Deep Autumn Heat (37 page)

Fiona wasn’t in the habit of blushing, and she didn’t know why she was now, except that this man seemed to provoke that response in her. Or maybe it was fondling his seductive underwear. Whatever had prompted the blush, she wasn’t about to admit to it.

“It’s the heat. I’ll adjust,” she snapped back. She reached for the strap on her suitcase and tugged the thing along as she headed for the nearest exit.

Nick hadn’t been at all enthused about winning the silky briefs at that bachelor auction for charity his long-time friend and frat brother had coerced him into in New York. He’d been less enthused seeing the undies tumble out of his bag on the carousel. That was, until he watched the hot color rise up Fiona Ames’s pretty neck.

Nick grinned as he picked up his bag and followed her. If he’d enjoyed the way the lady blushed, he enjoyed the sassy swing to her hips in that snug white skirt even more. Sexy,
very
sexy, he decreed.

He suspected she’d be stripping out of that white wool damned fast in this climate though, and for one unvirtuous moment he found himself wishing he could be there for the show. He stopped the momentum of that thought. Fiona Ames was hardly the kind of woman he was accustomed to. Too haughty for his tastes. Still, she had him intrigued.

Her flame-red hair was pulled into a knot at the back of her head, no doubt in deference to the heat, but wispy ends refused to be tamed and flew around her face in tight little coils. He wondered if that might be a clue to her personality as well—tightly coiled yet a part of her refusing to be tamed. The prospect of that combination stirred him, perhaps more than it should have.

This upcoming wedding might prove more interesting than he thought.

In his heart of hearts he doubted Walter Ames was any match for his aunt. Winnie claimed she’d fallen in love at first sight, but Nick didn’t believe there was such a thing.

He didn’t believe in love at all.

Maybe if he hadn’t been out of town so much the last few months, consulting on those legal cases, he might have headed off this fiasco. Still, the wedding bells hadn’t chimed yet.

They’d reached the curb. He motioned to the waiting limousine driver, and when the limo pulled up, he escorted his pretty passenger inside.

“I hope dropping me at my hotel doesn’t inconvenience you,” she said, sliding into her seat.

The hem of her skirt skimmed up a delicious inch or two. And he noticed that she had a run in her nylons. He followed the streak up
her leg until it disappeared beneath the white fabric. Quickly he chastised his mind’s eye, which seemed hell-bent on tracing it farther up her silky thigh. Her blush had faded, at least for the moment. But he’d like very much to see it again.

“Winnie asked me to see you safely to your hotel and to make sure you were comfortable. It was fortunate we were arriving at the same time. Did you have a good trip out?”

“Yes, fine,” she returned. She didn’t add that she’d spent nearly every moment of her air time trying to decide what to do about her father and his sudden wedding plans. Fiona hadn’t even known there was a woman in his life until this morning when he’d phoned, asking her to fly out for the ceremony.

Since Nick’s aunt was the blushing bride-to-be, she didn’t want to bring up the subject with him. Winnie was probably a very nice lady—Fiona wasn’t saying that she wasn’t—she just didn’t want to see her father make a mistake that might well cost him his happiness. She loved him too much to let that happen.

Walter Ames hadn’t been able to come to the airport to meet her himself because he was busy having his tux fitted for the ceremony, thus abandoning Fiona to the man seated beside her, a man whose good looks and intense masculinity rattled her senses.

She pressed a hand to her temple, thinking of the fast trip she’d made across the country. If it wasn’t for her father and his hasty wedding she would be home right now, polishing antiques for her shop and planning an evening at the symphony with friends.

Nick Killian—and his sexy briefs—were about as far removed from a night at the symphony as she could imagine.

Fiona leaned back in her seat and swung one leg over the other, trying hard to ignore his presence.

She supposed she could use the few days off this trip would bring. She’d been working hard, too hard. But her shop was important to her. She’d struggled to turn it into the business she’d envisioned, a shop where people could come and feel welcome, sip a cup of tea while they browsed, and hopefully buy an heirloom-quality antique.

