Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six (12 page)

Los Angeles International Airport was big and confusing, nothing like the single terminal county airport outside of Itasca. Andie scratched her head and followed the signs to baggage claim. There were several carousels with hordes of people crowded around them, and she’d already forgotten her flight number.

Bags were tumbling down an incline onto the revolving luggage carousels. They wouldn’t put a pet carrier down the ramp, would they? Hopefully Gollie had survived the moments of pure terror: takeoff, turbulence, and landing with a bump. She scanned for an airplane employee to ask, but ran into a lady she recognized who’d been on her flight, so she followed her, all the while dodging the multitude of people rushing around.

Los Angeles. Hollywood. California. Cade was somewhere out there in this huge metropolis. Not that she was likely to run into him. What would she even say if she did?

Five months ago, she’d run from him, and he hadn’t tried to contact her. Not even when he dropped Gollie off at her door. He was probably back to his fancy celebrity lifestyle, clubbing at bars and fighting off groupies, well, maybe not fending them off, but enjoying them to the fullest.

Stop thinking about him. He’s not the type of man for me, and he’s way out of my league.

The luggage hadn’t started flowing, so she texted the driver Silver Studios sent to let him know she was at the baggage claim. He texted back saying he would meet her there. Hopefully, he’d hold up a sign with her name, because she was dreadfully lost and her nerves were frazzled from the long flight.

All around her, people were milling around and yanking luggage off the revolving platform. Andie groaned when she realized black roller bags all looked alike. Every time she reached for a bag, thinking it was hers, another hand yanked it away from her.

And then there was the question of Gollie and the pet carrier. The airline had only said she’d appear half an hour later at the baggage claim area. All around her were people walking fast, talking loud, and seemingly unfazed by the horde.

A cacophony of different languages clattered around her. It was hard not to stare at the people, some with multiple piercings and others wearing strange and outlandish outfits. A man with no hair on his legs stood in front of her. Was he wearing a miniskirt and high heeled boots? His black and bright yellow checked skirt was so short, he’d be hard pressed to hide his balls if he went commando. Not that she was looking for any dangling parts. No sir-ee.

A hand dropped a pet carrier at her feet. Gollie was inside. Yay!

“Thanks,” she said to the departing figure wearing black silk pants.

“You made it, sweetie.” She bent to check on Gollie, sticking her fingers through the bars of the pet carrier for Gollie to lick.

Even though she’d bought Gollie to help her father, her parents urged her to take the dog to California. Her father was already socializing as best as he could, and her mother had no time to take care of a dog in addition to her invalid father.

The same hand placed a large suitcase next to Gollie’s carrier. It was the man with the black trousers. Fine ass.

“Thanks,” Andie mumbled. Who was this guy? He turned back to the baggage carousel. He was taller and bigger than the other travelers, wearing a black suit in the summer heat.

Her heartbeat skipped, beating crazy and erratic. Could it be Cade? But no. It had to be her driver, and no, not every big, hulking man was Cade.

Andie’s heart refused to calm down, and waves of heat and sweat prickled her skin. Coming to California was a mistake. She’d be looking for him everywhere and dreading it. He’d be surrounded by women, or maybe hooked up with Roxanne, the woman carrying his baby.

Andie swallowed disappointment and sat down next to Gollie’s carrier. She peered through the carrier bars. “Welcome to California. Guess it’s just me and you.”

The hand returned with a rolling luggage carrier. This time, Andie’s pulse ratcheted skyward, and her heart thundered to her throat. She’d know that hand anywhere. Large and rugged, yet graceful with long, sturdy fingers and well-trimmed nails.

Cade bent over her, grinning and holding a sign. It read,
Welcome to Los Angeles, Andie Wales.

“Oh my—” Andie swallowed the next word, jumped to her feet, and plunged herself into his arms. A flurry of emotions roiled inside of her, and suddenly LA seemed to be a friendlier place.

His embrace was warm and strong, and all she could do was inhale his wonderfully outdoorsy scent, soap and spice, and every bit refreshing. He was wearing the black suit, tie, and cap of a limo driver. A giggle squirmed from her throat. What would he look like in a yellow and black plaid miniskirt with high-heeled man boots?

