A Fare To Remember: Just Whistle\Driven To Distraction\Taken For A Ride (4 page)

“No place to put it.” But she didn’t want the night to end. “Could we take a walk, instead?”

“Sure.” He signaled the waiter. “Where to?”

“Times Square!” When she saw his tolerant smile, she reconsidered. “Too corny, huh? I suppose real New Yorkers don’t go to Times Square unless they’re headed for a play.”

“No, but let’s go there, anyway.”

“You’re sure? I hate to make you endure the tourist thing, but I promised my brother and sister I’d get my picture taken in the middle of Times Square, and I…brought my camera.” She pulled it out of her purse.

The waiter paused next to their table. “Would you like a picture of the two of you?”

Hannah imagined them as a couple of grinning corpses surrounded by a ghostly blue light, and she started to laugh.

Zach looked offended. “What’s so funny about having our picture taken together? Do I have a piece of rice stuck in my teeth?”

“No, you look great. It’s a wonderful idea.” She couldn’t say what she thought of the lighting in front of the waiter, so she handed him the camera. “Thanks.”

The waiter backed up and motioned them to get closer together. Zach angled his chair sideways and reached across the small table to put his arm around Hannah.

When he cupped his warm hand around her bare arm, her heart began to beat so loud she was afraid he’d hear it. The waiter waved her closer, and she leaned in, putting her head almost next to Zach’s. That gave her a delicious whiff of his aftershave. In no time she was imagining what it would be like to kiss him, then snuggle against that soft white shirt and loosen his silk tie.

The camera flashed, blinding her. At that moment, whether it was a reflex or intentional, Zach’s fingers tightened around her arm. Warmth coursed through her, and she didn’t want to move…ever. “How about a second shot?” she asked.

“No problem.” The waiter aimed the camera again.

This time Zach stroked her arm gently as the camera flashed. That was no reflex. That was intentional. He was touching her as if he liked the idea. Well, so did she. A lot.

“Those are two winners.” The waiter handed the camera back to Hannah, and she had to move away from Zach to take it. Bummer. But her skin still tingled, reminding her that they’d made their first physical connection. She stayed high on that sensation as Zach paid the bill and they left the restaurant.

Still thinking of his hand stroking her arm, she shivered.

“Cold?” Immediately Zach took off his suit coat.

“Um, no…” Then she felt the cocoon of his coat settle around her shoulders and changed her mind. “Maybe a little.”

“I thought so. We’re not in Arizona. It’s probably a hundred degrees there right now.”

“So Mario told you I’m from Phoenix?” She’d secretly hoped Zach would take her hand as they walked along the sidewalk, but he made no move to do it. Well, holding hands in public was a statement, after all. Stroking someone’s arm while having your picture taken was not. She could understand if Zach wasn’t ready to make a statement.

“He mentioned you were from there. He thinks you’re a hop, skip and a jump from the Grand Canyon.”

“Not quite. Things aren’t quite so close together in the western part of the country.” She hugged his jacket close and inhaled
Eau de Zach.
He was right that she hadn’t expected chilly weather. Tomorrow she might need to buy a light jacket, but for tonight, this was perfect. Romantic, even.

That made her remember the pictures the waiter had taken. “Do you want to see what our pictures look like? It’s a digital camera.”

“First I want to know why you laughed at the idea of taking a picture in the first place.”

“You’ll see.” She pulled the camera out of her purse and clicked a button to turn on the tiny screen. Sure enough, they looked like two ghouls on Halloween. She handed him the camera. “Check it out.”

“Whoa.” He stopped walking and moved to the inside of the sidewalk. “Now, that’s scary.”

“I can erase them.” She reached for the camera.

He pulled the camera out of reach. “Don’t you dare! My nephews back home would love this. The Uncle Zach freak show. I want a copy.”

“Great. I’ll be the laughingstock of your hometown.” But he wasn’t worried about showing her around, which was nice. “So you’re not from here, either?” Knowing that made him less intimidating.

“A little town in Illinois called Auburn. It’s near Springfield.”

“That explains why you don’t sound like Mario.”

He grinned and handed her the camera. “No, but I’m working on it. Promise you won’t erase those pictures.”

“I promise.” As she was putting the camera back in her purse, a tattered young guy with long hair approached.

“Can you spare some change?” he asked.

Thrilled to be able to help, Hannah rummaged in her large purse, searching for a can of tuna. “I have something even better.”

