Midnight Remedy (18 page)

“If we ever want to eat tonight, we’ve got to get this set up.” She accepted his help but continued tugging on the box.

“God knows that kid you hired is young enough and strong enough to handle it. Where is he?”

“Doing something else. Besides, this isn’t really
 . . .
” she panted as they heaved the box onto the table, “. . . heavy.”

“Yeah? Then why do I have a hernia?” He hadn’t realized just how much physical labor Piper’s work involved. And until a few days ago, he hadn’t realized just how much time she spent trying to expand her business without overextending herself. He studied her for a minute. “Is this show so important? You’re as nervous as I’ve ever seen you.”

She wiped sweat from her brow. “If I can hook that chain I told you about, my business will take off like honeysuckle taking over a fence. The owner’s a tough sell.”

Eric looked at her display. “You’ve got great flowers. What’s the problem?”

“Lots of folks have good flowers. Mine have to be the best.”

Eric understood that drive to succeed. He liked the fact that Piper didn’t wait around for opportunities to come to her, she went after them. “But yours are unique.” He gestured toward them. “Look around, it’s obvious.”

“What’s obvious it that there’s lots of competition.”

Eric slipped an arm around her and squeezed her waist lightly. “I can see you need me to prescribe something to settle your nerves. I know just the thing.”

She glanced at him sideways. “Oh, and what would that be?”

“We start,” he murmured in her ear, “by having a romantic dinner. Then I take you for a stroll along the Riverwalk.”

Stretching her neck, she gave a tiny groan. “That sounds good. What happens then?”

“I don’t think I’d better tell you here,” he said, wishing the booth weren’t so public. “It’ll have to be discussed in a private consultation.”

She smiled, her eyes holding a promise of the night to come. “Sounds like my kind of medicine, Doc.”

By habit, Eric woke early
the next morning. Piper slept with her hips cradled against him and his hand resting over one satin smooth breast. Nice, he thought. Not having to take her home in the middle of the night, making love as much as they wanted, having her there when he woke in the morning. That last thought jolted him wide awake.

He was in love with her, dammit. Love, not just lust. Absolutely, positively, totally in love with her. Why hadn’t he broken things off when he suspected he was falling for her? He’d thought he could handle it, thought he could keep himself from getting in too deep. Or told himself he could because he couldn’t face losing her.

He’d never been so glad to hear an alarm go off.

“Tell me I’m dreaming that sound,” Piper mumbled.

“Afraid not, Angel. Time to get up.”

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those disgustingly cheerful in the morning people,” she said, sitting up.

“Guilty.” Realizing he was in love with Piper hadn’t decreased his desire for her. Lightly, he ran his hand up her spine and bit back a sigh of regret. He couldn’t make her late this morning. The show was too important to her.

Over her shoulder, she aimed a provocative look at him. “Even when you haven’t slept?”

“That depends on why.” Her hair tumbled in disarray over her shoulders and down her bare back. “Besides, we slept,” he said, drawing her back and kissing her mouth slowly. “Some.” He started caressing her breast.

“I’ve got to get dressed,” she said, inhaling sharply. She leaned over to kiss him again. “Right now.” Her hands strayed over his chest.

“Then you’d better go while you can.”

Sparing him a regretful glance, she left the bed. His gaze took in the tousled hair, rosy cheeks, lush glowing curves. He shut his eyes. “Go away, Angel, before I make you very late.”

“Yes, please do, Greg,” she said.

Eric gave him points for taking it like a gentleman. With a grin, McKinnley said, “Maybe tomorrow morning would be better.”

“We insist.” Eric wished he didn’t know how important this deal was to her. Mentally he consigned Greg McKinnley to the devil.

They met him at the restaurant,
one reputed to have the best gumbo on the river. Eric wished Piper had chosen something less striking to wear. Her sleeveless green dress came up almost to her neck in the front, plunged low in the back, and showed off legs that belonged on a much taller person. McKinnley would have had to be blind not to appreciate the effect.

Not blind, but smooth, Eric acknowledged. Within five minutes of their sitting down, he knew Eric’s profession, how long he’d lived in Capistrano, and he’d gathered a fair idea of Piper and Eric’s relationship. He turned his attention to Piper and there it stayed for the rest of the evening.

Late in the evening, Piper excused herself, leaving the two men alone for the first time. “What brought you to Capistrano?” McKinnley asked him. “A small West Texas town doesn’t seem like it would suit you.”

Eric shrugged. “I’d been in the University system for a long time and was ready for a change.”

