Tempting (14 page)

“He's good,” she said when she'd chewed and swallowed. “Better than good.”

“He's a professional. What did you expect?”

Dani wasn't sure. “The smoothness is off-putting,” she admitted. “Sometimes he doesn't seem fully human.”

“Don't judge him because he's good at his job,” Gloria told her.

“Why couldn't he be a plumber or a math teacher?”

“Life isn't that convenient.”

“Whose decision was that?” Dani reached for more popcorn. “I can't figure Mark out. I can't figure any of them out. They're living in a world I don't understand.”

“Don't be sorry you met him,” Gloria told her. “He's your father. It hasn't been very long. Give both of you a little more time. It will get easier.”

“I hope you're right,” Dani said. “Sometimes I think I should just disappear. That if I stay around, we're all headed for a massive disaster. What if I'm the reason he's not elected president?”

“Don't be a quitter. You have nothing to do with the election.”

“You don't know that.”

“Neither do you. I like a good worry as much as the next person, but give this one a little time off. You can always come back to it later if you need to.”

“How rational,” Dani murmured, not feeling very rational at the moment. Still, her grandmother was right. Dani couldn't be sure her presence had done any harm. After all, she was tracking well. She would just wait and see how it all played out. What's the worst that could happen?

 

K
ATHERINE FINISHED
putting night cream on her face, then pulled off the scrunchie that held her hair back. She looked up and saw Mark getting undressed in their walk-in closet.

As always, the sight of him thrilled her and watching him take off his clothes made her want to make love to him. Instantly her mind filled with images of them naked, touching, kissing. Her body tightened.

So many of her friends talked about sex being a chore, something to get through so they could get to sleep, but it wasn't that way for her. She wanted Mark as much today as she had when they'd first been together. She had a feeling they could be eighty and toothless and he would still turn her on.

She walked to the doorway of the closet. “I talked to Dani about both of us appearing at the charity event. She's a little nervous, but I think she'll do well.”

“Good,” he said, not even looking at her. “Is my black pinstripe suit at the cleaners?”

An innocent question that brought tears to her eyes. “That's it?” she asked. “All you can say is
good?
Don't you have any idea of how this is hurting me? Don't you know that I'm devastated by her presence and what it means?”

He frowned. “What do you want me to say?”

That he would love her forever. That she was the most important part of his life. That he'd never loved anyone but her. Words he would never speak.

She turned away. “It doesn't matter,” she whispered, knowing this was a battle she could never win. Mark would never love her as much as she loved him. He would never want her the same way. She'd tried to make peace with that truth for years. Tried and failed.

“It does matter.” He moved close behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “You matter. I don't know what to say. Katherine, you're the one who broke off our engagement all those years ago. You're the one who dumped me. You sent me away.”

She nodded, because it was true. Still tears burned in her eyes. “You weren't supposed to fall in love with someone else. You were supposed to miss me.”

“I did miss you.”

“Not enough to keep from having an affair with that woman. I was devastated, Mark.” She turned to face him. “I couldn't stand the thought of telling you I couldn't have children. Rather than see your pity or watch you walk away, I let you go. But I never stopped loving you. That's why I came back. That's why I flew out here and begged for a second chance. Do you know how hard it was to tell you I couldn't have children?”

He took her hands in his, his blue eyes dark with confusion. “And I was fine with it. I said it didn't matter and it didn't. I loved you, Katherine. I still do.”

“But you loved her, too.”

“It's over.”

Was it?

She pulled away and walked into the bedroom. The questions haunted her. Why had Mark really married her? He'd been ambitious and she'd been rich. Until she'd known about Marsha, she'd assumed he'd really missed her. Now she knew he'd easily moved on and had gotten involved with someone else in a matter of days. That simple fact changed everything.

What would have happened if Marsha hadn't ended things? Would Mark have been willing to come back to her, Katherine, then? She would never know.

He came up behind her and drew her against him. “I hate to see you hurting.”

“I'm fine,” she lied.

He turned her until she faced him, then put one hand on the back of her neck and kissed her.

