Little White Lie

Christine Bell and Riley Murphy

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Christine Bell and Riley Murphy. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road

Suite 109

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Lovestruck is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

Edited by Kerri-Leigh Grady

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition November 2013

Riley: To my honey. Even though you swore it would be a privilege no accident could rob you of, I’m glad you can now hold more than just my heart in your left hand. And as always to my dad…I miss you, but I’ll see you after.

Christine: This one is for Barb. Love you!

Chapter One

Leah Latrelle stared down at the phone in her hand and tried to swallow the panic threatening to choke her. They were coming to town? Oh. My. God. If not for the tinny, faraway sound of her sister’s voice over the line jarring her out of her shock, she may have dropped the receiver. Instead she whipped it back up to her ear, praying she’d heard wrong.

“Leah? Are you still there?”

“Yeah. Yup, I’m here.” Deep, slow breaths.

“So we’ll see you tonight, then?” Cassandra asked, her voice an octave just below a squeal.

No mistaking that excitement. “Tonight? Ab-absolutely. Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Great! We can’t wait to meet your guy. That’s all Mom and Dad have been talking about for the past week.”

A minute later Leah said her good-byes and plunked the phone into its cradle. “Damn. Damn, damn.” Impulsively, she picked up the receiver and slammed it back down. Hard. “Damn.” There was no other way to slice it. She’d made a major miscalculation, prompting an ill-advised fib that mushroomed into a whopper of a lie, and now she was about to get busted. What had she been thinking?

She sighed. She knew exactly what she’d been thinking. That she wanted her parents to stop worrying about her. It seemed more and more that they’d spend the bulk of their Sunday phone calls asking if she was all right, if she was too lonely without them, and if she finally had a serious boyfriend in the wings.

She didn’t.

So she made one up. A fiancé, no less. She even gave him a dog, for God’s sake. Petey the French bulldog.

She slouched forward and laid her head on the cool cherrywood desk. This was really happening. Holy Hanna. She was screwed.

“Hey there.”

Double screwed. She groaned because she didn’t want him to see her like this, certain the words “I effed up big time” were written all over her face. But here he was. She lifted her head and tried to appear sane.

Mick Kilpatrick stood in the doorway of her office, all six-foot-two inches of him looking totally put together, as usual. His coal black hair was still slightly damp from his post-workout shower, and his blue eyes drilled into her, seeing far too much—also as usual.

She tamped down the thrill that zipped through her, wishing to God the heady shivers of awareness weren’t so acute. What the hell was wrong with her lately? There was too much Mick and not enough office space, now that they’d partnered up in this cozy lease to handle their collective high-end residential real estate clients. That was the problem. Correction. That was more like the fallout because the actual problem was her clandestine crushing over him when all he wanted was to be friends and colleagues.

Think business, she reminded herself as she had a thousand times in the past two years. That cue probably would have worked if his shoulders weren’t so broad and his hips so narrow. God he smelled great even at this distance. She breathed in deeply. His kind of perfect physique got her thinking of those Calvin Klein man-in-boxers billboard ads that shadowed some of the seedier hotels downtown. Hell, she’d move in to one of them if she got to wake up to a two-story-tall shot of him staring down at her every morning.

Never going to happen.

She heard the mental taunt, blinked, and attempted to redirect her dirty thoughts. Think business partnership, which precludes any romantic entanglements between you…no matter what.

It had been far easier to get her head around that when Mick was at a distance. Four office suites between them, at a time when he’d been totally focused on his son first and his clients second. But now it was different. He was different. Maybe he wanted to make sure he kept up his part of the required teamwork, or maybe because Luke was getting older, he had the time. Either way it spelled trouble for her because he was hanging around the office, even when he didn’t need to, and being way more social than he used to be. It was both confounding and distracting. And just two more things she had to add to her growing list of concerns about him and her increasing lust for him.

“Hey.” He came in but didn’t bother to close the door. Why would he? It was only the two of them now. Yay. “What’s going on? Don’t tell me that we lost Shaw’s listing.”

She blew out a breath. “Of course not. I nailed the appointment. But, um.” She looked away. “Yeah, no worries. I’m good.”

“Leah.”

She hated when he said her name like that. Slowly, in two drawn out syllables. It sounded hot, sexy, and got her raring for bed when bed was the last place he’d want to take her. Steeling herself, she raked a hand through her hair. Mick wasn’t her usual type. He shouldn’t be burning up erotic territory in her fantasy land. The fact that he was had her completely stumped. Now, if he had the soul of a poet and the bank account of a college student? She’d be less mystified. Broke but artistic losers were right up her alley. The alley that had thus far led to the road of perpetual singledom.

She made a half-assed attempt at a smile and waited for him to take a seat. “Really, I’m fine. It’s no big deal. How are you this morning?”

“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. I know something’s up. The last time I saw that expression on your face was when the Canellos’s fried all that octopus and expected you to eat some of it.” He leaned back in the chair, draped his arms over the bolsters, and banged the sides in alternate beats like a drum, then suddenly stopped. “Come on, spill it. Maybe I can help.”

Of all the people in the world, Mick was the last person she wanted to tell her humiliating story to, but at this point, she didn’t have a whole lot of options. Unless she came up with a solution, she was screwed, and there was no one better at brainstorming than Mick.

“Come on.” He tilted his head and waited for her to open up. He was so relaxed. So confident. So Mick that she couldn’t help herself.

“I messed up.”

“Naturally,” he said, inclining his head.

And right there was the draw and the drawback of being attracted to a smart guy like him. She glared, hoping her look was nasty enough to wither his soul. “This is serious. You know how I told you my dad was diagnosed with COPD last year?”

He leaned forward in his chair, concern marring his brow. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah. But…”

“But? That’s why they bought that place in Arizona, right? To spend the cooler months?”

“Exactly. Well, they’ve been out there for a while now and love it. He’s feeling great, and I think they want to make it a full time move, but they’re afraid to leave me here alone. Then Cassandra made it worse when she up and moved to Minneapolis with her fiancé last month—”

He got comfortable again and grinned, “I remember. The bad architect with the lazy eye.”

She winced. “I may have said that.” She fell back into the cushion of her chair and grumbled, “Yeah, I said it. I was being cranky.”

“You’ve been cranky a lot lately.”

She swiveled back and forth, trying to ease some of the tension, but when his words registered she stopped and stared at him. Nice of him to say. Little did he realize her mood was on account of a recent rash of sleepless nights spent thinking about him. “Okay, already. He’s a good guy. I just got sick of hearing them gush about him. But now with my sister in her new house, and our parents in Arizona, the folks are even more worried. They’re on a fixed income, and I know the only reason they’re keeping the apartment here is because of me.”

“What? Why? Are you planning on moving into it when your lease is up?”

She gave him the dead-eye. “I’m single. Enough said.”

“You’re twenty-six years old, you have your own place and a good career. Who cares if you’re single? They should just take the plunge.”

She did a double take before she answered because she definitely cared about being single. Thank god he didn’t know that. “Yeah, well, they’re worry warts. When I’m sixty I’m still going to be adhering to a curfew when I’m at their place, only then I’ll probably be sneaking back into the house with my kids in tow.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Are you going to get to the point?”

Eyeing him, she tapped her index finger against the desk, trying to decide if she should give him the Reader’s Digest version or Tolstoy’s rendition. One look at him made her settle on a combo.

“All righty. A few months ago, Mom asked about my holiday plans, and I told her there was no way I could fly out to Phoenix because I had too much going on here. She was upset and started talking about how people shouldn’t spend the holidays alone and how family was the most important thing. Not two days later, she called to say that maybe it was too hot for them in Phoenix anyway, and that they were thinking of coming back to Chicago and making the condo in Phoenix a vacation home.” She couldn’t continue to look at him, so she turned away and whispered, “I feel like they’re only doing that because they think I’m lonely. They’re worried about me.”

“I’m listening.”

It wasn’t so much the words as it was his tone that wrapped around her like an invisible hug. Blinking back the sudden rush of tears, she stared at her clasped hands. She hadn’t felt this miserable since she’d first learned of her dad’s diagnosis.

“I know it’s bad. I don’t know what happened, Mick. It just came out. I told her that I wasn’t working, it was just that I had other plans.” She reluctantly met his gaze. “With my boyfriend.”

“Ah.” He nodded as if he felt her pain, but his eyes twinkled, which made her face warm.

“Anyway, one lie fed another, and by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, me and ah…”

“You and?”

“Me and Mi-Michael,” she tried to recover from that telling admission by wiggling her fingers in air quotes around the fictitious name, “started to get serious. Things got a little out of hand and we, um, got engaged last week.” Her cheeks burned even hotter, but she refused to look away.

“Congratulations.” He straightened and when his white teeth flashed in a big grin, she forced herself to roll her eyes. She was feeling anything but cavalier at the moment.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks. They were thrilled, believe me. And that was the problem. As soon as I told her, Mom started talking about how their lease here is up in January, so why not pull the trigger and close that chapter of their lives? To make a long story short, since ‘Michael’ and I can’t go to them for the holidays and they have to get the last of their stuff from the apartment, they’ve decided to come to me…er, I mean, us.” She squeezed her eyes closed and let her forehead fall to the desk with a thunk. “Tonight.”

Mick let out a long, low whistle. “Wow.”

That three letter word sounded like “Stick the fork in, you’re done.” And she was. She knew it.

“Was there nothing you could say to talk them out of it?”

“I tried. Believe me. But nothing short of a meningitis outbreak was going to stop them.” She turned her face to the side so that her cheek rested against the desktop. “I’m going to have to fess up, and that will totally ruin their Christmas. Now, instead of worrying that I can’t land a husband, they’ll think I’m a pathological liar and want to check me into some twelve step program. Truthfully?” She angled her head so she could see him. “I’m guessing they’re going to change their minds, renew their lease, and move back here once I come clean. I know if my daughter was certifiable, I’d want to be close by to let her out of her straitjacket once in a while.”

His eyes twinkled brighter, practically brimming with mirth.

She so wanted to disappear into the desk. “Don’t you dare laugh. This isn’t funny.”

“All right, shh. Let me think.” He closed his eyes, steepling his fingers under his chin as he often did when in thought. She should have been happy that he was mulling the situation over, but all she could do was inwardly sigh. Lately he’d been sporting a five o’clock shadow mid-morning and the edgy sight did odd things to her insides. Any second the light bulb moment was going to happen, and he’d look at her and say something brilliant like he usually did. But after a full thirty seconds of gut churning silence, hope faded. Another thirty seconds, and the panic hit full force.

She sat up abruptly and whisked the hair off her face, pushing back her chair. “Nope. I’m not going to risk telling them. I’m going to try the meningitis thing.” She tapped out some words on the keyboard in front of her, running a search for symptoms on Virtual MD.

“Leah.” His silky baritone flowed over her like honey, and her hands stilled.

“What?” The reedy sound of her voice confirmed she’d gone off the deep end for sure.

“You know that’s not going to work. Let’s try to think rationally.”

A hysterical laugh rose in her throat. If he knew how hard she was trying to keep it together right now, he wouldn’t have chosen that moment to wink at her. She contained her heart flutters and countered, “Rationally? Oh, no. That ship sailed right about the time I announced my engagement.”

“Then I will think rationally for you.” He stood and held out a hand as a slow smile spread across his handsome face. “Hi. I’m Michael, but everyone calls me Mick. Pleasure to meet you.”

…

As Mick waited for her to catch on, every instinct screamed for him to pull his hand back. They’d kept things platonic for the two years they’d worked together at Malack & Bean. Admittedly, it had become more difficult over the last two months, since they’d started their own real estate firm, and the tight quarters had made it harder. Yet so far, he’d managed, in spite of his baser instincts, by doubling his workouts and learning to recite the Greek alphabet backward to keep his hands off her.

He wasn’t looking for a relationship. Navigating the mine field of a painful divorce and split custody for the past couple years was hard on him, but it had been even harder on Luke. In order to focus on his son and spend as much time with him as possible when he had him, he’d decided his love life would have to wait. Initially, he thought a year would be a reasonable amount of time, but a year had come and gone. Then two. And now, when he thought of Luke and how hard he had taken the separation? Even today seemed too soon.

But this wasn’t just any woman. This was Leah. Shit, getting this close to her…pretending to be her man? That was akin to getting too close to the sun. Don’t do it. But as desperate hope bloomed on her face, he couldn’t bring himself to retreat. She needed him, and damn if he didn’t like the feeling.

As understanding dawned, she squealed with joy and leapt to her feet. He thought she was going to come at him, so he braced for impact. But then she held back, chewing on her luscious bottom lip for a long moment before her shoulders slumped. “I am so tempted, Mick. Really I am. But I can’t ask that of you. It’s smack in the middle of the holiday season. They’ll be here for the whole week. Surely you have better things to do than help me with this crazy scheme. Like spend time with your son.”

“You didn’t ask. I offered. And to be honest, I don’t have anything pressing until after New Year’s Day. I had Luke for Thanksgiving, so Sheila gets him until the first except for an afternoon shopping trip tomorrow for some last minute gifts. My week is wide open. Plus, I kind of like the idea of you owing me one.” He smiled inwardly, mentally thumbing through the list of things he could ask of her in return. There were plenty of potentials, but the one he really wanted? Maybe he’d demand she let him kiss that spot on her neck he couldn’t stop thinking about…

“I’m not sure about that,” she said. “If I know you, you’ll have me doing all your broker duties next month. Or worse. Your open houses.”

The speculative way she eyed him got his blood pumping. He’d seen that look before. The one that said, “Hmm…this could be fun.” Damn, it was the last time he’d seen that look from her that had been a turning point for him. Innocent enough? Yes, so maybe if he hadn’t agreed to be paired with her in that three-legged race at the office Memorial Day picnic, he wouldn’t be stalking her like a starved lion looking for prey these days.

It had been another one of her “I need your help” moments when she wanted to beat Joe Mallack and win the stupid Magic 8 Ball prize. And when Mick had leaned forward for his “by-the-nose photo finish,” carrying her over the line for the win, he hadn’t expected her uninhibited reaction when he’d let her go. Because she’d jumped right back into his arms, wrapped herself around him for a hug, and kissed his neck. Through the heat, sweat and pulse pounding beneath his skin, the touch of those soft lips against him had ignited a need so strong that he’d actually stumbled.

Kicker was? The bone-deep sexual pull toward her that day was only half of it. She’d barely gotten her hands wrapped around her trophy when Luke had taken a shine to it. Then she hadn’t hesitated. After their hard-won battle, she’d handed the 8 Ball over to his son before she’d plopped down in the grass and sat with him for a good hour swapping zany questions to ask the globe.

He couldn’t get the visual out of his head.

“So.” She continued to study him. “You’re going to help me, just like that?

“Of course.”

The bright sparkle in her eyes reminded him of that day. Only then, more than her eyes had lit up with genuine enjoyment of Luke’s goofy antics. Seeing her glow like that had really done it for him. Almost as much as seeing his little boy dive into her arms for a hug good-bye. Damn, he’d done everything in his power to try to forget it, but from that moment on, the distance he’d managed to maintain with her for the business’s sake had been steadily shrinking. Disappearing. Until he found himself here, right beside her, and it still wasn’t close enough for him. Helping her like this was a bad idea, but he could no more retract his offer than he could fly to the moon.

“Hmm. You’re sure about this?” she asked.

He nodded, and when she tentatively nodded back, he continued. “Friends help friends. It’s that simple.” And so damned complicated that he didn’t want to dwell on all the reasons he shouldn’t be getting involved in this mess.

“I swear you could sell steaks to a vegan.” More lip chewing, and then her face finally cleared. “I’ll do it. If you let me do something for you. Let me take over the Hutton property. Then we’ll be even stephen.”

This time it was his turn to draw back. Beverly AKA “Bunny” Hutton was a nightmare. The woman wouldn’t stick to the rules of vacating her premises for showings or open houses. She was impossible to please, and she also had a thing for younger men. She was like a miserable octopus, alternately sniping and groping at him every chance she got. He and Leah had rock-paper-scissored over her a few months back, and he’d lost. The fact that she was willing to take over for him showed just how desperate she was. He couldn’t take advantage of that.

He shook his head and opened his mouth to argue, but she held up a hand.

“I’m not letting you waste most of your holiday bailing me out if you get nothing in return. This would be a total lifesaver. My family will meet you, then, a few months from now, once they’re good and settled in Phoenix, I’ll find you in bed with another woman. No!”

She stabbed a finger at him. “Another man! Maybe that will also buy me some extra time before they start to press me about another relationship. It’s perfect. What do you say? Deal?” She held out her hand to him. “Please, Mick. Now that you planted the seed I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I won’t do it without you getting something in return. I won’t.”

He knew her too well to refuse. If this was the only way she’d accept his help, he’d do it. It wouldn’t be too much of a hardship for her. He doubted Bunny batted for both teams, so Leah would make it through unmolested.

That decided, he took her hand, resisting the temptation to run his thumb over the soft skin of her wrist, and they shook. “Deal. But I don’t know about the whole ‘other guy’ thing. When they see all the ladies throwing themselves at me like they do, they might not buy it,” he said with a long-suffering sigh.

She snort-laughed at that.

“Humor me.” He gave her hand a squeeze.

“Okay, okay, that part is totally negotiable. It’s a deal then. Mrs. Hutton is going to be bummed. From the second she laid eyes on you in those snug gym clothes, she couldn’t wait to sign with us.”

He wasn’t going to argue. The fact was, the older woman had been eye-screwing him at every meeting.

His continued silence gave him away, and Leah clapped her hands gleefully.

“I knew it! I totally got the vibe from her. Hey, who knows? If you had gotten her a good offer, maybe…” She trailed off and waggled her brows at him.

“She’s sixty, and even if she wasn’t, that’s not how I roll. She’s a blonde and I like…” His gaze was drawn to her hair. “Brunettes.” That declaration lay between them like a viper and the awkward moment swelled, threatening to burst. Finally she looked away, swiping some imaginary dust off her desk.

Before things got awkward again, he cleared his throat. “At any rate, she’s your problem now. We’re going to have to do some cramming here. Maybe tell Celia to hold our calls? It’s likely going to take a while to find out what you told them about Michael and for me to learn some of the basics about you.”

“That’s a bit of a concern. I did tell them Michael was a real estate agent, but they’re going to think it’s weird I didn’t mention he was my new business partner.”

