The Texas Christmas Gift (11 page)

“The Texas architect who builds homes like ultramodern mazes.”

“Right.” Spying her tights at last, Eve snatched them off the floor and started putting them on. “My mother has been courting this investor forever. He’s coming to town to look at a property tomorrow. I have to pick him up at Love Field in the afternoon.” Nearly dressed, she stepped into her sheath. “In the morning, I have to meet with Flash Lefleur—”

Lazily, Derek stood and tugged on his boxer-briefs, still listening to her intently. “The hockey player who was traded to Montreal last summer.”

The snug-fitting cotton highlighted the sensual contours of his generous physique in a way that made Eve want to undress him all over again. Forcing herself to remain as strong and disciplined as she needed to be, she smiled. “Yes. I listed his condo almost five months ago. But Flash has refused to do the things required to actually sell it. Luckily, he’s going to be in town for tomorrow night’s game, and agreed to meet with me while he’s in Dallas....”

Trying to keep her mind from veering into forbidden territory, she cleared her throat, then continued. “Because there has been so little interest in the property despite its stellar location, I’m hoping to talk sense into Flash at long last. But I only have a few minutes, after his morning practice wraps up, to do it.” She located her pumps and slipped into them.

Derek put on his pants and then his shirt, unabashed admiration in his eyes. “If Lefleur’s smart, he’ll listen to you. You know your stuff.”

Aware that Derek could easily make her forget everything but making love to him again, Eve drew in a jerky breath. She held him off with a roll of her eyes and a look that would have sent a lesser man running for the exit. “Flattery will get you absolutely—”

“Where I want to go?” With a teasing smile, he pulled her against him. His eyes mirrored everything she felt, and the knowledge was staggering. So tender, so yearning... It would be so easy to fall in love with him.

Too easy. Eve gulped and did her best to keep her vulnerable heart in check. “The sex was great, Derek.” Pretending to be a lot more casual about all this than she was, she splayed her hands across his hard chest.

His heart thudded heavily beneath her palms. Ignoring her efforts to keep him at bay, he playfully nuzzled the side of her neck, finding the nerve endings just beneath her ear. He kissed her again, in a way no one else ever had. Or likely ever would.

Finally, he drew back, his eyes meeting hers. “No argument there,” he said softly. “It was spectacular for me, too.”

Eve wet her lips. “But I meant what I said about this being a make-love-once-and-we’re-done affair.”

His grin widened. “I know.”

She willed her knees to vanquish their trembling. “Then...?”

His blue eyes twinkled. “Even so, a Texas gentleman never ends an evening without a proper good-night.”

Eve should have seen the last kiss coming. Should have seen a lot of things coming. Like the fact that, since Derek was the kind of man who went after what he wanted with no holds barred, he wasn’t likely to end their one-and-only encounter without a kiss.

And not just any kiss, but one that made another chink in the wall around her heart, and nearly drove her to her knees. When he finally lifted his lips, she was a puddle of desire once again.

* * *

D
EREK WALKED
E
VE
to the door, said a casual goodbye and watched her slip away. He knew she had told him that this was a one-time event. But he didn’t believe that would be the case.

For starters, she wasn’t the kind of woman who could make love without feelings being involved, even though she had clearly tried her best to do so. Second, even though she didn’t want to get emotionally involved, they already were. The fact that they couldn’t seem to stay away from each other, and the hot, reckless way they’d just made love, proved just how interlinked their lives were becoming.

Getting Eve to admit that, however, was not going to be easy.

Not only was she one of the most independent and elusive women he had ever met, she was cautious to a fault. Part of it likely had to do with the way she and her mom had been abandoned by her wealthy, well-connected father. The rest was because she had gotten involved with the wrong guy for the wrong reasons before, and consequently was scared of laying her heart on the line.

Derek understood that, but he wasn’t willing to throw away the best thing he’d ever had, either.

The kind of connection he and Eve had found in each other was a rare occurrence.

So he would do whatever it took to make sure they continued to build on that connection. And have faith that patience and understanding would ultimately bring them the happiness they both deserved.

