Undercover Heat (14 page)

Manny scratched his temple. “I’m sorry Carrie. What list?”

“The list I faxed to you at your hotel last night.”

“I didn’t get a list.”

Carrie shook her head. “Well that’s what happens when you stay in second rate places. I guess I’ll just make up another one.”

Ty smiled with pride. This was precisely why she was a two-time Emmy winner. The woman had talent. No doubt about it.

“Great,” Carrie chirped. “Now that everything is straightened
out, we’d like to get dressed.”

“Fine
,
” Lizzie mumbled. “Although the first order of business is to clean up in here and change the sheets. Manny, I’ll meet you in the computer room in fifteen minutes.”

Her sister followed Manny out, slamming the door behind her. When Ty looked at Carrie, she smiled, and his heart swelled with pride. He raised his hands and clapped, once then twice
, coaxing her smile to a laugh.

“And scene,” she breathed, bowing her head dramatically. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

Harvey
squinted through the frost-covered windshield when Carrie and Ty piled into the yellow hummer. He had been staked out in the ski resort parking lot for hours, waiting for nothing in particular. He had a hunch he’d be rewarded for his patience. And what a reward it was! His instincts were dead on. Ty and Carrie made their move.

He rubbed his frozen hands together and turned the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered then roared, discharging a huge cloud of exhaust. His bald tires skidded when he turned out to the main road, but he gunned the gas anyway. Moments later, he was a few cars-lengths behind them, following like he’d seen it done in movies. Hell, like he’d seen Hollister do himself.

He turned on the defroster, and it hissed to life, slowly pushing the fog from his view. Looked like they headed toward the city. Was this a business trip? As far as he knew the duo didn’t have an appearance planned until tomorrow. No. This was for pleasure. Every instinct in his body told him so. His hands tightened around the wheel. There was a story about to unfold. He could feel it.

They reached the city about noon. Heavy traffic, pissed off drivers. Usual lunchtime bullshit. The sun shined, and
Harvey
realized he hadn’t seen it in days. He counted it as a good sign as he followed them to the Waldorf.

He hit the lobby just in time to see Ty check in, while Carrie hung back in the gift shop. A few minutes and a few hundred dollars later,
Harvey
secured a room just below their penthouse suite. With any luck they wouldn’t spend much time there. He bought a paper and parked himself in the lobby, directly across from the elevators.

A few minutes later, they emerged, both in a change of clothes. They wore jeans, but Ty had a thick, black winter jacket and an “I Love
New York
” baseball cap over his eyes, and Carrie sported a yellow parka and matching ski hat. They breezed out the door with more than a few arms-lengths between them. A casual observer wouldn’t even think they were together. But
Harvey
knew. They were together al
l right. In more ways than one.

Harvey
dropped the paper and
followed them out the door, hanging a few yards back. The day was a blur of window shopping and aimless walking. Even the stroll through
Central Park
didn’t produce anything juicy. They behaved like old friends, throwing snowballs and laughing. The highlight came when Ty eased an arm around Carrie to help her over a snow bank. So what? Certainly nothing worth a front page photo op.

After a hot chocolate, they ended up on
Fifth Avenue
, hitting the overpriced boutiques. In one shop
Harvey
had a good view as Carrie eyed a long black gown that cost more than a small house. She held it up against her, and Ty smiled with approval. When Carrie’s back was turned, he motioned to the manager, and slipped her something from his pants pocket. A wad of cash probably. They came out of the store moments later, but they left the dress behind.

Big Deal.

As night fell,
Harvey
, discouraged, cold and angry, figured he wasted the day. But he reminded himself why he was a journalist. He was a warrior on a mission, and just like any good soldier on a special operation, waiting was a big part of the game. His diligence would be rewarded. It had to be.

A hundred yards ahead, the duo entered another store.
Harvey
followed half interested, daydreaming about a decent bacon burger, and the pot of hot coffee he’d order from room service. But that was forgotten when he read the name of the store front. Leslie’s Layette. His eyes narrowed, and through the cloud of his breath, he saw
the merchandise in the window.

Baby clothes.

Hot Damn!

He pulled his collar up around his neck like he’d seen undercover agents do on T.V. It was ballsy to actually follow them into the store, but he couldn’t help it. The possible rewards were simply too great. Taking a deep breath, he walked through the door, the bell on the knob alerting his entrance. The smell of talcum powder and some sort of flowery baby scent invaded his nose. He held back a sneeze, and smiled at the proprietor, who wa
s folding blankets in the back.

“Can I help you sir?”

“No tha
nks,” he said. “Just browsing.”

Harvey
looked around, peeking through clothes racks and between crib railings. The place was empty except for his pair. Mumbles came from somewhere in the back. He followed the sound until he spotted them huddled near the newborn clothes.
Harvey
stood behind a tall teak wardrobe, his ears poised in their direction.

“Aren’t these the cutest little dresses you’ve ever seen?” Carrie cooed, holding one up for Ty to see. “I can’t believe how small they are. And I can’t decide if I like pink or purple. Which do you like?”

“Either one.” He chuckled. “But don’t you think we’re jumping the gun a little? We don’t
know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“You’re right, I guess.” She put the dress back on the rack, before snagging a tiny pair of shoes from the counter. “But look at these little boy sneakers. God, I could get a dozen pairs.”

“Wait a minute, darlin’. I think we should think more gender neutral.”

Carrie frowned. “Fine, but that’s not nearly as fun.”

Darlin?
Harvey
thought. When the hell di
d Ty develop a Southern accent?

