Nothing But Trouble (13 page)

She mulled that one over for a few endless, agonizing moments. Brandon couldn’t believe how much it meant for him to do this with her. How much he wanted her undivided attention for as long as he could get it. How much he wanted to learn everything he could about her.

Laura Tanner fascinated him in a way no woman ever had.

He couldn’t believe now that there was ever a time he hadn’t known her. That he’d been living in a world where she existed, and he hadn’t realized what he was missing. It was the strangest sensation he’d ever experienced.

“I guess I could ask Hannah to pack some things,” she finally said.

This time he couldn’t hold back his elation. “Yes!”

“But you have me back here by Saturday, you hear?”

“I promise,” he said, grinning. He was looking forward to this week more than he’d ever looked forward to anything in his life. Before she could remotely consider changing her mind, he grabbed the phone and punched in Juice’s number.

After he left a voicemail, he called a second number. “I better tel Ned not to expect me back for a while.”

Laura gulped. “I’m not sure you’l find him at home.”

Brandon glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven. “Late on Sunday night? Where else would a dedicated stockbroker be?

He takes Monday mornings very seriously.”

“Umm, possibly with another dedicated stockbroker?”

“Huh?”

“I, uh, cal ed Hannah right before you picked me up. And, well, Ned was at her place.”

“At Hannah’s?” he asked, setting down the phone in shock.

“Wow.”

“Looks like your matchmaking worked.”

“Go figure. Al I was hoping was that they wouldn’t kil each other.”

Laura cocked her head to the side and looked at him assessingly. “You must have seen something there none of the rest of us saw. How’d you do that?”

“Don’t forget, I grew up with three sisters.” He shrugged.

“I don’t know. I guess it was just observing them with boyfriends all those years.”

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Laura said, but her lips lifted in a fond smile. “But it’s about time.”

“For Ned, too.” He paused a couple of seconds, waiting for her to meet his eyes. “And for us,” he added softly.

LAURA WAS completely, utterly exhilarated. As she stood on the deck and watched Long Island slip by, she lifted her face to the ocean breeze and soaked in the sun.

The crew of three had returned to the boat at eight this morning, and two hours later, they’d set a course for Rhode Island.

Laura was a little miffed at Hannah, who’d had the nerve to pack the sexiest clothes and underwear in Laura’s wardrobe.

Brandon had stood beside her as she unpacked, and with each new item she pulled from the suitcase, his smile had grown broader and broader, while her scowl grew in equal proportions.

There hadn’t been a practical piece of clothing in the lot.

Hannah had even thrown in a couple of teddies. As if Laura was going to run around the boat in a sheer, lace-trimmed teddy.

And even though it was early summer, it was still quite chilly out on the water. Brandon had dug through his own clothes and come up with the smal est pair of sweats he could find. She could stil have fit two of herself in them, but the drawstring on the pants at least kept her from losing them, and the fleecy softness kept her toasty warm.

Laura watched Brandon—who’d been off to speak with the pilot or captain or skipper or whatever he was called—strol to her side at the railing. She tipped back her head to look at him, and her breath hitched. With the wind whipping his hair and the sun kissing his face, he was roguishly handsome. And that warm smile of his was a killer.

Her eyes dropped to his lips, and heat suffused her entire being. That seemingly hard mouth had skimmed every inch of her body with a gentle fervor that had driven her mad.

If they’d gotten two hours of sleep last night, she’d be amazed. But stil at some point they’d both fal en into exhausted slumber. Laura had awakened tucked snugly in Brandon’s arms, while one hand rested lightly on her hip.

That had been a first for her. Her ex-husband hadn’t liked being touched in sleep. Once the sex part was over—which usual y took al of five minutes—he rolled over and slept as far from her as he could get without fal ing out of bed.

She’d had no idea what she’d been missing. After this morning, she’d always know. Every day for the rest of her life that she woke up alone, she’d feel the loss of strong arms and shared body heat. Boy, she was going to miss that.

