Forever After (7 page)

"Don't tell me what I think.  This was a lousy idea and I told her so.  She and Brad should be going to a mediator or counselor to work this out so Jenna doesn't get hurt.  But Brad won't and Marsha's so furious with him now...  Damn!  I'm not supposed to be talking to you about this."

Seth approached Darcy slowly.  He could see she was almost as upset as Marsha, and he pushed his distrust back into the past where it belonged.  "I'm sorry.  I do believe you.  Old habits die hard.  My profession demands I be suspicious."

"Of me?"

"Of everyone."  There were questions in her eyes he didn't want to answer.  Deliberately, he directed the conversation where he wanted it to go.  "Are you ready to learn the jitterbug?"

"You still want to go?"

He searched her face.  "Don't you?"

"I don't know.  This proves my point.  Maybe we shouldn't be seeing each other."

"We're not.  We happen to be taking the same dance class together."

"You know what I mean."

He sighed.  "Are you going to let someone else's problems run your life?"

"Marsha's my friend.  I love Jenna."

"I know.  But seeing me or not seeing me is not going to affect what happens between Brad and Marsha.  Can't you see that?  They're barreling down a course that has nothing to do with you."

"But if I slip, and something I say helps Brad because you take advantage of it--"

"I won't do that."

"Even if this gets dirty and you want to win more than you want to play fair?"

"This is not a conflict of interest for me because I can keep my emotions out of it.  If we don't discuss it, I can't take advantage of you, right?"  He could see she was still struggling with loyalty to her friend.  "Put it on hold for tonight.  Put it on hold until I know if the case is even going to go forward.  Isn't that logical?"

"Your logic's much easier for you than for me."

He couldn't force her to be with him.  She had to make up her own mind.  But that didn't mean he couldn't sway her in his direction.  He pulled her into his arms and held her close.

Kissing her temple, he said, "It will be all right, Darcy."

She went pliant against him.  She was everything he wanted right now--soft, fragrant, caring, lovely.  His need for her was becoming a demand.  She had to make up her mind about this so they could go where he wanted to go.  Where is that? a small voice asked.  He was living moment to moment.  He wanted to make love to her.  After that, he didn't know.

He rubbed his chin against her cheek.  "Are we going to be dance partners tonight?"

CHAPTER FOUR

"I can't go with you."  Darcy pulled away, shaking her head sadly.

Reluctantly, Seth let her go.

"My friendship with Marsha is too important.  So is Jenna's future.  I can't have...fun at their expense.  Can you understand that?"

He'd never met a woman like Darcy Kearn.  He thought women were catty, stepped on each other to get ahead, put relationships with men above other women any day.  Not Darcy.  Loyalty and friendship were more than nice words to her.  But where did that leave him?  Them?

"Let me get this straight.  You're going to put your friendship with Marsha ahead of your personal life."

She nodded.

He had to respect her sense of commitment.  Commitment.

He almost cringed at the word.

"I don't like your decision but I commend it."  He caressed her cheek.  "You've got a strong sense of loyalty.  That's rare."  She trembled and he could see the pulse at her throat beating faster.  Darcy responded to him every time he touched her.  He wanted to touch her more.  Kiss her.  The thought became an action.

When he bent his head and slid his arms around her, she went perfectly still.  At the least sign of resistance, he would have backed off.  But she didn't resist and he realized the stillness wasn't reluctance, it was anticipation.  He could see it in the depths of her eyes, feel it in the tension in her shoulders, hear it in the soft sigh that escaped her lips.  She was as curious as he was.

She smelled like a garden and when his lips set firmly on hers, she tasted sweeter than any fruit he'd ever eaten.  No way was he going to rush the pleasure of tasting her.  He nibbled the corner of her lip and her low moan drove him to lift her to his height so he'd have better access to her mouth.  Her arms circled his neck and he felt stronger than Hercules.  He nibbled the other corner of her mouth and her fingers pressed into his hair.  Gently, he took her upper lip between his teeth and she softly moaned.  Seth's blood raced and pulsed until he shifted one hand to cup her bottom.  The tight contact created friction that made him ache.

He slanted his lips first to the right, then to the left, then opened them.  She tentatively opened hers.  He invaded her mouth with furious intensity, darting, probing, stroking.  Her desire matched his and building tension sought release.  He moved against her, taunting them both.

She massaged his scalp and he could feel the current from her touch fork to his toes.  He'd never been fully aroused this fast, this easily, with only a kiss igniting the bonfire.  Only a kiss.  Good Lord, what would lying naked with her do? 

He stopped the kiss to suck in air.  When he did, he sucked in reality too.  She'd just told him she wouldn't see him again.  He kept the string of curses in his head so he wouldn't shock her.  One glance at the dazed look on her face told him she was as far gone as he was.

Slowly lowering Darcy to the floor, Seth watched her literally come down to earth.  She was even more adorable with her cheeks rosy, her lips pink, her eyes still bright with the passion he'd aroused.

She pulled herself together and he saw the determination to do the right thing chase away remnants of desire.  "I'm going to miss you."

As crazy as it seemed, he knew what she meant.  "I'll call if I decide not to represent Brad."

"I'd like that," she said softly.

He wanted to kiss her again, needed to kiss her again, but if he did, he might not leave.  He respected Darcy too much to take advantage of her.

He turned and headed for the door before he could change his mind.

***

Eight days later, Darcy was inspecting overdue accounts when the phone summoned her.  "Kearn's Garage.  May I help you?"

"I hope so," a recognizable baritone replied.

