Love and Other Surprises (16 page)

But that wasn’t the only reason she was irritated. It was one thing for her to throw up a defense against the sexual tension that had sizzled between them all day, and quite another for him to ignore it altogether. There was something between them, and she’d thought…

Never mind what she’d thought. She lifted her chin slightly and fixed him with a cool stare. “I wasn’t aware a crime wave was under way, but if there is, that’s all the more reason I need to stay right here. I certainly don’t want to leave the house unoccupied with the windows wide open.”

Matt raked a hand through his hair, regarding her with a baffled expression. “We could swap houses for the night,” he suggested. “You can stay at my place where it’s nice and safe and the alarm system works, and I’ll sleep here.”

Ali glared at him stubbornly. “Matt, I’m not leaving this house tonight. Don’t treat me like a child. Hillsboro, Oklahoma, is not exactly a hotbed of criminal activity. I’ll be just fine.”

Matt met her gaze unblinkingly. They stared at each other for a long moment, their eyes locked in a showdown. Matt’s mouth firmed into a hard, determined line.

“I’m sure you will,” he said in a steely tone, “because I’m spending the night with you.”

Chapter Nine

“You’re
what?”

“Spending the night here with you.” Matt’s voice was as unyielding as the set of his jaw.

Of all the unmitigated nerve!
Ali placed her hands on her hips and confronted him, her gray eyes blazing. “You most certainly are not!”

“If you insist on staying here with the windows wide open where anyone could just walk in, then I’m going to be here with you.” His voice was maddeningly calm. “I’ll sleep in the guest room.”

Just who the heck did he think he was?
“I don’t recall inviting you to do any such thing,” Ali said through gritted teeth.

Matt shrugged. “It’s not safe for you to stay here alone with the house unlocked. If you won’t swap houses for the night, then you leave me no choice.”

“I don’t need your protection,” Ali protested.

“I disagree.” Matt folded his arms stubbornly across his chest. “You may not mind endangering yourself and your property, but I’m not going to stand by and watch Robert’s little sister deliberately put herself in harm’s way.”

Robert’s little sister.
So that was how he thought of her. The realization knocked all the wind out of her sails.

Robert’s little sister.
Well, of course; what else would she be to him? Her relationship to Robert was the only reason she and Matt knew each other, the only reason they were in business together, the only reason he’d spent the day with her and was here right now. It was the entire basis for their relationship.

She’d known that all along. So why did the words cut like a knife?

What did you think?
she mentally chided herself.
That he cared for you and liked you and sought out your company just for the pleasure of it?

Yes. If she were honest, that was exactly what she’d thought. Or at least, what she’d hoped.

“Well, this is my house and you’re not staying,” Ali told him, trying hard to imbue her voice with the force of her earlier conviction.

“Okay,” Matt said evenly. “If you don’t want me in the house, then I’ll park in your driveway and sleep in my car.”

It would serve him right, Ali thought hotly. But somehow the idea of Matt cramped in his car, trying to find a way to stretch his long frame in a comfortable position, upset her all the more.

Matt grabbed his jacket from the coat closet. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Ali clenched her fists as the front door closed, fighting the urge to throw something after him. What an infuriating man!

She stormed angrily across the room and began tidying up the paint equipment with rapid, jerky motions. How dare he impose himself on her like this! Didn’t he have any respect for her privacy, for her judgment, for her… her
personhood?

Robert’s sister, indeed! How dare he think of her as nothing except a relative of his former partner! She was a person in her own right—a person to be reckoned with, she thought indignantly. Not to mention a person whom he’d kissed.

Ali froze beside the folded stepladder, recalling the sparks that had flashed between them when she’d climbed down to find herself practically in his arms today. She was sure the attraction was mutual; the chemistry was too strong to be onesided.

But of course Matt would never do anything about it. He was too logical, too rational. And too hung up on the misguided belief that he was some sort of surrogate big brother.

Ali banged down the lid of a half-empty paint can with her fist. Well, let him come back. She couldn’t wait to give him a piece of her mind. She had a thing or two to tell that mule-headed, thick-skulled…
business partner.

