great, meeting adjourned. I need to go grab a coffee before my first call.” Josh stands, and Travis follows suit.

  “Hang on. I appreciate it, I really do. But I have another idea.”

  Travis frowns and Josh crosses his arms before they both sit again.

  “Camila offered to help us find someone we could hire to take over the paperwork, the banking, our social media… all of it. She’s a headhunter for a firm in the city, and she’s willing to put her skills to work for us.”

  Josh claps me on the shoulder. “It pays to be sleeping with someone with connections, huh?”

  I roll my eyes and brush his hand off my shoulder. “What do you think, Travis?”

  He shrugs. “I trust your judgment. I have no interest in interviewing anyone though. Whoever you pick will be fine.”

  “Yeah, Travis and his attitude would scare anyo
ne off,” Josh says. “I’m happy to help if you want though.”

  Knowing Josh, he’ll probably rate applicants based on their bra size and not their qualifications.

  “I can do it. If I have any problem deciding between candidates, I’ll call you in,” I say.

  He looks disappointed.

  “The thing is that if we hire someone, it’s going to take longer until we can afford the equipment so we can get some other guys to take over the Seattle area,” I add.

  “Listen, man, it’s something that needs to be done. We’ve grown enough that we need the extra help,” Travis says.

  “Yeah, it is what it is,” Josh adds. “Sure, we want to expand the business, but we don’t want you to be miserable to make it happen. I, for one, am glad you’ve finally got your head outta your ass and are living a little.”

  “Screw you.” I push him by the shoulder. “All right. I’ll get Camila the info she needs to get started and we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we can find someone soon.”

  “Speaking of Camila, when do we get to meet your lady love?” Josh asks.

  “Why don’t you bring her to The Third Rail on Friday?” Travis says.

  I try to picture these two meeting Camila. It’s been a helluva long time since I’ve brought any woman around to meet my family. But I suppose it has to happen at some point. “Yeah, sure. I’ll see if she’s available.”

  “Can’t wait.” The glimmer in Josh’s eyes gives me pause, but there’s no sense putting off the inevitable.

  I can only hope they’ll be on their best behavior.

  Thirty-Two

  Camila

  I’ve been nervous all week leading up to tonight.

  When Lucas mentioned that his brothers wanted to meet me, I was equal parts excited and nervous as hell. The entire two years I dated Elijah, I only ever met his parents once at Christmas, then one other time when we ran into them at a grocery store. I suppose that should’ve been a red flag.

  So even though this isn’t a meet-the-parents night, I still feel a lot of pressure. I know Travis and Josh are important parts of Lucas’s life and I want to make a good impression.

  “Relax.” Lucas squeezes my hand as we approach the door to the bar.

  The place looks like a mix between a down home joint and a dive bar. The roof is pitched in the middle, and the outside is dark wood board and batten and covered in various beer and alcohol signs and logos. When we walk in, it’s pretty much the same vibe. The long bar is off to our left, and on the far right are a bunch of pool tables. In between are all the high-top tables where customers are eating and drinking and watching the various TVs mounted around the place.

  I spot Lucas’s brothers before he even starts leading us over. How could I not? They’re similar enough to him—what with the dark brown hair and muscular bodies—but different in that each of them radiates a different vibe. The man I guess is Travis appears brooding and serious, and the younger looking one, who I assume is Josh, has a carefree effervescence that seems hard to contain. Basically, they’re exactly as Lucas described.

  “Hey,” Lucas says when we reach the table. He drops my hand to gesture to me. “Camila, these are my brothers, Travis and Josh. Guys, this is Camila.”

  “Hey, good to meet you,” Travis says and reaches across the table to shake my hand.

  “Hi,” I say.

  Josh isn’t shy about checking me out from head to toe while he grins. “How’d this bastard get so lucky to catch you?” Then he chuckles and stands from his barstool, drawing me in for a hug.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I say once he releases me. I see what Lucas meant when he said his youngest brother is a charmer.

  We both sit on the barstools, and seconds later, a pretty waitress comes over to take our drink order. Both Travis and Josh already have a beer in front of them, and Lucas orders one too. I feel silly ordering anything other than a beer because that’s obviously what kind of bar this is, but I really don’t like beer. I doubt they even have wine here, so I opt for a vodka soda with lime.

  “Hittin’ the hard stuff, huh? Guess you have to, having to deal with this guy all the time,” Josh says and nods toward Lucas.

  I chuckle and set my hand on Lucas’s thigh and squeeze. “I quite enjoy our time together.”

  “No accounting for taste, I suppose.” Josh winks.

  Oh yes, I can see now that this Abbott brother is a lady-killer.

  “So how did you two end up together?” Travis asks.

  “Don’t tell them anything,” Lucas says. “They’ll just use it against me.”

