Angel Mine (15 page)

He sighed heavily at that. “It probably will.”

There was no mistaking the regret in his voice. She frowned. “You don’t have to sound so blasted depressed about it. It’s not very flattering.”

“Nothing good can come of this, Heather.”

She refused to be daunted. “I’d say something already has,” she said with a satisfied smile.

“If you’re talking about Angel…”

“I’m not. I’m not looking back or ahead. I’m talking about right now, this second. I am where I want to be, in your arms. I’d forgotten how safe and secure I feel when I’m here. I’d forgotten what it’s like to climb clear up to the stars with a man who really cares about me.”

“I don’t…” he said, then, “Okay, I do care, just not the way you mean, not the way you ought to have a man care about you.”

“Todd, if you cared any more, I wouldn’t be able to move for a month.”

The frown was back, deeper this time. “I’m not talking about sex.”

She touched a finger to his lips. “Just this once, just for tonight, could we not complicate this? Could we not analyze it or talk it to death?”

“But—”

“Just for tonight,” she repeated.

“I don’t see how—”

“Todd.”

A smile crept across his face. “Okay, okay. Just for tonight.”

“Will you stay with me?”

“I don’t think I have any choice, do I? You’ve got me trapped under you.”

He didn’t sound nearly as distressed about that as he might have. “You complaining?”

Their gazes locked.

“No way,” he murmured, shifting to make the most of the contact. “I know when to give in gracefully.”

“Good instincts,” she praised, for once without the edge in her voice that had to do with his wasted abilities as an actor. His fingers slid inside her, tormenting her until her breath caught in her throat and her pulse was ricocheting crazily. “Very…good…instincts.”

“Only with you,” he murmured as he eased her onto her back and plunged deep inside her again.

Once more the twist of tension, the swirl of heat tugged her into a rising wave of sensual delight, captured her, lifted her, then dragged her under until she was gasping for breath and crying out with the sheer wonder of it.

Morning would be time enough for rational thoughts and regrets, she thought as she snuggled closer to the man whose most innocent caress could bring her ecstasy.

“Umm, Heather?”

“Yes?” she murmured sleepily.

“We aren’t really going to try sleeping on the sofa, are we?”

She didn’t see why not. Cuddling was a guarantee in such limited space. One look at Todd’s awkward position, however, convinced her it wouldn’t seem half so romantic by morning when aches and pains had settled in.

“There is a perfectly good bed not far from here,” she conceded.

“Thank God.”

He started to get up, but she held him in place. “Just one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll stay close to me. You won’t wander over to the far edge of the bed and drag all the covers with you.”

“Are you more worried about getting lonely or cold?” he inquired with obvious amusement.

“If I’m not lonely, I can almost guarantee there’s no way I’ll get cold,” she told him.

He gazed into her eyes. “Deal,” he said solemnly, holding out his hand.

“A handshake is good,” she agreed, placing her hand in his. “But a kiss is better.”

“A kiss could seriously delay us getting off this sofa,” he warned.

She grinned. “Not a problem.”

His mouth dutifully slanted over hers.

He was right, she concluded somewhat later. A kiss could be the start of an incredibly worthwhile delay. In fact, if she used the tactic inventively, maybe she could postpone his running out on her and Angel for a long time to come.

15

E
xhausted, his emotions in more turmoil than ever, Todd slipped out of Heather’s bed in the morning, planning to sneak out of the apartment without waking her or Angel. He wasn’t sure he wanted to rehash last night’s events quite so soon, and Heather was very big on talking. She was also big on cuddling in the morning and had always been able to fog his brain and lead him astray.

He actually made it out of Heather’s room without her stirring, but when he peeked in Angel’s room, he found her wide-awake and playing some kind of game with the dolls crowded around her. Her expression brightened when she spotted him.

“Hiya, Todd,” she said with delight, reaching for him.