The two moved to a display of ridiculously priced blankets. Carrie ran her hand over the fuzzy pink one draped on the wall. “Wow these are beautiful,” she said. “And so soft. They’re big enough to put on my bed.”

Ty looked down at her and smiled. “I have a feeling that if you had your way, the baby would spend more time there anyway, than in its crib.”

“That’s not true!” Playfully, she jabbed him in the ribs. “A baby can’t sleep in an adult bed. They might suffo
cate. Don’t you know that?”

He leaned over, meeting her nose to nose. “Well how about this, you get that blanket for yourself, and you won’t have to worry about me suffocating. How does that sound?”

Harvey
’s ears perked up, as their voices lowered. In an instant he had his camera poised, just in time to snap them as Carrie batted away Ty’s kiss.

“Are you crazy, Ty? People could see us.”

“Baby, there isn’t a soul around, and even if there was, they wouldn’t know who we were.”

“Excuse me. May I help you find something?” The dark haired woman pushed her glasses up her nose and smiled pleasantly at the couple. “No, thank you
,
” Carrie said, taking a step away from Ty. “We were just browsing.”

They left the store, and
Harvey
followed soon after. Undetected, like a shadow or a spook. God, was he good.

Not a smoking gun, but maybe a prelude to bigger things. They were definitely more than old friends, and this scene, combined with Ty’s prenatal vitamin purchase, convinced him. Carrie Ann Langley was pregnant with Ty Hollister’s baby. Everything pointed to that fact. But he had to be sure. No need to get sloppy now and risk a lawsu
it because of lack of patience.

He followed them back to the hotel and through the lobby to the elevators. Just as he did before, he sat on the bench with a copy of the “Times” in his hand, just in case they appeared for dinner. Odds were, they wouldn’t bother. The lovebirds probably wanted some private time. He felt for his camera phone in his pants pocket and started on the evening edition.

Carrie awoke in the bathtub with a mouthful of bubbles and a crick in her neck. Judging by the icy chill of the water, she’d been in there a while, but despite being cold she was in no hurry to get out. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so at ease. Peaceful. Like everything in the world was just as it was supposed to be.

And it had a lot to do with Ty.

The thought drove her eyes wide open. What the heck was she thinking? This was just a fling. She’d never had one, and it seemed very empowering. There was also the added advantage of knowing there was a definite beginning and an end when the press commitment was ove
r. Just like a role in a movie.

If she kept telling herself that, she might start to believe it.

Seeing him again was hard, but being with him was surprisingly easy. She could understand Ty’s willingness to forget the past a
nd pick up where they left off.

She wondered if he’d feel the same way if he knew the truth about her father.

A knock at the bathroom door startled her, sending the now ice cold water over the sides. She wiped the soapy drops from eyes, and when her vision righted itself,
Ty stood over her in a tuxedo.

“What are you doing in here, woman? I was beginning to think you drowned.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I fell asleep.”

“No need to apologize.
”
He smiled and came toward her. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Besides its good you took a cat nap now. I can’t guarantee you’ll get much sleep tonight.”

His eyes raked over her, so she leaned against the side of the tub to distort the view. “Where did you get the monkey suit?”

“Called Barney’s. They hooked me up.” He ran his hands down the lapels. “Told them I had some big plans.”

“You do, huh?”

“I promised I’d show you a good time, right?”

In that tux she could think of plenty of ways to have a good time, without even leaving the hotel suite. “What do you have in mind?”

He looked at his watch. “Well, we have reservations in forty-five minutes. So that gives you just enough time to get out of there and get dressed.”

“Forty-five minutes?” She jumped up, grabbing a towel from the brass rack beside her. She wrapped it around her and tucked it under her arm. “
Tyler
, look at me. How am I supposed to be ready so fast?”

“Hey, I have no objections to you staying like that the rest of the night.”

“Pig.” Taking another towel, she flipped her hair over to dry it. “And what do you suggest I wear? I didn’t bring a dress.”

When he didn’t answer right away, she looked up. Ty stared, smiling. His blue eyes twinkled, as he bit his bottom lip. “Take that towel off.”

“Excuse me?”

He took a step toward her and reached for the knot under her left arm. With one agile flip of his fingers, the towel fell in a puddle at her feet.

The dripping faucet echoed in her ears, and his European cologne teased her senses like the gentle fingers he traced over her breast. “Cold in that tub, was it?”

“Maybe.”

“Well then come over here, and let me warm you up.” He slid his hand around the nape of her neck, bringing her into his chest.

“Ty, I’m going to get you all wet.”

“Shhh.” He lifted her chin with his thumb and brought his mouth down to hers.

There was something very erotic about being naked in the arms of a sexy well-dressed man, and fantasies didn’t come better than Ty Hollister. He raked his hands down her back, cupping her backside and lifting her against him. Her nipples dragged against the rough fabric, urging her stomach into needful knots.

“Feel better?”

She moaned in response. The cold chill left her, replaced with damp heat. His hands pushed through her knotted hair, exposing her throat to his mouth. In a heartbeat, his mouth was on her,
forcing the air from her lungs.

“If you want me ready in forty-five minutes, this is not the way to motivate me.”

“Well would you put a rush on it if I told you I got you a present?”

“A present? What kind of present?”

“Go look in the bedroom. It’s on the bed.”

She scooped up the robe from the bathroom counter and pulled it on, as she headed into the bedroom. A dress bag lay on the bed, with the name of one of the boutiques they had visited, written in calligraphy on the side. “What’s this?” She held it up in front of her.