Wish on the Moon (18 page)

His arms surrounded her as he slid her onto
his lap. His hand caressed her hip. She gently nipped his tongue,
unable to break away to tell him how excited she was, how thrilling
his touch was, how wonderful this closeness was. When his hand
sneaked under the back of her sweater, goose bumps broke out all
over and she couldn't even imagine how she'd feel if he touched her
more intimately.

His palm came to rest boldly on her breast.
She felt as if she'd explode. She squirmed on his lap as his finger
played across her nipple, sending jolts of need to her womb.
Underneath her thigh, she could feel how hard he was and how much
he wanted her. She wanted him too. She wanted to feel him, touch
him, hold him.

Mitch couldn't think, couldn't reason,
couldn't do anything but feel. The feelings and sensations were
strange, some forgotten, some never before experienced. Laura's
power to arouse him was exasperating, frustrating, exquisite. Why
couldn't he control the rush of feelings? And why was he lured by
her excitement? Why couldn't he keep away from her? Because she was
everything he wasn't?

He remembered how she'd looked at the
observatory with the black sky and brilliant stars framing her
profile. The moon she'd wished on had flirted with the blondest
strands of her hair. He'd known then tonight would be much harder
to deal with than last night. He'd been right. All he could think
of was kissing her, wrapping his body around her.

As the lacy piece of material gave under his
fingertips, he didn't care about why he couldn't keep away from
her. He didn't care about logic. He forgot about her background. He
felt her desire as intensely as he felt his own. It was like hot
lava--smoking, bubbling, flowing over them both.

His fingertips appreciated the upper moon of
her breast as he lost himself in her softness. He wanted more. He
wanted now. He wanted Laura.

He wanted too much.

He couldn't have Laura. Now would lead to
tomorrow. Tomorrow would lead to too many complications to
contemplate. All because he'd given in to...to...feelings.

Disgusted with himself, he jerked away and
pulled his hand out from under her sweater. He took in harsh
breaths that brought with them her sweet scent. Torture.

Mitch felt a blush creep up his neck. Damn it
all. There was no graceful route to get out of this one. If he'd
been a drinking man, now would be the time for a triple shot. But
he didn't depend on liquor. He didn't depend on anything or anyone
but himself.

When Laura saw his expression, she moved from
his lap to the sofa. She looked flustered, disappointed, hurt, and
sexy as hell with her hair mussed like that and her gray eyes wide.
Not trying to hide her discomfort, she rearranged her sweater and
pulled it down to her waist. Then she waited.

"I don't know what to say."

"Give it a shot."

Her tone was husky but annoyed. Anger shook
him. It was connected to what had just happened. He tamped it down,
knowing this situation wasn't her fault but his.

"I don't think so."

She threw her hands in the air and tossed her
hair back from her rosy face. "Sure, pretend this didn't happen,
either. Face reality, Mitch!"

"I am. That's why I stopped. You don't need
this any more than I do. We're different, Laura. Like January and
July, fire and ice. Besides that, you're Ray's daughter. I
can't..." He swore.

"Don't tell me what I need. Apparently you
need to hide behind your relationship with my father and however
many other excuses you can think up."

Her lashing out hurt, and he didn't know if
she was right or not. "I'm not hiding behind excuses. Sex isn't
something I play with. You seem to jump right in. And I wonder why.
Do you think you can get to Ray's business through me?" He saw her
flush but didn't know if it was anger or hurt. He'd asked because
it was suddenly very important for him to know.

She exploded off the sofa, her hands balled
into fists. "If you have to ask, you don't deserve an answer. I'm
sick of your suspicion and doubts. Today I thought we'd
finally--"

"Connected?" he asked with a calm he wasn't
feeling. He'd just driven a giant wedge between them. He needed
space and time to resolve what he was thinking and feeling.

"Yes. But obviously you don't feel the same
way." She shook her head as if she didn't understand him at all, or
as if she understood him too well. Then she sighed, rubbed her hand
across her brow and moved toward her room. At the doorway, she
faced him. "Do you still want to take the tour to Sedona
tomorrow?"