“Folding money?” the guy asked hopefully.

“This.” She held out the can. “Loaded with omega three.”

The young man blinked and took it. “Huh.” He stared at the can as if trying to decide what to do with it. Then he brightened. “Cool! This will make an awesome puck for street hockey! Thanks!”

“But I intended for you to….” She let her protest trail off as the guy sauntered away, tossing the can in the air and whistling.

“You can’t save ’em all,” Zach said gently.

“I know.” Feeling deflated, she gazed after the young man as he crossed against the light, all the while juggling the can from one hand to the other. “This afternoon one person asked me if there was some way you could distill tuna. I told him I didn’t think so. But three others seemed really glad to get it, so I don’t think it was a total waste of suitcase space.”

“It was a great use of suitcase space.”

Something in his voice made her look up at him. One glance into his eyes and her heart started pounding again. Giving away tuna might have reaped an unexpected reward. Zach Evans was about to kiss her.

CHAPTER FOUR

Z
ACH HAD HELD OFF AS LONG
as he could stand it. He’d been wanting to do this for two hours, and seeing the earnest way she’d offered up her can of tuna to the vagrant had sent him over the edge. Taking her firmly by the shoulders, he drew her close.

She came willingly, which was a good thing. If she’d resisted, it could have been very awkward. But she looked as ready to be kissed as any woman he’d held in his arms. He couldn’t remember a time he’d anticipated the moment more, either.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and he took the time to savor the view of her face tilted up to catch the light from a nearby streetlamp. He took it all in—the daisies in her hair, the graceful sweep of her eyebrows, the pert shape of her nose, the generous fullness of her mouth. Her lips were parted just the slightest bit, which made him believe this kiss could progress nicely into something hot, wet and French.

She opened her eyes. “I thought you were going to kiss me.”

“I am.”

Her brown eyes were soft and dreamy. “Isn’t everything supposed to move faster in New York?”

That made him smile. “You don’t think this is fast? We just met this morning.”

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“Oh, yeah. Second, third and fourth thoughts.” And they all centered on Mario’s dash.

She frowned. “Then you think kissing me is a bad idea?”

“No.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, and that’s what worries me.” He leaned closer. “Everything is exactly…right.” And with a soft moan he gave himself up to her velvet mouth.

He should have known he’d find paradise there. The warning signs had been flashing from his first glimpse of her in the hotel lobby. Whoever had said that a kiss was just a kiss had never locked lips with Hannah.

She welcomed him with more enthusiasm than any poor mortal deserved. But deserving or not, he was going to take advantage of that delicious, moist and erection-producing welcome. He kissed her from one angle, then shifted to capture all that perfection from another, deeper, angle.

Although he longed to pull her tight against him, he didn’t dare chance it. Once that happened, they’d never make it to Times Square. So he clutched her shoulders and centered all his attention on her marvelous, incredible mouth.

He supposed passing pedestrians stopped to stare. He and Hannah must be putting on quite a show, and normally he wasn’t the type to do that. But this morning he’d met Hannah and his type might be about to change. Now he didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. He was too busy kissing a woman with daisies in her hair.

“Well, well, Evans. Quite a bit of salesmanship you have going on there.”

It was the only voice that could have cut through his fog of passion. Lifting his head he found himself staring into the steely-blue eyes of Drake Medford. Medford’s salt-and-pepper hair was perfectly styled and his suit impeccably pressed. Of all the sidewalks of New York, he had to walk down this one. Shit.

Slowly Zach released Hannah and straightened the jacket around her shoulders. He probably had lipstick all over his mouth. He resisted the urge to wipe it away. “Hannah Robertson, I’d like you to meet my boss, Drake Medford.”

She glanced quickly up at Zach and crossed her eyes. He choked back laughter as she turned and held out her hand to the tall man standing behind her. “Hello, Mr. Medford. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Whereas I’ve heard zilch about you, young lady.” He took her hand in both of his. “Evans, you’ve been holding out on me.”

“The fact is, we’ve just—”

“Just reconnected after a long absence,” Hannah said. “Zach and I kept missing each other, but here we are, united at last.”

“You seem to be having quite a reunion party,” Medford said. “And maybe I can give you even more reason to celebrate. Ed Hasbrook gave me the key to his corner office this afternoon. I know the reports aren’t finalized for the month, but I see no problem with you moving in there tomorrow, Evans.”