* * *

H
ER TENSE BUT
ultimately productive meeting with Flash Lefleur behind her, Eve was at the airport the next afternoon, awaiting the arrival of Red Bloom’s private jet, when a text from Derek came in.
Need advice re house. Free to meet tonight?

Eve contemplated the message, her heart racing. This was the point where she should be gently but determinedly extricating herself from her former client, to concentrate more fully on her current ones. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to do so, any more than she had been able to tear herself from his arms before they’d made love and satisfied their mutual curiosity once and for all, the night before.

She bit her lip, still thinking. After further deliberation, she typed,
May still be tied up with client tonight.
Particularly if things went as well as she hoped with the Houston oilman and home collector.
Can someone else in the office help you?
She hit Send.

Thirty seconds later, Derek replied,
Prefer you. Will check with you later.

Which, Eve thought as she studied the screen, left a lot of options open. They could end up spending another evening together. Or be involved in something that was strictly business. Or not see each other at all. She knew what she was privately hoping for. And it wasn’t the sensible route to take.

But then nothing about her involvement with Derek was sensible, she thought, sighing wistfully. And that worried her almost as much as her upcoming appointment with Red Bloom.

For her mother’s sake, she really needed to make the sale.

Unfortunately, as much as Red Bloom liked the uniquely designed contemporary home, he was not going to be reasonable.

“I can’t present the owners with an offer like that,” Eve protested, upon hearing what the businessman was prepared to bid. “It’s only half what the property is listed for!” The owners weren’t about to take a two-million-dollar loss.

Unimpressed, Bloom looked around the elegantly appointed home. Like many self-made men, the sixty-something bachelor was dressed to suit himself, in designer jeans, alligator boots and a tailored suede jacket with patches on the elbows. Freckles dotted his weathered face, and a dark brown Resistol was tipped up over his fading auburn hair. “How many bids have the current owners had?” He stroked his mustache thoughtfully.

“None,” Eve conceded reluctantly. The mazelike floor plan and starkly contemporary exterior, in an area of mostly traditional homes, had seen to that. “But I believe it will sell eventually, at close to what it’s priced.”

Bloom clearly did not agree. He persisted curtly, “Make the offer.”

Somehow managing not to sigh in frustration, Eve reached for her phone and did as her client bid.

“Well?” he said, when the round of calls had finally been completed.

“The answer is no.” Unequivocally, angrily, no.

His handsome brow furrowed. “They understood that I was the one placing the bid?”

A fact that had made it all the more insulting, since Red Bloom was well known as an astute collector of unique architectural designs. Eve affirmed this with a nod. “They did.”

“And they didn’t even counter?”

Deliberately, she kept her manner matter-of-fact. She might not want to waste any more of her own time with Red Bloom, but in this situation she had little choice. Her mother had been courting the oilman for months, trying to get him to come to Dallas to see the Santiago Florres home that Marjorie was certain was perfect for Red’s collection of eccentric properties. “Their view is that it’s the asking price or above. Or nothing.”

Bloom scoffed in disbelief. He took off his hat and slapped it against his thigh. “That’s too bad. It would have been nice to add a Santiago Florres to my real estate portfolio.”

It would have been nice, Eve thought, to get the sale on her mother’s behalf. And keep Loughlin Realty firmly in the lead of the Highland Park real estate sales race. But she hadn’t. And now she would have to tell her mother that disappointing news, too.

Unable to interest Bloom in looking at anything else that day or any other, Eve drove the oilman back to the airport. The two of them said a cordial goodbye, despite the fact they knew they would likely never see each other again.

Dispirited and exhausted, Eve called Sasha and her mother to let them know what had happened, then headed back to the office. And found an even bigger surprise waiting.

* * *

D
EREK HAD EXPECTED
Eve to be pleasantly stunned to see him waiting for her with a yuletide horse and buggy. However, he hadn’t expected her to look so incredibly gorgeous after such a long day. In a cranberry wool coat, suit and heels, her hair drawn up in back, she was the epitome of sophistication.

