The Perfect Proposal (9 page)

As soon as she’d disappeared inside the
store, Mitch’s gaze strayed to her purse. A corner of the notebook
peeked through the zipper. His fingers practically itched. No,
Mitch told himself. To glance at that notebook would be the same as
stealing. It wouldn’t be ethical. Hell. As if he didn’t have enough
problems already? He shook his head. Just forget about it. Whatever
her idea, it couldn’t be any better than his.

Mitch glanced nervously at the store, then
back to the notebook. She’d seemed awfully excited. Too excited,
really. She’d probably been trying to goad him, and unfortunately,
it had worked.

But what if that hadn’t been her motive at
all? What could she possibly seen in that vile packing plant that
could have triggered her imagination? Nothing of value, he decided
again. He wouldn’t look at the notebook.

He wouldn’t.

Mitch blew out a disgusted snort. But he
hadn’t a doubt that Annie would. Were their positions reversed,
she’d have had the notebook out and liberated the page in less time
than Mitch had taken to debate about it. The unscrupulous Annie
would have seen this as a golden opportunity to outwit him.

Which was the argument that Mitch employed to
ease his conscience as he snatched the notebook from her purse. A
quick glance confirmed that Annie hadn’t exited the store yet. With
another furtive look around, Mitch quickly flipped the book open
and perused the page.

Be blinked, stunned, then read her grand
“idea” again. Not once, not twice, but three times in pretty
cursive writing had she written her supposed inspirational
thought.

“
Irritate Mitch.”

Seething, Mitch closed the little pad and
returned it to her purse. Well, she’d royally succeeded in that,
hadn’t she? He muttered an oath and ran a hand through his hair. A
movement inside the store caught his attention. Annie stood at the
counter, gabbing with the clerk as though they had all the time in
the world. As though he weren’t sitting in the car waiting for her.
Frustration welled in him, triggering a finger twitch. How could
one little female infuriate him so? he wondered, baffled by her
ability to annoy him.

Perhaps the time had come for Annie to get a
dose of her own vexing medicine. What he lacked in the drama
department, he could certainly make up for originality.

Brace yourself,
Annie,
Mitch thought. You just unwittingly
challenged the master.

Annie lowered herself into the hot fragrant
bubble bath and moaned with pleasure. Between this morning’s shower
fiasco and trips to the various plants, she was exhausted. Les had
invited them to dinner, but she and Mitch had decided it would be
better to decline the offer. Besides, some of Les’s family had
arrived for the reunion and they hadn’t wanted to intrude. Mitch
had offered to cook, and Annie had taken refuge in the bathtub to
sort out her thoughts. And gloat.

A wicked grin curled her lips and she almost
laughed out loud. Mitch had been supremely upset after her “I’ve
got an idea ruse.” Oh, he hadn’t said anything. Mitch was entirely
too controlled for that. Still, the frown coupled with his
unpleasant attitude for the remainder of the day had been evidence
enough. He’d abandoned any attempt at congenial conversation and,
for the most part, ignored her.

So much so that Annie had almost regretted
the devious ploy. During lunch, she’d inexplicably forgotten that
Mitch was her adversary. She’d enjoyed their brief camaraderie and
felt a connection beginning between them. A connection that had
been more than the physical. One that evoked a jittery feeling that
didn’t bear exploring, much less thinking about.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder. For a
few seconds, Annie was certain she’d gotten a glimpse at the real
Mitch Hightower. Not the polished playboy he showed the world, but
the real man. And she’d been utterly intrigued.

Then she’d remembered who Mitch was and why
there were here, and that had broken the moment. Recalling how he’d
goaded her into kissing him had quickly squelched any other twinges
of conscience.

Annie had known from the first moment she’d
laid eyes on Mitch that she was attracted to him. That raven’s-wing
hair and those clear blue eyes were a lethal combination. Factor in
the to-die-for build and she didn’t have a chance. Admittedly, the
physical attraction was bothersome, but she could deal with it.
Basic sexual chemistry she could understand.