Her hand fell motionless at the thought.
I can’t tell him off. I have to work with him.

Deflated, Ali crossed the room and flopped onto the sheet-draped sofa in frustration. She’d never met such an exasperating man—a man who made her feel insulted and angry and completely unsettled. But because he held the final say over her designs, she had to be nice to him.

If not nice, at least civil, she thought begrudgingly. Civil, calm, self-controlled and rational.

Ali heaved a sigh and kicked off her shoes. How was she going to manage that when her insides were twisted like a licorice stick? It didn’t help that she was hot and tired and hungry and dirty.

A bath—that was just the ticket. A nice, hot bubble bath always lifted her spirits. A good warm bath could make any situation more tolerable.

She rose from the sofa and quickly finished her cleanup tasks. Five minutes later, the tub was filling with warm water. She’d give herself the royal treatment, she decided, fetching her portable CD player and a pair of candles from her bedroom.

Soon the room was bathed in soft candlelight and gentle music. She’d take a whirlpool first, then add bubbles later, Ali decided.

She flipped the switch and the water began swirling around the tub. Peeling off her paint-splattered clothes, she stepped in and stretched out, luxuriating in the sensation of the warm water jets caressing her body on all sides. Ali closed her eyes— and immediately envisioned Matt’s face.

His lips had looked so firm and demanding and hungry when he’d helped her down from the ladder, she thought dreamily. His breath had brushed her face and the faint scent of his shaving lotion had teased her nostrils. He’d wanted to kiss her; she’d seen the gleam of unmistakable intent in his eyes.

A surge of heat that had nothing to do with the water temperature began coursing through her, and she shifted restlessly in the water. One of the water jets now hit her side, exactly where Matt’s hand had rested earlier.

What if his fingers had drifted slightly upward, just like the stream of water was doing now? It would have grazed the bottom of her breast. The thought caused a shiver to chase through her and Ali leaned back in the churning water, letting her imagination run as wild as the swirling whirlpools.

No!
she thought suddenly. She switched off the jets and shot out of the water. Clutching her arms around herself, she stood in the tub, dripping and shivering in the cool air. She refused to allow herself to indulge in any more fantasies about Matt. It was foolish—beyond foolish.

It was reckless. Dangerous, even.

She didn’t want to get involved with Matt. It would never work out, and a failed romance with him would devastate all of her plans. Not to mention what it could do to her heart, she thought grimly. She was in too deep as it was.

Ali grabbed a jar of bubble bath and sat back down in the water. Turning on the faucet, she poured a generous amount of the scented soap into the stream of water, then leaned back as the tub filled with bubbles.

She lifted a handful of bubbles and absently let them sift through her fingers as her thoughts meandered over her limited romantic experience. None of her past involvements had lasted very long. She had a knack for picking the wrong type of man—either posturing macho types who fled when she spoke her mind or spineless wimps.

Matt didn’t fit either category. He was independent, strong-willed and very much his own man. And as much as it infuriated her, she had to admit that it also pleased her in an odd, secret way. Matt was cut from a different cloth.

“Nonsense,” she said aloud, reaching up to shut off the faucet. “He’s just ten times more stubborn.”

She rubbed herself down with a loofah, then leaned back in the tub, bending her leg and thoughtfully tracing one of the water jet outlets with her toe. She would do well to follow Matt’s lead in one area, she decided; she needed to ignore their physical attraction. After the development was completed, they’d divide up the profits and she’d never have to see him again.

The thought left her depressed and restless, and she decided to get out of the tub. She sat up in the water, pushed her foot against the side of the tub, and accidently jammed her toe into the water jet.

She tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried again. She leaned forward, grasped her foot with her hands and yanked.

Nothing. She was stuck!

Panic rising in her chest, she gingerly felt her foot. The joint of her big toe was firmly wedged in the outlet. She squirmed and tugged and pulled for several long, uncomfortable minutes. Her efforts only succeeded in making her toe throb.

