Playing for Keeps (6 page)

He turned and threw the water in her face.

She stared at him stunned.

He looked down at the glass with regret. "Damn, I thought you'd melt."

Stacy wiped water from her eyes. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Feel better now?"

"No."

He turned to the sink.

She grabbed his arm. "Don't even think about it."

"I'm thirsty."

She tried to wrestle the glass from him. "No, you're not."

He moved the glass out of reach. "Yes, I am."

"Then drink somewhere else."

"You want me to leave?"

"Yes."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll make you."

A slow grin spread across his face. "I'd like to see you try."

Stacy grabbed a butcher knife. "Will this persuade you?"

Chance opened his arms wide. "Take your aim." He pointed to his jugular vein. "Slice this and I won't last long."

Stacy let her arms fall to her sides and stared at him perplexed. "What is wrong with you?"

He started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You just reminded me of a friend of mine. He's always telling me what's wrong with me. Maybe you should ask him."

She shook her head amazed. "I can't believe you're laughing."

He continued to laugh. "You don't find this funny? You're asking 'What's wrong with me?' And you're holding a butcher knife." He suddenly sobered as if coming to a realization. "Oh...wait a minute. Am I supposed to be scared?"

"Yes. Most men would be."

He nodded as if considering her words. "Is that what you want? You want me to be scared of you?" He reached over and took the knife from her. "Because you don't scare me, Stacy. Not one little bit. Do you know why? Because I know you're not irrational. That you are very likable and that I'm lucky to have you in my life. So you won't be able to drive me away."

"You hardly know me."

His gaze dipped to her lips then returned to her eyes. "I know you better than you think."

"I'm really not a dog person," Stacy swallowed, wondering how he could make her feel so many emotions--anger, annoyance, and attraction.

"Become one."

"Maybe it won't work."

Chance rested his hands on her shoulders. "He needs you and you need him. And you both need me."

"I'll probably regret this."

Chance called Houdini who came running. He sat and Chance gave him a treat. He handed a treat to Stacy. "Now you give him one."

"He doesn't like me."

"He's totally forgotten about the screaming. He's fine now. Just give him a treat."

She did. The puppy gazed up at her and she stroked him and he licked her hand, his tail wagging.

Chance grinned. "He adores you."

"He probably wants another treat."

"Or to be petted more. Not everyone who comes into your life wants something from you."

Stacy kept her gaze lowered not trusting herself to look at him again. "Are you still referring to Houdini?"

"What do you think?"

She straightened. She didn't know what to think. When she was with him she didn't want to think. That could be dangerous. "I don't know."

Chance drew her close. "I want you to trust me."

"You want me to keep the dog," she said knowing they both were really talking about something else.

"That too. Relax. He likes you."

Stacy searched his eyes--trying to find a hint of deception. Could he really be as attracted to her as she was to him? Was he just another cunning rogue who'd break her heart. "He is adorable," she said with reluctance.
And you're gorgeous.

"I know a trainer who can help you. And a doggy daycare service."

She bit her lip. Did he really mean he'd stay with her? That he wouldn't judge her? That she could be truly safe with him? Trust him? "Okay."

His gaze dipped to her lips again and for one wild minute she thought he would kiss her, but then he quickly turned. "I'd better go." He headed for the door.

"I thought you said you were thirsty," Stacy said surprised and disappointed by his abrupt change.

"I'll get a drink later," he said in a rush, eager to leave. He opened the door.

"I can't convince you to stay a little longer?" Stacy asked wondering what she'd done wrong.

His bold gaze roved over her in a lazy seductive way and his voice deepened."If I stay a second longer, I'll find a way to spend the night."

Her heart jolted and she gave a nervous laugh, resisting the urge to move closer to him. "That would take a miracle."

He winked. "Hey, I came in, didn't I?" he said, then stole a quick kiss that left her mouth burning. "Bye."

