Lady Be Good (8 page)

Grace decided to save herself the embarrassment by not answering the question. “Did you sleep well?”

“Not really, no.”

He headed to the kitchen sink and turned on the tap full blast. He cupped his hands and bent forward to slosh the water over his face and down his neck. She could almost see steam rising from his skin.

Luke finished washing up and dried his face without turning around. The rear view of him was just as spectacular as the front. A wide back, slim hips, and the kind of behind underwear models worked hard for.

Grace took a swift, vicious bite of her toast and looked out the window.

Trying to sound calm, she said, “I took the liberty of making breakfast for myself. Shall I make something for you?”

“No, thanks. I had a protein shake a while ago. I’ll spin you one, if you want.”

Grace had a feeling his protein shake would involve a lot of uber-healthy ingredients she didn’t want to think about in such early hours. “Toast is fine.”

“Coffee?”

“I don’t usually drink coffee. I’m a tea person.”

“I don’t have any tea, sorry.”

“I don’t need any, thank you.”

Mundane conversation completed, he poured himself a mug of coffee and finally turned around, leaning against the counter to look down at her. The shirt hung loosely around his midsection, and a prodigious stain of sweat darkened his chest.

Wait. Was he teasing her with all this resplendent masculinity? If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a tiny twinkle at the back of his eyes. Grace looked out the window at the bird feeder again and hoped he hadn’t guessed that he was succeeding in blowing a fuse in her brain.

Composed, she re-arranged her toast on the plate. “I slept like a baby last night. The bed was heaven.”

Luke looked as if he hadn’t heard. Was he standing close enough to catch the scent of last night’s bath salts? Had he noticed her hair? The red camisole? Or maybe his attention had wandered back down to his gym. She couldn’t be sure. She picked up a wedge of toast again.

Suddenly, he seemed to snap out of his reverie. “I called the airport. There’s a guy I call when I need a travel favor. He says there’s a flight at ten-thirty. He can get you a seat, if you want it.”

“Oh.” Grace put down her toast.

He noted her reaction and frowned. “I thought you’d be pleased, after last night.”

Grace met his gaze and blinked. “After last night?”

He set his coffee on the counter and ducked his head into the refrigerator. “Yeah. Staying here, I mean.”

“I—” Grace floundered for a moment. “I apologize if I wasn’t appropriately grateful. You’ve been more than hospitable. The bathroom is especially lovely. I soaked for an hour. It was very relaxing.”

Luke straightened to his full height, casually tossing a grapefruit from one hand to the other like a juggler. “That’s not what I mean. Do you want some grapefruit?”

“No, thank you.” Grace was having a hard time figuring out what he was trying to say. “Honestly, Mr. Lazur—I mean Luke, you’ve been charming and very gracious, and I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I’m sorry if I didn’t express—”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” He began to peel the fruit with his bare hands. Juice spurted out, spraying the already damp front of his shirt, but he didn’t appear to notice. “We kinda didn’t say good night under the best terms. I mean, I come from a family that does a fair amount of arguing, but it’s over fast. You, though—you don’t want to argue at all. It’s—unsatisfying.”

“Actually, I find it perfectly satisfying.”

“Princess,” he began. Then, “No. Look, I get that we’re from two different worlds. I’ve never spent much time around anyone like you. Last night we had kind of a cultural exchange—you know, lost tribe of Borneo meets royal family of Sweden, or something.”

Grace frowned. She really didn’t want to be cast as the royal family of anywhere, but Sweden made her sound awfully … remote. “I don’t understand where you’re going with this.”

“Thing is, I’m sorry if I came on strong about Jake Kendall. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You may have noticed I didn’t exactly faint with fright. But I’ll finish my breakfast and dress and call a cab. You may have your lovely house to yourself again.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Luke came over and straddled the stool on the opposite side of the island. He put both his elbows on the counter and began to tear the skin off his grapefruit, unaware of her puzzled scrutiny. “Things might have gone differently if we hadn’t, you know, had that disagreement about Jake.”

“Gone differently how?”