“Well we don’t need to mention that part either, do we? They’re only here for the week of Christmas, so they’re not likely to find out.”

“Okay, so if they get on the subject of work, we’ll go with vague and just say you were at Malack & Bean with me. As for me and the basics, you already know everything.”

“Not really.” And now was the perfect time to do some recon. “I don’t know what the name of your hometown is, what you eat in the morning or what you sleep in.” The last sent a bolt of lust through him as he mentally scrolled through the possibilities. Leah had a curvy, lush body and knew exactly how to dress it. Even during the day, she made sure her taut legs were shown to their best advantage in sexy pumps, her slim waist and full hips were emphasized by fitted pencil skirts that molded to the curve of her ass and made him sweat every time she bent over. Much like the sweat that built as he imagined what she’d wear to bed. Maybe nothing. That got his adrenaline pumping. It also got him thinking about how empty his big bed was at night.

Maybe it had been long enough. Maybe it was time to open up again.

That thought landed like a jab to the gut because, when the time did come to explore his options in the opposite sex department, Leah wasn’t on the short list. She wasn’t on the long list. She wasn’t on any list but his X-mas gift list. He wasn’t about to risk a flourishing business and a solid friendship on a maybe and he certainly wasn’t going to risk subjecting Luke to another of his failed relationships.

He flexed his jaw and pressed on, determined to be a friend—the friend she needed him to be. “If we keep things simple, it’s bound to work.” Why did he say that out loud? He could almost hear the gods laughing. Just stick to the plan and remember this is all pretend. No covert glances down her shirt, and no staring at her ass when she has her back to you.

Those thoughts brought him up short. Didn’t playing her fiancé sort of make the male ogling something to be expected? Along with touching?

The gods’ laughter got louder.

Fuck…Maybe she’d back out. There was always the chance—

She slapped her hands on the desk and pursed her lips. “Okay, let’s do it. Give me until ten o’clock. I’ve got some loose ends to tie up on the Benson estate. Then I’ll start jotting down some of the things I told my parents about you.”

It was the way she said this last that got him asking, “Things about me?”

She knocked over the holder and all her pens scattered on the desk. “Well, no…”

He waited for her to continue because he was sure she was hedging. “Leah?”

“Yeah?”

He quirked a brow and she blushed. “Oh all right. Not that it was intentional, mind you, but…”

All his worry over the situation vanished as he crossed his arms over his chest and tried not to smile. “But?”

“I kind of described a guy like you.” She shrugged. “Must have been a subliminal thingy.”

Her admission made him feel way better than it should have, but he managed a non-committal “hmm.”

“Yeah, as it turns out you’re a pretty good fit all around. I told them tall, with dark hair. Nice face. Funny.” She pointed right at him. “But don’t be too funny. We don’t want them falling in love with you.” She was so serious that the smile he’d been holding back tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Oh, and Cassandra asked me if you were hung. I said yes, of course.”

“Good.” He inclined his head and cleared his throat to cover the surge of male satisfaction at that declaration. So stupid, considering she had no idea if that was true or not, but he didn’t care. He’d take it. “Still dead on accurate, then. Seems like I’m your dream guy.” He started to laugh, but her startled expression stopped him cold. The air between them crackled while he held his breath. Five seconds. Ten…

“Correction. You’re their dream man.” She mumbled about how she was much pickier than they were when it came to men, but he barely noticed.

Because he’d stumbled onto something both eye-opening and terrifying. Leah wanted him. Today. Now. Despite his timeline and the shit about remaining parked in the friend zone for the sake of the partnership. She wanted him. Like actually wanted him. And from the expression on her face and the way she deflected, she didn’t want him to know it either.

But now he did…and it changed everything.

Chapter Two

Leah glanced at her watch and winced. Twenty minutes before the charade began. There was no way she was going to pull this off. She picked up her second serving of wine and gulped down half the glass. Watch. This would be the only time the guy was late in his li—

The doorbell rang, and she giggled. Giggled? She put her glass down and pushed it away in disgust. She’d intended to have one to take the edge off her nerves but had been a little overzealous with her pour. Now she was tipsy. Great. And here Mick was, being all dependable as usual. If he made a commitment, he’d keep it. Well, she could do the same thing. She’d keep on the straight and narrow despite her gait being a little unsteady at the moment.

More determined than ever to keep things casual, she swung the door wide and sang, “You can ring my b-e-l-l ell-ell. Ring my bell.”

His expression was dead serious. “I just did.”

She snorted and reached up to pat his cheek lightly, only it landed a little heavier, more like a slap. “Exactly.”

“Leah, have you been drinking?”

Huffing out a huge breath and nearly going cross-eyed to watch it mist in the frosty air, she answered, “Maybe. Point is if your fiancée asks you to ring her bell, I doubt she’s talking about her doorbell. Capiche? No need to be so formal, Mmmick. Let yourself in next time. We’re engaged.”

“I don’t have a key.”

Was he fighting a grin? She squinted at him. “We’ll have to remedy that, then.” Stepping aside, she let him in but not before she checked him out. His tan, cashmere sport coat was tailored to within an inch of its life and clung to his broad shoulders in a way that had her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. The scent of crisp spice and warm male mingled with the flowers he held, assailing her senses as he passed.

“And you’re right on time,” she said glancing at the fistful of wildflowers. They looked like a stunning collection of brightly colored gemstones. Exactly her taste. When they’d shared information, had she told him she loved wildflowers? She didn’t think so.

“I was shooting for early, but on a whim I stopped off for these.”

He presented the riotous bouquet, and she bent to inhale deeply. God, they smelled good. Better than good, though not as great as him. “They’re amazing. Thanks.” She felt bad about almost snatching them out of his hand, but she needed some space. A chance to breathe. She headed into the kitchen with him hot on her heels and crossed her fingers that he wouldn’t notice her weaving. After she rummaged through the cabinet for a vase, she stood at the sink, filling it with water.

“So, now you have me thinking.” He leaned against the counter next to her. “You were right about being too formal. If we’re going to be around your parents for the next few days, we should probably practice being a little more…affectionate, don’t you think?”

The vase slipped from her hands and landed in the sink with a crash. Luckily, the glass was thick, and it didn’t shatter. “More affectionate?” She eyed him. “You do know I was teasing about ringing my bell, right? I kind of thought if my family were here they’d think it was odd that you didn’t just walk in, you know?”

He gave her a curt salute. “Got it. I’ll make sure to walk in next time if the door is open. And I knew you were kidding around, but it would be strange if we never touched, don’t you think?”

She let out a breath and nodded. Better to get used to his hands on her a little rather than jumping out of her skin every time, even if it meant treading on treacherous ground. “Practicing is a good idea if we’re going to pull this off. We’ll start by holding hands in the car on the way to the restaurant.”

His eyes darkened, and a noticeable tension rose between them. She didn’t want to examine that too closely, so she saw to arranging the flowers. When she was done, she centered them on the kitchen table and then spun around. “Okay, what? You’re freaking me out. Quit staring.”

He looked slightly amused and crossed his arms. “Holding hands? That’s how we’re going to practice being more affectionate?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing if you’re living in Mayberry with Aunt Bee.” He let his arms drop to his sides and came forward. “I was thinking something more along these lines.”

One minute she was looking up at him, and the next she was nose to cashmere in his arms. “It’s the little things that matter,” he whispered as he hugged her. Not hard or fast. The embrace was slow and soft. Purposeful as he rested his chin on her head and held her there, letting his warmth seep into her bones. “A simple hug once in a while. Maybe a caress on the cheek. Doesn’t have to be as overt as a kiss, but we should try out a few different kinds of those, too.”

Little things? There was nothing little about the emotions he stirred in her. And as for practicing different types of kisses? She drew in a deep breath and pushed away. “One kind is all we need, I’m thinking.”

“But, what kind?”

That was a no-brainer. “The chaste, ‘I’m in front of my fiancée’s family’ kind.”

“I’m not sure I know that one. Show me.”

For a second, she thought she caught sight of a challenging gleam in his eye, but before she could examine it too closely, it was gone. And still, it left her wanting to take him up on his suggestion. Maybe it was the alcohol. Gee, she was getting some pretty good mileage out of that glass and a half of Chablis. “Okay.”

She placed her palms on his chest, ignoring the thrill that zipped through her when she felt the hard ripples beneath her fingers and rolled up on tiptoes. Keeping her eyes open, she held his gaze going all the way in, until her tightly puckered lips touched his. One fast peck and she was done. “There. Like that.” She would have stepped back but he grabbed her.

“Like this?” He drew her against him, and the flash of all-male heat radiating off him sapped her will. This wasn’t right—she shivered—so why did it feel so good? You need to focus. This was Nice Guy Mick. Dad Mick. I Don’t Fool Around With Women Unless I Care for Them Mick. Any moment now the usual teasing would commence, and he’d crack one or two jokes to lighten the mood. Yeah, despite her attraction to him, there was no need to prepare herself. It was just a little old ki—

The second he captured her mouth, she feared her knees would buckle. He tasted sinfully good. The heat of his lips and the pressure he applied was intoxicating. Too quickly, she found herself sinking. Surrendering. Enjoying the moment. And when his arms wrapped around her, she couldn’t hold back a dreamy sigh. Mmm… The way he moved? This was a guy who knew his way around a woman.

Her lips tingled the second he released her. “Like that?”

She shivered again. It took her a moment to realize he wasn’t coming back for more. Blinking to clear some of the fog, she nodded. “Yeah, sure, like that.”

His grin was ear-to-ear when he tapped her nose. “Good thing we practiced. I’m not very familiar with kisses as chaste as that one.”

“You’re not?” She was less concerned with getting an answer and more focused on calming the butterflies doing loop-de-loops in her stomach while she stepped around him to wipe up a puddle of water on the counter.

“No.” He came up behind her. Curling down over her he spoke close to her ear, “And, I’m used to the kisses that happen behind closed doors. The ones that are hot, deep.” He slowly exhaled a warm breath of air into her ear. “And open mouthed.”

“Hey.” She shrugged away from him and attempted to laugh off the sudden wave of heat coursing through her. “Cut it out, would ya? This is serious. We have to play this just right. How do you expect me to do that when you’re being wicked and charming?”

“Charming?” He flashed a devilish grin that made her heart race. “Wicked? I like the sound of that. But you’re right.” He checked his watch. “We better get going. We don’t want to be late.”

…

Mick could smell the wood burning long before they got to the restaurant. Leah clearly didn’t like the sudden power shift in their relationship. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it now. The moment he’d realized that she was secretly drooling over him too, it was like his libido went into overdrive and his common sense was shitfaced, doing “the seatbelt bob” in the back.

“Mr. Kilpatrick, your party has already been seated in the wine cellar as you requested. The hostess will be right with you.”

Leah tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. But what did she mean by ‘requested?’ You requested special seating for my family?”

He glanced down and almost laughed. She looked partially buzzed and adorably flustered. “A room, actually. You picked the loudest restaurant in Chicago. The wine cellar is cozy. Quiet. The perfect place to get to know people.”

Her eyes bulged comically. “Get to know—? I don’t want you to get to know them too well, remember?”

“We still want them to have a good time, though, right? They’re family.”

“I guess so,” she said, her brow wrinkling with worry.

The hostess gave them a curt nod. “Right this way.” She headed off toward the far end of the dining room.

Mick waited for Leah to follow the woman, and when she didn’t move he gave her a nudge. “Sweetheart, after you.”

She was even more nervous now. He could tell by the tilt of her chin and stiffness in her gait as they made their way to the back of the room. The minute they got to the double glass doors and she looked through, her eyes went wide. “Sweet. Heart.”

Amazing. She spoke but he didn’t see her lips move at all. Still, she was looking at him, so he responded. “Yes?”

“Did you do all this? The champagne and flowers?” She may have managed a barely passable smile, but her panicked eyes spoke volumes.

He didn’t have to answer because the hostess did it for him. “He wanted you to be surprised.”

“Mission accomplished,” she whispered, plucking at the buttons of her coat. “I’m surprised, all right.”

“Thanks, we’re good,” he told the hostess, then waited for her to leave. “Take a breath. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“It’s all gorgeous. But, Mick, you shouldn’t have done this. They’re going to fall in—”

He held a hand up before she really got into airing her concerns because there were three anxious people across the room who had caught sight of them. The youngest of the group, a woman who looked a fair bit like Leah, only shorter, stood and waved. He’d obviously gone too far, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

“We’ve been spotted. We better go in. Put a less terrified expression on your face and introduce me. It will be fine. Trust me.”

“Hey sis!” The young woman made her way around the table and pulled Leah in for a quick hug, then held out a hand to him. “You must be Michael, nice to meet you. I’m Cassandra, Leah’s younger sister.”

Leah snorted. “Yeah, younger by like fourteen months.”

“Still counts,” Cassandra shot back without taking her eyes off him as they shook hands. “You look different than I imagined.”

He resisted the urge to tug at his collar beneath her sharp gaze and was just about to ask “how so,” but Leah’s mother and father lined up behind Cassandra for hugs and introductions.

“Hi Michael, I’m Rita, Leah’s mom. So nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard good things!” She was a solid little soldier of a woman with a shock of hair so red it could only have come from a bottle, and when he extended his hand, she pushed it aside with a warm laugh. “My future son-in-law gets a hug.” She yanked him close, enveloping him in a vanilla-scented embrace. “I’m so glad you and my little girl found each other,” she murmured in his ear. “In spite of all the hustle and bustle, big cities can be so lonely sometimes and I worry about her here without any family.”

He returned the hug with gusto, liking her on the spot. “It’s my pleasure. Your daughter is a gem. And please, call me Mick.”

Rita released him and turned to Leah for a hug before pulling back and examining her face. “Sweetie, you’re looking tired.” She sent a frown in his direction. “Mick, I’d hoped you’d been taking care of my baby.”

He genuinely felt bad about letting her down, and grimaced. “Yeah, she’s been working too hard, but after tomorrow we’ll both have a little break to recharge. I won’t let it happen again, ma’am.”

She beamed and patted his cheek. “I like you already, son.”

“Well I might look crappy,” Leah cut in, “But you and dad look great.” She hugged her father tightly, giving him one last hard squeeze before stepping back. “The weather must really be agreeing with you.”

She paused and quickly glanced at Mick as if she’d forgotten he was even there. “Where are my manners? Dad, this is Mick. Mick, this is my dad, John.”

“Hey there, buddy. Pleasure.” John grabbed his hand in a firm shake and smiled. “I can’t tell you how happy we are that our girl has found her man. It gives me peace of mind. One day when you have your own kids, you’ll understand.”

Mick didn’t know what to say to that so he said nothing at all.

Thankfully, John jumped subjects. “I hear you’re quite the real estate agent.”

They all took their seats and ordered drinks, chatting amiably about work, where Mick grew up and his family. Safe subjects that took them through before-dinner cocktails, of which Leah had two, and some appetizers. When their entrees finally arrived, her father spoke up.

“Mick, tell me, how’s Petey doing?

Petey? Who the hell was Petey? He glanced at Leah and grappled for an answer.

Although she turned in his direction, she didn’t look him in the eyes. Not directly, anyway. Her gaze was decidedly askew. What the hell—?

Bang!

Her fist landed on the table and the vibrations from the strike appeared to make her tremble until her head jerked with a curt nod of finality. “Dead.”

Three collective gasps sounded. He would have said four, but his was more like a hiss. He studied Leah and waited to see if she was going to add more to this fascinating declaration. Petey…was supposed to be his grandfather? Father?

Clearly soused and unsure of where to take her little tale, she shrugged and turned to her dad. “It was the angina that got him. He’s in a better place. Poor guy. He was the cutest three legged sixteen-year-old you ever saw.”

Mick tried to make sense of that, but the accompanying visual was pretty horrific. Truth be told, he was glad when Rita put him out of his misery as she placed a gentle hand on his arm and whispered, “I’m sorry about the loss of your pet.”

Pet.

Leah’s dad cleared his throat. “Sorry, Mick,” he held up his champagne flute. “Here’s to Petey.”

Mick picked up his glass and turned to Leah, freezing mid-toast. The defeated look in her eyes stopped him cold. “Sweetheart?” Was her confidence in their plan fizzling? She wasn’t even trying.

“To Petey.” She waved her glass in a sloppy salute and then downed the contents in two cheek-bulging gulps. Then she slammed her glass back on the table, gave him a broad wink and mumbled, “Giddy up.”

Oh, he was going to ‘giddy up’ all right, but before he could, she yanked the tablecloth on either side of her cutlery, shifting everyone’s plates. The abrupt action forced him to make a grab to halt the slide, preventing complete disaster. Perfect. Tipsy and in panic mode. A dangerous combination. She needed to get in the game, drunk or not, but he didn’t get the chance to tell her because Cassandra tugged on his shirt.

“So, Mick, where did you and my sister meet?” Her assessing eyes roving over him sent a warning bell ringing in some corner of his brain.

“Meet?” Shit. They’d gone over this, as well as where he’d proposed and where their first date had been, but the pressure was getting to him. He couldn’t for the life of him remember which was which. He willed Leah to look at him, because as long as she paid attention and went along with what he said, it didn’t really matter what their story was. Consistency was the key. But in spite of the covert SOS he was throwing her way, he was out of luck. She was too busy hunched over her champagne glass, with one eye closed, and her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she attempted to refuel. Fantastic.

“We, ah, met at the bowling alley.”

“Bowling alley?” Cassandra scowled.

“Um, no we didn’t.” Leah dropped the bottle so it made a splashing clunk in the bucket and snapped back in her seat so fast her bangs fell in front of her eyes. He waited until she blew them out of the way before he spoke.

“I think we did, sweetheart. Don’t you remember? It was during a tournament between the local real estate offices?” He was giving her a hard core “work with me” glare, but she repaid the effort with a blank stare that let him know she was there, but nobody was home. Not good.

“I distinctly remember we were at the coffee shop.”

Ah. Now he remembered. He scrambled to salvage things. “Maybe that was the first time I saw you, but—”

Leah shook her head so quickly she looked like a bobblehead doll. “Nope. Java Palace. You came up and introduced yourself to me. I was reading Shakespeare, ‘member, like you said?” Sitting straight up, she slapped both palms down on the table and scrunched her nose. “I don’t even like Shakespeare, but he said—”

“Sweetheart, that wasn’t me.” He really hoped his tone conveyed to her just how thin the ice they were skating on had gotten. “Maybe that was Ken, your last boyfriend.”