  I smile, enjoying the relationship between these three brothers. Sure, they’ve spent the last few minutes doing nothing but razzing one another, but it’s clear there’s a lot of love between them.

  The waitress returns and sets our drinks in front of us.

  “Thanks so much,” I say.

  She smiles at me. “No problem.”

  “Hey, Mel, can I get another beer? I’m almost done,” Josh asks.

  “Sure thing. What about you, Travis?” She turns to him. Something about the way Mel looks at him and waits for him to answer makes me think she likes him.

  “I’m okay, thanks.” Travis glances at her quickly then back at the TV screen over her shoulder.

  “Back in a jiffy,” she says and heads toward the bar.

  “She likes you,” I say to Travis in case he’s not aware.

  Josh slams his fist on the table and points at me. “Thank you! We’ve been telling him this for ages, right, Lucas?”

  Lucas brings his beer to his lips with a chuckle and nods.

  I frown. “You’re not into her?” I ask Travis.

  “I don’t want to encourage something that’s not going to happen,” he explains.

  I nod in understanding. That’s good. I guess I’m just surprised he wouldn’t be interested in a pretty and what appears to be really nice woman.

  “This is Camila’s first time having a drink with us. We should cheers before she has any,” Josh says.

  I smile and hold my drink up near the center of the table. “Real friends don’t rub it in, they rub it out.”

  All three of the guys break into laughter.

  “I have a feeling I’m really going to like this girl,” Josh says.

  A warm feeling invades my chest and I blink back a tidal wave of emotion. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt I fit somewhere.

  A couple of hours later, we’re still at the bar and the topic of conversation has moved to how I’m going to help them hire someone to work in the office.

  “Lucas has already given me a list of the kinds of tasks this person will have to perform, so I’ll get a job ad up, then look at all the applicants’ qualifications and skill set first to see if they meet the standard for hire. From there, I’ll conduct phone interviews with any A-plus applicants. After that, I’ll pass my recommendations on to you guys and you can conduct in-person interviews.”

  Travis raises his hands. “Count me out. We already told Lucas he can make the decision. He knows better than anyone what the job needs.”

  “All right. Well, after Lucas has narrowed it down, I’ll call all the references to make sure they check out, then he can decide who to make an offer of employment to.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” Josh clamps a hand on my shoulder. “I’m happy to let the two of you execute it.”

  I laugh.

  “No doubt,” Lucas says right before he takes a sip of his beer.

  The sound of a phone ringing has all four of us checking our devices, but it must be Travis’s phone because his face falls when he looks at the screen.

  “I gotta take this,” he says and heads toward the door that leads outside.

  “Wonder what that’s about,” Lucas says.

  “I saw Grams’s name on the screen, but seems weird that he’d have that attitude if she’s calling,” Josh says.

  Lucas’s forehead wrinkles. “Yeah, it does.” />
  The mood at the table is contemplative for a moment before I speak up.

  “So, do you have a girlfriend, Josh?” I’m fairly sure I could answer the question, but I’m still terrible at small talk and this is the first thing that came to mind.

  “Many.” He waggles his eyebrows, which makes me chuckle. “Seriously though, no, I don’t. Haven’t met anyone who’s made me want to stick around long enough to see what might happen.”

  “Fair enough.” I know Lucas wishes his brother would cool it a bit with ladies, but what Josh says makes sense.

  “Are you from around here, Camila?” Josh asks.

  “I grew up in the city with my mom. Speaking of…” I turn on my stool to face Lucas. “I told my mom about you and she’s insisting that she meet you.” I cringe, unsure how he’ll react to that news.

  “Okay, just say when.” He shrugs and takes a swig of his beer as though he’s nonplussed about meeting her.

  “I was able to put her off for a bit since I have the trail running race next weekend, then the bachelor party the following weekend and the wedding the one after that.”

  Josh opens his mouth to say something, but Lucas gives him a look. Lucas told me that he told his brothers about our agreement. It’s one of the reasons I was so nervous to come here tonight—what would they think of the woman who did something so rash?

  Josh clears his throat. “So you do trail running, huh?”

  “Yeah, I used to do it a lot then kind of got out of it for a bit, so this will be my first race since I started back up.” I’m sure that’s not what Josh was going to say, but I’ll take the lifeline he’s thrown out.

  “You’re gonna do amazing.” Lucas squeezes my thigh and presses a chaste kiss just below my ear.

  “As long as I’m not last.” I chuckle and bring my drink to my lips.

  Travis returns to the group and unhappily tosses his phone on the table.

  “What did Grams want and why do you look so unhappy?” Lucas asks.

  He pushes both hands through his hair. “Grams wants me to be a bachelor for the bachelor auction they’re having at the seniors’ center to raise funds to put in a new lawn bowling space on the property.”