Daddy 101 (American Romance) (10 page)

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Authors: Jo Leigh

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Dani was none of those things. Well, nothing except pretty, but even there she wasn’t the kind of pretty his father had meant. A sudden thought stopped him. Was he attracted to Dani just because she wasn’t his ideal? Was this all an act of rebellion, and not true desire?
He continued to walk toward the clinic, but slowly, thinking. He’d had plenty of time in his life to rebel. Why would he start now? There was much more involved here than making a statement against his father’s way of life. If he hadn’t seen for himself that the rules worked, that would be one thing. But he had. He’d seen his father’s power and success. Seen how his own mother had been part of that success. True, he’d wondered from time to time if his father wouldn’t have been happier married to one of his mistresses. But once he’d discovered his mother had a lover of her own, it all made sense.
It was civilized as hell, and no one seemed to get hurt. At least he’d never heard them complain.
Of course he could never have Dani as his mistress. It wouldn’t be anything so old-fashioned. Of course he’d help her financially, but that just made sense. The one thing he had plenty of was money. But he’d never expect Dani to stop her practice. To live her life just for his pleasure. He’d encourage her to get the most out of life. To do the things she’d always wanted to. They could be friends, and lovers, and companions. So what if they weren’t married? That wasn’t so important these days. Besides, she was so independent, she probably didn’t even want to many.
He finally reached the clinic, and pulled open the glass door. Several people were in the waiting room, along with their pets. Two dogs, one a Great Dane, the other a terrier, were busy sniffing each other. A cat, held by a teenage boy with several earrings in his right ear and his nose, meowed loudly. He also saw a bird, a snake in a box and a hamster.
All of the owners, with the exception of the teenage boy, stared at him. It wasn’t the usual polite look people gave when a newcomer joined the party, but full-out gawking. He smiled, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was in no mood to be a celebrity this afternoon.
Moving to the reception desk, he saw the young woman who’d helped him the other day. She didn’t wait for him to ask for admittance. She just went to the door and opened it for him.
“Dani’s in with a patient now, but you can go back and see Pete. Last door on the right.”
“Thanks,” he said, heading back.
He heard her long sigh, and knew without checking that she was watching him. Probably checking out his butt. Oh, well. There was nothing he could do about that.
He turned the corner and entered the large room he’d been in last night. Pete was already on his feet, wagging his whole body. Damn, it felt good to see his old friend looking so good. His coat was shinier than it had been in ages. Even from here, Alex could see his breathing was better.
He went to the cage and opened it up. Pete was on him in a flash, and when Alex sat down, Pete licked his face with such affection Alex laughed out loud. Which wasn’t such a smart move. He loved Pete, but not enough to French kiss.
“I think he missed you a little.”
Alex looked up to see Dani standing by the door. She looked so beautiful in her white lab coat. Why something so plain should make her look so good was a question for the fashion experts. All he knew was that he wanted her. Right then and there. “I’ve missed you,” he said.
“Well, don’t go licking my face to show me,” she said, walking toward the cage. “He’s really doing well. His respiration is back to normal, he’s eating. But he’s still a little dehydrated.”
“Then you want him here for another night?”
She nodded. “It would be best, I think. If he were a little younger I wouldn’t be so concerned.”
“I don’t want to take any risks.”
“Good. But you can spring him tomorrow. No reason to keep him here after that.”
“Would you mind if I brought him to your place?”
She shook her head. “No. But there’s really no need to. It’s really not necessary for you to stay over the weekend. I mean, it was nice of you to agree and all, but if you’re staying out of some feeling of obligation...”
“I’m not. I want to stay.”
“It’s going to be a zoo. And you’re going to be the prize exhibit.”
“I can take it.”
“Take it? Or want it?”
He really looked at her then. She wouldn’t meet his gaze, and he saw a slight flush on her cheeks. “Dani?”
“Yes?”
“What’s this about?”
She still didn’t look at him. “Nothing.”
“No, you said something earlier, back at the house. Something about me enjoying the attention.”