He instinctively picked her up, amazed by the feelings that stole through him as she snuggled close. Instead of the terror he’d anticipated, he felt…almost paternal. A little awed. He realized that the sensation was becoming commonplace, that he was beginning to expect—and accept—it.

“What are you doing awake at this hour, cupcake? It’s early.”

“I not sleepy,” she informed him. “I hungry.”

Uh-oh, he thought. What was she supposed to have for breakfast? He could manage toast, he supposed. Or maybe cereal. Maybe some juice.

“Let’s see what the options are,” he said, carrying her into the kitchen. He set her on her feet and began poking into cupboards, most of which were bare, a testament to the intended temporary nature of their stay in Whispering Wind. Once again, awareness of that depressed him more than it relieved him. He simply had to get a grip, he told himself sharply. His control was slipping. He did not want the two of them staying. He did not.

Impatient and knowing the layout better than he did, Angel scooted past him and tugged open a lower cabinet door near the refrigerator. She poked her head inside and emerged happily holding a box of cereal.

“’O’s,” she announced.

“Ah,” Todd said. “Nothing better than Cheerios.”

Angel seemed impressed by his enthusiasm. “You like ’em, too?”

“I love them,” he assured her, grabbing two bowls, a couple of spoons and retrieving the milk from the refrigerator.

He dumped the cereal into the bowls and was about to douse it with milk when Heather wandered in and regarded the scene sleepily. His hand froze in midair at the sight of her in a T-shirt that barely came to midthigh and left very little to the imagination thanks to the soft, clinging fabric. His pulse, which should have been resting comfortably after the night they’d shared, kicked into warp speed again.

“Pour that milk at your own risk,” Heather said mildly, clearly oblivious to the fact that he’d all but forgotten he was even holding the carton.

“Huh?”

“The milk,” she repeated pointedly. “Not on Angel’s cereal, unless you want to give her a bath to get the soggy Cheerios out of her hair.”

The prospect snapped him back to the moment. He shoved the bowl of dry cereal in Angel’s direction. She promptly grabbed a fistful. Apparently table manners weren’t yet a part of her repertoire.

“I’m sorry if I woke you,” he told Heather, his gaze unabashedly surveying her now that he’d averted the soggy-cereal catastrophe. This was bad, he told himself as he sank onto a chair. Really bad. No one understood the pull of great sex better than he did. Wasn’t that at least a part of what had kept them together the first time for as long as it had?

As uninhibited as ever, Heather clearly didn’t share his reservations. She moved easily straight into his lap and looped an arm around his neck. Her kiss on his cheek was innocent enough, but his response to it was anything but. From the gleam in her eyes, it was evident that she was fully aware of the effect she was having. In fact, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it!

Eventually, though, her expression sobered. “We might have just the teensiest problem,” she told him.

Knowing Heather, Todd suspected this was a massive understatement. “What?” he asked.

She nodded toward Angel, then leaned down to whisper, “Not the most discreet kid on the block.”

Understanding dawned immediately. “You mean she’s going to blab it all over that I was here all night?” he asked in a horrified whisper.

“It’s not a sure bet, but there’s no way to stop her. She does like to chat with ’Retta.”

“Oh, boy,” Todd muttered. Not that Henrietta would be all that shocked. It was apparent she already believed that there was more going on between him and Heather than he’d admitted to. She seemed more distressed by his denials than she was likely to be by the proof that she’d been right all along. No, it wasn’t Henrietta who would be a problem.

“Just keep her away from Megan,” he pleaded.

“Don’t want the boss knowing what you’ve been up to?” Heather inquired tartly. “Is there some sort of morality clause in your contract with her?”

He frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Todd tried to decide how best to phrase it. “When Megan was being chased by Jake, I more or less encouraged him. She just might get it into her head that turnabout is fair play. Trust me when I tell you that I—we—don’t need the pressure.”

Rather than being subdued by the warning, Heather looked fascinated. “Pressure, huh? As in meddling?”

