Also HUGE special thanks to Anjee, Deb, Shelly, Carol, and Cindy, (and a few of you who prefer to remain unnamed – you know who you are) for reading the first draft and making invaluable suggestions. I could not have done this without your unending patience, support, and encouragement.

Chapter 1

“H
onestly, Holly. Hot wax on the nipples is not everything it’s cracked up to be.”

Across the table that separated them, Holly McTierney swirled the straw in her unsweetened iced tea and barely batted an eyelash at her BFF’s pronouncement, but she did lean forward a little.

“Do tell.”

Liz Benning flushed and averted her eyes. They’d had dozens, possibly hundreds of conversations over the years – some downright scandalous – about things like this. This time it was a little different, though, because they weren’t discussing a scene in Holly’s latest book or hypothetically pondering the pros and cons of the latest in erotic gadgetry. This time, it hit a bit closer to home.

Her gaze landed on the basket of warm, buttery rolls. They were nestled in white linen and baked to a perfect, golden brown with a slight satiny sheen that appealed to the eye. A bit of steam rose up from the top, carrying with it an aroma that had her mouth watering.

Why did restaurants feel the need to put those on the table like that? Why couldn’t they bring out complimentary celery sticks or baby carrots instead? It was as if they were trying to sabotage the carb-shunning, post-thirty metabolisms of women everywhere by providing enough enticement to test even the greatest of wills.

She moved the deliciously offensive basket to the inside edge of the booth table and arranged the stand-up menu in front of it to reduce the temptation, then groaned. The glossy 5 x 7 picture of a fried caramel apple cheesecake wasn’t much better, and she
needed
to be good. She had a birthday coming up soon, and she
was
going to have cake. Or at the very least, cupcakes.

“Is it that new guy in your complex?” Holly prodded, sweeping a lock of chestnut-colored hair away from her face, her green eyes sparkling mischievously. “The financial analyst? Based on what you’ve told me about him, he sounds like a real-life Christian Grey.”

Liz had no idea if her new neighbor was into that kind of thing, but he did look as if it was a distinct possibility. With his stylishly-cut sable hair, panty-wetting hazel eyes, and tailored suits, he certainly projected the image of a “realistic” version of the fictional billionaire.

“No such luck,” Liz sighed. “I had a bad day at work and thought I’d soak in the tub for a bit, you know? I turned down the lights, got some scented aromatherapy bath crystals, lit some candles -”

“What kind?” Holly interjected.

Liz didn’t mind the interruption; she was used to it. As an author of hot and steamy romance novels, Holly was always interested in the details, especially those involving the senses. More than a few of Liz’s confidences had ended up in Holly’s books over the years.

“Vanilla honey crystals. Buttercream candles.”

“Mmmm, got it. Go on.”

“So I’m relaxing in the tub and the phone rings. And of course the phone is on the vanity, so I have to get out of the tub to get it.”

“Perfectly reasonable.”

“Except those bath crystals had oil beads mixed in, too, and made the bottom of the tub slippery. I was halfway up when I lost my footing and went down on my ass. Of course I put my arms out to catch myself and knocked over a couple of candles. Voilà, hot wax on the nipples.”

Their server, an older, motherly-looking type, made a choking noise as she deposited their entrees rather hurriedly in front of them and scurried away. Neither Holly nor Liz paid her any attention.

“Oh Liz, were you hurt?”

Liz grimaced slightly and self-consciously patted the loose blonde knot at the back of her neck. “Just my pride. And my nipples. Well, the left one anyway. You know, because the wax was melted. And hot. I just don’t get why someone would want to do that on purpose. Unless you were into pain, I guess. Then it would make sense.”

The corners of Holly’s lips quirked. “You don’t use regular candles for that, Liz. They make special ones that don’t hurt.”

“
Now
you tell me. And how do you know so much, anyway? Have
you
tried it?”

Holly’s cheeks reddened guiltily. Liz’s eyes grew wide. “Holy crap, Holly! I can’t believe Adam is into the kinky stuff!”

“He’s not kinky. He’s...supportive. I do write romance novels, Liz. How can I write about something realistically if I’ve never tried it?”

Liz gaped, a dozen or so particularly graphic scenes from some of Holly’s novels taking over her imagination. “So...that alpha-SEAL novel you did with the parachute harness scene in the jungle...”

“Was purely conjecture on my part,” Holly assured her, but she didn’t meet Liz’s eyes. “Where would I get a parachute?”

The local airport seemed like a good place to start, but Liz refrained from saying so. Knowing Holly, she would feel the need to go down there and check it out. And of course Holly would drag her along, and Liz had no desire to run into Peter the Pilot, as she’d dubbed him. After their first date – which had held some promise – he had somehow talked her into a tandem skydive. It might have been pretty cool had he not been so focused on feeling her up on the way down that he nearly didn’t get the chutes open in time.

“So, was it him?”

