Crazy For You (5 page)

“That’s when my time-travel gadget was programmed to send me back.” His fingers softly caressed her
hand
. “
Which is why I seem like I’m being pushy.
I don’t have much time.”

Oh good grief!
Kendra
wished
s
he would stop burning every time he touched her. And she really wished her heart wasn’t like her fathers—
so understanding and
giving to
perfect
strangers.
“Fine.
You can stay at my place until you leave.”

Kendra
unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside, Eli a close second behind her. His attention roamed around her tidy front room. He walked in further, running his fingers along the back of the sofa. “So, this is home-sweet-home, huh?”

She threw him a glare. “Eli, this isn’t your home, this is mine. Remember that, will you?” A slight pound started in her forehead, threatening to ruin her afternoon. She marched into the kitchen toward the medicine cupboard to get some aspirins.

This morning’s shopping trip went w
ell.
Too well.
Eli had been so
charming,
and so much
fun
to spend time with. She still couldn’t figure out h
ow
come
she
was
more comfortable with him in just a few hours than the many months of being with
Terrel
.
Of course, that could explain why she’d allowed a strange man to convince her to let him stay at her apartment. Those irresistible puppy eyes of his could melt an iceberg. They’d certainly melted her defenses.

“Which room is mine?” He followed her into the kitchen and to the window, closing the blinds.

She scowled. “The room you’ll be staying in is at the end of the hallway to your left.”

He flashed his wicked smile on her again before picking up his shopping bags and walking
in
that direction.
Grumbling, s
he yanked a cup off the shelf and filled it with water. She took two pills and gulped down the liquid, choking on the last swallow.
Using the back of her hand, she
wiped across her mouth. Something was definitely wrong with her. S
ince meeting him, s
he
’d been
act
ing
like a smitten teenager whose hormones were running out of control!

“
Kendra
?” Eli asked from the extra bedroom.

She stepped into the hallway. “Yes?”

He walked out of the room, his shirt unbuttoned, hanging open. Dryness consumed her throat, making it impossible to swallow. She needed another drink—
much colder
this time.
But more than that, she needed to do something—anything—to take her eyes off him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stop staring at his chest…and the mark above his right breast.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the mark.

He glanced down,
then
met her eyes again.
“A birthmark.”

“Oh.” She quickly diverted her eyes.

“You sure keep an immaculate home. Everything has its place, and there’s not a speck of dust anywhere.”

“So.”

“So doesn’t that get annoying?”

She rolled her eyes.
“Just about as annoying as a man who doesn’t know how to groom his goatee or comb his hair.”

He chuckled and ran his fingers through his lo
ng hair. “There. Is that better
?”

She shrugged.

“Do you have rules for when I’m supposed to use the bathroom?”

“Hopefully you’ll use the bathroom when you get the urge to go.”

His grin widened. “You know what I mean.”

“Well...I usually take my showers in the morning, if that’s what you’re referring to.”

He leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms over his chest. “Do you mind if I put my toothbrush next to yours?”

Her heart lifted to her throat. She couldn’t speak, let alone think.
Trying to clear the improper thoughts, she shook her head.
“Eli, you’re only going to be here a week.
Right?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Good. Just don’t get too comfortable.”

“All right.”

His crooked grin gave away his playfulness, and curse his hide if she didn’t want to play right back. But she wouldn’t. After all, he was crazy—although
she
would
soon be in a straightjacket if she kept this up.

“I need to go back to the office. Are you going to be all right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need my number at work?”

“I know how to use the phonebook.”

She took in slower breaths. “Good. I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Have a nice day at work.”

She didn’t remember stepping out to her car or even driving to
Terrel’s
office until she walked into the building. Eli was constantly on her mind and she wanted to boot him out. She blamed
Terrel
. It was her fiancé’s fault for ignoring her. Well, she’d force him to take her into his arms and make her forget the new man in her life. It would also be reassuring if he could tell her that everything Eli said about his family was false.

Terrel
stood by his secretary’s desk when
Kendra
approached. He looked at her and smiled.

“What are you doing here?” He took a step away from Betty.

“I need to talk to you if you have a few minutes.”

He glanced down at his watch. “Yes, but only a few. I have another meeting
soon
.”

They walked into his room and he shut the door. His eyes scanned up and down her length, and his gaze darkened. It’d been so long since he’d looked at her this way, yet why didn’t it make her heart pound the way it did when Eli looked at her?

“What’s with the get-up?” He strode toward her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so casual, yet mouth-watering desirable at the same time.”

He pulled her into his arms and nibbled on her neck. She sighed and smiled. “I really need this right now.”

Just as tingles began dancing across her skin, he pulled away, making them disappear. The familiar lonely and rejected feeling returned.

“What do you need to talk to me about? Betty mentioned you’d called earlier today.”

Kendra
exhaled and moved to sit on his leather-covered chair. “Yes. I had somebody come in the shop today who knew your father.”

His eyes widened as he took his seat behind his desk.
“Oh, really?
Who?”