“Uh, that’s great.” Zach felt his curried beef turn to cement in his stomach.

“Try to contain your excitement, will you?” Medford looked annoyed. “The corner office is only the obvious change. I’m promoting you to vice president.”

“That’s very good news.” Zach wished he could feel more jubilant, but he’d been a lot happier two minutes ago when he’d been kissing Hannah. “Of course, I can’t help wondering where you’re stashing Ed.”

“I’d relegate him to a coat closet if I could, but we don’t have an empty coat closet. I’m using some portable partitions in a corner of the outer office. Maybe he’ll get the hint. It’s one step closer to the front door.”

“How long has he been with the company?” Hannah asked.

“Too long, Hannah.” Medford had always been good about picking up on names. “He was good once, but he’s lost a step. Your guy Zach, here, that’s the kind of go-getter I’m looking for.” He shoved back his cuff and glanced at his designer watch. “I’m late. Nice meeting you, Hannah. Zach, bring her around to the company picnic next month, why don’t you? She looks like she’d play a mean game of volleyball.” He winked at Hannah and hurried off.

“So there you have my big, bad boss.” Zach sighed. “Poor Ed.”

Hannah turned to face Zach. “You need to quit your job.”

Z
ACH LOOKED AT HER AS IF
she’d murdered a close relative. “Are you crazy? I’ve put eight years into that job.”

“You’ve tolerated Drake Medford for eight years?” If so, her estimation of him would take a serious nosedive.

“Well, no. He came on board last fall. The office was underperforming and he was sent in to straighten things out.”

She frowned. “By humiliating people like Ed?”

“Look, I may not like what’s happening with Ed, but Medford’s done what he was sent to do. Everyone’s working harder and making more, the ones who’ve stayed, anyway. All except for Ed, who’s close to retirement.”

“And is everyone happy? Except for Ed, of course, and you.”

“I’m happy!” He flung out both arms. “I’m ecstatic! I’m making more money!”

“Are you happy? At dinner when I asked about your job you made a face.”

His gaze was wary. “I don’t know that I made a face, exactly.”

“You most certainly did. Like this.” She pulled her mouth down at the corners and scrunched up her eyes.

“That didn’t have to be about my job. Maybe I bit into something I didn’t like right at the moment you asked.”

“It was about your job.”

“Okay, so maybe it was about the job. Nobody’s career is fun and games all the time. I can see now I wasn’t working up to capacity. I’ll bet that’s what Adrienne meant when she—” He stopped, coughed and looked away. “Are we going to Times Square or what?”

Although Hannah wanted to finish the discussion, especially now that a woman’s name had been thrown into it, she could tell that Zach’s heels were dug in on this issue. She shouldn’t have come right out and told him to quit his job. That wasn’t her place. But he kissed like an angel, and a man who kissed like that didn’t belong in an office with the devil himself.

She’d suspected the boss was bad news when Zach had told her about him during dinner. But now that she’d met the guy she knew for sure, and not just because he’d interrupted what had been the primo kissing experience of her life. Drake Medford was completely unacquainted with the concept of human kindness. He would kill himself laughing if he knew about her tuna project.

“Let’s go to Times Square,” she said.

“Good.” Zach sounded immensely relieved. He still made no move to take her hand.

She thought he might have, especially after that kiss, except that his boss had come along and messed up the mood. Hannah thought Medford took pleasure in messing up other people’s moods. He could have walked on by and left them to their kissing, but that wasn’t in his nature.

No, she really didn’t like the man. Neither did Zach, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “Would you do me one little favor?” she asked.

“Sure, as long as it doesn’t involve courting economic disaster.”

“It doesn’t.” She must have really scared him, suggesting that he leave his job. Maybe because she had no financial stability at the moment, she’d forgotten that most people liked to know where their next paycheck was coming from.

“Then ask away,” he said.

“When you’re in the office tomorrow, I’d rather you didn’t mention the thing about me giving away tuna.”

He glanced at her. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

“Oh, you know.”

“No, I don’t.” His voice had gone quiet. “Explain it to me.”

“Water cooler stuff. Medford makes some reference to catching us kissing, and you tell the very entertaining story about me giving away tuna to a guy who’s going to use the can for a hockey puck. I can understand how—”

“You think I’d make fun of what you’re doing to get a laugh from the people I work with?”

Whoops. “Obviously not,” she said quickly. “Sorry to imply that you might.”

