Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger (49 page)

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Authors: Lori Copeland

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Contemporary, #Westerns, #test

BOOK: Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger
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Page 151
She arched toward him, her mouth responding to his, eager for the touch and smell of him. She had known it would be wrong to let him touch her, and she had been right. He wanted her, she knew that without a doubt as her body strained hotly against his.
The front light clicked on as Dan Loring stepped out onto the porch. Chandra jumped when she saw her father eyeing the mounting drifts of snow.
''I have to go in," she whispered nervously, edging over to her side of the car.
Garrett looked at her, his breathing ragged and wanting. "Can I see you again?"
"No, Phillip will be here tomorrow. The wedding . . . is the thirty-first." She faltered, "II'll be married then."
"I believe you really mean that," he said coldly. "Don't keep pushing me on this, Chandra. I've made my last offer!"
Her hand went for the handle of the door. "Good-bye, Garrett."
He stared moodily ahead of him in the dark car as she got out and slammed the door. The roar of his motor echoed loudly in the dark night as he started the car and drove around the corner, the red taillights glowing eerily in the snow. "I will not cryI will not cry," Chandra chanted over and over, walking past her father in a stony daze. "I've cried my last tears over Garrett Morganson."
Chandra was just coming down to breakfast the next morning when the doorbell chimed. Wondering who it could be this early in the morning, she flung open the door to come face to face with the same smiling delivery man from the florist, standing there in the cold light of morning. The snow had trickled off to a fine smattering of flakes in the air.
"Hi! Would you believe another four dozen roses?" he asked, extending a bouquet to her identical to the one that he had delivered two weeks ago to another address.
"He didn't!" she grumbled under her breath, signing the receipt and trying to balance the flowers in her arms.
 
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Closing the door hurriedly she reached for the card in the middle, reading Garrett's bold scrawl. ''If you won't consider six months, how about six weeks, I want to be fair about it . . . I love you. Garrett."
Chandra felt like stomping her foot in irritation. What was she going to do with this impossiblelovableman!
"Who was at the door, dear?" her mother asked, walking into the living room with a cup of coffee. "Oh, my." Her eyes widened as they took in the four dozen roses in Chandra's arms.
"Just the florist, Mom. Here, these are for you." Chandra shifted the roses over into her mom's arms, taking her coffee cup from her.
"For me!" Margo shrieked in delight, searching hurriedly for a card. "For heaven's sake, who would be rich enough to send me this many roses?"
"I don't know, it didn't have a card in it," Chandra fibbed blatantly. "They're probably from Dad," she improvised.
Margo glared at Chandra irritably. "In a pig's eye! Are these your flowers, Chandra Lea?"
"Not now, Mom. I gave them to you," she said lightly as she ushered her mother into the kitchen. "You enjoy themeven if Dad didn't send them, he certainly should have."
"I'll bet your Garrett sent these," her mother guessed accurately as she filled a large crystal vase with water and set the beautiful floral offering into it. "He must
really
have it bad for you."
Chandra poured herself a cup of coffee, then walked to the window to look bleakly out at the drifting snow. "Not bad enough, Mom, not bad enough."
 
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Chapter Nine
The day of Phillip's arrival had come sooner than Chandra hoped it would. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Phillipshe desperately
did
. It was that she dreaded what had to be done. After hours of tossing and turning the night before she had made up her mind that no matter what the outcome of their talk she would never be able to marry him. Her mother had been right. It would not be fair to marry one man when her love was given to another.
Phillip arrived late in the afternoon, his red Ferrari creeping slowly down the snow-packed streets. Chandra stepped out on the porch to welcome him, her eyes lingering on his tall handsomeness as he alighted from his car. Giving her a flashing smile he hurried up the sidewalk to her.
''It's really good to see you, honey," he greeted, taking her in his arms. He kissed her eagerly, holding her slim body next to his tightly. Chandra honestly tried to return the kiss, but it was like kissing a stranger.
Phillip's arms don't feel the same as Gar
She checked her traitorous thoughts.
Phillip severed the kiss and leaned back to look at her assessingly. "I'd almost forgotten how beautiful you arealmost, but not quite." His mouth took hers again for one more welcoming kiss. Chandra stood like a piece of stone, unable to show any sort of enthusiasm for his greeting. It was she that broke the kiss this time, taking his hand to lead him into the house. After a warm greeting from her parents, they stood in the kitchen and made
 
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small talk as Margo and Chandra put the final touches to the evening meal.
''Fried chicken and hot biscuits! I haven't had a meal like this in a long time," Phillip told Margo gratefully, taking a radish on the relish tray Chandra was carrying to the table. "Does your daughter cook as well as you do?"
Margo paused as she stirred the gravy, shooting Chandra's father a took of dismay.
"Hasn't she ever cooked anything for you, Phillip?" Dan asked casually, coming to his wife's rescue.
Phillip thought for a moment, then shook his head negatively. "Not that I can recallhave you, Chandra?"
Chandra kept her head down as she finished setting the table. "I don't think I have," she mumbled absently.
"Well," he smiled, "are you as good a cook as your mother?"
"Different . . . I'd say we cook differently from each other." She wasn't about to tell him what a lousy cook she was. Garrett had already insulted her enough!
"Yes, that's how I would describe it," Dan spoke again as he walked over and placed his arms on his daughter's shoulders and smiled at her teasingly. "Chandra has a style all her own."
"I've always let her have free rein in the kitchen," Margo said, defending her motherly obligations, hoping that Phillip would remember her words after her daughter fixed their first meal together.
"Well, anyone as pretty as Chandra shouldn't have to be a good cook," Phillip complimented, winking at her.
Fifteen minutes later they sat down to an outstanding meal, each one praising Margo's cooking with every bite. When she brought out the slices of hot apple pie, rich with cinnamon, sugar, and butter, Phillip groaned in disbelief. "I don't know where I'm going to put that, but I'm sure going to try."
After dinner Margo insisted that Phillip and Chandra let her and Dan clean the kitchen, urging them to take an after-dinner walk together.
The crisp, night air felt good to Chandra as they stepped out
 