“Have you known Piper long?” He said it casually, and took a drink.

Eric met his eyes. “Long enough.”

McKinnley tapped his fingers on his glass. “I don’t suppose you and Piper are going your separate ways come Monday morning?”

He cut to the chase, Eric thought. “Guess again.” He took a healthy swallow of his gin and tonic.

“Involved?” McKinnley hazarded.

“You got it.”

“Exclusively involved?” he persisted, leaning forward.

“Bingo.”

“Damn, I was afraid of that.” He sat back in his chair and downed half of his drink. “Piper’s a beautiful woman.”

“Yes.” Eric waited to see what else McKinnley had to say. Somehow, he didn’t think he was finished.

“You know, since we’re doing business now, I’ll be in touch with Piper frequently. I’m bound to hear if you two, say, have a misunderstanding.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Eric told him.

McKinnley laughed. “I wouldn’t give her up either. You’d have to be crazy to do that, and you don’t look crazy to me.”

Just about Piper, Eric thought, recognizing that he was a lot farther gone than he wanted to be.

“I can’t believe it.”
Piper threw her arms around Eric’s neck and hugged him, ready to share her happiness, but he didn’t seem very happy. She realized he must be upset because his plans for a romantic dinner with just the two of them had been spoiled. “I know you’d wanted to be alone and so did I, but this was very important to my business.”

Irritation flickered over his face. “Why do you think I invited him along?”

“You’re angry.”

“What makes you think I’m angry?”

“Well, for starters you’re walking a hundred miles an hour. Could you slow down?” She had to sprint to keep up with him.

“Sorry.” He slowed, but not much. They were approaching their hotel when he said, “Why did you wear that dress?”

Puzzled, she looked down. “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s too short. And too low in the back.”

“You didn’t mind earlier,” she snapped, thinking that they nearly hadn’t made it out of the room in time for dinner.

“This was a business dinner.”

“So?” She stared at him incredulously.

“He might have been able to keep his eyes off you if you
 . . .
” Eric broke off, gritting his teeth. “Never mind.”

“So that’s what this is about,” she said slowly. “Am I supposed to wear sackcloth and ashes so no man will look at me?”

“Give me a break.” Glaring at her, his gaze encompassed her from head to toe. “It seems like you could have worn something more businesslike to a business dinner.”

“My dress was plenty businesslike,” she shot back, her temper firing. “Greg didn’t have a problem talking business.”

“Greg was just a perfect gentleman, wasn’t he?”

Furious by now, she forced herself not to shout. “I know when a man is talking business and when he’s making a pass at me. And Greg didn’t. So you can stop with this irrational jealousy.” She strode into the lobby ahead of him.

He caught up to her at the elevator. The door closed. “Irrational?” He backed her against the wall and grated out, “Let me tell you something, Angel. If I hadn’t been glued against your side with my hand on your thigh, you would’ve seen more passes than Peyton Manning throws in a season.”

The elevator door opened. Piper didn’t speak as they walked to the room. Once inside, she threw down her purse and said, her voice dangerously calm, “Don’t you
ever
insinuate that I use my looks to get ahead in business. How dare you say that to me?”

“All I’m saying is that while you may have had business on your mind, that’s not all that McKinnley was thinking about.”

“If that’s true it’s not my fault.”

“You can’t help it that you’re so damned beautiful, can you?”

She leveled a long stare at him. “Tell me something, Eric. What was the first thing you noticed about me?”

He gritted his teeth. “That’s beside the point.”

“No, it is the point. Do you think I like it that most men never see beyond my looks?”

“I don’t know,” he fired back. “Do you?” Staring at her, his eyes glittered, dark green and angry.

“You’re making a federal case out of nothing. Greg was perfectly polite.”

He gave a short bark of laughter. “Yeah, he perfectly politely asked my permission to put the moves on you.”

Piper’s mouth dropped open. “He
 . . .
he asked you if he
 . . .
”

Eric caged her in by slapping his palms against the wall on either side of her head. Glaring down at her, his voice low and dangerously dark, he said, “Yeah. As in, can I have a shot at her if you’re not involved?”

She couldn’t swallow, or breathe. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him it was up to you.” Their bodies not quite touching, the heat of temper and passion rose between them.

“You did?” Blood heated in her veins, her heart began to beat a fast cadence of desire that warred with the anger.

“Hell, no,” he said. “I told him you were mine.” His mouth descended on hers in a hard, savage kiss, possessing her with a hunger and barely leashed violence she’d never felt before.