He thought about how to explain and finally said, “Last night you saw how people around here react when they see me, right? Everybody makes a fuss, which is nice, I get it. But you only saw half of it. Women—Well, if you hadn’t been with me in the bar last night, I’d probably have had six offers to get my passport stamped, you know what I mean? You’re just about the only woman I’ve bumped into in the last ten years who didn’t try to give me a lap dance on the spot. Okay, I’ve had a couple of pretty great lap dances in my lifetime, and I’m not opposed in theory, but, c’mon, I don’t need one from every woman I meet.”

Grace tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was a squeak.

Luke went on. “You’re different. I catch you looking at me out of the corners of your eyes and blushing, and that’s cute. It’s a little sexy, too. But you’re not taking off your clothes in my kitchen and getting down on your knees to prove something. Last night when I turned around and you were unbuttoning your blouse, that’s where I thought you were headed. But I was wrong. Which was, y’know, new for me. And, bottom line, except for the Jake discussion, we hit it off, right?”

“Right,” Grace said, hoping she wasn’t blushing at that exact moment. “What are you trying to say?”

“Okay, here it is. I’m not ready to put you on a plane and never see you again.”

Flustered, Grace said, “That’s very—it’s nice of you to say that, but I have places to go.

Not just today. Tomorrow, too. For weeks, actually.”

“I know that. So I’ve got a suggestion.”

Mesmerized by the way he thrust his thumbs down into the grapefruit to section it, Grace knew her voice sounded unsteady. “A suggestion?”

He popped a section of fruit into his mouth. With the back of his hand he caught a dribble of juice before it left his lip. “Why don’t I take you?”

Grace stared at him across the counter, hoping that something was going to make sense soon. “Take me?” she said blankly.

“To Philadelphia.” At last, his blue eyes met hers directly. “I’ll drive you.”

“The whole way to Philadelphia? I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. The weather’s beautiful—couldn’t be better. The roads are clear and the sun’s out already. It’ll be a nice ride.”

“You’re very kind, but I couldn’t possibly—”

“Quit being so damn polite and think about it.” He tore off another section of grapefruit and held it out to her. “If we leave in half an hour or so, you’ll be in Philly by noon.”

Grace accepted the grapefruit without thinking. She couldn’t quite get her mind around his proposition. “What if I say up front there’s no way I’m going to—er—stamp your passport? Would you still want to spend a whole day driving me across the state?”

He shrugged. “Nothing ventured, right?”

“Luke —” Grace stopped. She heard an odd note in her own voice. The way she’d said his name sounded different as soon as it popped out of her mouth--almost too intimate, too soon.

He said, “I like you. You’re smart. You’re funny in a nice way. And you look great this morning. Like you’re still warm from your bed. I love your mouth. If I wasn’t sweating like a horse right now, I’d be trying to kiss you.”

Grace blinked at him. “I thought that you…”

“That I hadn’t noticed?” Luke smiled. “I noticed. You’re beautiful. Without getting your face injected with stuff and false eyelashes and everything else that other women do to themselves nowadays. And you’re a little sexy when you aren’t acting like Queen Victoria in a truss.”

Grace sat up straight and summoned a glare. “I realize that I might be a bit chilly from time to time, but—”

“Chilly? Princess, you’re Frigidaire’s biggest competition.” Luke dried his hands on the towel. “I’m intimidated as hell, in fact. But I’d kinda like to know if you’ve got a warm spot under all that good manners routine, you know?”

“And if I don’t?”

He smiled. “I think it’s worth a shot. So what about it? Think you can spend a little more time with me?”

“Are you asking if I’m attracted to you?”

“Okay, if you want to be blunt about it, yeah.”

Grace took her time responding. She liked his smile. She liked that he changed tires for stranded motorists. She liked that he signed autographs no matter how many times he was asked. And those shoulders. The way he moved. If she blushed every time she looked at him, it was probably because her body temperature went up a few degrees.

But she kept it simple and said, “I’m willing to give it a shot.”

He laughed. “See? You’re funny.”

“They say a sense of humor is the first element of sexual chemistry.”

“Whoever ‘they’ are hasn’t gotten laid in a long time.”

Grace laughed, but thought a few steps ahead and finally frowned. “Wait a minute.”

“Second thoughts already?”