Her heart whacked against her chest as she remembered the touch of Seth's lips, the feel of his hands, the taste of his tongue.  She'd never realized what a kiss could be until his kiss.  Over and over she'd told herself her decision was best for everyone, but that didn't keep her from feeling as if she'd missed out on something she would never find again.

Keep cool.  "Hi, Seth.  How are you?"

"Better since I'm talking to you."

Her heart felt like it swung upside down.  "Is there...a particular reason you called?"

"Brad had scheduled an appointment with me yesterday and he didn't keep it.  I can't get hold of him.  Has Marsha said if he changed his mind?"

Did Seth sound hopeful or was she imagining it?  "I haven't talked to Marsha for a few days, but I'm sure she'd have told me if he'd given up the idea."

"This is ridiculous!"

"What?"

"We're not seeing each other because he might make an appointment with me.  I ask you, Darcy, does that make sense?"

When he put it that way, it didn't.  More than Seth, Darcy knew how unreliable Brad could be.

"Go to Penn National with me Saturday night."

"The horse races?"

"We can have dinner here then drive up and watch a few races.  What do you say?"

"What if Brad makes another appointment?"

"I'll call you and we'll forget the date.  How about it?"

Her heart spoke for her.  "Yes."

"Terrific.  I'll call you with a time after I make the reservations."

After Darcy said good-bye, she smiled.  This date would be in Fate's hands.  This was only one date, and if Brad didn't contact Seth, she'd enjoy it for just that.  One date wasn't a summer romance.  One date wasn't the beginning of an involvement.  One date was one date and she was going to have fun.

***

Darcy repositioned the two throw pillows on her sofa for the third time, then examined her hands to make sure they were immaculate and petal soft.  She'd spent the morning with valves, a camshaft, and a leaking radiator, occupied so the hours would pass swiftly.  She felt like a shaken-up bottle of warm soda pop as she glanced at the single red rose in a milkglass vase sitting on her end table.  Seth had sent it with a note saying he was looking forward to tonight.  It was a thoughtful gesture that made her feel special.

When the doorbell rang, she nervously smoothed her palms over the hips of her sleeveless jumpsuit.  The clinging turquoise silk jersey gently lapped at her ankles as she approached the screen door.  When she gazed up at Seth, her heart stampeded and she gulped.

His khakis and off-white, short- sleeved oxford enhanced the breadth of his shoulders, the length of his legs, and the blackness of his hair.  He waited for her to unlatch the door then let his eyes roam from her sweetheart neckline to her fitted waist, to her feet in white sandals.  He did more than a fair share of looking.  She felt her cheeks flush.

He chuckled.  "Your blush is delightful."

"It's an asset.  People think I'm healthy.  Rosy cheeks."

He held the weight of the door until it closed, then he followed her into the living room.  "Does it happen all the time or only when you're with me?"

Darcy plucked her leather pocketbook from the recliner.  "I blush more when I'm with you than I have in the past five years.  It must be your zodiac sign.  What is it?"  If he said the bull, she'd die.  She had to learn to think before she spoke.

"I'm a Virgo," he said with eyes twinkling, daring her to comment.

She wasn't touching that with a twenty foot pole.  "I'm a Sagittarius.  Do you know if we're compatible?"

Seth reached out his hands and grasped her elbows, drawing her slowly toward him, entrapping her hands and purse between them.  He kissed the tip of her nose.  "We dance well together, but maybe we should take another test."

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, suddenly very short of breath.

"Something special.  But I think we'll wait until after dinner."

She nodded vaguely and scolded herself.  She couldn't explode like a keg of gun powder every time he came close.

"Your eyes turn more green than blue when you think I'm going to kiss you."

She smiled.  "Do you think that means something?"

"I hope it means I arouse your passion."

She clicked her tongue.  "I don't know, Seth.  That could be one very smooth line."

"I know better than to use lines with you.  You've probably heard them all."

"I think you have a mistaken impression of me.  Men talk to me about the current rattle in their engine more than they do the color of my eyes."

"That's hard to believe."

"Believe it."

He tipped up her chin.  "You're a beautiful woman who happens to know her way around a car."

She curtsied.  "Thank you, kind sir."

He lifted a lock of her hair and let it slide through his fingers.  "Let's go before I decide I'd rather stay here and kiss you than eat dinner and watch horses run."

Seth had made reservations at a high caliber restaurant.  But when they pulled into the parking lot, they realized something was definitely wrong.  People milled about outside the entrance, even a few waitresses in black and white uniforms.

Darcy didn't wait for Seth, but unlatched the car door and hopped out.  Seth was beside her immediately as she listened to a waitress explain what had happened.  Apparently there had been a small kitchen fire, taken care of with a fire extinguisher.  But smoke was heavy and had invaded the dining room.

Seth checked his watch.  "We'll have to wait a while if we want to eat at another restaurant.  It looks like it's either dinner or the races."

"We can have a different kind of dinner and the races.  C'mon.  You drive.  I'll direct."

Darcy guided him to the outskirts of town.  The clapboard building was white-washed and there was a small parking area fringed with picnic tables.  Seth's enthusiasm didn't match hers as she hopped out of the car and led him to the doorway.

Ten minutes later she gazed at him across the rough wood of the picnic table as he took a huge bite of his gyro, a pita bread pocket stuffed with spiced meat.

"This is good!"

"You sound surprised."

"From the looks of the place--"

"You judge a book by its cover?  I'm shocked."  When he gave her a scolding glare, she laughed.  "This place has the best Greek take-out I've eaten anywhere."

Seth glanced at the other tables occupied with families and couples, and the stream of cars that came and went.  "Others must agree with you."

She held out a forkful of moussaka.  "Want a taste?"