She had a feeling he was trying to distract her. She willed herself to be strong, but it was impossible. She'd never been able to be strong where he was concerned. The second his mouth touched hers, all she wanted was to surrender. Wanting overwhelmed her and she gave herself over to the man and how he made her feel. The pain would still be there in the morning, but for now, this was enough.

 

A
LEX KNEW IT WAS GOING
to be a long day when the only nonlawyer in the meeting was his father.

Peter Aaron flipped through the folder in front of him. “We have some time before the charges are filed. If we talk to the D.A., we'll find out what they're planning.”

“They're planning a circus,” Mark grumbled. “This is all political. They want to hurt the campaign. The damn press.”

“There are a lot of ways this can play out,” Pete said. “We need a few details before we can come up with a game plan. The partners are very interested in the outcome of all of this.”

Alex kept his expression neutral and calm, but on the inside, he wanted to throw something. Or hit something, which is what had gotten him in trouble in the first place. He didn't usually have trouble controlling his temper, but when he'd decked the reporter, something inside him had snapped.

He hated all this. He hated that there was no good outcome for him, with the exception of the charges simply going away and that wasn't going to happen. However this fell, he was screwed.

Pete Aaron was a partner in Alex's law firm. He was working Alex's case for only one reason and that was Mark's bid for the presidency. If Mark was elected, then Alex would have a place at the White House and the firm would benefit. If Mark didn't run, or wasn't elected, Alex had a feeling he could kiss his corporate law career goodbye.

What frustrated him the most was that it didn't matter why he'd hit the guy. No one wanted to talk about an asshole using a kid to get private information. Oh, sure, it would come out at the trial, but now it was simply incidental.

The other two lawyers talked, with Mark adding a few comments but he, Alex, didn't listen. They were coming up with a plan and it would be his job to go along with it. After all, there was a presidency at stake.

He thought about the hurt in Bailey's eyes when she realized she'd done something wrong and knew that given the same set of circumstances, he would do it all again, regardless of the outcome.

He studied his father. Mark loved the political arena. If he won, they were all going to be in it for a long, long time.

D
ANI DROVE DOWN
a lengthy driveway, not sure what she would find at the other end. A mansion? A trailer? She smiled and then caught her breath when she made a turn and found herself in front of a large, two-story log home.

It was all wood and glass and shaped a little like a fairy-tale castle, which should have looked strange but instead made her feel as if she'd stumbled into someone's private architectural fantasy.

There were stone steps leading to a long porch that had both chairs and a swing. Old-growth trees soared toward the sky, while lush landscaping added to the dreamlike quality of the place.

Not exactly what she'd been expecting, she thought as she grabbed the bottle of wine she'd brought and got out of her car. But then she hadn't known what to expect when Alex had called and invited her over for dinner. At least the press had stopped following her a few days ago. She hadn't had to use James Bond driving to keep them at bay.

She walked up the stone steps. The door opened before she could knock and there was Alex. He looked good. She'd only ever seen him in suits, so the jeans and sweater came as a surprise. While she appreciated fine tailoring as much as the next woman, there was something to be said for a man who looked hot in jeans.

The worn denim emphasized narrow hips and long legs. He'd pushed the sweater sleeves up a little, leaving his wrists bare, which was oddly sexy. Funny how that had never turned her on before. Wrists weren't anything all that exciting, except on him. Or was it more about the man himself?

“Hey,” he said as he motioned for her to step inside. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for asking me. An interesting invitation, if unexpected.”

“I had a hell of a day,” he said. “I needed to see a friendly face.”

Simple words. Casual words, yet they hit her hard and fast, stealing her breath and leaving her weak at the knees.

She was the friendly face he wanted to see? Her? Not family or friends or that annoyingly beautiful ex-wife of his?

“Great place,” she said. “Have you lived here long?”

“About five months. I bought it after the divorce was final. I wanted privacy and quiet. This has both.”

“Plus it's a cool place to bring the ladies.”

She was determined to keep things light. It was her only way to stay sane. An excellent plan that turned to dust the second Alex pulled her close and kissed her.