“Don’t you?”
He shook his head. “You think I want to stay here because I want a bunch of strange women pawing me?”
“I think that’s part of it.”
He sighed. “Dani, my sweet. For a smart woman, you can be awfully dumb.”
She straightened, and the first look she gave him head-on was full of indignation. “I beg your pardon?”
He stood up and walked over to her. Damn, she made him so crazy. “There’s only one thing that could keep me in this town once Pete is well and that’s you.”
He waited patiently for her to meet his gaze. When she did, her eyes weren’t troubled, as he’d anticipated. They were filled with fire.
“So let me ask you something, Mr. I-only-tell-the-truth. If I sleep with you tonight, are you still going to want to stick around tomorrow?”
Chapter Ten
D
ani could barely believe she’d asked him the question. His face told her he was having trouble believing it as well. But darn it, she wanted to know. Of course, no matter what his answer was, she would still have her doubts. But maybe there would be a hint of guilt in his eyes, a flash of remorse on his face that would tell her the truth. She studied him intently, but she didn’t see a sign of either.
What she did see was hurt. Confusion. Desire.
“You think all I want is to make love to you?” he asked. “Honestly?”
“I think it’s a possibility.”
He sighed as he studied her. “What we have here is a problem. If we don’t have sex, you won’t come with me because you’ll think I just want to have sex, and that’ll be that. But I don’t want to have sex just to prove something to you.” He stepped closer and brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. “The thing is, I want to make love with you. That requires two people, both of whom want to share something intimate and special. Not a scientific experiment.”
She melted into his caress. The feel of his hand on her skin made her close her eyes to concentrate. She reached up and held his hand steady, not willing to let him go. “That is a problem,” she whispered.
“It doesn’t have to be.”
It was her turn to sigh. And open her eyes. She didn’t just let go of his hand, but took it in hers and brought it down to his side. There she left it, although it brought a quick lump to her throat. “Maybe you should just leave tomorrow.”
“Is that what you want?”
She almost said yes. She tried to say yes. But the word wouldn’t come. “I don’t know,” she said, finally.
“Here’s what I think.” He didn’t bring his hand to her cheek again. Instead he circled her waist with his arms and pulled her very close against him. His body and hers touched from knee to chest. Her nipples immediately hardened against him, although she didn’t think he could feel it. She, however, felt his arousal against her lower belly and the thought of him so hard just from talking about making love with her was enough to make her dizzy.
“I think you don’t know me well enough yet,” he said. “If you did, the problem would be solved.”
His little grin told her he was kidding. Well, almost kidding. She had to concentrate on his grin, because if she thought about her body, or his, this conversation would be moot in about three hot seconds. She swallowed, and hoped her voice wouldn’t betray the heat that was coursing through her. “Boy, that’s some ego you have there.”
“Hey, I promised I’d only tell you the truth. Besides, some information is hard to disguise.” He pulled her tighter to prove his point.
Despite the voice inside her head that kept repeating the urgent warning to leave, right now, she brought her arms up and circled his neck. Her ability to speak had fled, and all she could do was look up into those beautiful dark eyes. The confusion and hurt were gone, leaving his desire so plain and clear that it made her stomach clench to see it.
He moved his head down, slowly, while he kept her gaze locked on his. Was her expression a reflection of his own? Could he see how much she wanted him?
When his lips touched hers, she knew he could read her like a book. He was right. Some things couldn’t be disguised.
“Dani—oh!”
Dani pulled away from Alex, and stepped back until her heel hit Pete’s cage. Connie stood in the doorway. Her startled gaze went from Alex to Dani, and then her expression changed to one of pure amazement. Dani recognized the look. She’d seen it often enough when she’d been with Randy. The unasked question was always there. What would a man like
him
be doing with a woman like
her
. She couldn’t blame Connie, though. The question was quite reasonable.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Connie said, stepping back.
“It’s all right,” Dani said, her composure remarkably intact given the circumstances. “What’s going on?”
“We’re just stacking up out here, is all. You’ve got patients in three rooms.”