Sternly, she said, “Are you offering to drive me all the way to Philadelphia because you want to see me naked, as you so charmingly put it yesterday? Or because you think I’m going to start asking people questions about Jake Kendall’s death and get into trouble?”

He cocked his head and squinted. “Is there a right answer to that question?”

“Are you worried about me?”

He shook his head. “I think you can take care of yourself. How about it? Can you be ready to leave in half an hour?”

“You’re giving me thirty minutes to get ready to spend the day with you?”

He laughed. “We could save some time and shower together.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that would save time at all,” Grace said with a smile she hoped looked more composed than she felt. “And it’s definitely premature to start thinking about showers.”

“Your loss. Be ready in half an hour. Twenty minutes would be even better.” With a grin, he got up from the counter and headed for the stairs. When he reached the upper hallway, Grace heard him start to whistle.

She sat for a moment eyeing the dripping chunk of grapefruit in her fingers.

She popped the grapefruit into her mouth and savored the tart and the sweet.

Did Mama’s book tours go this way?

6.

A man in a pickup truck was plowing Luke’s driveway when they went out to load their luggage into the red sports car in his garage. He waved, and Luke walked outside to shout pleasantries with him over the roar of the truck’s engine.

Then Luke came back and lifted her suitcases into the trunk of a vintage Jaguar. His own duffle didn’t take up much space next to Grace’s bags.

“Okay,” Luke said when he closed the trunk. “Before we start this road trip, can we get one thing out of the way first?”

Grace heart had been skittering ever since she agreed to travel with a man she barely knew. Especially a hot guy accustomed to lap dances and blow jobs and who knew what else.

She tried to look brave. “Of course. What is it?”

Grace had no idea what was coming when he took her by the hand and drew her outside into the sunshine. A second later, he wrapped one arm around her and pulled Grace snug against his tall frame. Her first instinct wasn’t resistance. Even though she suddenly couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen, she let her body melt into his.

“This,” he said.

He kissed her. A good kiss, too. Not rough, not rushed. Not too hard like he had something to prove. Just slow and warm and delicious enough to make her head spin. A seductive, persuasive kind of kiss that went on and on until she felt her brain start melting into steamy mush.

When his tongue touched hers, Grace slipped her hands around his shoulders and held on for dear life.

Until the snowplow driver tooted his horn.

Luke loosened his grip on her, but Grace held on just a little longer, enjoying the strength and heat of him. He met her gaze and smiled.

Lightly, she said, “If that kiss had been a disappointment, would you be calling me a cab and staying home?”

“It wasn’t a disappointment,” he said, arms still around her.

“No,” she said, hearing her voice quiver. “It wasn’t.”

“I like mornings,” Luke informed her, letting her go.

“Good to know,” she replied, trying to make light of the moment.

He tucked her into the plush leather of the front passenger seat, and she tossed her fur hat into the back.

The Jaguar was a low convertible with a long hood and a wonderful burbling engine that created a sexy kind of tremor in the car’s frame as they sat briefly in the driveway to wait for the snowplow to finish. The steering wheel was thick and wrapped with fine black leather, and the numerous dials and switches on the dash glowed from polishing. It was the sort of car that men enjoyed driving, and Luke looked happy behind the wheel.

Grace hoped the car wasn’t the only thing he was happy about.

He’d showered and dressed in a crew neck sweater and a pair of clean jeans that hugged him in ways the grease-stained pair had not. He smelled delicious. His mouth had tasted like peppermint and something more potent.

She could only imagine what tomorrow morning might bring. Grace had chosen her white wool trousers and a short jacket from Nora—Chanel again, but lavender this time—with its double row of gold buttons. She’d decided to skip the pearls Nora suggested. And at the last minute she discarded the blouse Nora had tucked into her suitcase, too, and instead slipped a T-shirt over her head to wear under the jacket. More comfortable, more her own style.

For better or worse, Grace knew she was setting off on an adventure.

The sunshine was glorious. And with the fresh accumulation of snow, the countryside looked marvelously clean. It felt like the kind of morning to be traveling in a horse-drawn sleigh. But Grace snuggled back into the warm seat and hoped her heartbeat might slow down.