A Date on Cloud Nine (7 page)

“Stingy, too.”

“And
rude
, oh my gosh, you can’t believe how—”

“Sure I can. Did they tell you stories you didn’t want to hear?”

“Are you kidding? They curled my hair!” She turned
in her seat, facing him, caught up in the moment they shared.

She was so beautiful, she took his breath away. Sure, some people might say her eyes were too big or her hair too singed. Not he.

“Makes me shudder, just remembering,” she said.

Jake quickly withdrew, afraid to think they had anything in common. If they were going to spend a lot of time together until he got the all clear from his dad and demanded the fortune she owed him, it would be better to maintain a professional distance. Easier on him anyway.

“And the men! What is it about men that I no sooner get the wheels up, and they say, ‘Let’s see how this baby handles’?”

Try as he did to resist, he grinned at her testosterone-laden imitation. No wonder Brady’d bragged about Lilly. Most women would freak out over their burned hair or mismatched fingernails. She’d taken one look at his sore fingers and unwrapped his breakfast sandwich for him, and then Mooch’s, too. She even cooed at the cat while she took care of him. It was hard to be mad at a woman who liked his ugly, mean-tempered cat.

“Anyway, I leased out the plane with the stipulation that I could fly it often enough to keep up my license, and when he got his, Brady could borrow it.”

“To come see me?”

“Yeah.”

Lilly’s voice trailed off, and Jake wondered if she was thinking along the same lines as he—what might’ve been if they’d met at the airport on one of those days? Would it have been
their
third wedding anniversary coming up?

“Anyway, you can bet I was always nice to my chauf
feur. Which reminds me.” She flipped open her phone and speed-dialed him three pounds of Godiva chocolates.
On account
.

He’d had a lot of customers, but he’d never seen that before. One button to nirvana for the chauffeur.

He also noticed that during the two-minute call, Lilly dropped her phone three times, fumbling it like a hot potato, banging it off the window, the dash, and finally the steering wheel. Mooch gave one long mournful moan, then hoisted himself to his feet and poked his nose in Lilly’s hair. Jake watched him closely, because he wasn’t used to the moaning, and he wanted to be sure Mooch wasn’t anti-Lilly and out for a bite of her neck, but he settled back down shortly thereafter.

“Maybe you should have that arm x-rayed if it’s still bothering you,” he said when she finally corralled her phone and flipped it shut.

“It’s nothing.” She glanced at him through lowered lashes. “Nothing that’ll stop me, anyway.”

Jake didn’t like the predatory way Lilly looked at him when she said it, but it wasn’t obvious enough to call her on it. Even so, he felt a little bit like a lab rat. Or a guinea pig.

T
he first thing Lilly did after breakfast was restore her appearance. As her stylist trimmed away the singed hair, he started listing options ranging from pixie to sophisticated.

Lilly interrupted. “I want seductive.”

He’d known her for years. He knew she was recently widowed. “How seductive?” he asked tentatively.

“Well, I don’t want you shaving letters on my scalp, but otherwise, in-his-face.”

“Oh-kay,” he said, pausing to reflect. He studied her features and toyed with her hair, measuring bounce and wave and whatnot. “I know just the thing. You want color, too?”

“You’re a man, what do you think?”

“Personally, I like highlights. But once you take your clothes off, he won’t be looking at the color.”

“Okay, just the cut then, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll be back for stage two.”

She ended up with a sexy little bob. Now that it was shorter, it had a natural kink, lending her a naughty look, she thought. Very much a
Come open the package and see what’s inside
invitation. She finished the morning by getting her nails resculptured in the same salon.

“Red,” she decided.

The nail artist winked at Lilly and held up three tiny bottles. “So I heard. I’ve got Ravishing Red, Seductive Scarlet, and Kick-Ass Claret.”

“Seductive Scarlet.”

“Yeah, that’d be my choice, too. Don’t want to overwhelm the guy. If you come back for highlights, we’ll switch to Kick-Ass.”

As Sandi worked on one hand, Lilly called her mother-in-law and offered her first option on the house.

“I knew it, that house is way too big for you. We have plenty of room here, if that wouldn’t make you too uncomfortable.” Donna made the same offer at least once every week.

“Actually, I’d like to stay in the house a few months.”

“But you want to sell it now?”

“I know it sounds strange, but I just feel a real need to get everything in order, you know?”

Donna was too polite to say she didn’t. “Of course, dear. I suppose it’s only natural, with Brady dying so suddenly. Maybe you should talk to someone.”

Lilly chuckled, knowing exactly how to change
that
topic. “I did. She’s a Realtor. Are you interested?”

“Let me get back to you.”

When Lilly’s nails were finished, she carefully used just the very tips of her fingers to pull her wallet out of her
purse. Everything was going fine until she reached for her credit card. That damn bruised nerve zapped her again, making her squeak, sending her wallet flying across the room, turning her moments-ago Seductive Scarlets into Scarred Scarlets.

Jake materialized by her shoulder. “Again?”