She slumped forward with a noncommittal shrug and pleated and unpleated her napkin. Hallelujah. An opportunity. He gave her parents a helpless smile, flicking a pointed glance at the champagne bottle and then back to Leah.

Rita chuckled and leaned up to whisper in his ear. “She’s not a big drinker so I imagine all the bubbly is getting to her. Believe me, I’ve never heard of this Ken and she talks about you all the time, so no need to feel jealous.” She sat back with an encouraging smile and spoke more loudly. “Now Mick, did I mention how magnificent this room is? It was so nice of you to reserve it.”

“Thank you.”

He’d twisted to give Rita a smile when Leah muttered under her breath. “Yeah, super nice. He’s a prince.” She snatched up her flute and looked confused to find it empty. “Hey,” she turned the glass upside down and gave it a shake, “Who drank my—”

“Sweetheart, maybe you should slow down on the champagne.” He kept his tone even. Soft. She was fragile right now. She was never any good at deception, which was one of the many things he liked about her. It was hard to fathom how she’d managed to fool her parents on the boyfriend front for as long as she had. He hated to see it all go to shit now on his watch.

“Why?”

He held her gaze, hoping she’d come back to her senses and realize that, if she just committed to it, they could still pull this off. He hoped she would because guilt was stacking up on him. She was already buzzed when they left the house and then he’d sprung all the fancy restaurant stuff on her. That might have been ill-advised, especially if they were going to fake-break-up soon, only her eyes were doing a slow crazy eight. “Are you talking about that Halloween party? I so did not set fire to that woman’s tail. It was an accident. Besides, she was hanging it all over the place.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I saw it get dragged through the s’mores that Joe Mallack ate.”

Well, this was interesting and the first he’d heard of it. Maybe there was an upside to her being soused after all.

She nodded like he’d said something to her—which he hadn’t—and then spanked the table, “There were bits of fake fur, caked in filth from being dragged on the ground all night, stuck in the melted marshmallow part.”

He couldn’t help his grin. Drunk or not, she was adorable. Especially when she confessed, “And I never said a word. Not one. I just watched that guy eat shit like he made us eat—”

“Leah!” Her mother gasped.

Her father sighed. “She gets that from you Ri.”

Unfortunately her sister remained quiet, which to Mick’s way of thinking spelled trouble.

Before he could turn to see what Cassandra was doing, Leah announced, “I’m not sorry, either.”

She may have sounded dead fucking serious, but the fact that she brought this up now meant she was still feeling guilty over it. Was this her way of coping with the guilt over the present situation?

Spying the glassy sheen in her eyes, he gauged she was losing the battle. “Leah, trust me, I understand.”

“Do you?” She tilted her head and gave him the old “puppy dog” expression. “Why’d you have to buy wildflowers, Mick?”

He sat back. This was about the flowers? The ensuing silence was palpable as they eyed one another. Now he’d done it. She was going to come clean, he could tell, and who would blame her? He couldn’t deny that he’d taken advantage of the situation a little to get her to see him in a different light, and that probably added more stress to an already stressful situation. Add in nerves and her guilt over their deception, and it was no wonder she was falling apart. Damn.

An interminable hour later, with dessert plates cleared, plans made for the coming days, and Cassandra escorting Rita and John to the valet, he and Leah sat waiting for her doggy bag.

“So, that went well,” he said dryly.

She looked so miserable, he almost felt sorry for her. “They think you’re great and I’m nuts. I’m their daughter, for heaven’s sake.”

“You should have eased up on the champagne, and we would’ve been fine.”

“You should’ve eased up on the brownnosing.”

He leaned forward, laying his arms on the table. “I overdid a few things, and for that I’m sorry. But tomorrow when your head is clearer you’ll see. We did all right, considering.”

“When you were talking to Cassandra, my mother told me you were a prince among men. You want to know why?”

He nodded.

“Because.” The way her lip quivered tugged at his heart. “You were putting up with a grumpy frog like me.”

The tension went out of him and he grinned, “You’re not a grumpy frog. Drunk skunk, I could see. Frog? Nah.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working. At this rate, our breakup is going to be harder on my parents than it is on me. Not what I was going for.”

He winced. That hadn’t been his intention. Or had it? After he considered it for a moment, he realized maybe a small part of him wanted to make it hard for her to “break up.”

“Leah, I—”

“Hey, guys.” Cassandra swept back into the room. “Sorry about taking so long. Mick, I decided to take you up on your offer. I sent Mom and Dad back to the apartment.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I should’ve rented a car, but how was I supposed to know Eva and Ted would be in town? They usually go away for the holidays.”

It was like Cassandra wasn’t even there. Leah turned on him. “What offer?”

He cleared his throat. Shit. This wasn’t going to go over well. “Your sister wanted to meet up with friends tonight, sweetheart. With your car in the shop and your mom and dad’s apartment being across town, Cassandra borrowing the company car made the most sense.”

“But we’re driving the company car now…”

“Right, so I’ll drop you guys off at your place and bring it back in the morning,” Cassandra said. Her sharp eyes never wavered as she studied them. “Unless you guys need to go your separate ways tonight, for some reason?”

Mick knew what to do. He shrugged. “Of course not. Why would we?”

She turned her gaze on Leah. “Then it’s no biggie, right? I promise I’ll bring it by early.”

Leah’s eyes had taken on the wild look of a trapped animal. “What about a cab?”

Her sister frowned. “Yeah, right. That would cost me a fortune.”

Mick shook his head and tried not to tug at his collar, not that it mattered. Cassandra wasn’t paying him any mind. She was too busy using her x-ray vision on Leah, who was too busy offering excuses to avoid their impending sleepover to notice that her sister was on to them.

Time to man up. He slipped an arm around Leah’s shoulder and gave her a warning squeeze. “We wouldn’t hear of it. I stay over most weekends anyway, but didn’t want to intrude if you wanted some girl time with your sister.”

Leah stiffened, but to her credit, she nodded. “Exactly. So, um, yeah. No big whoop. He’s, you know, just going to stay over with me.” Leah picked up her glass and took a big, audible gulp.

“Good thing he bought all that champagne you’re enjoying.” Cassandra gave Mick a wink and chuckled. “From where I’m standing, I can safely say you’re gonna get lucky tonight.”

Leah gasped and Mick did the only thing any self-respecting guy in his position would do. He leaned back and grinned like an absolute fool.

He probably should have felt bad. After all, poor Leah was caught in the middle here. She deserved a little sympathy, didn’t she? He tried to muster some, but all he kept thinking was that things were turning out rather nicely for him. Now he had more time with her to explore whether or not this—whatever it was between them, was worth taking the risk. A risk that was twofold, he reminded himself. A friendship and business partnership were on the line.

“Yeah, trust me on this,” Cassandra snorted. “A few drinks and she’s a total pushover.”

Screw the line.

“I’m hoping so,” he said to Cassandra. Braving Leah’s mutinous expression, he smiled right at her and added, “Drink up, sweetheart. Suddenly I’m dying to get home.”

Chapter Three

Leah stared in the mirror, taken aback by both the state of her hair—was that sauce from the pork?—and the bleary but bewildered look in her eyes. She felt hunted, and her appearance reflected that for sure.

What the hell had just happened? The past four hours had been the strangest of her life. She had to get her priorities in order, and priority one was her father’s health. She couldn’t lose sight of that. No matter what emotional turmoil she was experiencing with Mick right now, she needed to remember her parents living in Phoenix was her end game. She knew they wanted her to be happy, but she wouldn’t be happy if something happened to her dad on account of her. A definite possibility if they stayed in this cold climate. Not good.

Speaking of not good.

Mick.

Every time he called her sweetheart, good Lord, she melted a little. And wildflowers? She wasn’t going to think about that, but then all there was left to think about was how guilty she felt over deceiving her parents. It didn’t matter why she was doing it. Boy, did they look great, though. The weather in Arizona had done wonders for both of them, especially her dad.

That’s all that mattered.

But she wasn’t good at lying. If she didn’t know that before, she knew it now. Therefore she had to make this work.

She’d very nearly blown it with her drunken foolishness, and the way she’d reacted to Mick staying at her house? No wonder her sister was suspicious.

Mick. Staying over.

Jesus.

She slumped forward to rest her elbows on the sink and held her head in her hands. What was this thing with Mick? Every time she looked at him, she could almost feel the pressure of his lips, firm against hers. The heat of his body, close, but not close enough. Until he’d started shadowing her at the office a few months ago, she’d been able to ignore the lure of him with daily reminders that they were friends and colleagues. And yet now, no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to kiss him some more, in other places, and have him do it back. Where was her self-restraint? Had her common sense deserted her?

Maybe it was the stress of the circumstances. Or the wine. Or the champagne. She’d sobered up a lot on the ride home, and Mick had gotten her a cup of coffee en route, but she was in for a doozy of a hangover tomorrow if she didn’t act fast.

Wincing at the weight of her thoughts—gonna be as heavy as your head tomorrow—she straightened and turned on the faucet. Leaning in, she splashed icy water on her face, shivering as it trickled down her neck. Then, she grabbed aspirin from the medicine cabinet and proceeded to wash down three tablets with about a gallon of water. That would take the edge off at least.

“You okay in there?”

Speak of the devil. She dried her face with a fluffy towel and nodded.

“Leah?”

Right. Out loud, dumbass. “Yep. I’m fine. Just washing up for bed.”

She tugged off her skirt and blouse and slipped into the nightshirt and leggings that acted as her winter PJs. Running a brush through her hair, she gave herself a pep talk.

“You can totally do this. He sleeps on the couch, you act like he’s not there, and tomorrow, everything goes back to normal.” She took a deep breath and faced the door.

“Who are you talking to?” Mick called.

Awesome. She’d managed to go from esteemed colleague to drunken psycho who talks to herself in the bathroom in one short evening. That had to be a record. “I was just…leaving someone a voice mail message.” She waited until her cheeks stopped burning and then opened the door.

Mick stood, holding out her cell phone. “I was just coming to tell you, you had a call.” A smile hovered over his lips, and she groaned.

“Okay. So I was talking to myself. Sue me.” She grabbed the phone and peered down. One missed call. “It was Cassandra but she didn’t leave a message. She’ll call back if it’s important.”

She brushed by Mick, holding her breath so she didn’t inhale any of his yummy cologne, and set the phone on the coffee table. Sweeping a shaky hand through her hair, she wheeled around to face him and the proverbial music of her own making earlier this evening. “I’m sorry, Mick. I’m sorry for everything. For getting upset, for not holding up my end of the bargain, for drinking too much and for involving you in this soap opera in the first place. I hope you’ll forgive me.” She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and waited for his response. No matter what happened, she didn’t want to lose him as a friend.

He gave her a gentle smile that made her feel safe for a blessed second. “There’s nothing to forgive. I should have stuck to the plan. We said a short, sweet dinner, and I made it a big production. And I’m sorry about Cassandra and the car. She asked me while you were busy popping the bubbles in your champagne, and I didn’t know what to say. It seemed like a long shot plan because she hadn’t even talked to your parents or her friends about it. When she came back, I was as shocked as you were. I don’t know what came over me. I guess part of me wanted your family to be impressed.” He reached out a hand and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Maybe part of me wanted you to be impressed, too.”

His blue eyes held hers for a long, tense moment and the old-Mick smile sizzled away under the new-Mick heat.

Her pulse stuttered and she took a step back. “Well, I-I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me. Especially when I see how well my mom and dad are doing. You know?” Her words were running together, becoming little more than babble. She needed space.

She scurried over to the linen closet and returned with a pillow, a pile of sheets, and some blankets. “This should be everything you need. Make yourself at home. Kitchen is stocked, so if you get hungry or thirsty, have at it.”

Mick took the linens, but also took her wrist in one big, warm hand.

She wouldn’t melt. She wouldn’t.

“Come on.” He rubbed his forefinger over her pulse-point that kicked up by the minute. “We’re going to need to have a conversation about this eventually.”

“This?”

His pupils dilated and she shivered when he said, “Never pegged you for a coward.” Before she could deny it he softly added, “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about, Leah.” He trailed his thumb over the soft skin of her wrist, sending a thrill of need through her and turning her knees to jelly.

It was too much. “Not tonight,” she pleaded in a whisper. “I’m…drained.”

Would he let her get away with it?

He searched her face for a taut moment and then nodded. “Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is a new day, and everything is going to be fine. I promise.”

Relief swamped her even as a part of her wilted in disappointment. Her mind was indeed drained, but her body? Her body was a whole different story. Still, she took reprieve gratefully, and bolted for her room.

…

Mick stared at the ceiling and cursed under his breath. He’d been awake for hours trying to forget that Leah was sleeping in those tight little leggings and that nefarious off-the-shoulder T-shirt only a few yards away. He’d counted sheep for a while, until they all morphed into mermaids, which morphed into Leahs. He’d even tried finding animal patterns within the shadows and whorls of paint on the ceiling. The last sighting had been a mermaid with pert, teacup sized breasts, a trim waist and long, silky black hair, so he quit doing that too.

He turned on his side and groaned. The numbers on the screen of Leah’s cell phone glared at him from the coffee table. One a.m. Jesus, he’d been sure it was close to morning and the end of this torture.

He considered getting up and doing what needed to be done to actually end the torture for them both, but thoughts of Luke stopped him cold. Even if he was ready to risk what he and Leah already had for something deeper, was he really ready to open that part of his life to another person? His relationship with his son had been so private. More than that. Protected. Just the two of them. But if he and Leah moved forward, things would have to change, and he wasn’t sure Luke was ready. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he was ready either.

A car door slammed, and he jerked upright. What the hell? He rolled to his feet and padded to the window to peer through the blinds. It was Cassandra, phone cupped to her ear as she made her way across the lawn. Shit.

He hauled ass to the couch and stuffed the linens and pillow under his arm. The sound of keys scraping against the lock froze his heart, but after a long pause, the door remained closed. More scraping, more silence. He’d just started to creep toward Leah’s bedroom door when her phone rang. What to do? Moreover, what would Leah want him to do? The last thing he wanted was to make things harder on her than he already had, and if he didn’t make the right choice now the whole thing might come crashing down. He stared at the cell for a second and made an executive decision. Pressing the green button to answer, he let his voice go soft and raspy as he spoke. “Hello?”

“Hey Mick. It’s Cassandra. Sorry to wake you guys. I’m at the front door. Can you let me in? I’m going to sleep on the couch if that’s okay. That way I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn, but you guys will still have your car back bright and early.”

“No problem.” He jumbled the pillow around near the phone to make it sound like he was getting out of bed. “I’ll come and unlock the door.”

“Yeah, weird, I tried a bunch of your keys and none of the house ones fit.”

Silence that seemed to tremble with unspoken accusations like “You bullshit fake fiancé!” reverberated through the phone. Was he paranoid or was Cassandra on to them, one day in?

“Right. We actually haven’t exchanged keys yet.” Even though he knew on a cerebral level the best lies were those with the least detail, the weight of her continued silence had his instincts howling, “Say more stuff!”

“Yeah, well, you know Leah. She’s so…old fashioned.”

“Hmm.”

She paused and he held his breath, waiting to see if she called him on that ridiculous comment.

“Could you hurry up? I’m freezing my ass off out here,” she said, and then disconnected.

Mick let out a sigh of relief and pocketed the phone. Leah was right, though. If they were going to do this for the next week, he’d need a key. Sliding open her bedroom door he saw by the light of the TV that she was curled up asleep. As gently as he could he dropped the linens onto the floor and pulled the door closed, making no more than a gentle snick.

Heading down the hall, he caught sight of his reflection in one of the side windows. He was still wearing his clothes from dinner. Damn. He stripped off the shirt and tossed it into the bathroom hamper. The pants could stay, because he wouldn’t be opening the door in his boxers even if he had been in Leah’s bed. A minute later he was at the front door.

“Hey,” she whispered when he let her in along with a frigid blast of air.

“Hey, back. Sorry I took so long. I had to get some clothes on.”

She tilted her head and looked up at him. “Yeah, no problem. You go back to sleep. I know my way around the house, so I can get my own sheets and stuff.”

He hesitated, wondering if he should say more to try and convince her or if that would only make things worse.

He was saved from having to make a decision because she continued, “Seriously, I’m sorry I woke you. Better you than the parents though. I wanted to make sure they got some rest. With Dad’s illness the stress of flying really takes a toll on him.”

“Won’t they be worried when you don’t show up?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I told them I might just come stay here. They’ll call to check up on me in the morning. How’s Leah doing? Sleeping it off?”

“Yeah, she’s fine now. Sound asleep.”

She gave him a long, assessing look, and he did his utmost to remain stoic. He’d heard all the stories about Cassandra’s epic bluntness, so he braced himself.

“Look, I’m not sure what’s going on here with you two, but something feels off. She never drinks like that and there seemed to be a lot of tension between you. I’m getting the feeling that maybe you and my sister have some issues to work out. Every couple has them. No biggie. But I love her to pieces and she deserves to be happy, so if you don’t work them out? Don’t get married. A broken engagement is easier to get over than a broken marriage with broken kids and broken trust, okay?”

He knew that better than anyone. Broken kids. He didn’t want to think about how that phrase kicked him in the gut. All he did was nod because she was right. Something was wrong. He was just glad she didn’t know what it was. Guilt stabbed at him again, but he shut it down quickly. Leah was his friend and his priority. He’d do well to maintain some distance from her family and stick to the plan of being a passably decent fiancé who would break her heart later.

For some reason, the thought didn’t sit as well as it had even a day before.

He and Cassandra said their good-nights, and he made his way back to Leah’s room. The key now was getting close enough to her to wake her slowly and explain the situation rather than having her scream at the intrusion.

The TV still sounded in the background, providing some cover noise as he quietly rounded to her side of the bed.

“Hey,” he whispered, leaning close to her exposed ear.

She snuffled and shifted, but didn’t answer.

“Leah,” he tried again. “Wake up.”

“Wha…?” She picked up her head and squinted at him. “Mick? What time is it?” Scrubbing a hand over her face, she pushed herself into a seated position.

“Listen,” he said, keeping his tone even and calm. “Cassandra is here.”

Her eyes widened as panic replaced confusion. “Holy crap!”

“Shh, it’s okay.” He patted her arm gently. “I took care of it. I hid the blankets and let her in. She wanted to sleep on the couch. She probably came by to check on us. No worries. I took care of it. Everything is fine.”

