скачать книгу бесплатно
Please let this be a dream, was her first thought, the next one was to compose herself as quickly as possible.
‘‘—help me look for my shoe,’’ she finished her sentence, though that wasn’t what she’d been about to say.
When Reid’s gaze drifted down and lingered a moment on her behind, Tina scrambled to her feet.
Why should she be embarrassed he’d caught her on all fours, yelling like a crazy woman down an air vent? He’d invaded her space—again—and she could act any way she wanted. What this man thought about her didn’t matter in the slightest.
‘‘Mr. Danforth needs the key to the service panel,’’ Rachel said awkwardly.
‘‘Reid,’’ he corrected Rachel, then smiled.
Rachel blushed and glanced away.
Tina was certain she could bean him with her boot at ten paces and wipe that smile off his face.
‘‘I’m not sure, but I think it’s in the kitchen somewhere.’’ Tina hooked an arm through her sister’s and smiled. ‘‘Rachel, why don’t you help me look?’’
‘‘I—’’ Rachel blinked, then met Tina’s glare and nodded. ‘‘Ah, okay.’’
When they rounded the corner and were out of sight from Reid, Tina dragged her sister to the laundry room on the opposite side of the kitchen and closed the door. ‘‘Why didn’t you warn me?’’
Rachel furrowed her brow. ‘‘Warn you about what?’’
‘‘That you were bringing him here,’’ Tina hissed.
‘‘I actually did call, but you didn’t answer the phone.’’ Rachel chewed on her bottom lip. ‘‘I’m so sorry, T. Did I do something wrong?’’
Shame had Tina releasing the tight grip on her sister’s arm. ‘‘I’m sorry, Rach,’’ she said with a sigh. ‘‘I’m just a little upset over losing the space downstairs, that’s all. It makes me crazy that Dad and Mom both treat me like a child.’’
‘‘At least our mother isn’t constantly looking to find you a husband, a man that she approves of.’’ Rachel’s eyes filled with tears. ‘‘Why can’t I marry the man I want?’’
‘‘You can and you will,’’ Tina said firmly.
‘‘I’m not strong like you,’’ Rachel said quietly. ‘‘Or independent like Sophia. I don’t know how to say no.’’
‘‘Then you’ll learn.’’ Tina hugged her sister. ‘‘We’ll go out tonight and work on a—’’
Rachel shook her head and stepped away. ‘‘I can’t go out tonight, T.’’
‘‘Rachel, if this is because of—’’
‘‘I don’t want to talk about it.’’ Rachel put up a hand and shook her head. ‘‘Please.’’
‘‘Rachel, please, don’t—’’
‘‘I’ve got to go.’’ Rachel wiped away a tear, then opened the door and hurried out of the laundry room.
Frustrated, Tina started to follow, then realized she still had Reid standing in the living room. The key, she remembered. He’d come here for a key to the service box.
She pulled the key from a hook inside the laundry room, drew in a slow breath to steady her nerves, then returned to the living room.
She found him studying the wall where several of her aunt’s personal photographs were displayed. Purring loudly, Delilah was weaving her way in and out of Reid’s legs. Hussy, Tina thought and frowned at her aunt’s cat.
‘‘These pictures are amazing,’’ Reid said when Tina walked into the room. ‘‘Your aunt has quite a gift for capturing a mood.’’
‘‘She’s extremely talented.’’ To Delilah’s annoyance, Tina scooped the cat up and dropped her on the sofa. ‘‘She just had a book of her work published.’’
‘‘Any of these?’’
Tina shook her head. ‘‘These are personal. Mostly of my family.’’
‘‘I like this one of you sitting by the pond reading a book,’’ he said, pointing to a black-and-white photo. ‘‘How old were you?’’
It embarrassed her a little, felt strangely intimate looking at photographs of herself with a man she barely knew. Especially Yana’s pictures, which seemed to capture the very soul of a person.
‘‘Eighteen, I think.’’ She shrugged. ‘‘It was a candid shot, taken with a telephoto lens from my aunt’s studio. She’s always sneaking around taking pictures of the family when we’re not looking. It drives us crazy.’’
