Tempting Aquisitions (5 page)

Nathan extended a hand and settled his palm across her lower back as they walked through the restaurant. His voice was low when he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Perfect. I’ve needed to see to some business interests in Vegas. I’ll see you at the festival.”

Chapter Four

Nathan knew money could buy a lot of things, but he couldn’t hold back the undiluted admiration at what Keira and her staff had created in the large hotel conference center, deep in the heart of the Las Vegas strip.

The convention space had been transformed into a food-lovers’ paradise, complete with elaborate stations for a number of celebrity chefs, long rows of wine-tasting stations, and what had to be eight million twinkle lights woven into a tapestry of color along the entire length of the hall.

A small army of staff moved in an oddly chaotic ballet, directing workers to where they needed to place electrical strips, propane tanks, and racks of wineglasses. In the middle of it all stood Keira. A thin headset sat on her head and she marched around the room in a pair of heels that would fell a lesser woman at thirty paces.

She was incredible, and a small ache settled in the pit of his stomach as he stood off to the side and watched her. Where had this come from?

She hadn’t been far from his thoughts for the last forty-eight hours and Nathan still hadn’t figured out how he could possibly have missed a woman he barely knew. Or why he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

A loud commotion pulled him from his thoughts when a waiter carrying too many stacks of wineglasses stumbled over a taped-down electrical wire. Whatever softer emotions had him gazing at Keira fled as he leaped into action. Nathan pushed forward to keep the man from falling onto Keira, while loud shouts echoed in the cavernous space around them.

Crushing her to him, Nathan dragged her several paces, his arms full of surprised woman. Her hands pressed against his chest and her lips formed a surprised
O
as she stared up at him.

“What?”

His arms stayed tight around her as he fought to calm his raging heartbeat. “Are you okay?”

“Me? What? I’m fine.” She struggled against him, her slender form sending his blood pressure soaring even higher as the length of her body brushed against his before she scrambled out of his arms.

“You could have broken an ankle in those shoes. Are you sure you’re okay?” He took a few steps toward her, closing the distance she created and reaching for her hand even as his inane words echoed in his head.

He’d spent his adult life admiring women who wore sexy heels and now he was worried she’d break a leg? Shaking it off, he couldn’t ignore the subtle grimace that lined her lips. Her expression held more anger and embarrassment than pain. “If that’s the worst we deal with today, I’ll consider myself lucky.”

As she smoothed down her multicolored silk blouse in a nervous gesture, he couldn’t hold back a small smile. “But are you okay?”

“Yes, I really am fine.” Keira pulled her gaze from the hotel staff who’d quickly come over to help with the broken glasses. “Running about two hours behind schedule, but fine.”

“You’ve got an army of workers in here. It’ll all get done.”

“That’s what my catering manager told me.” With one final look around, she turned to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I wanted to see you this weekend.”

Nathan could have sworn he saw a quick spark of something deep in those luscious brown eyes before she firmly shut it down. “And I told you I’ve got work to do.”

“Well then, why don’t you show me around as you do all that work you so urgently need to get back to? Especially now that we’ve averted today’s disaster.”

Her eyes narrowed as she stared back at him and Nathan felt the battle of wills arc through the air between them as Keira decided her next move. “Fine. The sooner I show you around, the sooner I can get rid of you.”

“That’s what you think.”

He was surprised to realize he meant every word.

…

Keira fought down the urge to respond as she turned on her heel and started for the section of the room labeled
California Reds
. She hated the petulant tone that tinged her words and hated even more the way he could make her feel so off her game. As someone who prided herself on her sense of control, comportment, and decorum, this constant unease was troubling. The small voice that sounded remarkably like her sisters’ rose up at that moment to be heard over the din of confusion roiling through her mind.

Maybe a little time spent out of control is just what you need.

She ran her hands over her blouse once more to brush away non-existent wrinkles and moved her thoughts firmly to the voices echoing through her headset instead. Sadly, even that was a disappointment, seeing as how everything was moving smoothly toward the finish line.

