Adrienne Giordano Page 12

  “I don’t need it.”

  What exactly were they talking about? She didn’t need it, but she kept it. Again he hesitated, tried to make sense of it, but being a guy who didn’t own a car, it made zero—sub-zero—sense. He blew raspberries. “So get rid of it.”

  But the look she gave him, her eyes big and wide and searching suggested that was a dumb-ass idea. What she needed from him, nary a clue.

  “I can’t,” she said.

  “Why?”

  She leaned one hip against the car and patted it. “Because it’s me.”

  Blood roared to his head. Go, go, go. With his gaze still on her, he imagined the filter fanning out. Did my head just explode? “Huh?”

  Looking down at her feet, she shook her head. “Let me get the keys.”

  He reached for her. “What did you mean by that? It’s you?”

  A squawking bird flew by the open garage nearly missing the palm tree in front of the house. Her gaze wandered to the tree, then to the ceiling, the wall, her shoe. Billy stayed focused on Kristen now staring out the garage. That tree won’t save you, sweet cheeks.

  “Kris?”

  She finally looked at him, their eyes connecting for a second and Billy knew, sure as he was standing there, he wouldn’t like what she was thinking. “It’s nothing. I’m blathering.”

  When she stepped toward the house, he shifted to block her. “We’re not leaving until you tell me. I’ll sit here. You know I’m asshole enough to do it.”

  “I need to get back. Let me pass and I’ll get the keys.”

  He crossed his arms and sidestepped when she tried to get around him. “Nobody goes anywhere until you tell me what you meant. I will pin you to the ground if I have to.” A gasping sound filled the garage and he shrugged. “Don’t sound so shocked. This shouldn’t surprise you.”

  “You’d hold me hostage in my own garage? I don’t believe it.”

  “Try me. Please.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’d get the double bonus of being on top of you.” With her hang-ups about her figure, he made sure to keep his eyes glued to her face. But, really, he wanted to look elsewhere. Elsewhere being about eight inches lower. Filter. “Just imagine what that would do to me.”

  Being the cuteness that she was, she pinched her lips together and scrunched her nose. “I hate you sometimes.”

  “I’ll live with it. Now spill.”

  “We’re not having a big discussion about this. It’s my problem. Got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “My father gave me the Aston last year. I drove this car for six years before that.” She walked back to the Aston and, like the day in front of the hotel, eased her hand over the hood and let it settle there. “Look at it. It’s gorgeous. Breathtaking even. Sleek and lean and sexy.”

  Uh-oh.

  She turned back to him and stared right smack into his eyes. “This car, Billy, is everything I am not. When the top is down, and I’m behind the wheel, I feel it. I feel the vibe—the power—and it makes me forget I’m a fat Amazon.”

  Did he hear that right? He cocked his head, replayed it in his mind while that frapping bird squawked.

  Fat Amazon.

  That’s what she’d said. For a second, his mind reeled. Not unusual for him, but in this particular instance he found himself speechless. When’s the last time that oddity had occurred? Maybe once. In the fourth grade. During recess… Concentrate here, pal.

  He didn’t know what was more offensive, the fat Amazon comment or the car—an object with no life, no vibrancy—being everything she wasn’t.

  “And what?” He gestured to the butt-ugly sedan. “You think this is what you are? This boring piece of crap that wouldn’t grab anyone’s attention? That’s what you think?”

  On the street, a car went by. The driver gave the horn a shot and waved. Kristen waved back. Probably a neighbor. She turned back to him and the hard stare she gave him might have been a warning. He wasn’t sure. “You’re out of your mind. Have you looked in a mirror lately? Or are you blind as well as crazy? I mean, Christ,” he jerked his hands toward her. “You’ve got the whole ethereal look with the green eyes and dynamite curves. It’s sweet and hot at the same time and it destroys me. Destroys me. I look at you and I can’t decide if I want to do you fast and rough or slow and quiet and—”

  Her face contorted into opened-mouth horror and she threw her hands up. “Filter!”

  “Fuck the filter.” Sorry, Ma. “I get a pass this time.” He shoved his hands into his hair and gripped the strands. “I cannot believe this piece of crap car is how you see yourself.”