Not only that, but now that she knew just how good sex could be, she was
really
going to miss that, too. She might have to reevaluate her heretofore celibate lifestyle.

As she stared up at Brandon, her mind sifted through the dozens of men she knew, trying to come up with one who held appeal as a lover. Each name she considered was just as quickly discarded. None of those men sparked the slightest interest in that department.

She worried her lower lip as she considered what this meant. Had Brandon Prince just ruined her for any other man?

Was she now destined to measure any future relationships against the one she had with him? If so, she was in deep trouble.

Not a chance that any other man could fulfil all her desires the way he could.

She swal owed as she watched him lift his hand and flip a strand of her hair out of her face. “How’s everything in the poker?”

His brows furrowed. “The poker?”

She waved toward the front of the boat. “You know, the steering room.”

He chuckled. “You mean the bridge?”

Her hand dropped, and she fought back a blush. “I knew it had something to do with cards.”

He chuckled some more. “Do you have any idea how adorable you are?”

A spark of pleasure lit in her heart, but she quickly doused it. She had just realized that this man was a danger to her in more ways than she could possibly count. She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to go on this brief voyage, now that she thought about it.

Every added second in his presence was going to become part of memories that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Adorable?” she scoffed. “You find my ignorance funny, do you?”

His smile died. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

She conjured up righteous indignation she wasn’t even close to feeling. “Just because you grew up with yachts and butlers and . . . and mansions doesn’t mean we al did.”

“I know that,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean any offense.”

Oh, great. He could even make her feel guilty for her churlishness. She looked away from the puzzled concern in his eyes before she did something dumb like throw herself at him and beg his forgiveness.

“Laura?” he said, putting a finger to her chin and tugging her head around to face him. “What’s wrong?”

There were times, she decided, when her dedication to truthfulness wasn’t worth it. She took a deep breath and met his eyes squarely. “I was just thinking that this trip is probably a big mistake.”

“Why?”

“We’re from very different worlds. You don’t fit into mine, and I’l never fit into yours.”

“How do you know that? I’ve been to your world, and I enjoyed it a great deal.”

“Which part did you like best? Being held up at gunpoint by thugs or beating a pool shark at her own game?”

He grinned. “You’re a pool shark, are you? In addition to being a card shark? A woman of many talents.”

“Oh, yeah, and I make sure to highlight them on my résumé, too.”

“I’l tel you something you’re even better at than that.”

Laura made a fist and held it up in front of his nose. “You better not be saying what I think you’re saying, Brandon.”

He frowned for a second before understanding dawned in his eyes. “Wel , that, too. But that’s not what I was going to say.”

Her fist dropped to her side. “What were you going to say?”

“You have a way of making a man feel special. I’ve watched you at the bar and while we’ve been together. It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to, you give them your complete attention.

You listen. And you’re one of the most intel igent women I’ve ever met.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Now I know you’re full of hooey. You went to Yale.”

“Book smarts don’t necessarily translate into intel igence, sweetheart.” He smoothed his finger down her nose. “I can’t even think of another person I know who’d have the sheer guts and strength of wil , not to mention the street smarts, to overcome what you have and do it so successful y. I admire that so much.”

Her heart melted then and there. A small sob escaped before she could hold it back. “Oh, please, please stop doing this to me.”

“Doing what, beautiful?”

“Trying to make me fall for you.”

“Is it working?”

“Damn it, yes.”

“I’m glad.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve already fallen for you.”

* * *

A COUPLE OF hours later they docked to refuel and grab some lunch. Sitting at a seaside café, Brandon watched Laura watch the screeching seagul s and again mentally kicked himself. Why had he told her he was falling in love with her? The fear in her eyes at that announcement was striking.

Not to mention it wasn’t real y true. He’d loved being with her. He’d loved making love to her. But falling in love with her?

That was ridiculous.

Or so he thought until she turned those soft brown eyes on him. Those same eyes that could turn cold with righteous fury.