“A little bit,” was all she’d admit to.

“Let’s see, first time, you were telling me to send you a bill. Second time, you were ordering chocolate for your chauffeur. Now, you’re charging something. Damn, Brady said you were tight with a buck. He didn’t say it actually hurt you to part with money.”

“Don’t be silly.”

She frowned heavenward, wondering whether Jake had hit on something. Maybe he had a point, but she had to pay her bills. She hadn’t been zapped when she’d paid him to be her full-time chauffeur, so there had to be some leeway. John and Elizabeth couldn’t expect
all
her money to go to charity.

“Consider this an investment in sedu—uh, in
securing
my ‘future,’” she said through gritted teeth.

“What?”

“Not now, Jake.”

“Weren’t you talking to me? I could’ve sworn you were, because the cashier’s on the phone, and I’m the only one, you know,
listening
.” He eyed her suspiciously. “You get hit in the head yesterday?”

“Probably. What’s your point?”

“I’m just wondering how long it takes for a head injury to show up.”

After signing the receipt and having her nails touched
up, she found Jake in the freshly plowed parking lot, leaning into the trunk of his taxi. She peeked in, too, only to find a jumbled mess of packages from Cloud Nine.

“Looking for a good time?”

“What? Oh.” He grinned. “No, just inventorying what I was able to salvage from the store. The owner wants a complete list. Got your phone on you?”

“Yeah, why?”

He pulled a small box out of the trunk and extracted a tiny cell phone. “This one’s better. It’s yours if you want it.”

“Really?” Fascinated by its minuscule size, Lilly took it gingerly and, careful of her nails, gave it a once-over. “I’ve never seen one like this.”

“Well”—he grinned boyishly—“they’re not exactly retail. I programmed it with your number, and if you like, I’ll transfer your phone book this evening.”

“Well sure. Thanks.”

He shrugged as if it were nothing, which maybe it was to him, but she was touched that he’d thought of her. Being on his mind meant she was closer to getting him in bed.

Then again, the frizzy, homeless cat was on his mind, too. He’d actually ordered a to-go cup of water for Mooch and lifted him out of the taxi so he could go potty without jumping down and hurting himself—wouldn’t he make a good dad?—so maybe being on Jake’s mind didn’t mean anything of the sort.

“Brady should’ve changed the phone out for you. I’m just doing it for him.”

Hoping that wasn’t his sole reason, she moved closer and peeked into the open trunk. “What other high-tech stuff do you have in there?”

“Unless you consider vibrating dildos high-tech, nothing.”

The box in the rear corner didn’t hold adult toy items, but umbrellas, purses, a briefcase, a sweater, and a pair of white underpants that were bagged in a Ziploc—silky-looking, but way too tame for a self-proclaimed pleasure shop.

“Interesting stuff you carry around.”

“Customers left all that in the backseat. No ID’s, not even in the purses. I keep it handy, hoping I’ll pick up somebody again who’ll ask me if I found something they can identify.”

“
Underpants?
”

He chuckled. “What, nobody left those in your airplane?”

“I had a couple try it once.” She winked. “We hit a bit of turbulence, and they got very ill.”

“Too bad taxis don’t have wings.”

“I’d throw them away.”

“I did that once.” His lips twisted in a grim line, and he rubbed the back of his head as if it were sore. “I found out why Uncle Paul said to wait six months. How was I supposed to know she’d track me down for a pair of twenty-dollar Victoria’s Secrets?” He closed the trunk lid. “So who were you talking to before? You know, in the salon.”

“John and Elizabeth.”

“Your sorority sister?”

She gave him points for remembering and decided it’d be better—and in the long run simpler—to be honest. “Not really. I guess you could call them angels.”

“Not me. Here, better let me get the door so you don’t mess up your nails again.”

Lilly grinned as she moved past him, leaning in just so, letting her shoulder brush against his arm. She didn’t know whether it got his attention, but it sure felt fine to her.

“Oh yeah, you of the ‘tarot cards and channeling shit.’”

“Damn straight. Give me scientific facts and hard data, then we’ll talk.”

She wanted so badly to lift up on her toes and kiss him, but other than dancing with him three years ago and a brief hug at the funeral, it was really like they’d only just met yesterday. She should be happy with her progress so far; she had him right where she wanted him—confined in the front seat, not two feet away from her, scheduled to be there day after day. Red blouse, naughty haircut, scarlet nails—he couldn’t help but notice she was available.

Ah, the heck with it. As soon as he slid in behind the wheel, she scooted over, and turning his face toward hers with a hand on his cheek, she softly pressed her lips where she’d been dying to all night.

At first he did nothing, didn’t even kiss her back. At least he didn’t jump out of the car. But just when she was about to give up, his lips softened ever so slightly against hers, then more, and finally he angled his head for a better fit.

Oh heavens! She’d had no idea what she was getting into. For what started out as a brief, gentle kiss, it quickly turned wicked, hitting awfully hard deep inside, heating up areas that hadn’t been heated in, well, maybe never.