  Maybe he shouldn’t have said that because she stepped closer and got right into his grill. “Don’t you dare judge me. Try growing up with Jess, who popped out of her mother flawless, and watch her grow and listen to people tell her how stunning she is. And then have those same people turn to you and ask how school is. Don’t come here and think you—who also popped out of your mother gorgeous—can tell me you can’t believe it. In my world, Jess is the Aston and I’m the boring sedan.”

  Refusing to give in, he inched closer backing her against the driver’s door of the Aston. “You’re boring?”

  She angled backward. “Compared to Jess? Yes.”

  “Bullshit.”

  With her hand on his chest, she gave him a shove. “Back off.”

  He stepped closer. “You’re not boring. Yeah, you’re smart. So what? How many thirty-year-old women run billion-dollar hotels? And it’s not because of your father. Your father is a brutal businessman. He wouldn’t let his kid run his hotel if she couldn’t do it. You don’t see Jess running a property do you?” He inched even closer, felt her hot breath on his face. “If I could play back the first time I saw you in that ballroom, I’d show you what I see.” He ran his hands over her hips and pulled her close. “That amazing dress glued to your curves. You wouldn’t think you were boring if you knew all the things I wanted to do to you that night. And, if you hadn’t noticed, I still want to do those things to you.”

  She breathed in, soft yet harsh, and brought her gaze to his, still refusing to give in. “Filter.” Her voice, in contrast to the hard look she gave, ruptured. “Please. Filter.”

  “No. If ever you didn’t need me to filter it’s right now.” He grabbed her around the back of the neck and kissed her. Just slammed his lips against hers, pressing himself into her as she backed into the car. And then her arms came around him and she ignited, returning the kiss with equal force. It sent him spiraling.

  He’d stand here all day like this. No question. Well, maybe he wanted more than a kiss from this particular woman, but it was a start. To his happy amazement, he adored her and the more time they spent together, the more time he wanted.

  Something new.

  Assuming he’d made his point, he backed away. “Was that boring?”

  She shoved him. “Don’t be an ass.”

  “It was amazing. You made it amazing. You made it hot and sexy.”

  She crossed her arms and leaned against the car. “It’s too much for me. You are too much for me. You live on the edge all the time, constantly moving and thinking and doing something. I don’t have the fortitude for that. I’m a boring sedan. That’s where I’m comfortable. What’s wrong with that?”

  “If what you see is a fat Amazon, I think there’s plenty wrong.”

  “I love how you gorgeous people think you can pay us not-so-stunning people a compliment and think we immediately have to believe it. Guess what, Billy? I’ve had plenty of men who look like you tell me I’m all that you said. And then the minute my sister shows up and starts flirting, they all forgot about me in order to bag my sister. So, don’t you dare come into my life and tell me how I should see myself. You haven’t earned that right.”

  Of course he hadn’t. That took time and they hadn’t had much of that. One thing he knew was he planned on taking that time. However he could. With his schedule, he couldn’t guess how it would happen, but he�
�d make it work. Suddenly, that’s what he wanted. To be spend more time near Kristen. And didn’t that revelation rock his totally anti-settled world?

  “I may never earn it. But I’ll keep trying. If nothing else, I want you to look at yourself and see what I see. Since I got here I’ve met any number of stunning—and I mean stunning—women that I could have banged the hell out of. Five minutes after seeing them, I couldn’t tell you what one of them looked like. Nope, when I close my eyes, I see your face, and in my extremely experienced opinion, sweet cheeks, boring women aren’t that memorable. Even if I never put my hands on you again, by the time I leave here, I’ll make you see what I see.”

  Kristen backed up a full step. “I don’t need to see what you see.”

  “Yeah, honey, you do. What I see will blow your mind. You’ll never again look at that shitty—dang it—sedan and think it’s you. Is that a problem?”

  A few seconds passed and she kept her gaze on his, clearly battling to keep control of her emotions. Eventually, she closed her eyes, shook her head and sighed. “Would it even matter?”