It was the other that frightened her—being
attracted to Mitch in an intellectual or emotional way. She hadn’t
felt that kind of connection in…

Never.
Annie suddenly realized that was all the more reason to keep
her perspective. Winning this account and securing the CEO position
at Hightower Advertising were her main focus. She couldn’t let
anything as silly as lusting after Mitch interfere.

Using a wrinkled toe, Annie
nudged the stopper out of the drain and reluctantly prepared to
exit the tub. For a moment, she slid down, relaxed against the back
of the tub and imagined that her problems were slipping down the
drain one by one. She wasn’t in Texas with Mitch. She wasn’t
competing for a job. She wasn’t…
able to get
out
, Annie realized as she pushed herself
up and turned sideways, sending water rushing over the
side
.

 
Because her foot had
gone to sleep.

“
Oh, damn,” Annie murmured,
twisting her foot this way and that, trying to get the feeling back
in her appendage.

A knock sounded at the door. “Annie, soup’s
on.”

Annie stilled. “O-okay, Mitch. I’ll, uh, be
out in a minute.”

Silence. Then, “Is everything all right in
there? I heard splashing.”

Momentarily sidetracked from her present
predicament, Annie scowled. What was he doing, standing right there
listening to her bathe? “Everything’s fine, Mitch. I, uh, make a
lot of noise when I take a bath,” she improvised. “Go away.”

“
You sure?”

“
I’m sure, dammit!” she
snapped. “Now go away!”

She accidentally banged her deadened foot
against the side of the tub and swore hotly.

“
What was that?” Mitch asked
suspiciously.

Annie’s gaze swung to the door. Hadn’t she
told him to go away? “Nothing. Go away,” she ground out, desperate
for him to leave.

“
That’s not nothing,” Mitch
told her. “Something’s wrong. You’ve been in there for over an
hour.”

“
Mitch,” Annie growled. “I’m
warning you. Go away.”

“
I’m coming in,” he told
her.

“
No!”

Suddenly the door opened and Mitch stood on
the threshold.

Annie’s hands flew to her breasts, sending a
cloud of bubbles through the air. “Get out!”

Mitch eyed her curiously. “What’s wrong with
you?”

Now her mortification was complete, Annie
thought resignedly. It wasn’t enough that he’d seen her in her
birthday suit this morning, now he had to witness this
embarrassment as well. At least the bubbles covered everything
personal.

“
Because I can’t get up,”
she snapped.

“
You can’t get
up?”

Was there an echo in here? “That’s right. My
foot’s gone to sleep.”

His lips twitched.

“
Don’t you dare laugh,
Mitch,” Annie warned. “I mean it. This isn’t funny. I’m getting
cold.”

His gaze dropped to her breasts, hidden
beneath the bubbles, and gave his head a lamentable shake. “I wish
I could tell.”

Seething with fury and embarrassment, Annie
narrowed her eyes and gave him a withering look. “If you aren’t
going to help me, then get out!”

Mitch crossed his arms over his impressive
chest and rocked back on his heels. A smug look adorned his
irritatingly handsome face. “That’s funny,” he said. “I don’t
recall you asking for my help.”

Did he expect her to beg? Huh! Not in this
life. She’d lie here until every bubble evaporated. Which, Annie
realized suddenly, wouldn’t be very long. Her frothy covering
seemed to be thinning at an alarming rate. “That’s because I
didn’t,” she said archly. “Forgive me, I mistook you for a
gentleman.”

A corner of his mouth hitched up into a sexy
grin and he gave her a long, lingering look that should have melted
every iridescent bubble on her body. “Believe me, Annie. Were I not
a gentleman, you wouldn’t be alone in that tub.” He shrugged.
“Sorry to disappoint you, honey, but just knowing that the only
thing that stands between you and me is a few feet and a bodysuit
of bubbles is making me react like a …well, like a man. In another
minute, it’s going to be damned difficult for me to assist you.
Now’s the time to make up your mind. Do you want my help or
not?”

“
Y-yes,” Annie stammered,
struggling to slow her erratic pulse. She certainly hadn’t expected
that declaration.

He smiled. “Good. Glad we got that all
straightened out.”