He mowed his hand through his hair. "I think
Mandy will enjoy it."

"At least we agree on that." Laura went into
her room and closed the door.

CHAPTER NINE

Laura shifted the bag of groceries from her
right arm to her left as she opened the door of her father's house.
Before she could cross the foyer, Mitch appeared and took the bag
from her. "I could have gone for groceries."

"No need. It was on my way." Lord, how formal
she sounded! One thing she and Mitch had never been was formal.

Mitch shrugged, and a lock of black hair fell
over his forehead. Laura itched to smooth it back, remembering the
feel of it between her fingers. She'd missed him. He'd spent his
days and nights in Harrisburg since their Arizona trip and this was
the first she'd seen him in four days.

For Mandy's sake, they'd maintained a
strained, civil, bordering on trying-to-be-friendly tone after the
fiasco in their hotel suite. Mitch's accusation that she was using
him to try to get control of the business had hurt terribly, but it
had also given her a glimmer of understanding.

No wonder Mitch was fighting his feelings so
hard. Who would want to fall in love with a woman who would do
something like that? Nothing she could do would prove she wasn't
manipulating him. He had to risk trusting her. She didn't think
he'd had much practice risking or trusting.

She unbuttoned her poncho, wishing she could
bridge the gap between them, wanting to, needing to. "I called Nora
to check on Mandy's sniffles. She mentioned she needed a few
staples."

"I got in about an hour ago. I read Mandy a
story and she coughed a few times. So I called a pediatrician and
he explained her runny nose could be from the change in altitude
and temperature. He said to call him back if she gets a fever over
one hundred. Otherwise, give her acetaminophen if she's
uncomfortable."

Before Laura could respond, he added, "I know
you're a good mother, but I was worried and called him to ease my
own mind. She's taking a nap now. I thought it would be good for
her and she didn't argue."

Laura was touched, not angry as he seemed to
expect. Mandy's welfare seemed to be as important to him as it was
to her. "Thank you for caring."

Neither of them moved. After a moment of
uncomfortable silence, Mitch spoke. "I'll take these to the
kitchen. Your boxes of clothing from Independence arrived but one
of them was broken open. You might want to see if anything is
damaged." He strode to the kitchen as she went into the living
room, leaving Laura feeling cut adrift.

There were two cartons, one with some of
Mandy's winter clothes, the other with Laura's. Laura's box had a
deep gash in the side and the top slit was broken open. Lifting the
flaps, she removed a sweater that didn't look any the worse for the
accident. Underneath it lay a framed photograph of her, Doug and
Mandy. Anne must have thought she needed something familiar to hold
onto.

She sat on the recliner and slipped off her
poncho and heels. Holding the picture in her hand, she ran her
thumb over Doug's face. Sometimes she couldn't see it clearly now
when she closed her eyes. He was her past.

When she looked up, Mitch stood in front of
her. Could this man be her present? Her future?

"Is anything damaged?" he asked.

"I don't know. I didn't get very far."

He nodded at her hands. "That's a good
picture."

In it her arm was wrapped around Doug's
waist, his across her shoulders. A two-year-old Mandy stood at
their legs. "We were at a picnic."

Mitch's eyes searched her face. "Were you
always that happy with him?"

"We were happy a lot. But..."

Mitch sat on the sofa and waited.

"You're going to laugh."

His eyes said he wouldn't.

"I was the practical one."

"Would you tell me about it?" he asked
quietly.

This was one of those times when she felt a
bond between them, when she knew they were friends. "After Mandy
was born, I couldn't pick up and go quite as easily. I had her to
think about. I breast-fed and Doug couldn't help with that. I
suppose he felt removed from her immediate care."

"That didn't have to happen. There's a lot a
father can do."

Somehow she knew Mitch wouldn't be the type
of father to sleep while the baby cried. Or the type of father who
would resent the time and care a mother gave to her child. He'd be
proud of it.

"Was he a good father?"

She was honest because she sensed it was
important to Mitch. "When he wanted to be. But he could be easily
distracted. I never completely trusted him with her.

"He sounds irresponsible and selfish," Mitch
muttered.