“Of course. I’ll be right there.”
Connie stared at her a moment longer, then let her gaze move to Alex. She sighed, and her lips opened slightly, and Dani could see the young woman’s lust as plainly as she could see her pale blue uniform. It occurred to her once more that Alex saw that all the time. Women threw themselves at him on a regular basis. Beautiful women. Young women. Women with huge breasts and long legs and naturally curly blond hair. No man could resist all that. Not even Alex.
“If you don’t mind,” he said, “I’m going to stay here with Pete for a little while.”
She found Alex looking at her, not Connie, even though her niece was still gaping at him. “Stay as long as you like.”
“I’ve got some business to attend to at three, so I’ll have to leave pretty soon. Oh, the washer is fixed.”
“Great,” she said, although at the moment she couldn’t have cared less. “Then I’ll see you when I get through here.”
“Have any idea when that might be?”
“Six or a little after.”
He looked briefly toward the door, and she did, too. Connie got the hint and left rather quickly. Then Dani’s gaze went back to Alex.
“About our problem,” he said. “What do you say we tackle that when you get home. Let me take you somewhere for dinner. Just the two of us. It’ll give us a chance to talk.”
“What about Chloe?”
“We can sit down with her while she has dinner. I’ll make the reservation for eight. Except you’ll have to tell me where.”
She nodded, very pleased that he was considerate enough to understand that dinner with her daughter was important. “Try the Blue Willow Café. I think you’ll like it there.”
“The Blue Willow it is,” he said.
She started toward the door, trying hard to shift gears. Her patients deserved her full attention. Thinking about Alex would have to wait. For the next few hours she was going to be a vet, not a woman.
She would have, honest, if he hadn’t caught her arm, spun her around and kissed her. His lips on hers were soft and firm, urgent and tender. His tongue teased her into opening her mouth, tasting him and letting him taste her. His hands moved beneath her white coat to explore her back, while he brought her body tight against him. She felt him, hard once more, against her stomach. The awareness that she did that to him was as confusing to her as her own reactions. Her hardened nipples, the tightness in her belly, the need to clench her thighs together.
A dog’s bark mingled with Alex’s moan, and while she wanted to ignore the bark and concentrate on making him moan again, she couldn’t. It wasn’t easy, but she pulled herself away from his lips and his arms. Before she weakened, she left him standing there, not daring to look back even once.
 
HAD THERE EVER BEEN a longer afternoon? Dani doubted it. Time had inched by slowly as she’d examined dogs and cats and birds and snakes. Every time she paused, Alex filled her thoughts and she’d had to force herself back to the puppy or kitten. At five, she’d come to the conclusion that the whole system of love and lust was seriously flawed. It was detrimental to the work ethic, and played havoc with the natural order of things. Life had been so much simpler just two days ago. Work and Chloe had filled her life to the brink, and it had been enough. Now, she was overflowing, and that couldn’t continue. It just couldn’t.
So why was she hurrying so? Why did she have to fight the urge to run home? To fly into his arms? It wasn’t fair. That’s all.
She crossed the last street, and forced herself to walk normally toward her house, even though her pulse was elevated and her heart thudded in her chest. The thought of sitting with Alex at the Café, sipping wine, gazing into his eyes was nearly too much to bear. She hadn’t felt this excited about her prom. What was he doing to her?
As she approached her house, she saw a very long black stretch limousine parked in front of her next door neighbor’s. It was hard to imagine Joe and Alicia having company that would arrive by limo. Someone had come to see Alex. A woman? God, why did that thought chill her so?
She hurried inside, expecting to hear laughter once again. Instead she heard a male voice, not Alex’s, coming from the dining room. She hung her jacket on the coatrack and walked toward the voice. She didn’t see Mimi in the living room, which was odd. And where was Chloe?
Her answer came as she entered the dining room. Mimi and Chloe were standing inside the kitchen, watching Alex and two strangers sitting at the table. She started to say hi, but Chloe put her finger to her lips. Dani walked slowly toward her daughter, trying to size up what was going on.