She really didn’t want to tell him about the
future-man.
Terrel
would definitely think she’d gone coo-coo and lock her up in the funny farm. Her mind scrambled to think of a wealthy name. “Elijah Cavanaugh.”

Terrel’s
brows drew together. “I don’t think I’ve heard of him.”

She shrugged.
“Probably not.
He said he’s been out of the country for a few years. I guess he knew your father and your brother quite well.”

“How did he know to look you up?”

Her mind scrambled again. Thankfully, she was better prepared than she’d been this morning when Eli made her forget things. “He saw our engagement announcement in the paper, and since he’d passed by my shop a time or two, he decided to come in and make my acquaintance.” She waited for his reaction, but his face remained impassive.

“How nice.
Did you invite him to the wedding?”

“Of course.”
She leaned forward on
Terrel’s
desk, resting her elbows on the smooth wood. “But he said something that made me curious.”

“What’d he say?”

“He mentioned you were not Adam Montgomery’s biological son. Is this true?”

Her heart hammered as she waited for his reaction.
Terrel
didn’t seem the least bit surprised. Once again, he kept an all-to-familiar business expression.

“Yes. Most everybody knows my mother married Adam when I was four years old. A year and a half later, Adam decided to adopt me, so my last name was changed.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “I was shocked to hear him say that because you hadn’t mentioned it before.”

He shrugged. “I’m a Montgomery now. In my mind, I’ve always been a Montgomery. My life began the day my mother married Adam.”

She smiled. “I wish I’d known Adam. He sounds like such a remarkable man.”

“He was.”

“What was Joshua like?”

This time,
Terrel’s
expression did change. Hard lines crossed his face, his brown eyes turned dark. Obviously, this topic wasn’t welcome. She squirmed in her chair, awaiting his response.

“Joshua and Adam were exactly opposite. Even now, I wondered if Joshua had been a legitimate son. I was more like Adam than Joshua.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He flipped his hand through the air and relaxed in his chair. “But it doesn’t matter now. Joshua’s death was a relief to both my mother and me. We didn’t know what would have happened to Montgomery’s Aisle if Joshua had taken over.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what was wrong with Joshua?”

“He was crazy.
Loony.
Not to mention a very wicked man. In fact, I think it was Joshua who’d given Adam the heart-attack that finally killed him.”

She gasped. “Why, what happened?”

“Adam found out about Joshua’s gambling habits. That wasn’t too bad, but the next day Adam discovered another one of Joshua’s bad vices.” He paused, but only for a moment. “Joshua was heavily into cocaine, and he was depleting his inheritance.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very. Mother knew about it, but she kept it from Adam in fear of what the news would do to his bad heart. Adam confronted Joshua, and Joshua laughingly admitted to his drug problem. Right then, Adam had an attack. The next day, he died.”

A sob tore loose from her throat, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

He scrubbed his hand around his neck. “You didn’t know. Right after the funeral, Joshua’s habit got out of control and so mother had him put in a drug rehabilitation clinic. Joshua escaped and came home. While we were at work, Joshua had a little party in the kitchen and overdosed.”

She reached across the table and touched
Terrel’s
hand. “I’m sorry to make you talk about it. I’ll never bring it up again.”

He turned his hand over and clasped her fingers. “You didn’t know, but the memories are so painful I’d rather forget.”

She nodded. Now she couldn’t wait to get home and kick that lying so-called future-man out of her house.

* * * *

Kendra
stepped into her apartment and slammed the door. All the curtains had been pulled closed on the windows, only a few lights were on in the front room.

She stood in the hallway, listening for Eli’s movement. A heavenly aroma wafted from the kitchen and pots clanked together. After throwing her keys and purse on the small table, she marched into the kitchen…and stopped dead in her tracks. Eli stood by the stove, stirring a wooden spoon around inside a pan. She sucked in a quick breath.
My kitchen is dirty!
But when she studied him more, that thought vanished.

From his appearance, he looked as if he’d just taken a shower. His wet hair swept
laid
away from his face and hung down his neck. Although he wore a new pair of jeans and a shirt (that actually matched), his feet were bare, once again. He looked so cozy standing in her kitchen...so cozy she wanted to cuddle him next to her.
Yeah, cuddle him right out of the apartment
, her mind argued.

He turned his head toward her and her gaze dropped. His opened shirt showed the ripples of muscles on his hard chest and stomach. His skin looked naturally golden; touched by the sun, and not a hair was visible.

Her mouth turned cotton dry and she wished he didn’t look so incredibl
e
right now. She forced her gaze to meet his eyes, reminding herself how angry she’d been. He smiled, and her traitorous heart started to melt.
No.
I c
an’t let that happen!

“Hi,” he said. “I hope you like Fettuccine Alfredo and chicken.”

Her heart slipped another notch.
He cooks, too!

She shook her head, trying to focus on her anger, but he dipped the spoon in the saucepan and brought it to her. Up this close, his spicy cologne nearly made her knees buckle.