Page 155
onto the porch, warmly bundled up for their walk. As they started down the street an unusually strained silence developed between them, each one waiting for the other to speak.
I know he's aware there's something wrong,
she fretted as they turned the corner and started down Garner Avenue at a brisk pace.
But where ''do I even begin?
As if he could sense that she wanted to say something, Phillip turned to her at the same moment she turned to him, both speaking at the same time.
"Phillip, I need to talk . . ."
"Chandra, there's something I think you should . . ."
They suddenly stopped walking, surprise written on each face. Phillip began to chuckle, Chandra joining in readily. The strained tension of the past few minutes entirely evaporated.
"You first," Phillip said respectfully, his laughter crinkling the corner of his eyes.
"No, reallyyou go first," Chandra demurred quickly, wanting to delay the inevitable as long as possible.
Phillip took a deep breath, then reached for her hand to resume their walking. "I guess you're wondering why I've come down early," he began somberly.
"Yes, I wasn't really expecting you until later," she answered, keeping pace with his long strides, "but I'm happy to see you anyway," she added guiltily.
The pressure on her hand increased as he silently acknowledged her words. Chandra felt a rush of love for him as they walked on together in the snowy night. Certainly not the wild, crazy, exhilarating kind of love she felt when she was with . . . the other one, but a warm, sisterly kind of love. It was like taking a walk with Darrelleasy, compatible, a warm feeling that he really cared about her.
"I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch this last week, but with the trial case . . ." His voice was apologetic, almost too much so.
"That's all right," Chandra assured him. "I've been in and out . . . you probably wouldn't have caught me." Her conscience
 
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stabbed at her sharply, as memories of the man she had spent that time with assailed her. ''Did you go alone this time?"
"No, I took Janet with me." Phillip increased his strides as the wind began to stir in the bare branches of the sycamore trees lining the residential street.
"Janet Rayburn?" Chandra responded thoughtfully, her mind conjuring up the tall, dark-haired woman who worked in the law office with them. Janet had always been a quiet, unassuming type of person, going about her work with enthusiasm. Personally, Chandra had always thought Janet would have made the perfect mate for Phillip. She loved all types of sports just as avidly as he did. He used to perch on her desk for hours, discussing certain plays that had been made by their favorite football team the Sunday before. Chandra had certainly never felt threatened by his attention to Janet. She paused in her thinking . . . her mind trying to visualize Garrett perched on that same desk. A stinging blaze of jealousy shot through her. Janet would have had her hair ripped out if Garrett had!
"Yes, Marcy was sick," he replied absently.
Marcy Simmons was a much older lady who worked in the office. She usually accompanied Phillip or his father on out-of-town trips. There were books of dictation to take since the trials usually ran for days.
They were walking along the crowded streets now, throngs of Christmas shoppers braying the cold and snow for last-minute bargains. Each window was lit with Christmas decorations, lending a festive air to the night. As they walked by the department store window that she and Garrett had stood looking at only the week before, her hand tensed in Phillip's. Her eyes watched the busy little elves building the toys while Santa sat smoking his pipe and rocking rhythmically in his chair before the fire. She could almost feel the touch of Garrett's lips on her neck as he had pulled her over to whisper suggestively what Santa would like to bring her for Christmas. Unconsciously she removed her glove, bringing her fingers up to touch the area below her ear.
 
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The one spot he always went to first when he was trying to arouse her.
Mesmerized by the scene before her she finally admitted to herself that she was weakening. With an overpowering certainty she knew she would give in to his demands if she stayed very much longer in the same town with him. She was in love with him, and she wasn't sure she could face the future without him. Maybe it would be better to have part of him than not have him at all. Her heart ached at the thought that he might grow tired of her at the end of the six monthsor weeks, whatever. No, it was best if she went home Christmas day and tried to put Garrett out of her mind.
''Are you cold, honey?" Phillip reached for the ungloved hand, rubbing it gently. "Let's get some coffee."
Phillip found a small bar off the crowded street and led her into it. They adjusted their eyes to the dim light, then walked to a secluded table in the corner.
"Do you want coffee or something to drink?" Phillip offered peeling off his heavy gloves and laying them on the table.
Feeling in the mood for something stronger than coffee, she answered hurriedly, "I'd like to have an apricot sour if they make them."
"If they don't, they'll learn how." Phillip reached over and took her hands in his. "I want to talk to you, Chandra."
Chandra looked up swiftly, his tone of voice grave. "All right, Phillip. I need to talk to you also."
A gum-chewing waitress came over to the table to take their order.
Phillip gave her their order curtly, then brought his attention back to Chandra. "I honestly don't know where to start, Chandra." His warm eyes were intent on her rosy face, the wind having kissed it to a pretty pink. "You know I mentioned that I took Janet Rayburn with me on my trip last week."
"Yes." Chandra watched his face intently. Phillip was disturbed about something.
"Chandra . . ." Phillip ran his fingers over his face impatiently,

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