She nodded, her gaze trailing downward to take in his naked chest, and dampened her lips with the tip of her tongue. A bolt of need shot through him, and he pulled his hand away.

“At any rate, I’ll have to sleep in here. I’ll just make a bed for myself on the floor.”

“Not a chance. You’ve been so great about all this, Mick. No way are you sleeping on the floor. Plus, what if she comes in for some reason?” She flipped up the other half of the covers and patted the space beside her. “We’re adults. I’m sure we can manage a sleepover.”

Easy for her to say. He could barely manage to be in the same house with her without turning into a walking erection. Sharing a bed was going to be brutal. He must be some kind of masochist because he found himself climbing in beside her, relishing the upcoming torture.

He’d just settled in when he spotted her reaching for the remote. “Hey, if you like to sleep with it on, don’t turn it off on my account.”

“I don’t usually. I fell asleep watching…a show.”

Something about the way she said it and quickly turned her face away piqued his curiosity. “What show was that?”

She blew out a sigh and shot him a defensive look. “Solamenté Juanita.”

“And that is?”

“A Spanish soap opera.”

He plucked the remote from her hand and turned up the volume a little. “Do you watch it every day?”

“It’s not on every day. Only on Friday nights.”

“And do you watch it every Friday night?”

“No.” Her chin was tipped up in that mulish way he knew so well.

“Leah?” he pressed.

“I don’t. Sometimes I DVR it and watch it on Saturday mornings.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Is this it?” he asked, gesturing toward the screen.

“Yeah. They run the repeats late night, all night. I think this is the one where Benicio tells Juanita that he’s in love with her mother,” she murmured, her gaze glued to the TV set.

He followed suit, watching as a buxom young woman slapped the strapping young man in the face with a resounding crack. Dang. That had to hurt. The man’s eyes blazed as he went off on a rant in rapid-fire Spanish. “What’s he saying to her?” he whispered.

Leah didn’t take her eyes from the screen as she whispered back, “How would I know?”

Twisting, he studied her relaxed profile. “What do you mean? You don’t understand Spanish?”

“Not a word.” The absurdity of that statement must have struck her too, because even as he tried to bite back a grin, her lips twitched into a smile. “It’s just so…passionate and emotional. I kind of feel like I know what’s going on even without the words. Weird, huh?”

“Yeah. Kind of weird,” he acknowledged with a dip of his head. For the next half hour, she watched her show, riveted, and he watched her, equally enthralled. In that span of time she laughed, she cried, her eyes went bright with anger. And, when it ended, she turned and grinned right at him.

The look of pure satisfaction on her face took his breath away. This was it. The one thing he couldn’t fight. The very thing he couldn’t deny. She was adorable and had the kind of positive energy he needed in his life. The look in her eyes when she’d called him on the wildflowers had touched him deeply. Hell, yeah. She was a force that would not only be good for him, but good for Luke too.

“What?” She was still smiling as she searched his face. “You love it now, right? It’s addictive.” She reached out and absently brushed something off his cheek. He closed his eyes at the feel of her fingertips. Lying next to her on the bed and that simple, gentle touch reminded him of how lonely he’d been. How isolated. How whenever he’d sought much needed company she’d always been his go-to source of companionship.

Addictive.

He was afraid of exactly that and even more afraid that his drug of choice would be out of reach in a scant few days. Now that he’d found it, he wasn’t going to let it go. Maybe it was time to see if he couldn’t swing the momentum his way a little.

“How do you feel? Better?”

Her smile faded. “Confused.”

“And why is that?” He rolled toward her and attempted to keep his tone casual, but his whole body tensed.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Damn. He could almost feel her retreating. He leaned in close and tugged her wrist until she rolled to face him. “That’s fine.” Just as she’d done, he brushed a stray curl off her cheek with the back of his knuckles. Her skin was warm velvet. “We don’t have to because what I was asking was whether you felt okay after the drinks and all.”

She wouldn’t meet his gaze, staring instead at a spot just past his ear. “Oh. Um, yeah. Better. I slept for a while and drank a lake of water. My tongue feels a little fuzzy, but I’m okay.”

He stroked his finger across her cheek, tipping her head up. Her warm, minty breath washed over him, and he leaned in close. “Maybe I can be the judge of that.” He claimed her mouth in a kiss, reveling in the feel of her soft, pliant lips. His shaft thickened as countless hours of desire culminated in this one, solitary moment. A low hum vibrated in her throat, and he answered it with a groan, shifting his body to line up with hers. Her unbound breasts pressed against his chest, taut nipples searing his skin. She shivered, burrowing closer. Spearing a hand into her hair he pulled, deepening the kiss, thrusting his tongue into the heat of her mouth. She met his sally with one of her own, and when her teeth closed on his bottom lip, his body jerked as if touched by a live wire.

He growled, and she tore her mouth from his.

“See?” She sat straight up, panting and breathing hard. Snapping a look down, she searched his gaze with wide, wanting eyes. She pressed a finger to her mouth. “What was that? Who are you right now, Mick?” She wriggled until there was distance between them and flopped onto her back, still gasping for breath. “If you’re playing at being Michael, you have to stop.”

He came up on one elbow. “I’m not.”

She studied him for a few seconds and then looked away. “We can’t do this. It isn’t right. Our little fib is getting all mixed up with reality. This isn’t real. Our friendship is real. Our business is real. And thriving.” She turned back to him. “Let’s take a step back and try to keep this train on track, all right?”

His train was barreling down the track all right, but apparently she felt like it was the wrong one. Okay, so she wasn’t convinced yet. Maybe she just needed a few days to get used to the idea. The volatile situation with her parents was confusing enough, and he didn’t want to push. Now that he’d figured out what he wanted, he could afford to be patient.

“Sure thing. Let’s get some sleep.” He flipped to face the wall and willed his body to relax. Still, it took five minutes for his thundering heart to slow to a gallop and another five before his Code Orange erection was downgraded to a Code Yellow. By the time he was settled enough to sleep, Leah was breathing softly beside him. Must be nice. Her level of comfort with him in the bed next to her, despite that knee-knocking kiss, told him one thing for sure.

He needed to up his game.

Chapter Four

Leah swiped the huge wad of paper towels across the black and white checkered marble floor of the elegant brownstone. Of all the days for it to be sleeting outside. “Stupid open houses,” she muttered as she mopped up the mess. No one but lookie loos and tire kickers out today. They were the only people annoying enough to brave the weather.

“You think we’ll get a few more people through before four? I think we will.”

Leah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Bunny Hutton was a royal pain in the ass. Always hovering, asking questions and answering them herself. She was supposed to have left and not come back until the showings were over, but for some reason, she always found an excuse to come home early and get all up in Leah’s business.

“Hard to say. The weather’s pretty nasty, and being only three days left until Christmas doesn’t help either.”

“Christmas affects sales? Maybe I should call a few friends. They’re all Jewish.”

Leah shook her head. “Friends won’t buy your house.”

“I know. But when Mick does the open house I usually invite them to come because the only unkosher meat they like to feast on is some Prime Grade A Kilpatrick beef. How long have you been Mick’s assistant anyway? Two years, I think he said.”

She closed her eyes and counted to three before she replied, “Once again, Bunny, I’m not his assistant. I’m his partner. And, yes, we’ve worked together for two years.”

“Are you married?”

Leah came up from all fours into a kneeling position. Dropping the mushy mess of paper in a nearby puddle, she grabbed the roll from the side table and yanked off a couple of squares. “No.”

“Divorced?”

She shook her head and dropped back down to continue with the cleanup.

“Lesbian?”

Shooting a look over her shoulder, she frowned. “That’s kind of personal.”

“I knew it.” Bunny popped off the kitchen stool and made her way to the door. Her red stilettos clacked against the tiles, getting louder the closer she came, until finally she stopped and tilted that lethally pointy Vera Wang Leah’s way. “You missed a spot.”

“Oh.” She leaned over to swipe the miniscule smudge. “Almost done. I can’t believe that guy left this door open. I’m sorry I didn’t notice it sooner.”

“Mick would have noticed. He notices a lot of things.”

“So you’ve mentioned.” She didn’t add “like a cabillion times.”

Bunny gave a wistful sigh. “He’s so masculine, don’t you agree? Well, you would agree if you weren’t into women. Do you know if he’s seeing someone on a permanent basis?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say, “He’s engaged,” but she swallowed that reply. “I wouldn’t know. He’s very private.”

“Hmm.” That red shoe tapped while she thought and then stopped. “I’ve tried everything I can think of to draw him out of his shell.”

Draw him out of his shell? She almost snorted. More like drag him into your bed.

“He’s such a terrific guy. So dependable. If he didn’t have that child he’d probably loosen up. Then he’d be a perfect ten.”

Leah stopped swiping but didn’t look up. “The fact that he has a son makes him the man he is, though.”

“How would you know? You’re not into men. Maybe I could ask him to do a Broker’s Open. One at night. Make it more of a date-like atmosphere for us.”

Leah started swiping—no, more like scrubbing—as she fought the urge to squeegee the sopping towels over the woman’s Wangs.

“A man like him would know what to do with a woman. He’d…”

Leah started mentally singing “la, la, la, la,” hoping to finish so she could get out of there. Normally she could handle a pint-sized—what was she, eighty pounds with the shoes?—cougar but after a restless night’s sleep next to Mick and the drama with her parents, she didn’t have the strength.

“Mick has great hands,” Bunny was saying.

Leah knew better than Bunny did because those hands were all over her last night. Just thinking about what happened got her scrubbing so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if the sealer on the marble floor came off. In her defense, she’d tried to escape. She’d spent ten painstaking minutes attempting to detangle herself from him only to have him roll over, readjust and pull her back into the warmth of his big embrace. Unfortunately though, the second time had been more solid. She’d lain there barely breathing, listening to his soft snores against her ear as they spooned. Her back to his front. Oh, she tried to stay awake and plan another escape, but between her earlier alcohol intake and the heat his body radiated, she had no choice but to give in.

Mick’s voice is so sexy.

Bunny didn’t know the half of it. If she’d been treated to the sizzling Mick that Leah had met last night, she was sure the woman’s inner cougar would be growling rather than whining about the loss of seeing him today.

Mick’s eyes are the color of a cloudless sky.

Personally, Leah wanted to upchuck at that one. Clearly the lonely she-cat had been reading too many romances because Mick’s eyes were far from that kind of blue. His eyes were a stormy Mediterranean blue, especially when he was simmering like he’d been last night. Or this morning…

Oh God, she went double time on the floor polishing—Mick in the morning. It didn’t get better than that. All scruffy and rough with bedhead and a day’s worth of shadowy beard covering his cheeks and jaw. The lust that shot through her at the recollection brought her up short. It had been dark inside the kitchen, but he’d had the fridge open. The silvery light had bathed his naked chest in such a way that the ripped and corded muscles gleamed in certain areas and fell into darkness in others. It hadn’t taken her long to acknowledge that he was the finest piece of man-candy she’d ever had in her house.

“Well?”

“Sorry, what?”

“Do you do housecleaning on the side or something? I could use some backup. I have two maids and a cleaning service, but I’ve never seen anyone as thorough as you are. Does that have something to do with being a lesbian?”

Leah gathered the discarded paper towels into one big ball. Careful not to let any water drip on the sparkling floor, she stood. Once the last of Bunny’s words registered she said, “I’m sorry. I have no idea what that means.”

Truthfully, she was a little glad when Bunny didn’t try to explain, instead choosing to stick to the topic that was near and dear to her lusting heart. Leah tossed the paper into the wastebasket and mentally rambled off another three count.

“Do you think Mick will do the evening Broker’s Open? I can’t imagine he’d leave an important event like that to his secretary.”

And another three count. “I’m his partner.”

“Of course, it would have to be on a night I’m available. I’m going to the Caymans tomorrow for a few days, and then I’m in New York for the ball drop. I’ll have to check when my next hair appointment is. I want to look good. I’ll let you know.”

Ding-dong.

Bunny clapped her hands. “More people.”

Before Leah could stop her, Bunny hurried through the back hall toward the front door. “Please, Bunny, really, I’ve got this.”

“Don’t be silly.” She waved. “It’s my house.”

For the next five minutes, she grilled the poor young couple who had made the mistake of coming to the door. Bunny did everything but ask them for their blood types and bank statements.

“Really, Bunny, I think I’ve got it from here.”

Ding-dong.

Great, now she’d have a crowd to contend with. She turned to the couple and held up her index finger. “Be right back!” But when she spun around to head for the door, Bunny had beaten her to it. “No, I’ll—”

Bunny pulled open the door. “Well, hellooo there.”

Leah halted. The guy standing on the doorstep looked baffled. Probably because Bunny was attempting to pull off sexy, draped against the doorframe, but in actuality she looked more like an exhausted hooker who’d turned one too many tricks. Perfect.

“Come on in.” Leah smiled and waved. “I have an information sheet in the kitchen and then you can look around.”

He stepped in and said, “Is Mick here? He told me I needed to see this place.”

“He’s not here, but his assistant is,” Bunny purred as she pulled him toward Leah.

“He said he’d be coming…”

“Yes, well,” Leah smiled tightly. “Mick—”

“Is right here,” Mick said, sweeping through the door with a smile and a basket in hand. “Hi, Ben. Why don’t you take a quick walk around the house. Let me take off my coat, and I’ll be right with you.”

“Mick.” Leah hadn’t meant for his name to pour from her mouth on a relieved sigh, but it did. And when he smiled at her she wanted to die. He was so calm. So together. Her Mick. “I didn’t think you’d be coming.”

“Leah-mia, Leah-mia, Leah-mia!”

Mick made a grab with his free hand as a tiny figure barreled through the door but was too late. “Luke!”

Leah didn’t have time to brace herself when Luke shot past his father and threw his arms around her legs in a big squeeze hug. “Gotcha.”

His hat dangled precariously to one side. The huge pom-pom on the tip jiggled and danced while the cold he’d brought in with him wrapped all around her. “Hey there, big guy. Long time no see. I thought you were with your mom this week.”

He eagerly nodded. “Dad just picked me up for a while so we could drop off some gifts and then come say hi to you.”

She looked over at Mick and when she saw his killer smile trained on her, she grinned right back, her insides flip-flopping all over the place. Mick was different somehow when Luke was near. She thought back to what she’d just said to Bunny about Mick being the man he was because of his son. This is what she’d meant. Seeing him fill the room with the air of authority that came with being a dad, and the love for his son, made her realize that the whole, awesome package of Mick was made up of all his pieces. And Luke was a pretty big piece. Mick wouldn’t be the same without his son in his life.

The little boy spoke up then. “We brought the lady that lives here a present. You wanna see it? Dad said I couldn’t eat any of the candy in the basket because the lady needed it all to make her sweeter, but he promised that Santa was going to bring me some chocolates shaped like great white sharks.”

“Sweeter?” Bunny scowled at Mick and he chuckled.

“Like that is even possible. I had to tell the boy something to keep his little paws out of the goods.”

He made googly eyes at Luke, and then handed the basket to a now-blushing Bunny. How Mick turned the blowsy old tart into a teenage girl was a miracle. Leah worked to hold back a grin.

“Thank you, dear Mickey. I’ll just put this someplace safe.” She peered down her nose at Luke before scurrying to the kitchen with her prize.

Luke leaned back into Leah with a sigh. She didn’t even realize she’d begun brushing a hand through the curls poking out from under his hat until Mick’s heated gaze locked onto her. Her heartbeat sped up, and she was lost in that stare until Luke pulled on her arm, breaking the spell. “Dad said you needed help,” he whispered.

“What?” She bent down so she could hear better.

“Dad said since we had to deliver the gifts anyway we may as well help you.”

She took his chin in her hand and pulled so they were nose to nose. “Help me with what?”

“Theshibeble.”

“The-she-beble?”

He nodded.

She blinked.

He grinned, showing off his jack o’ lantern smile. But it wasn’t until he stuck his two index fingers against his forehead and wiggled them, that she got it. The horns were a dead giveaway.

“Ah,” she nodded and released his chin. “Help with the she-devil.”

“Yep, and dad says she’s sad because she doesn’t have a kid like me and it would really brighten her day if I hung around her a lot.”

“Wow.” Leah stood and looked around for Mick. He stood at the stairs, explaining something about the house in detail to Ben. “He said that? Was he dodging lightning bolts at the time?”

Luke’s nose crinkled. “Um, no, he was driving actually.”

The kid was something else. So literal. “Hey, how’s the 8 Ball? Still giving you all the right answers?”

“Yep.”

“Luke?” Mick called.

Luke’s grin was ear-to-ear. “I gotta go do my job real good.”

He was true to those words when ten minutes later, Bunny was seated at the kitchen counter and forced to break into the holiday basket in the hopes of bribing Luke into silence. It was the first time Leah had ever seen Bunny nervous. She wasn’t going to question her good fortune, though. With the seller occupied by the pip-squeak, she was free to do the grand tour with the young couple while Mick dealt with Ben. It didn’t take her long to realize that everything felt right with the world. That’s what happened when she and Mick worked together.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Mick said after he showed Ben out.

“Not bad at all. I think that young couple is interested.”

“They better hurry because I think Ben is seriously considering this one too.”

“Wouldn’t that be great?”

They heard Bunny’s high pitched cackle and said in unison. “Awesome.”

He glanced at his watch and then tapped it. “Okay, only a couple more hours and your work here is done. I think it’s safe enough, and we can leave you. Yes?”

“Yes. And thanks.” She couldn’t look away when Mick looked at her like that. “I mean, you and Luke make a great tag team, and I needed you in my corner today.”

The silence that followed those words swelled around them. She barely breathed as she waited. For what she didn’t know.

His gaze never wavered and his voice rolled out like slow moving thunder. “Just today?”

“I—”

“You cheated, and I’m telling my dad!”

Mick let out an exasperated breath and turned away. “Seems the tiger is trapped by the Bunny. I better go save him.”

Leah gave herself a mental shake, fearful of what she would have said, what she might have admitted if they hadn’t been interrupted.

And the answers she came up with scared her to death.

…

By the time Leah fought the holiday traffic through slush-filled streets and was within a block of her house, all she wanted to do was get home, have a nice long bath and gear up for the casual dinner out she and Cassandra had decided on this morning. She was thinking an hour and a half tops with the parents, no sweat—

No.