She could count on Elaine to keep an eye on things while she was away. Elaine was her good friend, who owned the photography studio next to Fiona’s small shop in the little row of businesses a few blocks off the Common. She’d promised to take in the mail and explain to Fiona’s loyal customers that she’d been called away on a family matter.

Fiona hadn’t realized the
family
would include the man who had her on the edge of her limo seat, feeling as gawky as a teenager on a
first date. At twenty-nine she was well past her awkward teen years, but she supposed when it came to men like Nick Killian, she was still a babe-in-the-woods.

After suffering through one failed engagement she’d learned to be more cautious of relationships. Adam Parker had hurt her, hurt her
badly
. And she didn’t intend to become vulnerable again. Perhaps it was advice she should pass along to her father. What did he really know about Winnie? She could be someone who would break his heart.

And that Fiona couldn’t bear.

Perhaps heartbreaking ran in the family. She’d bet her airline ticket home that Nick Killian could break a few hearts. He had that all-too-persuasive, love-’em-and-leave-’em air about him—along with killer-wide shoulders and a smile that could promise a woman the world.

“Is it always this hot out here?” she asked, feeling a heat she suspected wasn’t entirely attributable to the desert.

“This isn’t Boston, if that’s what you mean. But I’ll ask the driver to adjust the air,” Nick offered.

“Thanks.” Fiona doubted it would help all that much. Nick was sitting so close that his muscled thigh was pressed up against her. And from there it was only a small leap of her imagination to his provocative underwear.

She tried to tell herself she didn’t care if they were polka-dot boxers, but she knew that wasn’t quite true.

Before meeting him, she had never thought about a man’s … personables. She fanned herself with a travel brochure she’d picked up while she was waiting at the baggage claim, then stared out through the tinted windows, studying the buildings in the distance that seemed to rise right up off the desert floor, a hazy mirage in front of her.

“I hope you brought something cooler to wear tonight,” Nick said beside her. “If not, there are a couple of shops in your hotel.”

“Tonight?” Fiona stopped fanning herself and turned to him, one eyebrow raised. “What’s tonight?”

“Didn’t your father tell you?”

It seemed her father hadn’t been telling her much of anything lately. “Tell me what?”

“We’re invited to Winnie’s for dinner. She thought it would be nice if we all sort of … got acquainted.”

Fiona’s eyes widened. A get-acquainted dinner—of course that would be in the plans. They were, after all, about to become … family. Still, she’d hoped to see her father alone tonight.

She had more than a few questions to ask him.

“I—I’m not sure I can make it this evening,” she stammered.

Nick smiled. “We don’t have a choice in the matter. Winnie’s expecting us. Eight o’clock sharp.”

A command performance. Fiona sank back in her seat, certain there was no way out of the invitation. She wasn’t ready to meet Winnie yet.
Or
spend more time with the woman’s distracting nephew.

The limo eased through the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Strip. Nick pointed out the major casinos glittering under the hot desert sun. Fiona tried to ignore the brush of his thigh against hers, his nearness, his provocative male scent that was having such a disturbing effect on her.

“Ah, we’re here,” he said when they’d finally turned into the hotel’s sweeping drive.

“Let’s get you checked in,” Nick said when the driver held the limo door open for them.

“I think I can manage that by myself.” She forced a polite smile and extended her hand. “Thank you for the lift.”

He took her hand, his touch drawing her to him as intimately as an embrace. She could feel the sensual heat of him, the threat of what the man had to offer. It had to do with sin and seduction and hot, steamy nights.

A dangerous fantasy, she knew. But she
was a woman—and Nick Killian had a way of making her vibrantly aware of that fact.

Disengaging her hand from his, she slid out of the limo and headed for the revolving hotel door, leaving Nick behind and the driver to retrieve her luggage.

Nick watched her go. An enigmatic smile crept to his lips. He hadn’t been looking forward to this evening at Auntie’s—that was, until now.

Fiona Ames heated his blood in a way that no woman had in a long time—maybe ever. He recognized a certain danger in that, but Nick had never been afraid of getting too close to the flame.

After a shower and a much-needed and all-too-short nap, Fiona searched through her wardrobe for the coolest dress she’d brought with her. She settled on a sleeveless white linen and slipped it on. The dress had a deep V-neck that she’d never noticed dipped quite so low. She ran a finger over the front and caught herself wondering what Nick Killian would think of it.

