Return to You (17 page)

She shrugged again and added an extra dollop. They
were about to find out.

Rick squirmed in his seat. He needed to put the
binoculars down. He knew any red-blooded man would be watching,
especially when it was part of his job. For a PI like him, being a
voyeur was second-nature.

Only in this case it was Olivia, and it felt
wrong.

He cursed again. He needed to focus. He was here on
business.

Rick swung his binoculars around, adjusting the
knobs so he could refocus on his subject.

Elaine Adams was slowly walking in circles around
Olivia's grandmother's garden like it was some kind of labyrinth.
At night, when it was freaking cold out.

Ms. Adams started back toward the house. Rick sighed
in relief. If she was going in, he could pack up and go home, and
then he wouldn't be tempted to intrude on Olivia's privacy.

But then Ms. Adams veered, heading toward Olivia's
window.

A thread of unease unraveled in the pit of his
stomach.

Maybe he was overreacting.

He grunted. "Right."

Sure enough, Ms. Adams stopped right in front of the
brightly lit window. Anyone greeted with the scene of a
mostly-naked woman smearing gunk on a mostly-naked man would
stop.

In this case, watching wasn't an innocent thing.
Rick could almost hear Adams take notes.

"Shit." He was surprised she didn't feel him boring
a hole through her skin he was watching her so intensely.

He calculated the chances on this ending up in this
week's Enquirer. "Fair to certain," he muttered, his hands
tightening on his lenses.

What the fuck was Olivia thinking? Couldn't she have
drawn the curtains? Of course not. Olivia was trusting. She'd never
expect someone to be spying on her, waiting to sell her out.
Especially not someone she'd taken under her wing.

Rick scowled as he watched Elaine Adams reluctantly
leave the brightly lit window and go inside the farmhouse. Ms.
Adams was going to regret taking on Olivia. He'd make sure of
it.

Chapter Twenty-five

The little burgundy bag on the floor taunted
her.

It was now or never.

Lainie dumped out the contents of the Romantic
Notions bag on the bed. With a deep breath, she resolutely pulled
the white negligee over her head, letting it pool down her body
like a whisper.

She turned around and gawked at her image in the
mirror. She couldn't go out there in a transparent gown, no matter
what Olivia thought. She slipped into the matching robe and looked
at her reflection again.

Marginally better, but still awfully translucent.
Was that the outline of her nipples?

She blushed, but one thing was certain: if Everett
saw her like this, she'd know whether he was interested or not.

What choice did she have? Cower behind her desk for
the rest of her life?

Shaking her head, she strode out of her room. She
reached the kitchen and sighed when she saw it was empty.

Not bothering with the light, she went to the
cupboard, pulled out a glass, and filled it with water from the
tap. She downed it, wishing it was some of Everett's fine scotch
instead. Filling it again, she drank a second glass, more slowly
this time.

She rinsed her glass out and set it to dry. Well,
she'd just have to try to run into him again tomorrow night.

She turned around and gasped.

Everett leaned in the doorway, arms folded. His face
was lost in the shadows, but she could imagine his enigmatic look.
She could feel the way his eyes took in her clothes, or lack
of.

"I didn't hear you come in." She congratulated
herself for the evenness of her voice.

He said nothing but kept watching her. He finally
broke the silence. "You've changed your hair."

Her hand darted to her freshly styled head.
"Yes."

He dropped his casual pose and stalked over to her.
He stopped in front of her, close enough that she could see the way
his pale eyes burned even in the darkness. He touched a strand of
her hair, rubbing it between two fingers. "I've never seen your
hair down."

"No, you haven't."

His eyes traveled down the length of her body. She
shivered at the intensity and felt her nipples tighten almost
painfully.

He pulled away. "If you're cold, you should take
care to put something on your feet. Or wear something more
substantial."

She gaped at him incredulously. "Everett Parker, for
a man of your intellect and shrewdness, you are awfully ignorant.
If you'd open your eyes and take a look at me maybe you'd see I'm
not cold." She lowered her voice. "I've never been cold around
you."

Satisfied at the way he was gaping at her, she
turned to leave. But what had she accomplished? The loss of her job
most likely.

She stopped in her tracks. She
was
not
going to
lose her job for nothing. If she was going to be unemployed, it'd
be because she grabbed what she wanted most in life.

Him.

She whirled around and marched back to Everett.
"Take me out to dinner."

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Take me out to dinner," she repeated through
clenched teeth.

"We always go out to dinner," he said slowly, like
he was trying to reason with a five year old.