Mick’s sedan and her parent’s rental sat in her driveway. Great. That meant no bath, no time to prepare herself. And, more urgently, no time to talk herself off the ledge she’d been clinging to for the latter half of the day. Once Mick had left with Luke, Bunny had reverted back to she-beble mode and Leah had been this close to killing her.

She stepped through the front door to her Dad seated on the recliner. “There she is! The lady of the hour.”

“Hi Dad, how are you feeling?”

“Sketchy with the cold, but I’m hanging in there.”

She gave him a hug. “Great, but you see why Arizona works so well for you?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. She wanted to move along and get this evening started and over with as soon as— “Are you watching a movie?” And was that roast beef she smelled? Her stomach growled. “Someone made dinner?”

He nodded, tearing his gaze away from the screen, and smacked his lips. “Yep. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and Yorkshire pudding too.”

She whipped off her coat and kicked off her boots. “Who’s cooking?”

“Mick.”

“Mick?” She charged into the kitchen, stumbling over her mukluks in her haste.

“Hi sweetheart, I’m glad you’re home. How did the last hour of the open go?”

He was leaning against the counter looking hot, sexy and totally relaxed. Together. In control. Desirable. Damn. She wanted to cry. Things had seemed so good between them when he’d stopped by the open house, she’d thought they were past this. Hadn’t they hashed this out last night? No more big gestures. No more kissing up.

Her mother bustled around the table, laying folded napkins in front of each chair. “Lee, we had the best morning. Mickey took us to a museum and out to lunch. And then, since it’s so nasty outside, we went and rented movies to watch tonight. He got me What Dreams May Come.”

When she turned her head toward her mom all she could think of was The Exorcist. Like, if she didn’t actively stop it, her head would just keep spinning and spinning.

“And me The Shawshank Redemption,” her dad chimed in from the living room.

Yep, her head was about to come right off her shoulders. Those were two of the longest movies ever made. There was no way they were watching them here. With her and him and them. No way. She couldn’t take the pressure. Not after dealing with Bunny all day. “You’re watching them both? Here?”

Her mother set the last napkin down and faced her. “What do you mean?” The hurt in her eyes made Leah take a step back. Deep, calming breaths, she reminded herself.

She forced a more cheerful note into her voice. “They’re two long movies. If you watch one after the other you’ll be here until eleven. Past your bedtime. Maybe watch one here and one back at your apartment?”

“Don’t worry about us.” Her father paused the DVD and stood. “We don’t need to go to bed early every night. We’re not that old.”

Crap.

“Mick, honey, I thought you mentioned wanting to make it an early night as well,” she said, forcing an over-bright grin. “Something about needing to get up early for a conference call, remember?”

He wrinkled his forehead in mock thought, then slowly shook his head. “Actually, I don’t. I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of…oh wait,”

She nodded encouragingly.

“I did say that, but it was canceled, so I’m good.”

She was going to kill him. Why was he going out of his way to be so difficult? Before she could catch her breath and think of another excuse, Cassandra came out of the bathroom.

“Lee, I want to know where you found this guy.” She ducked around Mick and tapped him playfully on the shoulder. “He can cook and clean. He’s like the perfect man.”

“Am I in hell?” Leah asked under her breath and glared at the he-devil.

The handsome beast had the nerve to smile. “Why don’t you go have a shower and get changed? I’ll pour you some eggnog when you’re done, and we can all watch the rest of Shawshank until dinner is ready.”

She bit her lip to keep from screaming. They’d had an agreement. She didn’t know what he was playing at, but whatever it was needed to stop, and fast.

…

“And he snores.”

Mick slouched in the chair with his arms crossed, trying not to dive across the coffee table and shake her. There was no excuse for her behavior tonight. She’d started in the second they’d sat down to eat. Going through a checklist of his made-up faults, some of which were over the top. He knew she was throwing them out there as groundwork for their fake breakup to come, and he knew he was high on her shit list for not taking her cues to cut the night short, but that didn’t mean he was going to let her off the hook.

“Leah,” he warned in a soft voice.

“Don’t interrupt, sweetie.”

If she’d looked his way before she said it, he was sure she would have been smart enough to keep her mouth shut. As it was, everyone else looked his way, which explained the rapid desertion that followed.

Rita pursed her lips and frowned. “I’m tired, John. I think I want to go back to the hotel.”

“I’ll drive,” Cassandra and John offered at the same time.

“You’re not insured, so I get to do it. I mean, I’ll do it. You stay here and visit.” John stood and helped Rita up.

“We’ll all go,” Cassandra said with an over-bright grin. She grabbed her coat and stalled as her parents filed out of the room. “Hey sis, is your heater on the fritz?” she asked.

“No. I don’t think so…”

“Well, maybe not, but it’s pretty frosty in here, if you know what I mean.” She raised her brow, and Mick winced at the ice in her tone. “Either you two come clean about what’s chapping your asses, or you’ll force me to do some digging. If I were you, I’d take this time alone to warm it up a little, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Mick said his good-byes and then waited until Cassandra rushed down the hall before he narrowed a look at Leah. “Go ahead and see your family out, sweetheart.”

He was relieved she didn’t fight him on that because his patience had run out. He wasn’t sure if he was more irritated with her for being a brat or himself for wanting her anyway. That was the rub.

She came back into the room and repeated his words from the night before. “Well, that went well.”

“No. It didn’t.”

She sank into the couch cushions and scowled. “I suppose you think this is my fault?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, no, mister. Not this time. We talked about this last night, and you agreed, but then here you go again, changing the game. You’ve turned brownnosing into an art form. Speaking of art form, you took them to a museum? Since when do you go to museums?”

“Since my fiancée’s family asked me to take them to one. Your parents came by for Cassandra and asked me to spend the morning with them. I didn’t have to get Luke until one o’clock and I’d already told your sister I wasn’t going in to work. What was I going to say?

She deflated some but then ramped right back up again, leaning forward. “Didn’t you think to mention that at the open house, at least? And when the hell did you plan dinner?”

“Dinner started out as your mom’s idea. I would’ve mentioned it when we saw you at Bunny’s, but Luke was there most of the time, and I don’t want him involved in any of this.” Although, there had been a few minutes where they were alone that he could’ve mentioned it. But then she would surely have found a way to cancel.

“You shouldn’t even be involved in this.” She flopped back in her chair and scowled. “I knew it was a bad idea, and you pulling stuff on the fly like this just makes it that much worse.”

“Too late now.” Probably because of the way he’d pushed things, but in his mind it was all or nothing.

Her eyes widened as she searched his face, and when she spoke the softness of her tone nearly undid him. “Is it?”

He ignored the twinge of conscience and quickly stood. He didn’t want her backing out now. With a deep breath he yanked on each shirt-cuff so she’d know he meant business. “And frankly? I think you’re acting like a brat. There’s no reason we both can’t be decent to your family while they’re here. A month from now, feel free to tell them that I’m Satan incarnate, I don’t care. What I do care about is that they’re here right now and they’re nice people who happen to love their daughter very much, and I want them to enjoy their holiday. Have you thought about that?”

She ran a hand over her face and groaned. “Don’t you think I want that too?”

“I know you do, but you’re going about it the wrong way. Seeing you unhappily engaged is no better than seeing you alone. You’ve got to make a decision here. Commit to this and do it right, or end it.” The ultimatum left a bad taste in his mouth, but this wasn’t about him. This was about Leah and her family. “I’m still willing to help, but if we’re going to move forward with this, we’re doing it my way.”

“Your way?”

“Yes. It’s far less painful and a whole lot less complicated.”

She shook her hair behind her shoulders and grumbled, “What did you have in mind?”

“I’m going to behave like a normal, I’m–in-love-with-this-person fiancé does and you’re going to do the same in return. No more getting drunk, sulking or insults. Your poor family doesn’t know what to make of all this or of us.”

She looked so exhausted and beaten down, he had to resist the urge to hug her.

“I’ll think about it,” she finally whispered.

“You do that.” He turned and headed toward the door.

“W-where are you going?”

He grabbed his coat out of the front hall closet. “Home.”

“Aren’t you going to let me think about it?”

When he had his shoes on, he turned. She was right there. Worried and yet, judging by the wariness on her face, still confused. Some of the anger drained out of him.

“You have until morning,” he said bluntly. “Your family invited me to go to St. Paul’s Shelter with you all tomorrow for Secret Santa Day. Although I would love to go…” He cupped her chin in his palm and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I won’t if you decide you don’t want to continue.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead and then stepped back. “If you do decide to end it, we’ll meet back in the office January second. No harm. No foul. All right?”

She nodded, and when he spied her glassy eyes he knew he needed to get out of there. If she started crying, he’d be toast. Hell, if she didn’t want his help come tomorrow, he didn’t know what he was going to do.

The brisk air prompted him to hunch his shoulders and cup his hands around his mouth as he headed to the car. Something was bugging her. Something more than just the strain of the present situation. He blew into his palms before he fished in his pocket for his keys. She’d come around. God, he hoped she’d come around.

Because the thought of having to cut his time with Leah short had his stomach churning.

Chapter Five

“So is this how you PMS now, or are you two on the outs?” Cassandra stood in front of the granite island in the kitchen whisking pancake batter and gave her an expectant look.

Leah already knew the answer, but asked the question anyway. “What do you mean?”

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I mean the way you trashed Mick last night.”

What could she possibly say? Her sister was right. And for all Leah’s bluster, once they’d all left and she’d been alone? It hadn’t taken long for the shame to set in. She’d been really crummy to him. He’d yanked her chain, sure, but he was dead right when he said that what they were doing wasn’t working. Heck, if she and Mick broke up, her family would probably take his side at this point, and rightfully so.

She stilled, forgetting to breathe for a moment. If she and Mick broke up? She and Mick were definitely breaking up. At least, they would be if they’d ever been a real couple. Which they hadn’t been and never would be.

She ignored the twinge of disappointment that followed this realization and faced Cassandra. “I don’t know about you and Jack, but most relationships aren’t all sunshine and unicorns, you know.”

“Relationships are funny things.”

What was that supposed to mean? She ignored the trickle of unease that skittered down her spine and met her sister’s gaze head on. “Mick and I are going through a rough patch. Unfortunately, you guys are only seeing my part in it right now, but things have happened behind the scenes that you don’t understand.”

That last part was true, at least. There were things going on between her and Mick that even she didn’t understand. Tension swirling, unspoken expectations looming. If she had a time machine, she’d be tempted to use it right now and undo all of this because her stupid scheme may have screwed up a really great friendship. If she had left well enough alone, she could’ve gone back to work after the holidays with her dependable, safe partner and had a long, happy business relationship with a side of unrequited lust to round it out. But now everything was off kilter.

“What kind of things?” her sister asked, scowling.

Leah wasn’t going to be drawn in. Cassandra was mining. “Important things.”

“Hogwash.”

“It’s true.”

Cassandra set the bowl down and leaned with her elbows on the island as she stared.

“What?” Leah asked, unable to stand the pressure.

“I’m waiting for you to swear or say ‘Yes way’ or something equally as childish because I don’t for one minute think things are on the up and up with the two of you. The other night?” She stood up and whisked at triple speed. “Mick was acting really weird.”

Leah closed her fingers over Cassandra’s wrist to get her to stop whisking. “What do you mean by that?”

“He was a little too relieved when I bought the shit he was shoveling. And besides, he didn’t look sexed up when I came in. I know you and champagne. If he was in that bed with you before I got here, he would have looked a whole lot more exhausted.”

Leah kept a straight face. “I. Am. Shocked. Shocked.”

“You are fucked. Fucked. Because I know you better than anyone on the planet and I know this smells like manure from the biggest, fattest, cow in the pasture. There’s something going on here, and I don’t have to slip in the doo to know it’s there.”

Leah took one look at her sister’s stiff upper lip and decided. She needed to fix this. Then she could focus on getting through the next few days with her family. Hopefully she could do it without ruining the holidays for them, or her friendship with Mick in the process. She’d hesitated the night before because she knew if she agreed to let her guard down and throw herself headlong into this farce with him, she was never going to come out the other side with her heart intact. But that was a risk she had to take if she didn’t want to get caught. She was in too deep. Over her head. Besides, the nerves, the fear, the lies…all this extra stuff was clouding the water. Maybe once they got back to their normal routine, everything would be clear as glass again. Luckily she and Mick had done some airing out the night before. Now came the hard part.

“You’re wrong, sis. What you’ve been seeing is two people having some issues. We’re straightening them out, and it will be fine. You’ll see.”

“Can’t wait,” her sister said with a grim smile.

She went back to mixing, and Leah left the kitchen to hunt down her cell phone. She stopped in the living room where her parents were huddled together on the couch doing a crossword while watching It’s a Wonderful Life. “Breakfast will be in about twenty minutes and then we can head out. I…” She paused and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I’ve been acting so weird, but I promise you now, it’s going to stop. Mick and I had a disagreement right before you guys got to town and didn’t work through it, but we’re going to take care of that now. Then, I promise you, we’re all going to have a great holiday together.”

Her mother’s face lit up like a full moon. “Oh, good, honey. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I was worried about you kids because things seemed tense. Come sit for a minute. I feel like we haven’t had a second to really talk.”

Her father blew out a noisy sigh from the recliner. “Aw, come on. Jimmy Stewart is just about to get that telegram. Can’t you two chatter somewhere else?”

After seeing how sick he’d been the last time he was in Chicago, even hearing him gripe made her heart squeeze, strengthening her resolve.

With an eye roll and a shake of her head, her mom patted the space next to her. “You know how he is with this movie. Sit with us and watch the end, at least.”

Anxious to call Mick and get the eating of crow over with as quickly as possible, she hesitated, but then sat. Family was the whole reason she was in this position, and she had vowed to enjoy it.

Her mom leaned closer, so their shoulders touched as the townspeople on screen came out to support good old George. This had been a Latrelle tradition since she could remember, and the years of Christmas memories crashed together. The time they’d gotten the big dollhouse and she and Cassandra had fought over the living room furniture layout. The time her mother had hidden their Christmas stockings full of candy in the oven because they’d taken to hunting them down early every year. Smoke and the smell of burnt chocolate had permeated the house for hours, after her father had turned on the oven for biscuits.

She turned to face him now, and his face was split into a smile that warmed her from the inside out. He was healthy. They were all here together, and it was going to be an amazing holiday.

“That’s my favorite part,” her father muttered as the bell rang, letting old George know that an angel had earned its wings.

He said that every year. She was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude, and her eyes flooded. Luckily, her tears coincided with the end of the movie and didn’t seem out of place as she rose to her feet. Everything was going to be fine. As soon as…

“I’ve got to call Mick. I really love you guys, and I’m so glad you’re here.”

Her mother gave her a watery smile and nodded. “We love you, too. Now go see to your beau and work it out because that one’s a keeper.”

…

Leah went into her bedroom and closed the door, her mother’s words ringing in her ears. That’s exactly what Mick was. A keeper. He’d make some nice girl very happy someday. She felt an irrational surge of jealousy toward her, whoever she was.

Friends and business partners, she reminded herself firmly.

A minute later, she was just about to hang up the phone when he finally picked up on the fifth ring. “Hello?”

Her pulse did a shimmy, and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry,” she blurted without preamble. Silence crackled over the line, and she fidgeted with the edge of her comforter. Apparently, he was waiting for more. “About saying you snore. And that you have halitosis. Annnd…any of the other things I may have said behind your back.” Still nothing and she let out an exasperated sigh. “What else do you want from me, Mick?”

“Who is this?” he deadpanned.

Relief flooded her and she grinned. “Har har. How many other fake fiancées do you have, anyway? I thought we were exclusive,” she said, feigning hurt.

“I just wanted to make sure I knew who I was talking to before I requested some dirty make-up sex.”

Heat flared between her thighs, and she quickly reminded herself that he was joking. That’s what they used to do before all this weirdness between them…before everything got all messed up. “When you say dirty, how dirty do you mean, big boy?” she purred in an over-the-top Mae West impression.

“I mean the kind where I lift you onto the kitchen counter and slide you forward until our hips touch,” he whispered. “Then I wrap my fist in your hair, and press my thighs in close, grinding against you so you can feel m—”

“Got it!” she squeaked, unable to stop the quiver that ran through her at the mental picture he created. His warm chuckle poured over the line, and she smiled in spite of herself.

…

By the time they got to St. Paul’s an hour later, the holiday spirit was in full effect. When they’d all piled into Mick’s sedan after breakfast, he’d had the Christmas carols blasting. After a rousing sing-along of “Holly Jolly Christmas,” they teased one another about tearing up during “The Little Drummer Boy.” She’d laughed right along with them and realized that she’d been oversensitive lately. Her family had always been the type to joke around and be sarcastic with one another. It was only in the past year or so that it had started to bother her. Maybe she’d been fooling herself a little with her insistence that she was 100 percent fulfilled with her job and her sad excuse for a social life. And maybe her parents weren’t the only ones disappointed that she hadn’t found the love of her life yet.

She sent a sidelong glance to Mick, who was yukking it up with a group of kids gathered around him. It had been her family’s tradition to spend time over the holidays volunteering at their local shelter. She’d kept up the tradition alone on Thanksgiving when her parents were in Phoenix, but as rewarding as it was, it hadn’t been the same. Now, with Cassandra handing out reindeer antlers, her dad serving up steaming plates of honey-glazed ham with maple gravy, and her mom bustling around with a kettle full of sweet-smelling cider, a sense of rightness settled around her like a handmade quilt.

And Mick made it all the better. She couldn’t deny that his presence was a huge part of the happiness she was feeling at the moment.

“Hey Leah, come see what Mick showed us!” A young boy named Walter waved madly, his plump cheeks pink and his eyes glowing with excitement. He held out a cupped hand. In it lay a delicate, white rose fashioned from tissue paper.

“Cool, huh? He’s gonna help us each make one for our moms as Christmas gifts.”

All the volunteers had spent the better part of the morning sorting small gifts for the children so they’d have something to open on Christmas morning, but there weren’t enough funds to provide gifts for the adults as well. As she gazed down at the happy little faces, she realized how important it was for the kids to experience the joy of giving, too. It was so like Mick to think of that. She blinked back the sudden mist in her eyes. “Really cool. Do you want me to try to find some markers? Then we can color the stems green and the flowers whatever colors you like.”

The kids chattered excitedly as they called dibs on their color choices, and her gaze locked with Mick’s. “Nicely done,” she murmured for his ears only.