What did she care what he thought? The man had a way of making her swelter—and at least this dress would be cool. She added a pair of round gold earrings, dashed on a touch of geranium-pink lipstick that the saleslady said
was perfect for redheads, and studied the effect in the mirror.

Would Nick think her mouth looked kissable?

Forget it, she told herself. You don’t want to know.

She smoothed down a pleat in the skirt, then grabbed her purse and headed for the front entrance to meet her father. She’d talked to him on the phone shortly after she’d checked in, but their discussion had been as unfruitful as the one this morning. She needed to get him alone and talk face-to-face. If only they didn’t have this evening at Winnie’s.

She made her way through the crowded lobby and reached the hotel’s front entrance just as Walter Ames wheeled his ancient Buick into the circular drive. Some things never change, she thought, and smiled at the sensible sedan that was her father’s pride and joy.

He’d come to the desert a few months earlier, deciding he could no longer take the New England winters. She’d known he was lonely. Ever since her mother had died three years before, he’d been at loose ends. But his abrupt move to Las Vegas had been a surprise.

As much of a surprise as his wedding tomorrow.

She opened the door and slid in beside him.

“There’s my girl,” he said, giving Fiona a warm hug.

Despite her irritation with him she was genuinely glad to see him. She inhaled his familiar scent. “Oh, Dad, I’ve missed you.”

“And it took my wedding to get you out here.”

His wedding. They needed to talk about that, but Fiona decided it could wait. She wanted to assure herself he was all right. Really all right.

“How have you been, Dad?” she asked. She studied the face of the man who’d been there for her so many times in her life. “Getting too much sun, I see.” She reached over and rubbed his peeling nose.

“Maybe a little,” he said. “But the sun is good for me. In fact, I haven’t felt this great in years.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

He wheeled the big old Buick out of the hotel drive and headed down the congested Strip. Gaudy lights winked and blinked in neon fury, making Fiona long for home, the charm of Boston. She missed her shop, filled to overflowing with antiques, and her apartment over it, small, comfortable, and homey.

She’d been experiencing a kind of culture shock ever since she’d arrived in Las Vegas—and she wasn’t sure she could survive it.

“You’re going to love Winnie, Fiona. I can
hardly wait for you to meet her,” her father said, glancing over at her. A beatific, if not a bit foolish, smile covered his face.

He was a man in love, a development that worried Fiona. She drew in a breath. “Dad, about this wedding—”

“Now, don’t you worry about the wedding plans, Fiona. They’re all taken care of. There’s not a thing for you to do but show up and wish your father happiness.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, Dad. Your happiness is first and foremost in my mind, believe me …” This wasn’t going to be an easy discussion, but she had to try to make him see reason. Now might be the only chance she had to convince him to wait, to think things through, to look before he leaped into this marriage thing.

“Then what, Fiona?” A furrow formed between his sandy-gray brows. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”

Fiona sighed and studied a flashing block-long marquee that brightened the night as if it were midday. He’d phoned out of the blue, springing this wedding on her, wanting her to be happy about it. But how could she be happy about a romance that had seemingly blossomed overnight?

She thought of her parents’ marriage. It had lasted thirty years, a hearts-and-flowers, old-fashioned kind of marriage few people in
life ever achieved—the kind Fiona wanted for herself one day. But a love like that took time to develop and to grow.

“I
am
happy for you, Dad,” she said, seriously trying to mean it.

“Well, you could’ve fooled me.” He turned and headed west, toward a bank of mountains in the distance, away from the gaudy bright lights of the Strip.

Fiona tried again. “Dad, what do you know about Winnie? Does she have family?” she asked. He had told her very little about his intended on the phone. All Fiona knew was her name and that she had a nephew who wore racy underwear.

He braked at a stoplight and glanced over at her. “Yes, she has a family. A very loving family …”

As opposed to his nonunderstanding daughter, Fiona read into that statement.

“Winnie lost her husband some years ago,” he said, pulling through the light and continuing west. “She’s alone. Like me.”