Those same eyes that looked at him with wonder as she innocently let him play with her body.

Damn, she’d been incredible. So eager, so sexy in her need to explore new territory. He had no idea how her husband had screwed up so badly. How could the man have a woman like this and not know how to love her right?

“He was a self-centered rat,” she said softly.

“Huh?”

“David. My ex.”

“How did you know I was thinking about him?”

She glanced away again. “I saw it in your eyes.”

“I thought Ali was the mind reader in your crowd.”

“Ali’s a psychic, not a mind reader. And neither am I. But your eyes are pretty expressive. You were wondering, after last night, how I could ever have said I didn’t like sex.”

“That’s right,” he agreed. “Actually, I was thinking that he must have been a moron.”

“We were young. And in the end, I have to thank him.”

“How’s that?”

“If he’d been less of a jerk, I might have stayed with him. I would never have worked for my own future.”

Their salads arrived, and they ate silently for a few minutes.

But there were too many unanswered questions stil , and Brandon didn’t have much time.

“Do you think you’l get married again?” he blurted out.

She didn’t even hesitate. “No,” she said, shaking her head fervently.

“Why not?” he asked and wondered about the sudden zap to his heart.

“I’m never putting someone else’s needs over my own again. Well, except for my kids.”

He wasn’t crazy about the implications. Not of her pending motherhood, but of her pending conception. “You’re not getting married, but you plan on having children?”

“Oh, yes,” she said, and her eyes grew soft and limpid at the idea. “Not now or anytime soon. But in a few years, definitely.”

His appetite was diminishing rapidly. “Well, last I heard, it takes two to make babies.”

She shot him a pitying look. “You don’t say.”

“Adoption?”

“If for some reason I can’t conceive, possibly.”

“Artificial insemination?” he asked hopefully. The alternative sent a chill skittering down his spine.

“Only if I know the donor,” she answered. “I want to know whose genes my babies are getting.” She forked up another bite of her Cobb salad but didn’t eat it, looking at him speculatively instead. “You wouldn’t want to volunteer your sperm by any chance, would you?”

He set down his fork, his appetite now completely gone.

“Am I supposed to be flattered by that proposition?”

“Wel , I do have pretty high standards.”

“And what would be the arrangements?”

“What do you mean?”

“Custody. How often could I see them?”

“Never. Your job ends at conception.”

“Not one chance in hell.”

She nodded, seemingly unconcerned. “I had the feeling you’d get al noble on me.” She renewed her attack on her salad.

But Brandon wasn’t quite ready to let this go. The idea bothered him more than he could say. The thought of some other man having her, planting his seed inside her and then walking away to let her raise her children alone bugged the living hel out of him. “Don’t you think it’s better for a child to have both a mother and a father?”

Laura waved her fork in front of his face. “Hel o? This is the new mil ennium, you know.”

“Oh, I know women are choosing single parenting these days. I stil think it’s better for a child to have a father in the picture.”

“I had a father in the picture. Never did much for me.”

He pressed his lips together, because he didn’t have a comeback for that one.

“How about you? You want children?” she asked.

“Eventually. However,
I
,” he retorted, jabbing at his chest, “plan on having their mother around to help raise them.”

“Bul y for you,” she said, but he could swear her eyes clouded over. She dropped her fork with a clatter. “I’m done.”

She wiped her mouth with the napkin and laid it on the table.

“You only ate about half of your salad,” he protested.

“I ate more of mine than you ate of yours,” she pointed out.

He glanced down and realized she was right. “Want a doggy bag?” “I hate to waste food, but I realy don’t think I’l eat any more. We could bring it back for the guys.”

“They’ve eaten already, I’m sure.”

Brandon paid the bil and dropped a ten on the table for the tip. He stood up. “Ready, gorgeous?”

Laura rolled her eyes, but stood up. Brandon couldn’t help it. His eyes went straight to her flat bel y, and all he could picture was her swollen with child. Some other man’s child. And he hated the image so much he scowled.