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Thanks. That’s how I used to pick up girls back in the fifth grade, so it’s been a while. It worked on Suzie Metcalf, but I’m a little rusty.” He held a second one out to her. “What do you think, does it make you want to share your peanut butter and fluff with me?”

It made her want to share a whole lot more than that with him. She took his offering and nodded wordlessly.

He leaned in close and dropped his voice. “What do you think a dozen would get me?”

She pulled away, searching his face for a clue, but before she found one, he turned his attention back to the children. She crossed the room to the kitchen and stripped off her heavy, cable knit sweater. Suddenly it seemed really hot.

“You okay? You’re looking flushed.” Her mother pressed a cool hand to Leah’s forehead.

“I feel great. Just a lot of running around, and I was in front of the oven for a long time working on the gravy.”

“Well, the gravy is on the tables now, so maybe you should take a break for a few minutes.” Her mother patted her cheek gently. “I wanted to tell you, your father and I are having a wonderful time. I’m so glad we came.”

“Me too, Mom.” For once, she spoke the truth.

…

“Thanks so much for inviting me to join you all. I can’t imagine a better way to kick off the holiday.” Mick shook hands with Leah’s dad, but Rita hauled him in tight for a solid hug like she had the day they’d met, which he returned full force. He hadn’t been hugged like that since his own mother had passed. When she let go, he felt a twinge of regret.

“Tomorrow at noon, right? I’ll bring a deck of cards so we can teach Mick how to play spades,” Cassandra said.

After the next day’s plans were firmed up, the family filed out the door. Leah made her way back into the living room and flopped on the couch. “That was so much fun. Mick, you were great with the kids.” Her face had been shining with happiness since they’d left the shelter, but at that moment, it clouded over. “I wanted to say again, how sor—”

He cut in, not about to let her ruin a perfect day by beating herself up over something they’d already worked through. “It’s water under the bridge. Deal?”

She nodded. “Deal.”

“I can honestly say, I’m hard-pressed to recall a time I’ve enjoyed myself more. I think it’s going to become a new holiday tradition.”

She drew back. “I’m not sure whether my family will be out here next year, but…” She hesitated.

“I just mean about the volunteering, not foisting myself on your family every year,” he assured her. Her penetrating stare had him stumped. If he didn’t know better, he could swear she was disappointed. Why? Shit, he’d never been so out of touch with a woman’s emotions as he was with hers right now.

“It would be a great thing for Luke to get involved in. He’s a generous little guy, and he would love it. Giving and giving back? It’s good for the soul, you know?”

Whatever he’d spied in those watchful depths had faded, and she gave him a tired but megawatt grin. “I do know. I feel the same way. And he’s such a great kid.” She tucked her legs beneath her bottom and searched his face. “What does he like to do?”

“Luke?”

“Yeah.” She patted the couch beside her and waited for him to sit. When he did, she continued. “I mean, I see him on occasion, you talk about his T-ball games once in a while, and you drop in and out of the office with him, but only for a minute or two. It’s like…Gee, now that I think about it, you don’t even have any pictures of him in your office. Why is that?”

To most people these questions wouldn’t qualify as tough, but to him they were the toughest. He’d worked hard for years to protect the relationship he had with his son. His time with Luke was precious because he didn’t get enough of it, to his way of thinking. He didn’t want to share the too few days and nights he did have with him with other people. Then he thought about Leah. About that interminable energy she had. About how generous she’d been. She’d let him in today, sharing her family and their Christmas ritual, and letting her guard down. And seeing her with Luke yesterday and those kids today only reinforced what he already knew.

He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees while he tried to work out where to start. The beginning was a good place.

“The divorce was tough. I grew up without my dad around, and when Sheila and I failed at our marriage, I was in shock. I didn’t think I’d ever get over the fact that I couldn’t be with Luke every day. That I wasn’t going to see him lose his first tooth or be there if he had a nightmare.” That last one still got to him, and he swallowed hard. “Sure he could call me, but it wouldn’t be the same. I’d lost something so precious and I didn’t know how to handle it. I think for those first couple years, seeing his picture every day just reminded me of what I was missing. I didn’t want people to ask me about him because it only made it worse. I know this is going to sound strange, but on some level I wanted him all to myself and when people asked questions it was like I was sharing what little I had of him.”

Leah’s eyes had gone suspiciously glossy and her bottom lip trembled. “I understand. The memories you made with him were yours and no one else’s. They’re the one thing no can take away from you.”

Mick snapped his head around and looked at her. She got it. He shouldn’t have been surprised because every minute he spent with her lately seemed to unveil another facet of her.

She put a hand on his shoulder and played with his shirt. “The fact that you wanted to be there counts, Mick. I promise. Luke is a lucky little boy to have you as his dad.”

He loved this soft, emotional side of her. It made him want to tuck her into his chest and hold her tight. Without the all-business attitude as a buffer, she was 100 percent woman. It brought out the man in him. The one that wanted to do nothing more than take care of her. “I’m glad you think so. I’ve always valued your opinion.”

She gave him a shaky smile and patted his arm. “So come on, tell me about him. All I ever see are the quick snippets. ”

“He loves science,” he said, “bugs mostly.” At some point, their hands had drifted closer, and now they were touching. It felt like the most natural thing in the world when he laced his fingers with hers. “Let’s just say, I no longer need an exterminator.”

Her gaze drifted to their clasped hands and a smile ghosted across her lips before those beautiful brown eyes looked back up at him. “What else?” she asked.

“Comic books. We spend a lot of time debating who would win in a fight, Spider-Man or Batman,” he said with a chuckle. “And he loves all the holidays, but nothing can top Shark Week. Sheila lets him stay with me the whole week, and we basically hunker in and watch TV and talk about sharks for the entire seven days.”

“That’s awesome.” He knew she really meant it when she gave his hand a squeeze. “I wish…”

“Yeah?” She appeared almost wistful, as if there was nothing she’d rather be doing than sitting with him and Luke watching Shark Week. Her next words touched him deeply. “I think it sounds like a perfect way to spend a week.”

He examined their entwined hands, admiring her elegant fingers, and tilted his chin to look at her. “You do?”

She searched his face again. God, he hoped whatever it was she was looking for, he had it to give.

Her intense gaze softened so completely that his gut clenched. “Yes,” she whispered. She didn’t look away for several long moments but when she did, he cleared his throat.

“Luke is the best thing I ever made.”

She squeezed his hand, “Thank you for bringing him to the open house yesterday. It was…”

She didn’t finish, but then she didn’t have to because he knew what she meant. Thank you for sharing and opening up a part of you. Now that she’d let him in, and dropped the self-defense mechanisms, his growing suspicions had been confirmed. Leah and he had the potential to make a great couple. Not for show, or for the short term, but for real.

Seeing her with her family at St. Paul’s, and allowing himself to let go, he realized something that had blown his mind in the best way. He could still be a great dad and role model to Luke, and have a passionate relationship with a woman. A woman who wanted a good man with a little bad boy mixed in.

A woman like Leah.

And just like that, the last of the remaining self-doubt lifted, and he saw things clearly. His decision was made. He was going forward, balls out this time. She would have to reject him outright if she didn’t feel the same. He had nothing to lose now, because there was no way he could go back to the way it was. It was going to be all or nothing.

Leah stretched and then flopped back against the cushion, giving him a beaming grin. “I’m so exhausted, but in that good kind of way, you know?”

He stood and turned to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Not a damn thing.” He reached for her.

She took his hands and let him pull her up. When he drew her forward, the confusion was evident on her face. “Where are we going?”

“Exactly how exhausted are you?” he asked, hauling her closer until she stood toe to toe with him.

“Um,” she craned her head back to meet his gaze with wide, worried eyes. “Mick?” she whispered, then dampened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

“Leah?” he mimicked softly, an instant before bending low and tracing the line of her jaw with his lips.

“W-what are you doing?”

He dropped lower and pressed his mouth to the pulse in her neck. It fluttered madly, like a trapped butterfly, and the evidence of his effect on her sent pure need knifing through him.

“I don’t have any more tissue paper roses to win you over, so I thought I’d try a new technique.” He nuzzled her throat and sent a warm wash of breath over her skin. She shivered, her body moving almost imperceptibly closer. Yes.

“Technique?”

Her throat vibrated against his mouth. She seemed to want to say more, but stopped. Good thing because with the blood rushing in his ears, he doubt he’d have heard her anyway.

Sinking a hand in her hair, he gently pulled until her gaze lifted. For once he didn’t bother dialing down the thick, dense need that rolled off him in waves. “I want you, Leah. I’ve wanted you for a very long time, and tonight, I’m going to have you if you’ll let me.”

Chapter Six

Let him? One minute Leah was toe to toe with Mick, and the next her arms and legs were wrapped around him as he carried her to her room. They probably would have made it there too, if he didn’t stop to kiss her. When he did, she didn’t hesitate.

She grabbed ahold of his hair and did her own pulling. Only she wasn’t as gentle as he’d been. He tasted too good, way better than the cider they’d had earlier.

A low ringing penetrated the haze of lust. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t go away.

Mick tore his mouth away with a gasp. “My phone.” He shoved a hand in his pocket and gave it a cursory glance. “Bunny,” he growled.

Leah chuckled, tipping her head forward to rest it on his chest.

“I’m glad it amuses you,” he grumbled. A few beeps and a moment later, he slid the phone back into his pocket. “I turned off my phone, so no more interruptions. Just you. And me.”

She gathered him in with a sigh, ready to experience all of him. Mick wasn’t the only one who’d been waiting a long time. Her time, counted out daily between her lips and God’s ears, came down to three years, thirty-seven days and about three hours, not that she was going to put too fine a point on it. But that was the exact moment she decided to stop messing around with people who didn’t matter in her life and start looking for someone who would. Mick had taught her that. He didn’t know it, but he was the reason she came up dry in the boyfriend department. She wanted a real relationship with a real man. If she weren’t so busy trying to swallow his tongue, she probably would have examined the sweet irony of that, but right now she couldn’t.

She squeezed him tighter. Devoured him more deeply. He was the standard. The bar she’d been holding other men up to…and he wanted her. It was that simple. “Damn.” He fell with her against the wall. Her bottom hit first, but she didn’t care. The slight discomfort was worth it. “If you keep doing that, we’ll never make it to your bed.”

“So?”

She shifted and her breasts crushed into his chest as she looked for a good spot to nuzzle. Her lips landed in the crease between his collarbone and neck, and she sighed when her tongue touched hot skin. God, it felt like heaven when he pushed her into the wall and used his body to anchor her there. She was held tight. Captured. She moaned and squirmed as best she could. Her efforts were rewarded when his hardness ground into the softest part of her, spread wide and open.

“I want to get you to the bed.”

Her head lolled to one side and she whispered, “Bed is overrated.”

She didn’t know who worked faster to get her shirt off, but in a flash it was gone. Cool air descended, followed quickly by the burn of his mouth on her as he laved and licked a sizzling path across one shoulder and then the other.

She bucked and pivoted, flexed and tilted until he gave her what she wanted. Without a word, he shifted forward and offered his granite length for her to ride. She groaned when they connected. The thick ridge on the seam of her pants made the journey all the sweeter.

“You like that?”

“Y-Yes.”

“How about this, babe?”

She held on for dear life as he rocked them against the wall. The full and hardened length of him slid up and down the heated core of her, over and over again. She was wet underneath all the fabric. Wet and ready. “Mick?”

“Shh, relax for a minute. Take a breath and let me…”

She was putty in his hands, and when he kept her pinned to the wall, moving slow and steady, breathing deep and heavy, she thought she was going to die. The flutters started in her toes even though he was pressing north of there. The pulses worked upward, strong and vibrant, as adrenaline spread and filled every fiber.

She moaned.

“Bed or no? Your choice. I’ll make you happy right here if you want.”

That’s not what she wanted. Not dressed and cheated out of the full experience where she and he would be naked together. Just the thought of that sent another knee-buckling wave of lust crashing through her

“Bed. I want bed. With me and you. No clothes.” She buried her face into his neck and groaned, “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Her breath caught in her throat when he murmured against her ear. “I want a bed with you in it. Don’t be shy, babe, because I don’t intend to be.”

That’s all she needed to hear. She pulled herself more tightly into him as he peeled them off the wall. She didn’t care where they went, so long as she could take what she needed and give in return. She nuzzled, found an opening, and latched onto his neck with a moan. Mick had a great neck. A strong neck, one she’d always lusted after. She took hold and sucked hard, tasted and then bit once. Twice.

“Christ, I love how greedy you are.”

That was the last thing she heard. Her heart raced at triple time. Her pulse beat like a drum, and killer zings of adrenaline coursed through her, stopping here and there, bursting like puffs of stardust that left her quaking and shivering. All feelings that demanded she suck harder and hold on tighter.

“Hey Leah?”

She heard him talking, but it sounded distant. If she ignored him, he’d stop calling her away from what she had in mind.

“Babe, let go.”

When she did, she was embarrassed to realize they’d not only made it to her room, but they were on her bed, and he was on top of her.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

He smiled down at her in such a devilish way she melted.

“You need to relax. I intend to be here all night. I want to go slow. Don’t you?”

She really didn’t, but felt the need to lie. One look at the shadowy beard he sported and the way his eyes shone in the dim light, she would’ve agreed to almost anything to make him happy. “I’ll try.”

“That’s real good. You do that.”

But how was she supposed to do that when he was all over her at once? He was at her neck as sure and steady as she had been on his. And, crap, if someone had asked her yesterday whether her neck was an erogenous zone, she would have said no. Today? Hell, yes. Mick was currently proving it. She groaned.

“You like that?”

She clasped his shoulders tighter. God, it felt good.

“Leah?”

Damn. “Yes?”

“Look at me.”

When she did, she lost it. She brought both arms up and clutched his hair in her fists. Yanking him down, she fed on his mouth. Pulling and pushing. Moaning and groaning. Her tongue swept against his lips until he opened, and she gained access to the hottest part of him. Every molecule in her body thrummed to a delicious beat. Wanting to get closer, climb higher and burn. The fire inside her raged out of control.

By the time she worked up enough strength to break contact, she realized her bra was off. And Mick didn’t waste any time exploring the naked terrain exposed. His warm, hard palm cupped her breast while his thumb skated over her nipple. The fact there was no other contact between them made this caress more intimate and powerful.

“Don’t close your eyes.”

She shivered at the sensual command.

“Put your arms up over your head for me. That’s good. Now, take hold of the rails. It’s okay. I promise.” He bent and kissed the rise of one breast before he leaned up and gave her a look that turned her insides to jelly. Right then all her preconceived notions of Mick being a nice guy between the sheets vanished. Spying the dark gleam in his eyes assured her he could be the good kind of nasty. “I want to go slow. Just this time. Next time we’ll do it your way. Right now we’re going to do it mine.”

She shivered again, only the quakes started on the inside and worked their way out. With a deep breath she wiggled her bottom one last time and exhaled. “I’m ready.”

“For what?”

Her eyes popped open, and she stared into his twinkling eyes.

“By the look of you, one would think a firing squad.”

“Mick, I—”

“Shh, don’t let go of the bars.”

That was the last thing she heard before he curled over and took a spiked nipple into his hot mouth. He sucked so hard, tingles started in her midsection and then went lower, much lower, collecting between her legs to torture her.

…

Mick took his time. He tasted one breast and shifted to see to the other. “You’re so beautiful. Gorgeous,” he whispered. And when she arched up, seeking more attention, lust barreled through him at a wicked pace. “Your skin is so soft.”

He drew her other nipple into his mouth. Sucked and used the tip of his tongue to graze. She moaned and tried to twist, but he didn’t let her. Instead he splayed a hand over her stomach and pressed down, trapping her until she stilled. He waited, working her nipple and massaging her belly. When she sighed, he slid his hand lower. Eased his fingers around the button of her jeans. Tugged it free before he went after her zipper.

The steel teeth giving way made a soft purr, but she didn’t seem to notice. He did. The sound sent warm blood rushing south, and his stomach muscles clenched. He ignored his body’s reaction because this was all about her. Christ, he’d said her skin was like silk, but he was wrong. It felt like fire-warmed velvet as he slipped his hand down the front of her pants. He almost groaned when he reached her mound. The heat and slick feel of her against his fingers nearly undid him.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re drenched already. So wet.”

She flexed up, and he knew what she wanted. He captured her mouth, silencing her gasp, as he played with her. Rubbing and applying pressure over her sensitive flesh until her quivers turned to shakes.

“Mick.”

He kissed her neck before he bit and nipped his way up to her ear, tracing that delicate shell with the tip of his tongue. “I’m here.”

This time he didn’t smother her gasp as her hips came off the mattress to meet his hand when he gently eased two fingers into her. Her body welcomed him, sleek and ready. He didn’t let up. Pleased by her frustrated moans and sigh-like panting. She was building, lifting. He could feel it happening. Her muscles tightening. Convulsing in a pulse-like beat that took his breath away.

“I want you to see stars. Are you ready?”

He curled his index and middle fingers forward and found the spot. Gently brushing it between the two digits with downward strokes. Patient and thorough until she reacted. Her breath caught and her hips jerked as she kept a white-knuckled grip on the bars overhead. He didn’t breathe, he just kept the pace and watched her beauty unfold for him.

“Mick I…Oh, God, Mick. God. I—ah!”

The sight of her falling apart. Opening up. Giving in. He almost lost it. And the feel of her, much wetter now and so ready for more, had him revved. He let go of her and leaned back to give her time to regroup. He was content just watching her as she licked her lips and pushed her hair out of her eyes. The languid way she moved pleased the hell out of him.

When she turned to him, he hissed in a breath. She wanted him. He read it loud and clear. Without a word, he peeled his clothes off and kneeled on the bed to pull down her jeans.

“You have great hips,” he whispered as he slowly tugged the denim down. She helped by wiggling back and forth. “Damn, look at you,” he said. “So perfect.”

Her cheeks flushed and she cupped her hands over the apex of her thighs.

“No, don’t cover up.”

“I’m—”

“Perfect.” He cut her off. Lying next to her he did no more than kiss her neck, her cheek and the tip of her nose.

This time when he kissed her the way she liked it, fast and hard, he was prepared for the hair pulling. He reveled in the nail digging and only grunted when she bit his shoulder hard.