Damn, where was an emergency when she needed one?

On a soft sigh, she turned back toward Nathan, cursing the butterflies in her stomach. Did the man have to be so compelling? His liquid blue eyes and broad shoulders were set off to perfection by his work-casual outfit of a button-down white shirt open at the throat, charcoal slacks, and a beautiful pair of Italian loafers.

“Let’s start in wines.”

He nodded and followed, his gaze alert as it roved over the various stations in progress. Forcing a polite blandness into her tone, she began the same practiced speech she’d give the reporters in another few hours.

“The show is in its twenty-seventh year. It started as a destination to showcase all our food advertisers in
Home and Family
magazine and quickly took on a life all its own.”

“How many attendees?”

“We’ll have more than thirty thousand. When my dad was running it we were lucky to hit a few thousand, although to hear my sister tell it, no more than about twenty people bothered to show up.”

A small smile creased his lips at her small aside, but Keira didn’t miss the clear note of respect in his next words. “That’s impressive.”

She heard the respect in his tone and was startled, turning toward him as they came upon the set of booths that was their destination. “Thank you.”

“Are all the participants advertisers?”

“We’d like them to be, but some simply take advantage of the show. We have a series of marketing packages, so I’d still consider them advertisers, even if they’re not in the pages of the magazine. We’ve also converted several to our online properties, with that number increasing each year.”

“Clever.”

“It’s business. Once they see the power of the
Home and Family
audience in person, they realize how hard it is to ignore.”

“You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

The compliment flowed over her and Keira stopped to look at him.
Really
look at him. Beyond the movie-star eyes and the athletic frame and the expensive shoes.

Was this all part of his game? Make her feel that her work had meaning before going in for the kill?

She wanted to believe there was a cold, unfeeling man underneath that very warm-looking surface so she could protect herself. But even as she kept putting up a brick wall of skepticism, she couldn’t shake the idea that he was sincere. Add on the heady feelings invoked by that mysterious blue gaze, one that made her think of quiet corners and private moments, and she knew she was in trouble.

With every ounce of self-possession she could muster, Keira forced herself back to her mental script as they reached the first booth. “This is the start of the wine stations. We begin with the California reds and move on from there.”

“Why the reds?”

“It’s our largest base of participants, for starters.”

“All who have pretty easy access to the show,” he said as he looked at one of the tasting areas.

“Absolutely. Vegas is an easy trip for them. Plus, people are probably least intimidated by the more familiar wines here and it kicks this section off with a bang.”

“Smart.”

Keira couldn’t hold back the smile. “Practical. We get them happy here and move them to the European wines. By the time they hit Bordeaux, we’ve got them hooked.”

Nathan turned from the booth he was inspecting and gave her a broad smile. “I’ll amend that to smart and devious.”

The smile was infectious and she couldn’t hold her own back. “I like to think of it as good business sense.”

“Oh, it’s definitely that.” He took another look around, turning in a slow circle. “This is far more than I ever expected. Truth be told, I’d heard this event wasn’t all that well done.”

Keira fought to keep her voice level, the lingering reputation of the festival something she and her sisters had fought for the better part of a decade. “And when did you hear that?”

“It floats around.”

On a soft sigh, she nodded, unable to fully blame him for a reputation carved by the hands of another. “That it does. It’s the single biggest thing my sales staff has to fight to get someone new on board. Do you know how many free passes we’ve given away to this event to change people’s minds? I can’t understand why the reputation dogs us like it does after so many successful years.”

“How did the rumor start in the first place?”

While she had little interest in traveling down memory lane, she also refused to let gossip and innuendo win this round. “My father paid little attention to the event. Thought it was beneath his notice.”

“Conferences are big money.”

“Yes, well, growing up with money, he’s had surprisingly little interest in understanding how it’s actually made. He falls more squarely in the camp of ‘I’ll spend it on myself.’”

“So why bring back something that had fallen so far?”