When she dragged her lips away from his and put a mere breath of space between them, he whispered—hoarsely, she was pleased to notice—“What was that for?”

She cleared her throat so she wouldn’t strangle on whatever popped out of her mouth, which was not eloquent—
who could be eloquent when she’d just had her insides sautéed?—but instead, was very simple.

“Thanks for saving my life.”

“You’re sure?”

“Heck yes.”

“No, I mean you’re sure that’s all it is. Because if not, I still have half a backseat open.”

Instead of being offended, she smiled and nuzzled his lips again, teasing him, but not daring to taste him with the tip of her tongue the way she was dying to.

“You kissed me back.”

“I’m a man. You put a beautiful woman in my lap, I’m not responsible.”

“Is that so?”

She grinned against his mouth, gave him one last light-as-a-butterfly kiss, and backed off. For now.

He was pond scum, pure, unadulterated pond scum. No, what was lower than that? Whatever it was, that was him.

His best friend was dead only a few months, and at a tragically young age. Poor guy hadn’t even passed on his genes.

And what the hell was he—Jake—doing? Messing with his best friend’s wife. His
widow
, for chrissakes, and not all that long at it. Stoking the fire that had begun three years ago and couldn’t burn itself out naturally.

But technically,
she
was messing with
him
. He’d kept his hands to himself, for which he should get a medal. He hadn’t dragged Lilly up against his body. He hadn’t slipped his tongue past her lips and tasted her the way he’d wanted. The way his body had
demanded
.

But that didn’t make him a saint, because the pure,
undiluted fact was, he’d wanted to. If her lips had—Damn, they were so soft. Not a chapped spot on them. If they had remained on his another second, he wouldn’t have been responsible for where his body would lead them. Not his brain—his body—because his brain hadn’t gotten any blood from the instant she’d slid across that seat.

Speaking of which, the seat was wide, flat, plenty of people had sex in cars. The steering wheel could be a problem, he supposed.

Hell, how was he supposed to drive now?

He looked around, shocked to see that he
was
driving. He’d gone at least a mile, somehow starting the car, putting it in gear, missing other vehicles. Shit, he needed a night out with the guys. They’d set him straight. They’d tell him to stay away from Lilly. They’d remind him to keep networking with the guys out in Silicon Valley, to stay focused on the big picture until he could seize opportunity and reestablish himself as a technological wizard. If he didn’t wreck the car first.

He buckled his seat belt—the only thing he knew he’d forgotten. Not that there might not be something else, like respect for the dead.

Or like his
brain
.

Lilly wasn’t able to get her lips near Jake’s again all week.

Fairly certain she couldn’t get pregnant right away, she’d been willing to go slowly, set the stage, get off on the right foot, so to speak. Talk a lot, laugh together, trade life stories, that kind of thing, all while driving around and giving money to needy causes.

She’d taken to signing the checks at the various charity offices with her eyes closed. Elizabeth’s “have faith” was easier said than done. It just plain hurt to see her own name below so many zeroes.

“I’d like to do something different today,” she said one morning as she slid into the taxi. “At least one thing.”

“What do have in mind?”

“Writing checks is really boring. I mean, how many hands can I shake and how many framed photos of volunteers on the wall do I have to stare at before I go stark raving mad? They thank me real nice, and they tell me where my money’s going to go, but I don’t
see
it.” She sighed. “Do you think it’s possible for me to help people?”

“You’re helping lots of people.”

“I mean personally. For
me
to make a difference
personally
. With individuals.”

Jake studied her for a moment, a curious look on his face. “You’re serious about this?”

“Yes.”

He put the taxi in
DRIVE
. “Hold that thought, I know just the place.”

Half an hour later, they drove between brick pillars that were flanked by twin guards—one snowwoman, one snowman, just about all that was left of the big Valentine’s Day storm.

Lilly peered through the windshield at the huge complex. “What is this?”

“It’s a club for boys and girls. A safe place for them to go after school and on weekends. Summers, too.”

“There’s more here than just a safe place.”

“That’s what I want to show you.” He opened his door. “I take care of their computer needs, but they also have a
health clinic, performing arts, athletic teams—”

“Must cost a fortune to run.”

He grinned and said, “That’s where you come in. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Ollie first.”

They found the director in a fairly tidy office, with his door open wide and a big bowl of candy on the desk. He was about thirty, skinny except for the pooch right behind his belt, already balding, and he had the soft eyes of an angel.

“Dang, Jake,” Ollie said, crossing the room quickly to shake hands with him. “If I’d known you knew a beautiful woman, I’d drop by for a beer more often.”

“We just met a few days ago. Ollie, Lilly. Lilly, Ollie.”

Ollie shook her hand warmly. “Nice to meet you, Lilly. Usually he just brings that mean-tempered cat of his.”

Lilly’s jaw dropped as she turned to Jake. “You
don’t
.”

“Hey, Mooch gets along fine with the kids. I’d bring him in today, Ollie, but he had surgery recently. So, how about I show Lilly around—”