The look she gave him, when she realized what he was doing there, was cool, however. He moved out of earshot of the driver, as did she.

Aware they were being observed by everyone in the vicinity, especially those coming out of her office building, she repeated his invitation as if she couldn’t possibly have understood him correctly. “You want to look at Christmas lights? Right now?”

He shrugged affably and kept his gaze locked with hers. He’d known even before they’d hit the sheets that Eve would regret making love prior to them really getting to know each other. He’d seduced her anyway, and now was paying the price for their mutual recklessness. Her coolness toward him would likely continue unless they took several steps back and established even more of a close personal relationship.

Knowing it was going to take a lot of persuading to get her to go out with him, he ambled close enough to take in her hyacinth perfume. “I hear yuletide carriage rides are a tradition in this neck of the woods.”

She studied him, offering no clue as to what was in her heart. “It’s quite a gamble, showing up with a horse and buggy.” She looked him up and down and narrowed her gaze. “What if I hadn’t been here?”

A fresh wave of guilt wafted through him. Figuring if Eve was going to hear it, she may as well hear it from him, Derek admitted, “Sasha told me when I called the office that you were expected shortly.”

Determination stiffened Eve’s slender frame. “Then she should have also told you that I had a very long day, and will probably have an even longer one tomorrow.”

If ever a woman needed tender loving care, Eve was it. “Then it’s a good thing I’m here with just the holiday distraction you need.” He paused. “Unless...you’ve already taken a leisurely tour of this year’s best holiday light displays?”

Briefly, a wistful look crossed her face.

Clearly, Derek thought, she hadn’t.

He’d known his instinct was a good one. “It’s also a nice way to wind down, make the transition from time on the job to time off,” he said, adding for good measure, “Not to mention get in the spirit of the holidays.”

His expression hopeful, the driver tipped his hat at them. The horse snorted and pawed the ground restlessly. Derek grinned again and all three waited for Eve to decide.

She looked them over for a long moment, then propped her hands on her hips and drawled, “Well, I guess it’s either this or spend the evening saying ‘Bah, humbug!’”

Everyone laughed as she finally relented.

Delighted with her response, Derek helped her up into the cozy confines of the carriage and settled beside her. The evening was chilly and damp, and a luxuriously thick velvet lap robe had been provided for extra warmth. Together, they tucked it across their laps and around their legs.

There was comfort and joy to be found, Derek realized, in just sitting cuddled together on a cold and starry December night.

The carriage swayed as the horse trotted down the avenue and turned onto a suburban street. Santa’s sleigh was on one lawn. A manger, complete with animals and a baby, on another. Across the street, there was a Star of David on a roof. Cartoon characters decorated another lawn, and everywhere there were festive wreaths and Christmas trees, colored and white lights. Sometimes music accompanied the displays. All were beautiful. Some moving, some funny.

Eve studied their surroundings, quiet now, at peace. Finally, she turned to Derek, her shoulder gently nudging his. “Thanks for this,” she said sincerely. “I think I needed some R & R more than I knew.”

He resisted the urge to reach over and squeeze her hand. Contenting himself with a long look into her eyes, he replied softly, “You’re welcome.”

Another companionable silence fell. Eve took a deep breath and turned back to him, her hip and thigh briefly touching his. “When you texted today, you said you needed my advice regarding your new home.”

Derek nodded, serious now, too. “Even though Tiffany and I can’t move in yet, I want to go ahead and decorate the outside of the home for the holidays. But I’m not sure which direction to go.”

Eve squinted as if doing some mental calculations. “And you thought you’d ask me?” she asked eventually.

He admired the soft, luscious curves of her lips, and the cute way she wrinkled her nose when she was perplexed. “You do have impeccable taste.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “So do you,” she acknowledged. Then she waited, as if wanting to know what was really behind his unexpected request.

Derek knew he could make something up—and eventually give her further reason to want to keep him at arm’s length. Or he could be honest. “Okay,” he admitted with a smile. “It’s just an excuse to spend time with you.”