His body responded to her aggression. He wedged a knee between her legs and didn’t have to push them apart. When she spread her thighs, the blood pounded in his ears…and lower. It pulsed between his legs, adrenaline raced through his veins, and need rose up, swallowing him whole.

She pushed and flexed. Cried and moaned. Begged for him to enter her. “Please, I want to feel you inside me. Don’t make me wait. Please, it’s been…”

He was so close. So ready to sink into her when he realized. “Leah? Hey.” He took hold of her chin to get her to focus.

“What?”

She sounded so miffed he had to bite back a chuckle. “I don’t have a condom.”

“What?”

“A condom. I don’t have one,” he repeated slowly.

“I do. In the drawer.” She gave a curt nod to her right and then looked away. She was back to licking those lips as she ran a hand through her hair and stretched out, arching her back while she pushed her breasts temptingly toward him.

He tore his gaze from her. Condom. Right.

He opened the drawer and gave a cursory examination of the contents. “I don’t see them.”

“It’s there.”

He tilted his head. “It’s?”

“Uh huh. Do you see the gold filigree box?”

She brushed her hands over her naked torso so slowly. So sexily that he hated to look away, but the sooner he did… “Yes.”

“It’s in there.”

Once he had the box in hand, he snapped the lip open. Sure enough, one lone foil packet lay on a bed of light colored satin. Who was he to question the why of things? He was willing to go with “it is what it is” as long as it did the job.

He’d just gotten it opened when she grabbed his wrist so fast he nearly dropped it. “Careful,” he said with a grin.

“I ah, wanted to give you the heads up before you take that out of there.”

“Okay.” He prayed this wasn’t a gag rubber that was going blow up in a big puff of confetti or something.

“It glows.”

“Glows? Does it work?”

“Of course.”

He shook his head. “I thought the neon green was passé.”

“It’s not neon green. It glows brilliant gold and it cost me a fortune, but it’s totally worth it.”

He held the foil up and peered at it. It didn’t look all that special. “Why?”

“Because I swore off men three years ago, and if I decided I ever needed one of these again, it was going to be a cause to celebrate.”

“And is it?”

She looked him dead in the eyes. “Oh, yeah.”

He let her drag him down for a kiss. Before he knew it he was rolling with her as the mattress creaked and gave. She slid all over him and when she tried to shimmy downward he said, “No, I couldn’t take that babe. Not now. Maybe later.”

“Can I help, then?”

He gave a terse laugh. “No, I got it. Although I’m not ashamed to admit, I’m a little nervous.”

“It’s been a long time for you too?”

“Yes, but…” He tugged on the rubber. “I’m more nervous about this.”

He watched her eyes widen as she looked at his brightly glowing member. She was staring at it so hard he felt the need to say something. “I, ah, think the gold makes it look smaller,” he teased.

“Smaller? Jesus Mick, you’re…”

He hauled her in until they were nose to nose. “I’m what?”

“Huge.”

“I’m sure I’ll fit.”

She nuzzled his neck and murmured, “We best give it a go and find out, don’t you think?”

“I think.” He pressed her back against the mattress and whispered, “This is the first time I’m going to promise a woman I’ll light her up on the inside and really mean it.”

He dipped to give her a kiss, and she was back to being greedy, pulling and pressing.

“Leah, Leah.” He took hold of one hand and brought it to the bars on the headboard. When he got hold of her second hand, he put some distance between the two. “I want you to stay like this. With your arms and legs spread wide for me.”

“I don’t—oh, that feels…”

He went slow and easy. Opening up her tight little muscles. Making room for himself. Damn, she was slick and silky. Hotter than hell and tempting. He wanted to slide all the way into her. Bury himself in her heat. She moaned.

When she completely relaxed he began sweating. She wanted him. All of him. He pressed forward another inch.

“It’s okay, please…”

He groaned as she flexed up and forced him deeper. When she started to ride him like she had his hand, he lost it. “Jesus.”

He grabbed hold of her hips and took over. With their bodies slapping together, he pumped in and out of her tight channel.

“Faster. God, don’t stop.”

He couldn’t have stopped if he’d wanted to. Instinct took over as he hammered into her with long and steady strokes. His blood rushed and his heart pounded. Adrenaline surged until euphoria invaded. The heat, the solid grip of her muscles, and her moans pushed him to the finish. But it was the slip of his body against hers that took him over the edge.

“Christ.” His whole body tensed. Every muscle trembled with sublime restraint until he came in a rush, as hot and wet as she did.

He rolled off her to catch his breath.

“Mick?” she gasped.

Pulling her in close, he murmured, “Yeah?”

“I think Bunny had it right.”

“Bunny?” He leaned back to look down at her.

“Yeah. You are Prime Grade A Kilpatrick Beef.” She snuggled against him with a contented sigh. “In fact, after this I might have to upgrade you to Kobe.”

Chapter Seven

Mick awoke to the sound of steady breathing that wasn’t his. He stirred, his thigh bumping against what felt like a soft, shapely calf and images clouded his mind. Leah. Him. Sex. Sweet Jesus, the sex. Blood rushed to his groin, and he rolled to the side of the bed, careful not to disturb her as he got up. Clearly, he needed to go on a condom run because the night was far from over if he had anything to say about it.

He peered around in the darkness until he located the alarm clock’s iridescent numbers. Two-thirty a.m. The corner store was open all night, thank god. He crossed the room, not bothering to cover his nakedness. It took him a minute to find his pants and step into them. As an afterthought, he powered on his cell and tugged the shirt over his head. Might as well find out what Bunny had thought was so damned important.

The phone lit bright, and four missed calls stared back at him. He recognized one of the numbers as Tucker Donavan’s. Luke’s playmate. That was weird. He hit the green button and waited for voicemail to play. The first was from Bunny requesting a call back, and he quickly deleted it. The next was from Luke.

“Dad?” he whispered and paused as if waiting for a response. “Hi. I was ‘posed to stay at Tucker’s but everyone’s sleepy, and I don’t feel sleepy yet. And the heater keeps making funny noises so I was thinking you could come get me. I called mom but she’s still not—” Tucker’s mom called in the background, “Did you say goodnight to your dad?” Luke told her “Yep” and then said into the phone, “Gotta go,” and hung up.

Mick swallowed the tiny morsel of guilt that had lodged itself in his throat. This was typical kid stuff. Luke was fine, and ten minutes later, he had probably forgotten he’d even wanted to go home.

Mick snuck out of the room and listened to the next call. This one was from his ex. “Hi Mick. I know Luke called you earlier and I just wanted to let you know that everything is fine. Tucker’s mom contacted me a little while ago and said Luke’s feeling a little nervous tonight, and he wants to come home. She said she’d bring him by, now that I’m here, so no worries.”

Excellent. So what were the other two calls? He erased that one and went on the next. It was Sheila again only this time she was screaming and talking so fast he could barely make out the words. Somehow, he managed to get the four most important though.

Luke, car, accident, hospital.

His heart kicked against his ribs. He clicked out of voicemail and punched in Sheila’s number. Racing out the door and across the drive, he ignored the icy winds that slapped at him and threw himself into the car. He had the engine revving by the time Sheila answered.

“Mick, thank God! Why haven’t you been answering my calls, damn it!” Her panicked tone sent a frozen shard of dread into his gut.

He swallowed the wave of nausea that swamped him. “Please tell me he’s going to be okay.”

She let out a broken sob, and it felt like forever before she was able to catch her breath to respond. “Aimee was driving him home and hit a patch of black ice. You need to get here now. To the hospital. He has a compound fracture in his femur. He’s lost a lot of blood and I’ve donated, but you need to as well, just in case.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Jesus, Mick, where the hell are you?”

He tried to form the words but despair choked him into silence.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. We’re at Northwest Memorial. Aimee’s with me. She hit her head, but the airbag saved her. I need you to get here. You know I don’t h-handle this kind of stuff—” She sucked in a shuddering breath and again started to cry.

“I don’t want to stay on while I’m driving. I won’t be good to anyone if I have an accident myself trying to get there. I’ll be there in twenty minutes or less,” he promised.

A moment later, he disconnected and glanced up at Leah’s dark bedroom window. He should have woken her, but there was no time now. He briefly contemplated calling as he backed out of the drive. No, he was in no shape for conversation and would likely only worry her, or worse, say something he might regret.

He was working on autopilot here, shock and stress driving him while he turned this terrifying development over in his mind. For the first time since his divorce, he’d made himself unavailable to Luke.

Memories of his own childhood flooded him as he drove. Him at the age of five, standing by the door with his suitcase, waiting for his Dad who never showed. His mother’s reaction…some toxic combination of rage and glee. Listening to her bash his father to anyone willing to lend an ear. The apology phone calls about something coming up at work. Lather, rinse, repeat. Disgust rolled through him like an incoming tide.

Fuck that.

He hit the gas and barreled toward his son.

…

Leah stared down at her phone, reading the two line message again.

Had an emergency. Will call when I can.

No matter how long she looked at it, no matter how many times she read it, it never supplied any more answers than it had the first time. She stared out the kitchen window and took a long pull from her coffee mug in spite of her sour stomach. She’d woken up at around five and spent three and a half hours sick, her gut churning, over his unexplained abandonment before her phone had vibrated with his short, cryptic message. Reading it had done little to settle her, and she’d called him twice without response.

“Well, hopefully everything is okay,” Cassandra said, her brow furrowed. “I’m sure he’ll call you back when he can. If it was really bad we would have heard by now. Could it have been a work emergency?”

Cassandra sat across from her, making a show of nibbling at her toast but not seeming to get anywhere. She’d come by to do some last minute gift wrapping and had walked in on Leah crying. She’d been mother-henning her ever since, and even made breakfast, but neither of them had consumed much of anything. Leah was too worried about Mick, and Cassandra was worried about Leah worrying about Mick. Not a recipe for hearty breakfast eating.

Leah shook her head. “Real estate agents don’t have too many emergencies in the middle of the night. Especially during the holidays. Almost no one is showing anything or buying and selling until the holidays are over. Maybe a burst water pipe at a vacant listing, but I can’t imagine much else. Honestly? I don’t think it’s work related, but I don’t know for sure.” Because he didn’t wake me to tell me or consider the fact that I might be worried sick, she barely refrained from adding. She shoved that thought aside ruthlessly. This was about Mick and whatever had happened in the middle of the night, not about her wounded feelings.

She hoped, for the millionth time, that it wasn’t something with Luke. Surely if that was it, he would’ve woken her up or called by now. Maybe something with his sister or someone else in the family? Or maybe it was just a burst pipe at his own house. It had been bitterly cold, and he hadn’t been home much for the past few days.

Or just maybe last night hadn’t affected him as it had her. And just maybe he was looking for a graceful way to bow out. The shit part of it was that she had no clue which, if any, of the above were true and it both infuriated and terrified her. Who did he think he was, burrowing into her heart and head and then walking away without even telling her what was going on? She’d barely completed the thought when she cycled back to the fear. If something happened to Luke, Mick would—

“Lee.” Her sister sighed and met her gaze head on. “What’s going on here? Seriously. No more bullshit.”

She fought the urge to look away and opened her mouth to deliver a quick denial, but the expression on her sister’s face stopped her. Her hands suddenly felt like ice, and she cupped them around the warm clay mug while she reconsidered her answer. “You can’t tell Mom and Dad,” she said, finally.

Her sister wordlessly held out a pinky which Leah twined with her own. The simple, familiar gesture sent a fresh flood of tears to her eyes. “You were right. Something was fishy about me and Mick. I—I lied to you guys. The ‘rents were worried about me, and you were getting married,” she paused to take a steadying breath. “Mick and I aren’t engaged. In fact, we’re not even dating. We’re just friends. Were friends. I mean, we’re still friends, but last night…”

Her sister didn’t even blink. “Yeah, I had a feeling it was something like that. It was like all the details felt fake. The when-you-met story and the first date story, not to mention all that stuff you said about him when you were fighting. But the other stuff was so real. The way you look at each other when you think no one is watching, and the chemistry between you, even when you’re fighting. Ooh, mama! It’s like scorching.” She fanned herself dramatically.

Leah’s cheeks felt flushed. “Yeah, he’s pretty steamy,” she agreed.

“Not him. You guys together.” Cassandra shrugged. “And lo and behold, I was right. You love him.”

The words, spoken out loud, made her flinch. “Is it that obvious?” She’d only realized it herself for certain last night, so the fact that her sister had figured it out in only a few days was terrifying.

“To me it is, but I’ve known you my whole life. I haven’t seen you like this in a very long time. I truly hope it works out between you because from what I can tell, Mick is a great guy and I think he loves you too. I’m sure you’ll hear from him any time now, and it will be fine. When it is, make sure you tear him a new one and add a couple jabs from me. Men are so thick sometimes, and he probably has no clue what he’s putting you through.”

Cassandra stood and grabbed her coat from the back of the chair. “I’ll lure Mom away on a last minute shopping jag with the promise of Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I think Dad was planning to meet Rich Jevnik for a day at the lodge. That will give you some time to figure out what’s going on without us all hovering, okay?”

“Thanks.” She worked up a smile but couldn’t shake the sense of dread. No matter what was going on with Mick, that he hadn’t called or answered her calls was troubling. Early on, she’d comforted herself with the thought that, if it had been really serious, he would’ve woken her up. As the hours dragged by, the odds of it being a burst pipe or something equally mundane lessened. To her mind, either he regretted their night together and needed to get away from her, or something awful had happened. She loved Mick enough to find herself in the unenviable position of hoping it was the former. But, damn, it hurt. “Call me when you get back this afternoon. I’ll let you know about dinner, okay?”

“Sounds good. If you hear from him, call me so it’s not hanging over me all day.”

“Will do,” she promised.

By the time Cassandra had gone and Leah had cleaned up the breakfast dishes, her fear and sadness had morphed into fury. Nine thirty. Who the hell did he think he was, putting her through this? Even if he’d changed his mind and only wanted to be friends, this wasn’t how friends treated each other.

Just as she worked up a good head of steam, her phone trilled, sending her heart to her toes. She grabbed it from the coffee table and peered down at the number.

Mick.

“Hello?” Her mouth trembled and she bit her lip hard.

“It’s me.” His voice was curt. Businesslike, but she could hear the fatigue as well. “Sorry I took so long to call. One minute it was five a.m. and the next it was now.”

“What’s going on?” She tried to keep her tone level, but it wasn’t easy with her emotions clanging around like a bagful of silverware.

“It’s Luke. He was in an accident last night coming home from a friend’s house. He broke his femur and lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to be okay.”

Her knees buckled with relief, and she slumped heavily onto the couch, anger draining from her in an instant. “Aww, the poor little guy. I’m so glad he’s going to be okay. Wh-what about you? Are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine once I see him again. Sheila is in with him now. He just came out of surgery. It was a compound fracture, and they had to put a pin in, but they think he’s going to make a full recovery.”

“Thank God.”

“When I saw that little guy just before they wheeled him into surgery…Jesus, Leah, he was so fucking pale.” His voice broke on the end, and she gripped the phone tighter in her hand.

“I’m so sorry, Mick. You must have been terrified. What can I do? Do you want me to come?”

“No.”

The single word, spoken with such finality, hung between them for an eternity. Her throat went tight, and it was a while before she trusted herself to speak. “Okay. I’ll be here if you need someone to go water your plants, or if you have anything at work that needs attention, let me know. You don’t worry about anything except taking care of Luke, all right?”

“Thanks.” He hesitated before speaking again. “Leah, listen—”

The regret in his voice was like an icy splash of water on the last ember of hope in her heart, and she cut him off. “It’s fine, Mick. I understand. We can talk about it after the New Year. Or not. Just take care of yourself.”

She disconnected, managing to hold back a sob until she set the phone back down. Then, she buried her face in her hands and wept.

Chapter Eight

The morning passed in a haze of tears and regret. If she hadn’t pushed Mick into this corner with her stupid lie, they could still be friends. Her stomach knotted at that thought. That wasn’t what she wanted, but even friends was better than this. She shuddered, every fiber of her being recoiling at the memory of the ice in his tone.

She cupped her mug of forgotten tea, stone cold now, and willed the endless flow of tears to stop. Her parents would be here any minute, and all attempts at erasing the telltale red from her eyes had failed. Her lips felt puffy, and she looked like a wreck. She set down the cup and was heading to the bathroom when the doorbell rang.

She paused for a glance at the mirror in the hallway and winced. What was she going to tell them?

“Hurry up, Leah! It’s freezing out here,” her mother called.

Time was up. She swung the door open to face Cassandra and her mother, a half-baked story about PMS on her lips, but at the sight of the two women who loved her most, they fell away.

“I—I…oh, Mom. I screwed up so bad.” The words were wrenched from her on a sob. She’d made a mistake, and it needed fixing.

Her mother’s face crumpled. “Oh, baby, what is it? Are you sick? Hurt? Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.” She held out her arms and Leah stepped into them, the scent of vanilla curling around her like a hug.

“I hate to break it up, but can we do this inside?” Cassandra asked gently.

Leah stepped back and met her sister’s puzzled gaze. “I kn-know I said I wasn’t going to tell, but I realize now, this was never going to work.”

She led them into the house and closed the door behind them, swiped a shaky hand over her wet cheeks.

“I think it’s for the best,” Cassandra said with a nod.

“What in the world are you two talking about?” Her mother asked, sinking down into an armchair and clutching her coat more tightly around her.

“I…wasn’t honest with you about something. Mick isn’t my fiancé. In fact, he isn’t even my boyfriend.”

She slumped forward, relief etched on her face. “Oh, thank God.”

Leah stared at her, baffled. “Wait, what?”

“Well, I thought you had cancer and had been hiding it from me or something. This, I can deal with.” She waved her hand and let out a long breath. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Just spit it out next time, for crying out loud.”

Leah floundered. “Mom, I lied to you guys. Aren’t you mad? Disappointed? Something?”

“Disappointed, because I really love our Mick, but I’m not mad. I know why you did it, and I think some of the blame lies with me. I just wanted to see you settled, and I may have put some pressure on you. I’m sorry for that.”

“No. This is not your fault. I did this, and I take full responsibility for it. I just can’t stand to see Dad sick, and if you came back because of me…”

Her mother leaned forward and took her hand. “I know that, darling. You’re my sweet girl and I appreciate that, but like you, your father and I are grown. We make our own decisions and believe me, winter in Chicago after enjoying winter in Arizona has sealed the deal for us. We’re not coming back here. You’re young, beautiful, healthy—thank God—and you’ve got a great head on your shoulders. You don’t need a man until you want one.”