Stacy closed the door then rested against it and touched her lips, wondering what it would have felt like if he had kissed her for more than a second. She felt her whole body grow warm at the thought. She pushed herself from the door and shook her head. She had to take things slow, even though she knew she'd count the days until she could see him again. He'd made a horrible day seem that much better and next time she'd treat him. With that thought in mind, she helped Kelly clean up Houdini's mess, even humming at times.

***

Later, Stacy walked into her bedroom, exhausted. She overheard Kelly talking to someone. "Yea, Crazy Stacy had a major meltdown today. You should have seen her flip out. Damn, I thought I'd be able to clean up the mess her dog made before she got back. You wouldn't believe the amount of money she's spent on this stupid dog, even wanting me to hire a babysitter. Yea, I know. I just thought if I took the little beast out for it to poop and kept him in the bathroom he'd be fine, but he's like an escape artist. Uh huh...I know. Yea, right. I didn't expect it to be this bad though. This is when I wish she'd kept the house. It would have been easier to hide the dog there than here. But boy you should have seen her face. I wish I'd caught it on camera. She really lost it when she saw what the dog had done."

Kelly was talking about her? Making fun of her? She was one of the few people she thought she could still trust. Stacy stepped closer to listen more.

"Some guy she brought home had to calm her down. No, I don't know who he was, but probably nobody interesting. She doesn't have many friends or people to talk about. Great body though, but I couldn't really see his face because of the baseball cap. I'm thinking of adding it to my 'Dealing with a Diva' blog. I'll make some changes of course, but the readers are going to eat this up."

Stacy took out her cell phone and accessed the blog. Her heart constricted as she read some of the awful tales Kelly had written about her. Calling her a 'diva' and other less flattering terms.

"The moment we sign that book deal I am out of here. Yea, I better go, I think I hear her. Bye."

Stacy quickly put her phone away then walked into the bathroom to confront her.

Kelly smiled at her as if they were old friends. "Everything is as good as new."

Stacy looked around. Kelly may be a backstabber, but she still was a great housekeeper. She'd trusted her to keep her place in order. "Thank you. I'll bet you can't wait to stop doing this. You want more time to write."

Her smile fell. "What?"

"What did you do with the money for the dog sitter?" She'd given her money to get one, now she knew she'd pocketed the money instead.

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

Stacy sighed. Did everyone close to her lie? "When should I congratulate you about your book deal?"

Kelly blinked fast and stumbled over her words. "Oh, it's really nothing."

"You don't need to wait for the deal to come through, you can leave now."

"Look, you don't understand."

"And I don't care to. Goodbye."

Kelly marched past her. Stacy watched her gather her things then sat in the living room and waited until she heard the front door slam. She took a deep breath and blinked back tears. Kelly's betrayal hurt more than she expected. She could hear Julia telling her that she could sue for libel, if the book or blog warranted it. But she didn't want to spend any more time fighting in court. Lately, everything seemed like a fight. She lay on the couch and let the tears fall. Houdini came up to her and nudged her leg. She gripped her hand into a fist then relaxed and stroked him, feeling her pain ebb a little. "I guess it's just you and me now." She scratched him behind his ear and he closed his eyes in pleasure. "So you were just as angry as me for getting locked up. I'm sorry. It'll be better next time."

Stacy gathered what little energy she had left and looked at her mail. She quickly waded through her bills and junk mail, feeling numb then a beautiful envelope caught her eye.

Intrigued, Stacy turned the envelope over and studied it. It looked like an invitation. She didn't get invitations anymore. Had it come to the wrong address? She checked the label and saw her name: Stacy Regina Price. She grabbed a letter opener and swiftly cut it open. Inside the gold lined envelope was a handwritten note on expensive parchment paper trimmed with finely woven lace. She read:
You have been personally selected to join The Black Stockings Society, an elite, members-only club that will change your life and help you find the man of your dreams. Guaranteed.