Mustering a smile, she craned her neck and said, “Thanks for picking me up. I didn’t know they used football players to drive limos in LA.”

“My second job, Miss Wales. Welcome to California.” His deep blue eyes beamed at her, flooding her with all sorts of unholy consternation. His strong, sexy mouth quirked in a lazy grin as he took her in, his eyes making a tour of her face, then zeroing in on her lips.

A welcome kiss would be nice. Andie wet her lips. Instead of meeting her, his face twisted and he cleared his throat. “Miss Wales, allow me to cart your luggage. You may take Gollie out of the carrier and walk with her through the airport.”

“Oh, I didn’t know.” Andie bent low to open the carrier, thankful her long hair hid her blushing face. She should have known better. He belonged to another woman.

She had so many questions, but he was here only as a driver to take her to her temporary living quarters. At least Gollie would provide a distraction to the waves of heat cresting over her at being so close to Cade.

Surely, she’d embarrassed them both by her overeager emotions. So unsophisticated. What did she think would happen when she threw herself at him?

She turned her attention to extracting Gollie’s leash from her bag and opening the carrier.

Gollie was all tongue and tail wagging as she bounded out of the carrier. She licked Andie, then sniffed Cade and jumped around excitedly.

Cade gathered the luggage and tucked a large hand over the small of Andie’s back. “Ready? I trust you had a good flight.”

His touch ignited sparks and flutters, but all too soon, he removed his hand and secured Gollie’s pet carrier to the luggage rack.

Andie pressed her lips together and swallowed to keep from melting into a blob of jelly. The weather was hot and Cade had to be broiling in the chauffeur’s uniform, but he remained impeccable as he led her to the limo.

“I still can’t believe you moonlight as a limo driver,” Andie said, as Cade held the door of the limo for her. Maybe he had to, what with the expenses of keeping his pregnant mistress.

“We do what we have to, Miss Wales. I’m sure you understand.” His grin was more like a smirk. “How are your parents?”

“Doing well. Thanks for picking me up.” She patted Gollie, thankful for something to keep her hands busy, and the dog jumped into the cavernous back.

“My pleasure. Let me load your things, and we’ll be on our way.”

Andie slid onto the luxurious leather seats. With so many to chose from, which should she take? Gollie sniffed each seat, circled around and plopped herself on the floor, her tail thumping against a mini refrigerator.

Andie finally settled on the seat closest to the door. “Gollie, I think we’re going to like Hollywood. I wonder if Cade still has Red.”

What was she thinking? That she and Cade would see each other after he dropped her off? Andie rubbed her hand over Gollie’s soft fur and cuddled her. “At least I have you.”

Cade was back after slamming the trunk. He bent over her and pulled out the seatbelt. “You gotta wear one of these in California, or they’ll ticket me.”

Oh my. Andie’s insides quivered. His Cade scent invaded her, and the way he leaned over her, all heat inside an enclosed area had her all but panting. She really needed to get control of herself.

Think King David. The old King David, shivering and unable to get warm enough, wrapped in woolen blankets, wrinkly and wracked with age, not sexy as sin, just an old, dilapidated man, impotent, the end game for all womanizers.

Only the man in front of her was hot, young, and virile. Still a womanizer. Not her type. Never. Men who slept around could not be trusted, no matter how good in bed they were from all the practice.

Slowly, Cade pulled the strap over her, adjusting the shoulder portion and clipping it at her hip. His hand brushed her, flinging tingles all over her skin.

Andie licked her lips. What the heck? She’d already swapped spit with him and made love unprotected. Yes, she’d dodged the bullet and he hadn’t gotten her pregnant. If he was offering, she’d partake, although this time with protection. There was nothing harmful about a little kiss, was there?

Except, this was so one-sided. Cade was doing his job. Now that he had a baby on the way, he was proving himself to be a responsible man.

Sure enough, he tipped his chauffeur’s cap and shut the door.

# # #

Cade pulled the limo out of the airport and onto the freeway. So far so good. Andie had swallowed his needing to moonlight as a limo driver hook, line, and sinker. In Hollywood, everything was for rent, and it hadn’t been difficult at all for him to secure a limo complete with chauffeur’s outfit.