“Apology accepted.”

She snuck a peek at his firm profile. She’d insulted him, no doubt about that. But she’d found out some valuable info in the process. The deeper she probed into Zach Evans, the more she liked what she found. It wasn’t realistic to think that the first eligible man she met in the city would become someone very special, but she couldn’t throw off the premonition that Zach was special.

T
WENTY MINUTES LATER
, Zach posed Hannah smack-dab in the middle of the gaudy, crowded, most neon-infested section of Times Square. Even so, she was the brightest thing in the frame. Her natural glow put the glittering lights to shame.

She’d taken off his jacket so her relatives wouldn’t get the idea that it was cold in New York. If she was cold, she didn’t act like it. Instead she flung her arms out and turned this way and that like a high-fashion model at a photo shoot.

He was fascinated with her. Too bad she thought he should quit his job, because he knew she really did, even though they’d dropped the subject for now. Well, he’d cut her some slack on that opinion. She was still very naive. Let her struggle in the big city for a while and see how she felt about throwing away perfectly good jobs just because the boss wasn’t a sweetheart.

Without his job, he wouldn’t be able to buy bouquets of flowers or take a date out for a nice dinner. He was finally making the money that Adrienne had thought he should make, not that he was doing it to prove anything to her. She’d never know.

So what if he didn’t play as much racquetball? The guys he’d played with had decided to leave the company, anyway. One of them was still in town and struggling to make ends meet. The other had left New York completely. Zach wasn’t about to run home to Auburn because his boss wasn’t sensitive to the needs of his employees.

Granted, a part of him would love to tell Medford to take the job and shove it. The guy was an unfeeling son of a bitch to be treating Ed that way. But this was the business world, not
Sesame Street.
Ed knew the score and was choosing not to play Medford’s game. Ed would have to take the consequences for that.

Zach took pictures of Hannah until she called out that they had enough and ran back over to him. He wouldn’t have minded taking a few more. Watching her perform for him as her personal photographer was more fun than he’d had in a long while.

“I don’t want to overdo it.” She accepted the jacket he held out. This time she put her arms in the sleeves, which were too long and made her look adorable.

“Why not overdo it?” He thought about the meager supply of pictures he sent home to Illinois. “My experience with families is that you can’t overdo the snapshots. You need some for Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles.”

She gazed at him wistfully. “It must be nice, having all those people to give pictures to.”

“You don’t?”

She shook her head. “Just my brother and sister.” Then she smiled. “Don’t look like that, all pitying. It’s okay.”

“I’ll accept that it’s okay. You’re living proof.” But his heart went out to her, anyway. “What happened?”

She tucked the camera back in her purse. “I was thirteen when my mom died, which was lucky because I was old enough to help Dad with my brother and sister, who were only four. Poor Dad was never the same after Mom died, and I had the feeling he was hanging on until I was eighteen, so the twins wouldn’t end up in foster care. He died a month after my eighteenth birthday.”

He was beginning to understand her need to take care of the whole world after conditioning like that. “But what about other relatives? Grandparents, aunts, uncles?”

“Both my parents were only children, nerdy types who married late in life. I barely remember my grandparents. My mom had me at the age of forty-one, and then, because she was always ready to buck convention, decided to try having a second child at fifty. She ended up with the twins. Who are both brilliant, since you asked.”

“I’m guessing you’re no slouch in the brains department, either.”

“I do okay, but nothing like the twins. They kept me on my toes, but they’ve turned into adults who can actually take care of themselves now. It’s a miracle.”

He thought she might be the miracle for weathering all those hard knocks and keeping her sunny disposition. “Did you feed them lots of tuna?”

She laughed. “Good one. Yes, I did. Brain food.” She gazed around at the crowds milling through Times Square. “This place is amazing. I had great plans to stay up until midnight seeing more of the city at night, but I’m starting to fade.”

“You mean after thirty-six hours with no sleep, you’re tired?” He grinned at her. “What a wimp.”

“Embarrassing, isn’t it? But I think we’d better start making that trek back to my hotel or you might have to carry me.”

That didn’t sound so bad, although from a practical standpoint he probably couldn’t make it, which wouldn’t play well.

But he had a better idea. “Hang on a minute.” Unclipping his phone from his belt, he dialed Mario’s cell. “You available?” he asked. Having Mario drive them to the hotel would keep the lid on Zach’s libido.