The Black Stockings Society? She'd never heard of it. Was it some kind of lingerie club? How had they gotten her name? She scanned the rest of the note.

Dumped? Bored? Tired of being single? Ready to live dangerously? Then this is the club for you. Guaranteed results! Submit your application today.

Dumped?
Yes and no. She'd dumped her husband, but he'd emotionally dumped her years ago.

Tired of being single?
Yes and no. She'd just finalized her divorce and hadn't looked at another man. She should be relishing her new singlehood, but after meeting Chance she was rethinking her options. Maybe she was ready for a new relationship. Had Julia given her name to some dating service to cheer her up?

Ready to live dangerously?
Stacy paused. She had taken in a dog without thinking and, for one minute, thought of throwing caution to the wind and asking Chance to spend the night. Maybe she was ready to add some adventure to her life.

Guaranteed results, huh? She looked at the nominal fee and application. It wouldn't hurt to try it out. Stacy went over to her desk and pulled out a pen and looked at the enclosed questionnaire. Then frowned with disappointment when she looked at the questions. They didn't make much sense and weren't as analytical and scientific as she would have expected them to be, but she answered them anyway.

How would you spend five dollars?
Only five dollars? She didn't remember the last time she'd spent so little. She quickly wrote down 'I don't know' then scratched it out and wrote instead 'Buy something at a pizzeria' remembering the delicious pizza Chance had bought her.

Do you prefer sugar or salt?
Depends on the recipe.

What would your ideal man be like?

Stacy laughed thinking of Nila. Why did that question keep coming up? She didn't think her ideal man existed, although Chance made her wonder. He came pretty close. But she didn't know him that well. She wrote:
Sexy, easy to talk to.
She paused then tried to think of something else and wrote down
'driven'. Marshall hadn't been. Once she finished, she read the "sworn oath" at the bottom of the page:
As a member of The Black Stockings Society, I swear I will not reveal club secrets, I will accept nothing but the best and I will no longer settle for less.

Stacy briefly wondered about the secrecy of the club. She couldn't even tell Julia? She pushed any concerns aside. Her life wasn't the way she wanted and this club signified a welcome change. She'd take whatever help they could give. She wrote a check for the nominal membership fee, signed the application and oath then sealed the envelope and put it in the mail.

To her shock, two days later a medium sized package arrived. The package included four pairs of stockings, a membership card that read
Stacy Regina Price, Member, The Black Stockings Society
, and also included a set of instructions.

Welcome to The Black Stockings Society. Your first assignment is to take your membership card to Chic Spa and Hair salon where you will ask for the
deluxe special
. Please set plenty of time aside for this appointment. You'll meet with Damion. Once you have completed this assignment you will wear one of your stockings to your next class at the detention center.

How did they know she was teaching a class at the detention center? Why would she wear one of the stockings to the class? How would that help her meet her ideal man? But Stacy pushed her concerns aside, she wouldn't pass up an opportunity for a spa treatment. Stacy immediately called and made her appointment then groaned when she saw what else she had on her calendar: Anger Management Class.

***

It had been a close call. Chance set his razor down and stared at his reflection. His beard was gone and days had passed since he'd last seen Stacy, but he still felt like he was running a fever. She'd always had that effect on him, at times making him tongue tied. When he was around her he sometimes felt like a big, awkward kid, but with a laugh she put him at ease and then made him feel like nothing was impossible. It had been so tempting to stay that night, but he'd had to pull himself away. He didn't want to ruin anything. She still didn't recognize him and he wondered when she would--if she would. It was a wound to his pride that she didn't remember anything about him, but then it had only been a brief meeting. Two weeks one summer. She'd forgotten, but meeting her then had changed his life.

He wanted to know who had made her cry. Was it her ex-husband or someone else? Who'd taken her smile from her? Would she give him a chance to bring it back? He was eager to establish a relationship with her, but knew he had to be patient, which was the last thing he wanted to be, now that he’d found her again.