Mitch crossed to the tub and stood behind
her. His scent, a clean woodsy fragrance she imagined was mostly
him and not some store bought cologne, was too delicious not to
notice.

“
Lift your arms so that I
can, uh, pull you up.” If she lifted her arms, she’d have to let go
of her breasts and Annie wasn’t quite prepared to do that. Still,
she had no choice. Reluctantly, she raised her elbows from her
sides to allow him access.

Mitch’s warm hands were suddenly under her
arms, gently tugging her upwards toward freedom. His thumb brushed
the side of her breast, and tingle coursed through her, making her
breath stop momentarily. He carefully helped her out of the tub and
set her firmly on the bath mat.

“
Thank you,” she managed,
uncomfortably aware of her nakedness...and her reaction to his
proximity. “You can let me go now.”

“
I could.”

His voice rumbled low next to her ear. His
warm breath fanned across her neck, and more than anything, Annie
had the overwhelming urge to turn and press her lips to his. Almost
as much as she needed her next breath. She’d never felt this kind
of pull, this kind of magnetism and as much as it intrigued and
lured her, it also frightened her.

She did turn then. Her gaze tangled with his.
The teasing glint that normally lit his eyes was gone, replaced by
an intense longing she not only understood but felt herself.

“
Mitch, I don’t
think…”

“
Good,” he murmured. “I
don’t think either. At last we agree on something.” He smiled then
and lowered his head to hers. His taste, his scent, his very
essence exploded on her tongue, leaving an undeniable impression of
something she could undoubtedly acquire a craving for.

The last notion Annie
entertained before her thoughts completely fragmented was how
utterly pleasant it was
not
to think.

Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last very long.
The phone rang, startling Annie from her passion-induced idiocy.
Mortified by her wanton, reckless behavior, she jerked away from
Mitch and grabbed a towel.

“
That was a mistake,” she
breathed raggedly.

“
But —”

“
But nothing,” Annie
interrupted a seemingly baffled Mitch. Her cheeks scalding, she
hastily wrapped the towel around herself. What was the matter with
her? Why couldn’t she control herself around this man? “Look,
Mitch, as soon as I’m dressed we’re going to have to talk about—”
She motioned her arms wildly between them. “—
this
. I can’t deal with this. Not
right now.”

On that note, Annie pivoted sharply and
headed for the door, intent on making a quick, but dignified
escape.

And she would have, had it not been for the
puddle of sudsy water in her immediate path. Annie’s feet flew out
from underneath her and, with the resounding smack of bare flesh
hitting a wet surface, her rear hit the floor and she slid like a
human torpedo over the remaining distance to the door. Annie sat in
a stunned, surreal silence for what had to have been only seconds
but felt more like hours.

Then she wanted to die.

Literally.

In that pure state of utter mortification, it
occurred to Annie that her butt and thighs were probably as read as
her face. Both were stinging unbelievably. Behind her, Mitch
smothered a chuckle, then cleared his throat.

“
Um, Annie —”

Without turning around,
Annie held up her hand to halt any further comment. “Please,
Mitch,” she said in a defeated voice, “don’t offer to help. I’m
embarrassed enough as it is. You’re having to help
me—
again—
would only
add insult to injury.”

“
Er, actually, I was going
to say that I needed to get to the phone and you’re blocking the
door.”

Her shoulders sagged. “Oh.”

“
I would be happy to help
you though,” he told her.

Annie shook her head. “No, thanks.”

Annie didn’t move. She was vaguely aware that
the phone continued to ring. After a moment, Mitch edged closer
then awkwardly stepped over her. “Uh, excuse me,” he said lamely.
“I’m expecting a call.”

Annie watched him dart down the hall and snag
the phone. When he turned the corner, she clumsily hoisted her
aching self up, limped down the hall and resisted the urge to let
out a long, sorrowful howl.

If Mitch had expected Annie to emerge from
her room all docile and complacent after her recent marathon of
embarrassments, he’d have been sadly mistaken. Fortunately, Mitch
wasn’t fool enough to expect anything out of the unpredictable
Annie.