Oh, merciful heavens, what was she going to do?

“Ali?” Matt’s voice came from the living room.

Matt—oh, no! Her heart thudded against her rib cage. She couldn’t let him find her like this! She tugged at her toe again, creating a wrenching pain.

“Ow!” she yelped.

“Ali, are you all right? Where are you?”

You’re stuck,
she told herself grimly,
and you need help.

But she was completely naked! Ali desperately looked around; the towels were out of reach and she’d left her robe in the bedroom. The only things at hand were a bar of soap and the bottle of bubble bath on the edge of the tub.

Ali grabbed the bubble bath and poured half the bottle into the water, then splashed furiously.

“I’m in here,” she called over the music. “I’m stuck in the tub.”

She heard footsteps in the hall. “You’re
what?”

“I’m stuck.” Frustration raised her voice a full octave. “My toe is jammed in the whirlpool jet. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t get it out.”

The announcement was greeted with a silence so profound that Ali was afraid he’d turned around and left.

“I’m coming in,” he finally said.

“Just a moment!” Ali sank low in the water, covering as much of herself as possible with a thick blanket of bubbles. She wrapped her arms across her breasts. “All right.”

She watched Matt open the door cautiously and pause in the doorway as his eyes adjusted to the candlelight. Oh, mercy— she’d forgotten about the candles! Ali longed to just slide all the way under the water. What must he be thinking? She prayed he didn’t think she’d staged some sort of seduction setup.

“I’m over here,” she called out in a hoarse voice.

“I need to turn on a light so I can see you,” Matt replied.

“No!” Ali gave her toe another yank, splashing water over the side of the tub. “I mean, I’m…I don’t have on any… would you throw me a towel?”

Matt muttered an oath, then fumbled around until he found one.

Ali reached out and grabbed it. “Could you please turn around for a moment?”

Matt complied and Ali dragged the towel into the water, trying to cover herself with it. Maybe between the towel and the bubbles, she’d be able to maintain some semblance of decency.

“Okay,” she finally said. Her mouth was so dry she could hardly swallow.

“I’ve got to turn on a light so I can see your toe,” Matt told her.

The sudden glare made her wince. When she opened her eyes, Matt was staring at her. She met his gaze and quickly looked away. A wave of heat suffused her body despite the fact that the water was beginning to cool.

Matt knelt by the tub and gently touched her leg, sending shockwaves reverberating through her. She saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “The first thing we need to do is drain some of this water out so I can see your foot.”

Ali hesitated, then nodded as she clutched the wet towel.

Matt pushed up his sleeves and plunged his hand into the water to open the drain. As the water receded, she slunk down further and further.

“Don’t let out all the water—that’s enough,” she said abruptly as soon as her foot was in sight.

Matt turned his attention to her toe. “It’s stuck, all right,” he commented. “I’m going to get some ice.”

A moment later he returned with a plastic sandwich bag filled with crushed ice. “This should make the swelling go down,” he said, “but it won’t be very comfortable.”

“I’m not exactly lolling in luxury right now,” Ali remarked.

Matt looked pointedly around the room and gave her a wry smile. “You could have fooled me,” he said,wrapping the ice around her foot.

“Yikes!” Ali hollered. The shock of cold made her jump, causing the towel to slip. Ali struggled desperately to readjust it, hoping Matt hadn’t noticed she’d just fully exposed her chest.

No such luck. When his eyes finally slid up to meet hers, they sparkled with amusement and… arousal. He quickly turned his attention back to her foot, and Ali clutched at the towel as if it were a life raft.

“We need to leave the ice on for a few minutes.” He sat back on his heels and leaned an arm on the side of the tub. “While we’re waiting, why don’t you tell me just how this happened?”

“I was taking a bath,” Ali said.

“I figured out that much,” Matt said dryly. “What’s with the candles and mood music?”

Ali tried to muster as much dignity as the situation would allow. “A woman’s bath rituals are her own private business,” she said haughtily, trying to hide her mortification with a show of bravado. “I was simply trying to unwind.”