“As in making my life a living hell,” he said, then regarded her darkly. “Yours, too, for that matter.”

“Not necessarily,” she said thoughtfully. “For once, your boss and I just might share common goals.”

“Such as?” The last he’d heard, Heather’s only goal was to involve him in Angel’s life, then head east. Had last night changed that? If so, it might turn out that last night was the costliest mistake of his life.

“That’s still evolving,” she informed him with one of those sassy grins that scared him senseless. “I’ll keep you posted.”

Todd groaned. He was doomed. No doubt about it, he was totally and positively doomed.

In the end it took precisely two hours for Angel to announce to anyone listening that “Todd slept with my mommy.” It took another fifteen minutes for that news to reach Megan. He knew it from her expression when she strolled into his office.

“My, my, my,” she murmured gleefully. “Isn’t
this
a fascinating turn of events.”

“What?” he demanded, praying her upbeat mood had something to do with the major sponsorship he’d just negotiated for Peggy’s new cooking show, which all but guaranteed they would be going into production with it by fall.

“A little birdie just told me some absolutely delicious gossip.”

“Must be quite a birdie,” he muttered. “A vicious parrot, trained by a salty old sailor, no doubt.”

“Nope. This little birdie is a blonde.”

“Flo,” he guessed, growing more despondent by the minute. Flo’s spin on this was bound to be colorful.

“Bingo. Seems she stopped by to grab a cup of coffee on her way to work this morning, and guess what she heard being discussed over breakfast at that hotbed of local news, the Starlight Diner?”

“I can’t imagine. You shouldn’t listen to gossip, especially in a small town like this,” he said disdainfully. “You know how rumors get started.”

“Are you saying a sweet little girl is capable of starting a rumor?”

Thank heaven Heather had warned him of the possibility before earlier. “I’m saying a sweet little girl doesn’t understand the implication of the words that come out of her mouth,” he said grimly.

“Is there another way to interpret—now, let me see if I have this exactly right—‘Todd slept with my mommy’?”

“There are many ways if your mind’s not in the gutter,” he retorted. “All Angel actually knows is that I was there when she went to bed last night and I was there when she woke up this morning. She’s three, dammit. What else could she know?”

“Out of the mouths of babes,” Megan taunted. She perched on the corner of his desk. “So, what’s the scoop?”

“There is no scoop, as you so delicately put it.”

“Todd, Todd, Todd,” she said with exaggerated disappointment. “If you can’t trust me with the truth, who can you trust?”

“Nobody in this town, that’s for sure. It’s enough to make me long for life in the big, anonymous city, where nobody gives a damn about anybody else’s business.” He scowled at Megan. “I could be on a plane back there tomorrow, you know.”

“No, you couldn’t,” she retorted, clearly unfazed by the threat. “We have a contract. A very long-term contract, I might add.”

“Something I will no doubt regret till my dying day.”

Megan laughed. “Oh, why don’t you just admit it?”

“Admit what? That I slept with Heather?”

“Actually, I was going for an admission that you’re starting to love it here, but I’ll take the truth about last night instead.” Her expression suddenly sobered and she regarded him worriedly. “What exactly does that mean, Todd? Are you still in love with her? Is the old romance starting to bloom again? You’re not the kind of guy to fool around with a woman unless it’s serious.”

He was getting sick and tired of all these people claiming to know him. His life was not an open book, dammit. He had his share of secrets. Well, one, anyway.

“You don’t know what kind of a guy I am,” he protested, most likely in vain.

“I think I do,” she insisted. “
Honorable
is one word that comes immediately to mind. I recognize it—and admire it—because it’s so rare in this business.”

Todd thought of Heather, wished desperately that she was the only one involved here, but she wasn’t. There was still Angel and all those years of quiet resolutions to never put another child at risk.

“Don’t get too carried away with the heady praise,” he warned Megan. “Before all is said and done, it might turn out that I’m as much of a bastard as the next guy.”