“This was the first project Cam, Mayson, and I took on.”

“For the company?”

“Yep. About eight years ago we made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. If we turned a profit two years in a row, he’d give us
Home and Family
to run. All of it. The magazine, the website, everything.”

“Since the three of you seem rather unstoppable, I’d wager you turned a profit in one.”

Keira couldn’t hold back the grin. “Damn straight.”

“So that’s why you still take part at such a deep level of detail.”

“Right again. The company’s my legacy, but this festival matters to me on a personal level.”

Nathan spread a hand to indicate the path in front of them. “Come on. I’d like to see the rest of it.”

…

The happy laughter and noise of the crowd surrounded him as Nathan walked the same path he’d taken earlier with Keira. True to Keira’s word, the conversations he overheard throughout the wine area reinforced the decision to put the California reds first. Several happy tourists toted tastings in plastic cups from one booth to the next while others lingered over standing tables with full glasses.

Several celebrity chefs were positioned around the room, large viewing areas spread out in a half circle before them for their fans to take a seat and enjoy a demonstration. Nathan recognized the chef from one of his favorite restaurants in New York. With a quick wave, the man excused himself from his workstation to come say hello.

“It’s good to see you, Nathan.” Chuck McMasters slapped him on the back, the light smell of garlic wafting from the apron slung low on his hips. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m in Vegas for the weekend and stopped in to see what this event was all about.”

“It’s quite the rush,” Chuck said. “Few shows can boast this many people in such a short window of time.”

“I’m enjoying myself.” Nathan’s thoughts skittered to images of Keira and realized the words were 100 percent true.

He
was
enjoying the event.

“This is quite the party, and the McBride women certainly know how to put on a show. Keira’s a delicious package. Good business sense and a great pair of legs. What a combination.”

A surge of jealousy sucker punched him, and Nathan fought to keep the bland smile on his face. “Nothing like a woman who’s as smart as she is beautiful.”

“She certainly fits the bill,” Chuck said with a wink before he turned to see one of his sous chefs waving an agitated hand. “I’d better get back over there. The natives are restless.”

Nathan shook hands before Chuck walked off, still chafing at the man’s appraisal of Keira. The woman was the entire package, but it didn’t mean she was a package of meat. With a final glance over his shoulder toward Chuck’s station, where the man ignored his frantic sous chef to flirt with a fan, Nathan resolved to put it out of his mind. He also resolved that he’d pull back the offer he was planning to extend to Chuck to expand his restaurant empire into the Las Vegas project.

“You look oddly satisfied. Please don’t tell me you’ve run off one of the biggest draws of the show.”

As if his conversation with Chuck had conjured her up, Keira appeared at his side. “Not at all,” he said.

She shrugged her slim shoulders. “You must be building takeover plans in your head, then.”

Nathan couldn’t resist the small smile playing the corners of Keira’s lush mouth and felt the tight knot in his stomach begin to untangle. “Join me for a drink and I may share a thought or two.”

“I’m working.”

The hum of activity swirled around them. “The show’s running without a hitch. You’re entitled to a few minutes to yourself.”

“Alone in my room with a bottle of wine and a bubble bath is what I had in mind.”

An image of Keira clad in nothing but bubbles shot straight to his groin, and Nathan bit back a rough cough at the image she presented in his mind. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to the delicate curve of her ear, dropping his voice to a husky whisper. “I’d be more than happy to join you.”

As if realizing what she’d suggested, she bit back a small, strangled moan. “It wasn’t an invitation.”

“Then accept mine and join me for a drink.”

“You’re rather smooth.”

“Darling, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

…

Keira sipped a club soda with lime in the hotel bar a half hour later and wondered how she’d been neatly maneuvered for the second time into having drinks with Nathan Cooper.

She still couldn’t believe she’d come out with the bubble bath line. Or why she’d deliberately sought him out. She had a ready excuse to avoid him—a weekend chock-a-block full of client entertaining and media wrangling, all while running a major conference.