Hot Item (6 page)

“It’s not like I brought a bathing suit. Did you?”

He shook his head, then thought of Sophie in a string bikini. She’d be one hot item and when the night was over, there’d be no keeping his hands off her. From the dreamy look in her eyes, she was thinking the exact same thing.

S
OPHIE HAD HIT
the mall like a professional shopper. First she’d dispatched Riley to the men’s department in Bloomingdale’s so she didn’t have the pressure of his intense stare following her everywhere she went. She’d been too much aware of him already. Then she’d chosen swimwear based on the styles and brands she knew would fit. Unfortunately, that had left her with one-piece suits, which worked fine in New York but around Riley seemed bland. At the last second, she’d pulled a daring, skimpy bikini off the rack before paying for her purchases.

Now, she laid her choices on the bed, her heart pounding hard inside her chest. Which one to wear? she wondered, wishing she had her sisters around to call for advice.

“You’re on your own, Sophie girl,” she muttered aloud. How ironic that she could deal with organizing an event for hundreds more easily than she could handle this.

Drawing a deep breath, she glanced at the array of bathing suits laid out before her. “Eenie meeney miney mo,” she said, and reached for the one her gut told her would appeal most to Riley.

R
ILEY SAT
in the pink-and-white living room waiting for Sophie to finish getting ready. He’d given her the master bedroom so she could dress in private and he’d taken one of the other rooms, consoling himself with the idea that, come tonight, no way would he be going to one of those smaller rooms.

Unfortunately, he might be all swagger and no substance. Sophie hadn’t given him a glimmer of hope to count on, he realized, thinking back to earlier in the day. Riley normally hated shopping with women. He disliked waiting for them to sort through racks of clothing and then try on more things than anyone could possibly buy or wear in this lifetime. He loathed sitting on a couch outside a dressing room while the same woman paraded herself in front of him in an obvious attempt to entice him with her body and coax him out of his cash. Yet after Amy had left, he’d actually looked forward to taking Sophie to the mall.

When she’d insisted he go shopping for himself and meet up with her later, he’d been disappointed. And when he’d returned to find she’d already chosen a few items and paid for them without modeling them for him first, he’d felt absurdly cheated.

Of course, he preferred to stew about missing out on seeing Sophie in various bathing suits than to deal with the things Amy had said.

Spencer was proud of him? What gave the man the right to be proud of anything having to do with Riley Nash? He ground his teeth.

“I’m ready,” Sophie announced, her voice a welcome break from his thoughts.

He turned around and his breath caught in his chest. If pushed, he’d have guessed she would pick a one-piece bathing suit that left everything to his overactive imagination.

He’d have been dead wrong.

“You look amazing,” he said, once he’d caught his breath.

“Thank you.” She stepped forward on endlessly long legs no longer covered by classy-looking skirts or slacks.

He suddenly envisioned her locking those limbs around his back, pulling him deeper and deeper inside her. The skimpy bikini bottoms and small top were nothing more than a joke meant to test a man’s restraint.

And he was definitely being tested. He broke into a sweat and the fun come-on lines that normally spilled out so easily failed him now. He was afraid to dig too deeply into why she had such an intense effect on him, afraid he might find he was starting to care too much. He didn’t want to put himself in a position of being rejected.

He’d promised himself he’d never give another person that kind of power over him again—the kind his biological father had. Sophie tugged at his heart-strings—a definite reason to limit his dealings with her to a short-term affair, before their different personalities drove her away.

“Are you ready?” she asked, wrapping a skirt around her waist.

He gestured to his Polo swim trunks and T-shirt. “This is as good as it gets.”

Sophie looked him over and had to admit he looked darned good to her. “I think you can hold your own with the older set.” She hoped her jokes covered her nervousness and insecurity, because the suit and sarong covered very little.

He strode up beside her, his body heat overpowering, his scent arousing. “The question is, can I hold my own with you?” he asked, his breath warm and minty against her cheek.

Sophie drew on every last bit of courage she possessed. “I’d like to see you try.”