The problem was, she did want one. Just one…

“Ah, that’s what I thought,” her mother said, sitting back with a frown. “You love him. Which is a good thing, from my perspective. Because he loves you too.”

“That’s what I said!” Cassandra piped up from her station by the door.

Leah shook her head. “He doesn’t. Or even if he does, it’s not like that. He has a son and they have their own little family together. They’re not in the market for a new addition.” No point in worrying her further with a discussion about Luke’s accident.

“Hmph.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her mother pinned a knowing blue gaze on Leah. “I don’t know what the problem is between you two, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Mick.”

A single flash of hope blasted through her sadness, but she squashed it ruthlessly. She couldn’t afford to hope again. It hurt too much. “You’re wrong, Mom. I heard it in his voice today when he all but told me flat out. That part of our relationship is over.” Saying it out loud sent another wave of grief washing over her.

“Aw, baby, come here.” Her mother stood and pulled her in for another hug. “Cassandra,” she called over Leah’s shoulder, “get the cheesecake out of the bag and get your sister a fork. We’re going to be here awhile.”

She snuggled in closer, rubbing her face against the knobby wool coat and breathing in the scent of home. Her mother had forgiven her. It was something at least.

Something, her heart whispered. But not enough.

…

Mick stared at the phone in his hand as he had a hundred times, finger hovering over the redial button. Almost a week had passed since they’d talked, but he still couldn’t bring himself to press it. Leah was the first person he’d connected with since the breakup, and he’d treated her like dirt. Even after his not so subtle blow off, she’d been nothing but amazing. She’d sent picnic baskets of food to the hospital on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and when he’d gone home to take a shower this morning, his driveway had been cleared of the six inches of snow that had accumulated overnight. All he’d done so far in return was to whip off a couple of thank you texts and a brief update on Luke’s condition, which was improving rapidly. In fact, he’d be ready to go home in a few days.

Mick ran a tired hand over his face and set the phone down on the cafeteria table.

“You going to call her or what? Tell me you have plans with her for tonight. After all, it’s New Year’s Eve.”

Sheila slid into the booth across from him and smiled.

He didn’t respond, redirecting the conversation instead. “How did his therapy go?”

“Good. His thigh itches under the cast, but the pain is much better. The doctor said his youth is working in our favor, and he’ll be running around driving us nuts again in no time.”

He nodded and managed a smile at that. “I can’t wait.”

Sheila nudged his hand with her Styrofoam coffee cup until he met her gaze. “Who is she?”

She wasn’t going to let him slide, and he was too tired to fight her any longer. “Leah Latrelle.”

Sheila’s brows rose at that. “Your partner? Interesting. I’ve seen a picture of her on your newspaper ad. She’s lovely, and judging by the food we’ve been getting she’s also a great cook. So what’s the problem? How come she’s not here and you’re staring at your phone like it holds the key to the universe?”

“It’s not going to work out.”

She tilted her head and when she frowned, the dam broke. Tired? Hell, he was exhausted keeping all his guilt bottled up.

“You wanted to know where I was that night. Why I didn’t answer my phone when Luke called? What I was doing while he was in the ER crying for me? I was in bed with Leah. I turned my fucking phone off so we wouldn’t be interrupted.” He pressed his fingers to his temples to ease the ache that had been a constant for the past few days. “I keep playing things over in my head. How different things would be today if only I’d answered when he called.”

Sheila put a hand to her throat and shook her head slowly. “It’s not your fault, Mick.”

He didn’t say anything to that. He just ground his molars together. Hard.

“Really, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You and I both know that’s not true.”

She fiddled with her cup and then straightened her shoulders. “You should have told me to piss off.”

“What?”

“It’s true. When you did call, it wasn’t any of my business where you were and what you were doing. I was in a panic, but I never blamed you. And neither does Luke.”

“You had every right to.”

“No. No, I didn’t.” She reached out and gave his shoulder an awkward pat. “You’re a great father to Luke. Really.” She squeezed for emphasis. “And I’m a good mother. We just weren’t a good couple to parent him together.”

“I should have been there for him.”

Releasing him, she sighed. “Yeah, well using that logic maybe I shouldn’t have gone on a date. That’s the reason Luke was at Aimee’s. I was out for the night. And while I was out dancing, our son was at his friend’s house feeling sad and wishing he was home with one of us. Only it wasn’t your night to have him, so I chose to send him to Aimee’s instead of calling you. If I had asked you, he never would have wanted to leave in the middle of the night, and Aimee wouldn’t have had to drive him because I had a couple of glasses of wine. Hindsight, Mick. It’s a parent’s nightmare.”

Mick waited for the usual anger to come. He hated knowing she hadn’t called him. Not because of the accident but because it was petty bullshit in the scheme of things. When he felt nothing but empathy, he suspected this situation had changed him. “How could you have known?” He shook his head and looked away. How could either of them have known? They couldn’t. He looked back. “I guess neither of us is batting a thousand at the whole parenting thing, but this wasn’t an error, Sheila.”

They stared at one another for a beat, before she grudgingly nodded. “You’re right. Sometimes things happen that we have no control over. Life just sneaks up on you. You can’t pay attention to everything all the time. Like with Luke. We can love him and protect him as best we can, but after that it’s out of our hands. One day, he’ll be gone and have his own family. It took me a while, but I’ve come to realize that I want there to be a piece of me left when he leaves. A life, and goals and dreams and, yeah.” She shrugged. “A companion, too. That doesn’t make me a failure as a parent.”

“I think it’s time you stopped focusing on the things you can’t control and focus on the things you can.” She pointed to his phone. “This is something you can control. Something you should control because it’s one thing to let life sneak up on you and another to simply let it slip away. Both of us did that once because we weren’t paying attention. I don’t intend to do it again, and I hope you won’t either. It’s New Year’s Eve, Mick. A time for new beginnings and maybe a resolution or two?”

Her words sank in and took hold. She was 100 percent right. He hadn’t been thinking clearly since he’d picked up his messages…and abandoned Leah.

“You have the opportunity. It’s my night to stay with him. I’m going to head home and clean up, then I’m coming back armed with his favorite book, a cupcake, some noisemakers and my iPad.”

Mick grinned. “Pulling out all the stops, are you?”

“Sometimes certain situations require it. I’ll be back by six.” She stood up. “I hope you think about what I said. Luke deserves two happy parents, even if we can’t be together, you know?”

Mick thought about what Sheila said as he headed to Luke’s room. He turned the concept of two happy parents over in his mind while he kept Luke busy playing cards and video games all afternoon. Once he made his decision and determined there was still time before Sheila was due to return, he slowed the games down. If he were going to do what he’d planned to do, now was a good time to float it by his boy.

“Hey, what do you think about Leah?”

Luke’s eyes lit up, and he grinned. “She swears.”

Mick sat back in the chair. “She does? How would you—never mind about that. I’m sure she apologized after she did it.”

He shook his head.

“Oh, well I’m sure she meant to. I was kind of wondering if you liked her?”

“Yep, and you should too.”

Mick reached out to straighten the cards on the tray that was angled between them. “I should? Why?”

“’Cause she wants you to.”

That comment took him aback. “You think so?”

“Yeah. She wants you to treat her special. I treat her special.”

He opened his mouth to deny it, but he couldn’t because Luke was right. “What if I told you I wanted to treat her special from now on?”

Man, he hadn’t seen his boy this intense since they cancelled his favorite Saturday morning cartoon. “Would that mean I’d get to see her more?”

Mick nodded.

“Awesome! You got something to bribe her with? Justin Sneadgrass had to give Mary Eller his dessert for a full week before she’d sit next to him on the same bench.”

Mick snorted. “With a name like Sneadgrass I’m not surprised.”

Luke sat forward all business-like. “So are you gonna ask her to go out with you?”

“Yeah something like that.”

“Um-kay, then I have a plan.”

Damn, the last time Luke had a plan all their tropical fish wound up having to camp in a juice jar until they got a new aquarium. But taking a millisecond to go over his nonexistent other options, he said, “Okay. I’m listening…”

It wasn’t until Sheila returned at dinnertime and Mick had gotten behind the wheel of the car that he had a chance to digest the high points of their discussion. One truth? He’d been isolating himself. Shutting himself off and yes, life had slipped by in the process. Opportunities for both Luke and him had gone by the wayside because of this. He couldn’t change what came before, but he did have the power to change what would come. He patted his heavily weighed down pocket and smiled. Luke was right. Leah was awesomating, and they were pretty good guys too.

Bottom line? He wanted Leah in his life, and in Luke’s. There was no doubt in his mind. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get her to forgive him for being such a fool.

He took the long route to her house, hoping to buy some more time to think. When he pulled up, he wished he’d sped the whole way. Then maybe he would’ve gotten there before the tall guy stepping out of the limo had. Mick squeezed the steering wheel as his stomach clenched. He’d blown it. Leah had a date. And why wouldn’t she? It was New Year’s, and he’d been an asshole to her.

He continued past her house and made a right on the next street up. Pulling over to the side of the road, he let out a breath. His mind grappled for some other scenario. Another possibility for the guy walking to her doorstep. But he couldn’t think of anything.

“Damn.” He closed his eyes and banged his skull against the headrest. “I fucked up.”

A huge wave of disappointment nearly drowned him when he thought of everything he’d let slip away in his life. But even all of those things combined didn’t amount to the level of pain he felt at the loss of his friend, lover, and hell, maybe even his business partner. It was a physical thing. A burn that flayed his insides to ash until he was nothing more than a sack of dust.

His phone vibrated, and he fumbled getting it out of his coat pocket. Maybe it was Leah. Checking the call display dashed his hopes. He recognized the number and knew what was coming. Pressing a button, he braced himself. “Hello?”

…

Leah sat on the couch smiling and nodding her way through another barely heard conversation. She’d only agreed to come to this party to placate her worried family. It had broken her heart all over again to have to tell them the truth about Mick. Well, most of the truth. She skipped the part about her falling in love with him. If only she could gloss over that painful detail for real. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel the way she did.

“I just love all the tea lights, don’t you?”

Leah absently nodded to Mr. Turtleneck. Unfortunately she hadn’t given him that nickname because of his clothes. Poor guy. “Yes, they’re very nice.”

Hearing the distant and wooden tone of her voice, she panicked. This had to get better. She couldn’t feel any worse, right? Then her nose burned and her eyes stung. Oh, no. Not here. Not on New Year’s Eve. She wasn’t going to cry again. She wouldn’t.

“I’m sorry, will you excuse me?” She slid off the barstool and made her way to the front door, hoping to get some air. There were only five or so minutes left before midnight. She could make it through without embarrassing herself or dampening everyone else’s good time. A breath of fresh air, a sip of champagne at the stroke of twelve, and then she was out of here.

“Hey, Leah, did that guy find you?”

The host had a bottle in each hand. He was using one to fill the flutes of the guests in the hall as she passed by.

“The guy with the turtlene—I mean Ian?” She stripped off her Manolos and shoved on her Mukluks. Ian was persistent. He’d glommed onto her the moment she’d walked in tonight. Clearly he had a thing for sad, aloof women.

“No, I think he said his name was Mack.”

She had a hand on the doorknob and stopped mid-turn. “Mick?”

Her heart pounded, and a rush of adrenaline caused all the chatter and music to fade away while she focused on the answer.

“Yeah, could have been Mick. He was here a few minutes ago.” Having run out of bubbly he switched bottles and shrugged. “Maybe he left.”

Left? Mick was here then left? She yanked opened the door and despite not having her coat on, she rushed outside. A lot of the partygoers had taken to heart the warning about giving up their keys and had split the cost of a limo, but there were still a shit ton of cars lining the street. She muttered to herself, craning her neck in search of one in particular.

“Ooh.” She bit her lip and peered through the lightly falling snow. “Where’s that sedan of yours?”

“You can’t see it. It’s parked behind the blue Tahoe.”

She dropped off of tiptoe and squeezed her eyes shut. Caught. Now, despite her every intention of pretending she’d be okay with going back to being just friends, he’d know without a doubt she was desperate for him.

“Leah?”

She took a deep breath and turned. “Hi, Mick.”

“Hi.”

He looked great. His three quarter length navy pea coat fit him perfectly. “How’s Luke?”

“Luke’s doing just fine. It isn’t him I’m worried about at the moment, though. It’s you.”

“Me? It’s not that cold out.” She crossed her arms over her chest and added, “I needed some air.”

“It isn’t the temperature I’m talking about. Cassandra says you haven’t been eating properly.”

She hugged herself tighter. Her sister was going to get it. “She called you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, she shouldn’t have. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m just fine.” She went to step around him, but he caught her up in his arms.

“And here I was hoping you weren’t fine.” His handsome grin had her stomach doing flip-flops.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I was hoping you were upset over us. That maybe it was affecting your appetite. The way it’s been affecting mine.” He opened his coat and pulled her into the covering warmth. He smelled great. Felt great. All she wanted to do was sink against his heat and close her eyes. But they weren’t done talking. He wrapped his arms around her, tucked her head under his chin.

“I am upset over us. Hell, Mick. What happened? I thought we had something real going and then…”

“We did. And I screwed it up. For that I’m sorry. So sorry.”

She waited because he sounded as if he had more to say. And after a moment he did.

“I tried to shut you out. After you finally opened up to me, I slammed the door in your face.”

“Mick.”

“It’s true.” He parted his coat and slipped a hand into the breast pocket. “These are for you.”

She stepped back and when she saw what he held in his hand, tears pooled in her eyes.

She took the delicate paper rose bouquet out of his hand and sniffed. “Did you make them?”

“Yes.” His intense gaze reached right inside her. “I wanted to find out what a dozen will get me.”

Her lips trembled into a smile. So did that mean… “You want to try to do this thing?”

Ten, nine, eight…

The collective shouted countdown drifted from inside the house.

“It’s almost midnight,” he said with a grin.

“Yep.”

Five, four, three…

“Come here.”

His kiss was soft, persuasive. Consuming. He held her like she was china that might break, and at the moment she did feel as if she were coming apart. Her knees wobbled, and those butterflies were back in her midsection.

Happy New Year!

“Happy New Year,” he whispered, still holding her close, only now his forehead rested against hers.

“I think it will be now.” Something hard and cold touched the back of her hand, and she looked down at the flowers. “What’s this?”

He was the first to step back. “A blank key we’re going to get cut so I don’t have to ring your bell anymore.”

She tilted her head and held up the second one. “And this?”

“That we’ll get cut so you don’t have to ring my bell.”

She stared up at him and waggled her brows. “That’s a shame.” Grabbing his coat lapel with one hand, she pulled him down to her. “Because if I recall, I like ringing your bell. I like it a lot.”

His eyes twinkled. “Yeah, good thinking. Maybe I’ll just give you a garage door opener to let yourself in.”

Everything in her wanted to grab hold of the line he was throwing her, but a tiny part of her held back. “Mick, I couldn’t take it if you shut me out again.” She met his gaze head on, her heart pounding.

“Not a chance. I’ll give you the security code and the stealthy fake rock hideaway location of the spare key in case all else fails. Will you give me another shot?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a finger.

“Wait.” He shoved his hand into his pocket and yanked something out. It took her a second but she recognized what it was. A Magic 8 Ball. “Is that—?”

“Yes and he wants you to shake it real hard and read the answer on the bottom before you decide about giving us another chance.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she handed him the flowers and took the ball. “Us?” He nodded, and she couldn’t help feeling a little giddy. She’d never been a part of his and Luke’s “us” before. “Hmm. Don’t you think you’re taking a big risk here? I mean the Magic 8 Ball might work against you.”

“Luke’s orders.”

“Alrighty.” She shook and shook some more, absurdly hesitant to turn it over. Surely it didn’t matter what it said if she and Mick wanted to be together? But her heart didn’t listen, and she wanted it to come out right anyway. With a deep breath, she flipped it over and what she saw made her vision go blurry with tears.

“Aww.” Taped to the screen, was a tiny, carefully cut piece of paper with two small words written in childish print.

Sey YES!

She didn’t look up but traced her finger over each letter before whispering, “Yes. Yes.”

“Hey.” He tilted her chin up and she let him. “Luke and I always want to be in your corner.”

His words held a deeper meaning, his eyes a promise. She let the joy run unchecked. “I think I like the sound of that.”

“You know what I think?”

“What?”

He held the flowers aloft. “I think this dozen just bought me a dream.”

When he kissed her this time her knees didn’t wobble, they buckled. It was okay though, because Mick had ahold of her. He held on good and tight as if he’d never let her go. Which was just fine by her. Very, very fine.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to our editor, Kerri-Leigh Grady, for doing her best to make us look good even when it’s not easy. You’re the best!

About the Author

Christine Bell is one half of the happiest couple in the world. She and her handsome hubby currently reside in Pennsylvania with a four-pack of teenage boys and their two dogs, Gimli and Pug. She doesn’t like root beer, clowns or bugs (except ladybugs, on account of their cute outfits), but lurrves chocolate, going to the movies, the New York Giants and playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Writing is her passion, but if she had to pick another occupation, she would be a pirate…or, like, a ninja maybe. She loves writing fun and adventure-filled romance stories, but also hopes to one day publish something her dad can read without wanting to dig his eyes out with rusty spoons. Christine also writes erotic romance under the pen name Chloe Cole and YA fiction as Christine O’Neil.

Christine loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to get in touch with her via her website www.christine-bell.com

Riley Murphy writes sexy, humorous and emotional romance, happy ending guaranteed. An optimist, she believes life is awesome, people are complicated, but in a good way, and we should never stop learning. Riley currently resides in Florida with her gorgeous husband. She has two wonderful kids and one very bossy English Bull terrier. When Riley’s not working she enjoys reading, oil painting and getting to the Sunday crossword puzzle before anyone else does, so she can fill-in all the easy answers first. If Riley wasn’t a writer she’d be an international spy with top-level security so she could have a peek at Area 51 and decide for herself if those green guys are for real. Riley loves her characters and she hopes you do too. You can visit her website at www.AuthorRileyMurphy.com.

Also by Christine Bell…

Conned

Dare Me series

Down and Dirty

Down for the Count

Down the Aisle

Down on her Knees

Perfectly Matched series

Dirty Trick

Dirty Deal

For Hire series

Wife for Hire

Guardian for Hire

Reforming the Rock Star

Holding Out for a Hero