The two strangers were men. One, a nice-looking preppy kind of guy dressed casually in slacks and a long-sleeve white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck. His thinning hair was blond and he wore wire-rimmed glasses. At the moment, he had a cellular phone in one hand, and a computer mouse in the other, and he was staring so intently at the laptop computer on the table that she didn’t think he’d noticed her at all.
The other man was older, and dressed more conservatively in a very expensive-looking suit. His silver hair was thick, his skin tan and the lines that went from the edge of his nose to bracket his mouth were very deep. He, too, had a cellular phone, into which he was talking in a low growl. The older man did see her, although he dismissed her just as quickly.
Alex sat between them. He spoke to someone on yet another phone while he read from a stack of folders in front of him. His briefcase was on the table, open, and other papers covered the table from one end to the other.
She reached Chloe and Mimi. The older woman leaned close to whisper in her ear. “They got here a little before three. It’s been like this all afternoon. Mr. Bradley hasn’t been off the phone once. They’ve been calling all over the world. I sure hope they’re not billing those calls to you. I don’t even call Evelyn from here, and she’s only in Colorado.”
“Who are they?” Dani asked, also whispering, but wondering why it was necessary. It was her house, after all.
“That one’s Ted,” Chloe said, in her own attempt at being quiet, which didn’t quite succeed. “He’s a right-hand man. The other guy is a lawyer. From California. They flew in a private jet. Alex said I could fly in it if I wanted to. I want to. Can I?”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Dani said. “What about dinner?”
Mimi’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, for mercy’s sake, I forgot. Oh, heavens, I’m sorry. I’ll start it right now.”
Dani put a restraining hand on Mimi’s shoulder. “Don’t bother. We’ll call out for pizza. I’m sure these gentlemen are hungry, too. I’ll get a few.” She walked over to her phone, but before she could lift the receiver, it rang. She jumped, then answered. “Hello.”
“Alex Bradley, please,” a very officious female voice said.
“Who’s calling?”
“Mr. Trump.”
Dani’s mouth dropped open. “Donald Trump?”
“Yes, ma’am. Is Mr. Bradley available?”
Dani nodded, but realized the caller couldn’t see her. “One moment, please.” She put the receiver down and went to the dining room. Alex saw her then, and his smile was half warm and half apologetic. He was still speaking on his cellular.
“That call...” she said, not sure whether to interrupt or wait until he’d hung up.
“Hold on a sec,” Alex said to his party. Then he looked up at her, waiting.
“It’s Donald Trump,” she said, trying hard not to sound as amazed as she felt.
“Tell him I’ll call him back, would you? Find out where he is. Thanks, Dani. We’ll be through here in a minute. I swear.”
She nodded. As she walked back to the phone, she couldn’t help wondering what the hell she was doing with a man who didn’t have to take Donald Trump’s phone calls. It seemed official now, fully signed, sealed and delivered that she was out of her league by a mile. While she was used to Tinkle the dachshund, he was talking to one of the richest men in the world. Wait, Alex was one of the richest men in the world. He should have his own Maria Maples, not a small town country vet like her.
She picked up the phone, and tried to sound like someone who knew what she was doing. “Mr. Bradley would like to know where he can return the call,” she said.
Instead of the chewing out she expected, the woman just gave her the number, and told her that Mr. Trump would be there for the rest of the night, and he looked forward to the call.
Holy cow. Dani hung up the phone. So Mr. Trump didn’t mind waiting for Alex. Although she knew there was nothing at all wrong with her, or her life, and that most people would be happy to have all she had, she suddenly felt quite like Little Orphan Annie. No wonder Alex wanted her to be his mistress. He certainly couldn’t take her out in public. What would his friends think? That he was slumming, no doubt.
Dully, she lifted the receiver once more, and hit the speed dial for Domino’s. She ordered three large pizzas, wondering if her guests had ever even had pizza. Probably at Spago’s. Made with goat cheese and caviar. Well, she couldn’t do anything about that. They’d have to make do with pepperoni here.

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