Laura bit back a defense, knowing ideas of
responsibility didn't always jive. "You thought I was
irresponsible. You still might."

Mitch met her gaze directly. "I know you
better now. You're impulsive but not irresponsible--especially not
with Mandy. How could you be happy with someone who didn't put her
first?"

Mitch wasn't criticizing, he was trying to
find out about her life. "Doug had good qualities and faults, too.
If you had known him-- He was so easy to be with. When we started
out, he loved me for who I was, not what he wanted me to be. And
that's the way I loved him." Though in the months after Mandy's
birth that had changed. When Laura could no longer be footloose,
Doug was less accepting of her "mother" role.

Mitch picked up on one part of what she'd
said. "Loved?"

She understood. He was asking if she was
still in love with her husband. "He's gone, Mitch. Just like my
mother. My life has to go on." Meeting and caring for Mitch had
brought that home even more.

Before Mitch could respond, they heard
footsteps in the foyer. Ray entered the living room in gray
sweatpants and sweatshirt. Laura had rarely seen him in anything
but a suit, even when she was a child. Since he'd started walking
with Nora and exercising with the rehab nurse, he seemed to enjoy
casual clothes. He looked relaxed, more approachable.

He took in the photograph in Laura's hands
and her serious expression. But he didn't comment on either. "Nora
says supper will be ready in half an hour. Mitch, let's go to my
office and discuss your sales campaign for Christmas. And Laura,
I'd like to speak to you--"

"His sales campaign?" Laura asked with raised
brows.

Mitch said calmly, "We worked on ideas
together in Flagstaff."

Ray gazed at Mitch intently. "But you had
your ads for Harrisburg set up months ago."

"I know. But I might incorporate Ladies'
Night and Men's Night as Laura suggested."

Ray rubbed his chin. "I see. Well, then,
we'll save that for after supper. Laura, can I talk to you for a
few minutes now?"

Her gaze went to the stairs.

"If Mandy wakes up, I'll get her ready for
supper," Mitch assured her.

Laura laid the photograph on top of the box
and followed her father to his office where Ray immediately sat
down in the monstrous leather chair behind the desk. She stood
rather than dropping into the captain's chair in front of the desk.
She wouldn't let him make her feel like a delinquent
sixteen-year-old again. Though she did feel at a disadvantage in
her stocking feet. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You and Mitch work together well."

She sent him a puzzled look. "Sometimes, but
what

does...?"

Ray smiled. "You're intelligent adults with
your own ideas. Of course you won't agree on everything."

She waited.

"Have you considered staying in York
permanently?"

Consciously or not she had, especially since
she realized she was falling in love with Mitch. But his feelings
were the deciding factor, and the way it looked now... "I have a
life in Independence," she hedged, wondering where this was
leading.

Her father propped his elbows on the desk and
put his hands together, steepling his fingers. "What if I said I'm
thinking about retiring and I'd like you to take over the York
store while Mitch takes Harrisburg."

Her heart raced and her stomach tightened.
What she'd always wanted was in her grasp. But did she want it now?
If she accepted, would her father think he could run her life as
he'd tried to before? What would happen to her independence if she
lived in York? And what about Mitch? What would this mean for
him?

"I thought you and Mitch were partners."

He nodded. "We are."

"What would I be?" she asked bluntly.

Ray disconnected his fingers and folded one
hand over the other. "I could have a lawyer draw up a three-way
partnership."

He was so controlled. She couldn't read him.
Was this purely a business proposition? Or did having her in York
mean something to him? "Mitch will lose money."

He shook his head emphatically. "Not in the
long run. If your ideas work, the York store will be on par with
Harrisburg. You have the energy to pour into it. I don't any more.
In a few years, you might even want to open a third store. That
would be a challenge, wouldn't it?"

"Mitch will resent me." He already thought
she wanted to horn in. If she said "yes" to her dad's offer, it
would mean certain death to any relationship she and Mitch might
have. She couldn't push in. If Mitch wanted her to stay, he'd have
to ask her himself without coercion from Ray, without being trapped
in a partnership he hadn't chosen.