Liz blinked, shaking away images of the ground rushing up to meet her at heart-stopping speed while Peter’s hands played at being D-cups. “Was what him?”

“The phone call when you were in the tub. Was it Troy-slash-Christian?”

“No,” Liz grimaced. They hadn’t even been properly introduced yet, but Holly’s optimism was heartening. “It was my mother. Ever try talking to your mother with hot wax on your boobs?”

“No,” Holly was grinning broadly now.

“I don’t recommend it.”

“Duly noted.”

Their server, who had no doubt hoped the subject had changed by now, paused briefly and cleared her throat. “How is everything?” she asked.

“Great, thanks,” Holly answered, smiling up at the older woman innocently. She laughed when the woman breathed an obvious sigh of relief and moved on.

“I think we’ve just scandalized our server.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Liz smiled, thinking fondly back on many such conversations she and Holly had shared over the years during their weekly Tuesday night GNOs (Girls Night Out). “Besides, that whole sweet-and-saintly mother thing our waitress has going on is just a little too much to be believable. I bet she goes home at night, squeezes all that - ” Liz made a vague hourglass wave with her hands “ - into some high-quality pleather and whips her husband’s backside while he howls like a wolf.”

Holly snorted in laughter, then quickly grabbed her napkin to stop the flow of iced tea trying to escape through her nose. “Hey!” she laughed. “You waited until I took a drink to say that. Iced tea burns.”

Liz grinned back unrepentantly. “Could have been worse. I could have said something while you were sipping your sangria.”

“That would definitely be worse,” Holly agreed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Thanks, Liz. I really needed a good laugh.”

“Your mother?” Liz guessed. Holly was the only one of Colleen McTierney’s five children who wasn’t already married and dutifully providing grandbabies. Colleen’s poorly-veiled attempts to change that was a major source of contention between mother and daughter, and one of the reasons Holly had felt compelled to move an hour away from the rest of her family.

Holly nodded. The smile faded and a look of pure torment filled her eyes. “I wish we hadn’t told her about the engagement right away. She’s calling me ten times a day about flowers, caterers, and photographers. It’s only been a month since Adam proposed, Liz. I haven’t thought about any of that stuff.”

“Have you tried explaining that to her?”

Holly gave her a scathing look that suggested she should know better. “Tried to. Mention the word “wedding” around her and she gets the crazy eyes.”

“Crazy eyes?”

“Yeah. They get all focused and steely. It’s scary as hell. Like Carrie-and-Freddie-Kruger-had-a baby scary.”

Liz shivered. “What about your sisters? They went through this with her, right? Maybe they have some advice.”

“Are you kidding? Nobody’s going to help because as long as she’s got her sights set on
me
, she’s not nosing into
their
business.”

“What about Adam’s mom?” Liz asked.

“I haven’t met her yet,” Holly admitted. “Adam is going to drive us up there next weekend. From what he’s told me, though, she’s nothing like my mother.”

“For your sake, I hope not,” Liz agreed.

* * *

M
iles Grayson looked away from the stunning vista afforded by his five-star hotel room to glare at the mobile device currently vibrating atop the mahogany-wood coffee table. The small HD screen lit up with a soothing blue glow for several seconds before fading again as the call went to voicemail.

He sighed. His job as a sales and marketing rep meant he had to stay available at all times, but sometimes he needed a little downtime, too. Back-to-back meetings all day, including the requisite schmooze lunches and dinners, meant he had to be “on” all the time, and it got exhausting after a while.

Lisette - the British cutie with smoldering eyes, legs that went on forever and a thing for American accents had been a pleasant diversion for a couple of hours, but now all he wanted was to sit in his dark room, savor his Dewars, and gaze upon Big Ben and the London Eye over the river Thames.

Telling, that. Nearly forty years old and he preferred solitude and good Scotch over a willing woman’s company.

He sighed. Finding women who wanted to spend the night with him had never been an issue. Finding a woman he wanted to spend the entire night with was the bugger.

The phone vibrated again. If that was Lisette, he was not going to be happy. No meant no, no matter how much she pouted. Annoyed, Miles went over to turn the damn thing off when he saw the caller id displayed on the screen and froze.

Adam
. His younger brother.

Dread pooled in his stomach. Adam never called, not unless it was something important. In the matter of a second or two, Miles mentally ran down the list of possible reasons Adam would be trying to reach him at this time of night. None of it was good. At the very top was that something had happened to his only son, Brandon, who was currently living with Adam while he went to college. Closely followed by that was the similarly unwelcome (but more likely) possibility that something had happened to one (or both) of their parents.

Miles tapped the phone to accept the call. “Adam.”

“Miles. Where are you, anyway?”

Despite his concern, Miles smiled at Adam’s gruff greeting. Some things never changed. “London. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Relief washed through him. “Then why are you calling me at midnight?”

“How the hell was I supposed to know what time zone you’re in? It’s only seven here.”

BOOK: All Night Woman: A Contemporary Romance

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