To distract him, she pointed to another picture. ‘‘That’s my aunt.’’
‘‘She’s a beautiful woman.’’
With her dark hair and exotic looks, Yana Alexander, even at forty-eight, could still make men forget their own names and stumble over their feet.
‘‘She was in Spain at the time, photographing bull fighters,’’ Tina said. ‘‘One of the toreadors took her camera and shot this picture of her.’’
The man had also been her aunt’s lover, Tina knew, but she didn’t think she needed to mention that.
‘‘I see a resemblance,’’ Reid said thoughtfully.
It was all she could do not to roll her eyes. She had to give it to him. He was smooth as glass. ‘‘I don’t look anything like my aunt, Mr. Danforth.’’
‘‘You have her eyes.’’ He turned to study her face. ‘‘And her mouth.’’
Tina felt her pulse shudder when his gaze lingered on her mouth. Very smooth. It irritated her to no end that she was not immune to the man’s charm. But, in all fairness to herself, Reid Danforth was certainly not your average man. He was a prime male specimen, with just enough of an edge to make him a touch mysterious.
Working at the bakery, she came into contact with a lot of the local businessmen. Occasionally there’d be an exchange of harmless flirting or innocent banter. She’d even dated a couple of the men. She’d never thought it a big deal or wanted to take it any further.
With Reid, though, something told her it wouldn’t be quite so innocent or harmless. Warning flags were waving in her head, signaling her to take another road.
Still, she thought, lifting a brow and meeting his steady gaze, as long as she didn’t lose touch with reality—reality being the fact that there was no chance of any kind of relationship between them—then she had no reason to worry. She could hold her own against the likes of Reid Danforth.
She held out the key in her hand. ‘‘I believe you came here for this.’’
‘‘Are you hungry?’’
‘‘What?’’
‘‘Are you hungry?’’ he repeated. ‘‘I’m going to grab a burger down the street.’’
Not only smooth, she thought in disbelief, but he moved fast.
But then, she already knew that.
‘‘I made plans.’’ The fact that they’d been changed were none of his business. ‘‘But thanks, anyway.’’
One corner of his mouth tilted up, then he took the key and nodded. ‘‘See you tomorrow, T.’’
She frowned at the closed door after Reid left. How did he know her nickname? Unless…
She glanced at the vent beside the sofa. It did back up to the laundry room, she realized. On a groan, she closed her eyes. Had he heard her conversation with Rachel? If he had, then he knew she’d been lying about having plans.
Well, so what if he had? She crossed her arms and pressed her lips together. It wouldn’t hurt the man to find out that there might be a few women left in Savannah who weren’t completely taken in by that damn smile of his. You’re being ridiculous, she told herself. He’d asked her to get a burger with him. That was hardly what anyone would call a date, for heaven’s sake.
She knew she was overreacting and decided that was another reason to keep her distance. She’d known him less than a day, and already he’d seriously slanted her equilibrium.
But as she moved past an oval, wood-framed mirror on the wall, she stopped and looked at herself. Her eyes, then her mouth.
Just for a second she wondered.
Oh, for heaven’s sake. She shook her head and frowned.
‘‘Idiot,’’ she said out loud, and wasn’t certain if she was speaking to herself or Reid.
Three
A cup of coffee in his hand, Reid stepped out of his car the next morning and breathed in the titillating smells wafting on the cool, predawn air. Though the lights were not yet on in the bakery or the Open sign in the window, it was obvious that while most of the city was still sleeping, Ivan Alexander was busy baking for the day ahead.
On the deserted sidewalk, Reid paused and glanced up at Tina’s apartment. A soft light edged the closed blinds, and he wondered if she’d already left for work or if she was still up there.
He had an odd feeling that she was.
It was strange, but he’d had the same feeling yesterday, when he’d been standing on the sidewalk with the furniture rental people. The blinds had been partially open, and though he hadn’t actually seen her, he’d felt her. Sort of a prickling sensation at the base of his neck.
Weird, he thought, then laughed at himself.