“I’ll never believe that,” Megan declared. “Not in a million years.”

Her faith in him, her prompt and fierce defense should have reassured him. Instead, he simply reminded himself that he knew better and he was the one who had all the facts.

Heather couldn’t figure out what was going on with Todd. He loved her. She knew it. She could feel it every time he looked at her, every time he touched her. A few nights ago when they’d made love, it had been about as perfect as any woman could dream of. It wasn’t what she’d envisioned when she’d impulsively come to Wyoming, but she wasn’t about to turn her back on it. She was beginning to think she owed it to herself as much as Angel to stick around Whispering Wind however long it took to see where that incredible night might lead. Summer might not be nearly long enough.

Of course, Todd seemed equally determined to avoid a repeat. If he’d steered a wide course around the two of them before, he practically avoided all of downtown now. He hadn’t been around since that night. He’d also been avoiding her calls. His secretary had come up with at least a dozen inventive reasons why he wasn’t available, but the excuses were wearing thin. Heather had stopped believing any of them after the first three.

Just in case she’d been misjudging him, she tried one more time, then hung up in disgust when the secretary told her that Todd was out of town indefinitely, then refused to say where he’d gone.

“Problems?” Henrietta asked, studying her intently.

“I’ve been trying to catch up with Todd.”

“He’s out of town,” Henrietta said, then flushed guiltily.

“He is?” she asked, surprised that his secretary hadn’t been lying. Then she regarded Henrietta with dismay. “You knew?”

“He mentioned it,” Henrietta admitted. “He stopped by yesterday morning just after I opened. He told me he had to fly back East for some meetings.”

“Todd is in New York,” Heather said, just to be sure she was getting an accurate picture.

“That’s what he said.”

“For how long?”

“He didn’t say.” Henrietta gave her a knowing look. “I got the feeling the trip came up suddenly.”

“Yeah, right after he and I…Never mind. I suppose he specifically told you not to tell me.”

“Actually, he said to tell you if you asked. I think that’s why he wanted me to know. It’s not like he automatically checks in with me before he takes off.”

“Isn’t that thoughtful of him,” Heather muttered. “Secondhand information is better than none, I suppose.”

Henrietta motioned toward a booth. “Sit. I think we need to have a talk.”

“I don’t need to talk. I need to find Todd and wring his neck,” she said, but she sat down opposite Henrietta, anyway.

“Is that really what you want to do?” her boss asked, studying her knowingly.

“Right this second, yes.”

“That’s frustration talking,” Henrietta said dismissively. “Seems to me like you’re after something else entirely. It started with Angel, but I don’t think that’s how it’s turning out, is it?” This was more a statement than a question.

Heather sighed. “Not exactly, no.”

“You’re falling in love with him again, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think I ever stopped loving him,” she finally confessed. “It makes me so blasted furious. That was not what this trip out here was all about.” She regarded Henrietta despondently. “And what good will it do me? He doesn’t want me or Angel. He’s living here and I want to work in New York. The whole thing is a mess.”

“One thing at a time,” Henrietta said reasonably. “You love him. And if I’m any judge of these things, he loves you.”

Heather was surprised by the assessment. “Then why did he go running off to New York?”

Henrietta shrugged. “Why do men do anything? Usually it’s because they don’t want to deal with their feelings. You just have to be patient till he can sort things out.”

“How patient?”

“There’s no telling.”

“Well, isn’t that just great,” she said sourly. “I’m supposed to put my life on hold until he sorts things out? Well, excuse me for saying this, but as much as I like you and enjoy working here, I want to act, not wait tables.”

“Any reason you can’t do that right here in Whispering Wind?” Henrietta asked. “The truth is, I’ve been giving this some thought, just in case the subject ever came up. There’s a stage in that big old barn out at the fairgrounds. Hasn’t been used for much besides announcing the winners of the pie-baking contest and such, but I’d say for someone who really wants to act, it would do.”