His eyes darkened as he took in the challenge she’d tossed his way. “Baby, I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

She swallowed hard, but looked up with steely resolve. “I do.” Because once Sophie made up her mind about something—or someone—she stuck with her decisions and she never looked back.

For years she’d been drawn to a man she thought was a flirt and a playboy, a jock and a rebel. In the past couple of hours, she’d learned that he’d been ignored by his biological father and survived the pain. That he had a daughter and a heart.

She’d already been so far gone by the time she’d walked off the plane, that at this point, she knew more than enough about him to allow herself to indulge in an affair. She knew more than enough to know she was in big, big trouble. But despite her normal caution, she was past caring.

She held on to that thought and to Riley’s big, warm hand as they walked toward the pool area. She was well aware of what would happen when they returned to the house later, but for now they shared more than just mutual desire.

They shared the need to find his father.

A
S
S
OPHIE AND
R
ILEY
passed through the gate leading to the pool, torches lit their way and music floated through the balmy air. Limbo music. The sound brought Sophie back to her youth and the birthday parties Uncle Yank and Lola had thrown for her as a child.

“I’m not surprised Darla and company have planned some games,” Sophie said, laughing.

“You’re enjoying this.”

“You sound surprised.” She turned his way.

He cocked an eyebrow. “I shouldn’t be? I’d have bet you’d be—”

“Too uptight to let loose and have fun?” she asked, knowing exactly what he thought of her. She had to admit she hadn’t given him much reason to think otherwise.

“Your free spirit is something I definitely want to see firsthand.” He winked and kept walking.

A free spirit, she was not. She glanced down at her string bikini and acknowledged that tonight she was not the same woman from their flight down. She couldn’t afford to be if she wanted this time with Riley. But the fact that Riley made her want to shed some of her inhibitions was yet another reason to fear whatever was happening between them.

She glanced over the crowded pool, admiring the way the older crowd was enjoying life. “Let’s just say that when I’m eligible for a senior-citizen discount, I hope that I’m as happy with life as Darla seems to be,” she said as she rushed to keep pace with Riley.

“Fair enough,” he said.

As they reached the pool, the party was in full swing. Chubby Checker’s “Limbo Rock” blasted on loudspeakers while the guests mingled. Older men with bald heads or graying hair danced around the pool deck, grabbing any willing partner while the braver ones ducked beneath the limbo stick.

But what really made the party guests stand out was their attire or lack of it. The women displayed their assets in bikinis reminiscent of the movie
Calendar Girls
and their male counterparts wore Speedos in varying colors.

Riley shuddered. “I may never have a good night’s sleep again.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I know what you mean.” She’d much prefer Riley in his swim trunks to the tight Speedos. Who was she kidding? She’d prefer Riley
out
of his bathing suit, a wish that might come true later tonight. Her mouth grew dry with anticipation.

“Well, at least nobody here is one of
your
relatives,” he muttered.

Sophie paused, realizing that what for her was an amusing way to pass time until she found Spencer, was a life-changing event for Riley. She didn’t know anything about how he’d grown up or what the parents who had raised him were like, but he obviously wasn’t comfortable with the idea that this wild geriatric set comprised his family and their friends.

Unfortunately for her, she wanted to understand and help him deal with whatever emotions were eating away at him. “Riley—” She reached out and touched his arm. Warmth tingled straight to her toes. “These people are no reflection on you.”

He turned and stared at the place where her hand had made contact with his skin. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine,” he bit out.

She heard the rebuke, swallowed hard and removed her hand.

Instead of walking away in search of his father as she’d expected, he immediately grabbed her hand and laced his fingers inside hers. His thumb caressed the center of her palm and the massaging sensation was oddly erotic, definitely a way to tease and send her pulse rate soaring.

She heard his silent apology for snapping at her and she understood how deeply Spencer’s abandonment had hurt him. She wished she could ease his pain as much as she wished her heart wasn’t already engaged with this man.

“Do you see Spencer?” He surveyed the crowded pool area.

“To find Spencer I’d have to mix with the crowd, and frankly I’d rather not look at anyone that closely,” she said, deliberately changing the subject.