  He laughed. “Probably not.”

  “You’re relentless.”

  “I’m told it’s not always a good thing.”

  “That’s for sure.”

  That stung. A rather unpleasant feeling in this Billy-learning-to-filter class. He probably deserved it. No probably about it. He’d pushed her. Maybe too far. “Lucky for me, your sister has given you experience with it. You’re more forgiving than most.”

  “Not that forgiving.”

  “But you see beyond the pain-in-the-ass stuff. That, Ms. Dante, is your magic bullet. You take the time to see more than most. I love that about you.”

  “I like to consider the potential rather than the negatives.”

  He took her hand, ran his thumb over her knuckles and enjoyed the quiet of standing with her after their argument. “For everyone else. Not when it comes to you. I’m going to change it.”

  Slowly, with a lopsided smirk, she eased her head side to side. Slightly amused was better than hacked off. He may have just bailed his ass out of this one. “I’m guessing your silence means you don’t have any issues with it?”

  “I’ll give you some latitude. Some.”

  “Good enough. Now get me the keys for this piece-of-crap, boring-as-hell car that is so not you.”

  Chapter Ten

  At eight o’clock, Billy strolled into Kristen’s office wearing his ripped Diesel jeans and a graphic T-shirt that hugged his shoulders in a way that made her girly parts sing. Second soprano.

  She set her pen down and sat back to enjoy the view of this sometimes annoying, but mostly entertaining man. Why not? Letting herself savor simple pleasures hadn’t been on her to-do list for a long time.

  He flopped into one of the guest chairs. “Followed our boy Alex.”

  “Anything?”

  “No. He had an early dinner and made a stop at a bank building. His office?”

  “If it was Sixth Street Bank, it’s his office. I don’t know that he really works though. Rumor is they don’t let him touch anything.”

  “Then he did nothing while he was there. He’s been home over an hour and I got bored.”

  Of course he did. One fact she’d accepted in their short acquaintance was that Billy became bored easily. How that pertained to his current interest in her, she wasn’t quite sure. Lucky for her, she knew how to deal with overstimulated, adventure-seeking people. Speaking of which… “I talked to Jess. She welcomed my call like the plague.”

  Billy laughed.

  “I, as per usual, sucked it up and apologized for rushing her out of here earlier.”

  The worst of that humiliating experience was Jess taking triumph in Kristen needing her help. She hated this competitive streak between them. The constant battle. Years of this nonsense had begun to wear on Kristen. Flat out, she couldn’t make herself numb to it anymore. Now it was just plain tiresome.

  A mind-freezing thought broke through. Had she helped to create tension by always feeling less physically attractive? As a result, had she sought to become more than Jess professionally and made her sister feel inferior?

  Prior to this moment, she’d never given that insidious thought room to grow, but down deep, she knew. She’d silently taken pleasure in her sister’s poor grades and inability to attend a top university, much less finish, while Kristen earned a master’s in record time.

  And it said nothing good about her.

  She fiddled with her pen a moment while Billy eyeballed her.

  “Oh, whatever you’re thinking cannot be good.”

  So intuitive, this man. Finally, she dropped the pen and shook off thoughts of being the bitch her sister presumed her to be. “The other woman works at the Ocean Blue Hotel.”

  “That’s the place down the road, right? I go by it when I run. Fudging huge hotel.”

  “Yes. It’s our main competitor. I called the GM, who wasn’t exactly forthcoming, but I told him we’d had some thefts we’re investigating. According to him, they haven’t had problems and I left it at that. I’m not telling him anything until he gives me something.”

  Billy grinned that slow, wicked grin. The grin was his tell. The indication he was about to say something completely inappropriate.

  “I love it when you talk dirty.”

  “Oh, just shut up.”

  “So harsh. I’m not surprised the guy wouldn’t pony up though. I slapped a tracker on Alex’s car so we can figure out where he goes. Maybe we’ll find a pattern.”

  First a signal jammer and now a tracking device. Were they the CIA? “Is that legal?”

  “Do you care?”

  She thought about it. On some level she cared, but she also wanted to stop the thefts at her hotel. “Yes, but I can’t get hung up on it. Not if you think this guy is involved.”