There was no warning, no niceties, no asking for permission. Just his mouth on hers in a kiss that took and offered all at the same time.

His breath was hot and faintly minty, his body hard in all the right places. He took the wine from her, set it on a table and nipped at her lower lip.

His hands were politely at her waist. As she leaned in to him, she wanted him touching her everywhere. She wanted to writhe and moan and be taken so hard that she didn't have to think. She only had to feel.

Apparently he couldn't read minds or he wasn't interested in her that way because he stepped back and smiled faintly.

“You look great,” he said.

“Thanks.” She'd come straight from work, but she was willing to accept the compliment.

“For the record, I don't bring ladies here, as you put it. Except for family, you're my first dinner guest.”

Really? In five months there hadn't been anyone else?

A thrill swept through her before she reminded herself that just because he hadn't brought anyone
here
didn't mean he hadn't gone somewhere else to get naked. It was unlikely Alex had been celibate since his divorce.

“How'd you find this place?” she asked.

“I got lucky. My agent brought me to see it the day it went on the market. There was a bidding war and I won.”

That's right. He was a Canfield. His financial resources weren't limited to his impressive lawyer salary.

He grabbed her hand and led her through the entryway into a large, open great room. There were walls of glass, with French doors leading to a covered patio about the size of her rental. To the right was a massive kitchen, to the left a big television and lots of electronic equipment—the kind designed to make a man very happy.

The room was decorated in earth tones, subdued but welcoming.

“Impressive,” she said. “Did you do this all yourself?”

He chuckled as he set the wine on the granite counter. “You can't believe that. My mom helped, as did Julie. She's the next oldest in the family. She's a sophomore at UW, living on campus. She's studying psychology, but has a great eye for this kind of stuff.”

“Which you don't?”

“I'm a guy.”

He was, and an excellent representation of the entire gender.

She set her purse on a stool in front of the counter that separated the open kitchen from the living area in the great room. While he took care of the wine, she sniffed delicately.

“I'm not smelling any food,” she teased. “Should I be worried that I'll starve?”

“It's here, in the refrigerator. All it requires is a little heating. Are you hungry or can you wait a little?”

She looked into his dark eyes. Food wasn't a problem. The thing she didn't want to wait for was him.

Danger, she told herself. Big, burly, sexy danger. Hadn't she learned her lesson? Was she one of those sad women destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again when it came to men?

“I can wait,” she told him. The longer, the better.

He handed her a glass of wine, then led her out onto the patio. The floor was some kind of stone…maybe slate. On one side was a steer-size grill, a built-in sink and under-the-counter refrigerator.

“You could throw a great party out here,” she murmured as he turned on a propane heater and gestured to a wicker sofa lined in soft-looking cushions.

“That's the plan. When I get the time.”

“Famous last words. You have to make the time. I know from personal experience.”

He settled next to her, angling toward her. “Do you?”

“Not as much as I should. My excuse is that I'm in a new job and trying to learn as quickly as possible. Of course your excuse is that you're part of a national campaign. I guess you'd win that contest.”

“It's crazy,” he admitted. “Today I sat in on a meeting of lawyers all discussing how to handle the problem of me being charged with assaulting that damned reporter. I've never been the subject of a meeting before.”

“I'm guessing you didn't like it.”

He looked at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Not my style. The thing is, I don't want to be involved. But I am involved. If this screws up the campaign…”

She shook her head. “Sorry. I already have that guilt sewn up. You're going to have to find something else to feel bad about.”

“You have nothing to do with the campaign.”

“Oh, please. I'm being tracked. So far the American people are delighted to know about me. What happens when that changes? What if I say or do something I shouldn't? I'm really not the right person for the job. I have a past.”

He smiled. “Not much of one. I know. I had you investigated.”

“How comforting. So nothing about my life is a mystery to you?”

“I know broad strokes. Not details.”

That was something. “Would you be impressed if I told you some of the details are really juicy?”

“I'm already impressed.”

Oh my. “Good to know,” she murmured, then sipped her wine.

He set his glass on the low table in front of them. “Dani, you need to know that as the campaign moves forward and you become a public figure, you may hear from people in your past.”