He chuckled, relaxing a bit. Her hand still in his, he pulled her toward the center of activity, the makeshift bar on the side of the pool.

“I’m so glad you two made it.” Darla greeted them with a frozen drink in her hand. She bent to take a sip but, instead of the straw, her lips hit the umbrella and she giggled like a young girl. She was dressed like one, too. “Piña colada anyone?” Darla asked.

“No thanks,” Sophie said.

“Margarita? Daiquiri? Tom Collins?” She offered the drinks, trailing off with a loud hiccup.

“No, thank you. Darla, have you heard from Spencer?” Sophie asked, undeterred.

“Well, if you two aren’t having a drink, that doesn’t mean I can’t have another. Rose is tending bar. Come meet my sister. Oh, Rose!” Darla called in her high-pitched voice.

Sophie shot Riley a glance. Darla was avoiding the subject and Sophie would bet she knew exactly where her brother was.

“Rose, this is Sophie Jordan and Riley.” She didn’t use his last name and Rose didn’t ask for it.

Sophie tried not to wince. Instead she glanced behind the bar where a bleached-platinum-blonde blended drinks, an oversize floppy straw hat on her head.

Sophie leaned closer to Riley. “Were you hoping for normal?” she whispered.

He shook his head. “I’ve accepted that in this family, there is no such thing.”

This
family, not
my
family, Sophie thought. Well, if they were her long-lost relatives, she couldn’t say how she would react. “I take it your mother and stepfather aren’t—”

“Oddballs? No. They’re as conservative as they come. Mom’s a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy and my father’s a personal friend of Rush Limbaugh. Enough said?”

She nodded and tried to absorb the opposite worlds that surrounded him now.

“So good to meet you,” Rose said. “My daughter Amy told me all about you.” She glanced at Riley and winked.

Sophie wished Darla and Rose would outright acknowledge him as Amy had. Rose’s subtle winks and Darla’s pretense had to hurt. Almost like reliving Spencer’s rejection, she thought sadly.

“Good to meet you, too.” Riley leaned one arm on the bar. “Have either of you beautiful ladies heard from your brother?” Riley asked, turning on the charm.

“Ooh, he’s more handsome in person. Than in his pictures, I mean,” Rose said, stammering over her faux pas.

Sophie couldn’t stand it anymore. She hated how they were following some ridiculous mandate of Spencer’s that she couldn’t understand. She resented how they were sacrificing Riley’s feelings for their brother’s agenda.

When she finally got her hands on Spencer, she’d throttle him, but in the meantime she’d settle for taking on his sisters. “I’ve had it,” Sophie said loudly.

Darla turned her way. “Did you say something, dear?”

“Yes.” She perched her hands on her hips. “We’ve both asked you a question and you’re ignoring us. Have you seen Spencer?”

Darla blinked and Sophie realized she wore fake eyelashes. “Seen him? No, no. I can’t say I’ve seen him this evening. Rose?”

The other woman shook her head.

Sophie wanted to grind her teeth in frustration. “I guess we’ll check in again in the morning before we leave.”

“Oh dear! You’ve only just arrived. I’d hate to see you go,” Darla said with meaning.

It was probably the first honest thing she’d said all night. Sophie shook her head, oddly disappointed in these people. “If Spencer shows up, I hope you’ll let us know.”

“They will,” Riley said. “After all, why would they keep that information from
us?
” Riley asked, then without waiting for a reply, he pulled Sophie away from the two older women to a corner of the pool deck where they could be alone.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not really sure what for.

He treated her to a grim smile. “That means a lot coming from Spencer’s favorite Jordan sister.”

She glanced down at the concrete, unable to meet his gaze. “Actually I’m sorry for that, too.”

He lifted her chin with his hand. “It’s not as if you knew about me. Unlike them.”

“Isn’t that part of the problem? That Spencer denied his only son?” She drew a deep breath. “I don’t understand Spencer. From what I know of him he’s a good, kind man. To deny you goes against everything I believed about him. It goes against everything
I
believe in.”

And right now she believed in Riley. In what she and Riley could share tonight. She wanted only to stop dancing around their feelings and act on them.