  Billy shrugged. “I don’t know what I think. Besides being curious that he’s dating two women who both work at high-end hotels. Like I said, maybe he has a thing for hotel people.” He grinned. “I suddenly see how that could happen.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Have you had dinner yet? I’ll buy.” Not bothering to wait for an answer, he stood.

  She glanced at his outstretched hand and folded hers on the desk. “You’re awfully sure of yourself, Billy Tripp. What if I have plans tonight?”

  “Do you?”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Sure it is. If you have plans, that’s that, I eat alone. If you don’t, I’ll buy you dinner. It’s not a lifetime commitment. Besides, you can call it a working dinner. I’ve tweaked your Secret Service plan and we can go over it.”

  Smart man. He immediately made it a business issue. No emotional attachments.

  That worked for her. It looked like a nice evening and she’d been trapped inside all day. Even workaholics needed fresh air. “I accept. We’ll eat on the patio.”

  “Cool. After that, maybe you’ll find me irresistible, let me take you back to my room and do wicked things to you. Any thoughts on that?”

  Good God. The girly parts went into the third verse of the I-Haven’t-Had-Sex-In-A-While anthem. “Um. No. No thoughts on that. Aside from holy inappropriateness.”

  He threw his hand over his heart. “Shot down again. And insulted. You’re one tough cookie, Ms. Dante.”

  If only that were true. Particularly when it came to her attraction to him. By now she should be running as far from him as she could. They simply were not compatible. She needed order and routine while he thrived on chaos and adventure. As much as she enjoyed him, he’d be incredibly high-maintenance.

  She stood, smoothed her hand down her skirt and wondered just how far she’d let herself go for him.

  Probably pretty far.

  * * *

  The following afternoon, Kristen sat at her desk reviewing the budget for Billy’s security plan and let out a low whistle. Big money. Big enough that her stomach clenched and uncle
nched as she went down the list of expenses.

  She closed the file folder. In her opinion, the plan looked thorough and had been signed off by Vic and Michael Taylor at Taylor Security. All in all, Billy had given her what she’d asked for.

  Now she had to live up to her end of the deal.

  Her stomach heaved again. She dreaded that dress. All she could imagine were her monster-sized boobs overflowing the sides. If Jess’s mother saw it, she’d be disgusted. Beyond disgusted. But Kristen couldn’t think about that. She had to rid her mind of it. Fast.

  A knock sounded on her office door and she glanced up to see Billy stroll in.

  “Hey, hot stuff,” he said.

  She took in his short dark hair, the day-old beard and the ever-present Diesel jeans. Wow. “Hey, yourself.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Recovering from the budget crisis your security plan gave me.”

  “Blah, blah. You know it’s worth it.”

  She nodded. “I do know it.”

  “Can you take a break? Our boy Alex is on the move and I want to check out all these places he’s been. You know the area. Figured we could scope it out together.”

  Kristen turned to her computer where countless emails waited. She should finish them. But then—well, Billy. In jeans that fit his long, muscular body just right.

  He leaned in. “Come on, Kris, live a little.”

  Screw the emails. She shoved the mouse away and stood. “You’re on, fella.”

  “Atta, girl. We’ll take the boring-as-hell, so-not-you car. You know where you’re going so you drive. I’ll give you the addresses.”

  “Gladly. I love being in charge.”

  He smacked her on the ass with the back of his hand. “Don’t get used to it.”

  Oh, she’d get used to it. He’d have to adjust. “Hands off, big boy. You work for me.”

  With that, he wrapped a hand around the back of her head and eased her closer. “And I’ll continue to work for you. Anywhere, anytime, sweetheart.”

  The second sopranos are having a helluva day.

  Helluva day.

  In the car, Billy tapped at his phone and Kristen took a moment to enjoy the afternoon sun warming her hands on the steering wheel. A light wind blew and salty air wafted through the open driver’s side window. Another gorgeous day and she’d spent it inside. Maybe she needed to start taking a few minutes to get outside during the day. Just for the infusion of fresh air.