Letting himself in the front door, he flipped on the overhead lights and glanced around. The movers had brought in ten desks yesterday, plus filing cabinets and tables. Phones lines would be hooked up this morning and computers would be installed in the early afternoon. He had set up two private offices in the back, one for himself and one for Nicola. Since she was his father’s campaign manager, she’d be the one running the show.
Hands on his hips, he stood in the middle of the room that would soon be filled with volunteers and family and he listened to the absolute quiet.
A floorboard creaked above his head and he looked up, followed the sound across the ceiling. So she was upstairs. Leaning back against a desk, he sipped on his coffee and stared at the ceiling.
Had she just gotten out of bed? he wondered. An image of tangled sheets, tousled, golden-brown hair and sleepy eyes came to his mind.
His blood stirred at the thought.
Was she the cotton pajama or silk nightie type? Or maybe, he thought with a smile, she slept in the buff.
That thought stirred more than his blood.
Maybe it was for the best that she’d turned down his offer to get something to eat last night. The woman was a distraction, something he didn’t need right now. Something he didn’t want.
Still, he thought, listening to the sound of her moving around upstairs, a guy could dream, couldn’t he? He took another swig of coffee. No harm in that.
Movement on the sidewalk outside the front window caught Reid’s attention. A man who looked familiar hurried past, and Reid recognized him as one of the counter clerks from the bakery. The guy with the blond ponytail. A moment later the sound of a door buzzer filtered down through the vent upstairs. The man hadn’t gone to the bakery, Reid realized. He’d gone upstairs.
Reid frowned. A little early to come visiting, wasn’t it?
He heard the sound of footsteps moving to the door, muffled voices, then movement again toward—Reid furrowed his brow to remember the layout of the apartment—the sofa, he guessed. Or the bedroom?
Pushing away from the desk, Reid moved closer to the vent and listened. Though it was hard to hear everything, he could distinguish between Tina’s voice and the man’s, and was able to catch snippets of what they were saying.
‘‘I can’t go on like this…’’ Man’s voice.
Tina’s voice. ‘‘Jason, please be patient and I’m sure we can…’’
Man’s voice again. ‘‘…been patient and nothing has changed…’’
Heavy footsteps started, back and forth across the ceiling. The man—Jason—was obviously pacing.
‘‘…a solution,’’ Tina said. ‘‘I promise.’’
Reid concentrated, trying to hear more than bits and pieces of the conversation. He wanted to yell up at them to talk louder.
‘‘I’m going to tell them,’’ Jason said, the frustration heavy in his voice. ‘‘We’re in love. They’ll have to accept it.’’
Reid went still. Tina and the counter clerk? In love?
The vent was too high to get any closer. He considered dragging a desk chair over and standing on it, but that was a little extreme. Besides, it might be a little difficult to explain if someone saw him with his ear pressed up to the vent.
‘‘…to get to work now,’’ Jason said. ‘‘…not giving up.’’
Footsteps moved back toward the door, then silence.
Confused, Reid stared at the vent for a long moment. He didn’t know what, but something wasn’t quite on the mark here.
You heard what you heard, pal, a voice in his head said. Let it go.
Still…
Oh, hell. He shook his head, wondered why he was having such a difficult time believing that Tina was in love with the bakery clerk. Because of something he’d thought he’d seen in her eyes yesterday? Because of something he’d thought he’d felt when he’d taken her hand in his?
Frowning, he downed the rest of his coffee and crumpled the paper cup in his hand. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to believe it. Because he had designs on her himself.
But if she’d been so in love with this guy, then why hadn’t she simply said she was seeing someone when he’d asked her out? Reid knew he hadn’t exactly been subtle letting her know he was interested.
Who the hell could figure women out? he thought, dragging a hand through his hair. He should be glad she was involved with someone else. He’d known her one day, and already she’d occupied way too much of his brain space. He had a hundred things to do if he was going to have this office up and running by tomorrow. Not one of those things involved a pretty, golden-eyed temptress whose image had kept him awake half the night.
Tossing his crumpled cup into a trash can, he headed for the back office to unload the dozen or so boxes of office supplies that had been delivered yesterday afternoon.