The rest of his job wouldn’t be that easy, especially showing Andie he was a good guy. When he’d buckled her into the limo, she’d had that hot, glazed look of lust in her eyes, and it’d taken every ounce of self-control not to give in to her alluring charm. If anything, she was prettier than ever. Her green eyes sparkled, and her skin was smooth as cream. Just the glimpse of her neckline and the way her cowl neck blouse draped over her shapely breasts had him almost hyperventilating.

He adjusted his pants and stepped on the gas.

The miles whizzed by, and he couldn’t help staring in the rear-view mirror through the glass partition. Andie sat stiffly while Gollie rested her head in Andie’s lap.

Soon enough, he pulled the limo onto the driveway of his Hollywood Hills home. After parking, he straightened his collar and opened the passenger door.

“Where are we?” Andie’s eyes were wide, and she stared at his Tuscan style house hidden behind old-growth eucalyptus trees.

“Your temporary living quarters.” Cade held his hand to help her out of the car while her dog jumped from the limo and sniffed the mailbox post.

Behind the door, his Irish setter, Red, barked a frantic greeting. No doubt, he knew his girlfriend, Gollie, had arrived.

“I thought I was going to the hotel,” Andie said, her eyes darting around. “They’re giving me two weeks to interview roommates and find an apartment.”

“Slight change of plans.” He pressed her delicate fingers and wished he could reel her in for a long, delicious kiss.

“What do you mean?” Her eyes were on him, taking him in, and her mouth opened slightly, wet and tantalizing. The evening sun glinted off her fiery hair, red, orange, brown and entrancing, and her eyes were green as jade.

He couldn’t lose her now that she was so close, so he distracted her. “Like the neighborhood? Look over there, the Hollywood sign and down below is the Hollywood Bowl.”

Her strawberry lips beckoned as she smiled and brushed her hair away from her eyes to stare at the landmarks. “Wow, I’ve always dreamt of seeing all this.”

“Wait until it’s dark and the city lights up below.” He swallowed visions of the two of them cuddled on the sectional in his sunken living room against the floor-to-ceiling window with the view to downtown. “Let’s get you settled, and I’ll show you around.”

Reluctantly, he let go of her hand to fetch her luggage. Every muscle in his body craved to hold her close, to kiss her, touch her, and press her against him. But the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her away, and with the baby hanging over his head, he didn’t deserve to be with Andie as anything more than a friend. Besides, his last promise to her was to prove to her he was no longer a player off the field, that he had no women lurking around, and what better way than to show her by having her as his roommate?

“So, I’m staying here until I find a place?” She hadn’t stopped gawking as Gollie scampered around sniffing the bushes.

“Something like that. It’s not easy finding a place when you have a dog.” Cade gathered her luggage and kicked open the door. Red, who had been barking behind it, leaped out and greeted Gollie. The two dogs went racing around the yard in a game of chase.

A worry seized Cade as Red sniffed Gollie between her legs. “Is she spayed? Did she ever have the puppies?”

“Yes, and no.” Andie stepped into his house, her mouth wide with admiration. Just having the presence of his woman, eyeing his things gave him comfort and a boost to his spirits. She belonged here.

“And you?” He’d wondered off and on if she’d also be pregnant, but from the looks of it, it was only a scare.

“Me? Am I spayed or did I ever have puppies?” Andie tilted her head and slipped him a half-smile. “What does it look like?”

Looks like you’re fine. Very fine.
Disappointment settled over him, and he realized just how much he’d wished for something permanent to tie them together.

“Here, let me show you the house.” Cade guided Andie through the entranceway to the great room.

He’d left it the way it was, full of movie memorabilia and knick-knacks from the previous owner. A knight in dull armor stood near the non-functioning grandfather clock, and movie posters from the twentieth century lined the art-gallery hall that ended in a sunken living room with the view to kill for. All of Hollywood and Los Angeles lay beyond. Too bad he had the shades drawn.

“Thanks for bringing Gollie back,” Andie said, and he realized they were still talking about him returning the dog five months ago.

“It was the least I could do. I’m sorry about the entire situation. I didn’t mean for you to get caught in it.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. You wouldn’t have known.” Andie avoided his gaze and turned toward a bookshelf full of retired movie props. “How’s she doing?”