She was so stunned to hear the words “public figure” associated with herself that she nearly missed the second half of the sentence.

“Like who?”

“I don't know,” he said. “Maybe Hugh.”

“You mean because he'll want something?”

“He might want you back. Being married to the daughter of a president is a big deal.”

She immediately flashed to Fiona, then pushed the image away. “Hugh isn't that stupid,” she said. “He knows it's totally over. I won't forgive the cheating and I don't want to go back. I've mourned the marriage, listed my regrets and moved on.”

“Just be aware that it could happen.”

She thought about the other men so recently in her life. Gary would never bother her but Ryan? He was stupid enough to try.

“What are you thinking?” Alex asked.

“About who else might suddenly show up.”

“Are you going to name names?”

His voice was low and teasing. Sexy. He made her want to spill state secrets, or make them up if she didn't have any on her own.

“After Hugh, I got involved with a guy at The Waterfront. It's one of the family restaurants.”

“I've eaten there. Good place.”

“Thanks. We hired a new general manager. Ryan. He was funny and charming and really good-looking.”

“Jerk.”

She laughed. “Actually, he was. He said and did all the right things. I decided he could be my rebound guy.”

“Was he?”

“That and more. Just when I thought he might be someone I could really care about, his wife and toddler showed up. Literally. She came in looking for him and had the kid with her.”

“Ouch.”

Alex stared at her and she met his gaze directly. She had nothing to hide. She might still be dealing with a few regrets for being such an idiot, but there weren't any secrets.

“The thing that got me the most, more than the lies and betrayal, was what he said. He told me he was sorry I had to find out that way. It was stunning. How did he want me to find out? The point was he was upset I had the information, but not the least bit remorseful that he'd been a cheating weasel dog.”

“Some guys are like that.”

“Did you ever cheat?”

“No.”

His gaze was steady, his voice calm. She believed him.

“I didn't think so.” She set her wineglass next to his. “So my Ryan relationship was dumb on my part.”

“Why? How could you know?”

“I could have asked more questions. He was playing me. Shouldn't I have sensed that?”

“You don't play people, why would you expect others to play you?”

“You're right. I just felt so stupid. I vowed to never get involved with a guy again.”

“But you did anyway?”

“Oh, yeah. His name was Gary. He's a quiet, unassuming, sweet sort of guy who made me feel safe.”

“Did I mention he's a jerk, too?”

“That was Ryan. Gary is fairly jerk-free. I liked him but there wasn't any chemistry. I thought that might be a good thing, what with chemistry getting me in trouble with Ryan. For a while I thought he was gay.”

Alex chuckled. “Not exactly what a guy likes to hear.”

“Tell me about it. Still, he handled it all with grace and style and when he asked me out, I said yes.” She paused, not sure if she should have started down this particular conversational path. It was one thing to have secrets, it was another to spill the details.

“What happened?”

She drew in a deep breath. “We went to a lovely little neighborhood restaurant he knew about and before we were even seated, this woman walked by and called him Father.”

Alex looked confused. “You got mad because he had kids you didn't know about?”

“No, I got upset because he used to be a priest.”

Alex started laughing. Dani narrowed her gaze.

“It's not funny,” she told him.

“It is. Come on. A priest? Were you his first date?”

“No, he'd been out before, but I'm not sure he'd…you know. I couldn't deal with it. I'm sure it shows a lack of moral fiber or character on my part. But the second I figured it out, I knew God was giving me a message from the great beyond. I was not supposed to be with Gary, so I left. Ran, actually. Like the wind.”

He laughed again and this time she joined in.

“I almost feel sorry for the poor guy,” he admitted.

“Almost?”

“I wouldn't want you with him.”

Right, she thought, her mind going fuzzy with possibilities. Because then she couldn't be here…with him. That's what he was talking about, right?

“So that's my sorry love life, the recent years, anyway,” she said. “Tragic and funny and nothing I ever expected.”

“It's been interesting,” he said, reaching for his wine. “Better than boring.”

“Oh, I don't know. Boring sounds good. Now you know all my secrets. What about yours?”