She pointed a finger at his nose.
"Yes, we always have dinner together. Several nights a week for the
past seven years. But for once, I want you to
take
me to dinner. Just the two of us.
Someplace romantic. Tomorrow night."

He stared at her, his eyes inscrutably blank.

P
anic
gripped her stomach. This was it—this was where he'd tell her she
was delusional and that she should pack her bags and move to
Siberia.

"Tomorrow night, then." He watched her for another
long moment before brushing past her and disappearing down the
hall.

Lainie covered her mouth with her hand and collapsed
against the kitchen table, trembling, her body boneless. "Oh
my."

She did it. She was going on an official date with
Everett Parker.

Chapter Twenty-six

His old bed creaked ominously when Michael dropped
onto it. "Kill me now and put me out of my misery." He covered his
eyes with an arm and tried to relax.

He couldn't, and it was Olivia's fault.

Where the hell was she? He'd been trying to reach
her all evening. He called her store but there was no answer. He'd
called the farmhouse and left a message for her there. Then he'd
called twice more. The knowing amusement in Granny Mae's voice
prevented him from calling again.

He frowned at the Princess Leia poster still taped
on the ceiling over his bed. He needed Olivia. The day had been
hell, and all he wanted was her drugging kisses and to feel her
come apart in his arms.

He didn't want to think about where she might be.
Only the force of his will stopped him from imagining her in
Lurch's company.

His window squeaked.

Hope spiked in his heart. He looked over to see an
elegant leg hike over the ledge, followed by the gorgeously
striking face that haunted his dreams.

Olivia grinned at him. "That's okay. I don't need a
hand."

He watched her, bemused, as she climbed in and
closed the window behind her. "I didn't think I'd see you tonight,"
he said.

"I know I didn't call." She stopped abruptly. "Do
you want me to leave?"

"
No
. Hell no." He rushed to her and
pulled her close. As soon as he touched her, the tension faded and
relief flooded into its place. He knew that should have worried
him, but all he could think of was the way Olivia fit so perfectly
into his body. In her heels, he didn't even have to bend down to
kiss her. So convenient. "God you taste good."

Her lips curved under his. Instead of replying, she
gave him more of herself. How did she know what he needed?

He gripped her tighter. "I'm glad you're here," he
whispered against her lips.

She pressed her hips into his. "I can see that."

"More than that."

"Have a bad day?"

Suddenly the day didn't seem that bad. "I missed
you."

She leaned back enough to look into his eyes. She
smoothed his hair back and simply said, "Good."

He pulled her against him again. "I called you but I
couldn't find you."

"You did?"

"Mmm." He nuzzled the side of her neck. "Your store
and then Granny Mae's."

"I was out."

He pulled back and frowned at her. "That was
vague."

She shrugged. "Girl business. If I told you I'd have
to castrate you."

"You wouldn't like that."

"Hell no," she agreed fervently. "That's your best
feature."

He laughed, running his hand through her long hair.
But he stopped laughing when he felt something cold snap around his
wrist. "What the—"

Before he could say another word, she captured his
other wrist too. Michael looked down to find his hands securely
cuffed. He tugged them apart. Real handcuffs, not chintzy
fakes.

She pushed him back toward the bed until he toppled
over onto it. She straddled him and took off her jacket to reveal a
harlot red tank top. It was lace and see through and she wore
nothing under it. "Can you handle it?"

"I'll certainly give it my best."

She reached over him and secured the cuffs to the
bed with a scarf. Where she pulled the scarf from, he had no
idea.

"What other tricks do you have up your sleeves?"

"I have no sleeves. Maybe you didn't notice." She
stood up and shucked her jeans to reveal matching lace panties that
sat low on her hips and showed the succulent curve of her ass
cheeks. Her belly button piercing winked at him in the light.

He
loved
that belly ring.

"I hope you're taking notes," Olivia said as she
climbed on top of him, sat on his thighs, and unbuttoned his
shirt.

"Notes?" he rasped. He could feel her heat through
his jeans, which were uncomfortably restricting. He wanted to ask
her to ease him out, but given her mood he was afraid she'd leave
them on longer just to torment him.

"If you're going to break into someone's room, this
is the way to make the most of it."

He swallowed a groan when her hand rested casually
over his fly. "You aren't dressed like a pirate."

Her laugh was low and husky. "You
always did have a thing for pirates. At least this time
I
get to be the marauding
one. It used to piss me off when I had to play the kidnapped
princess." She dropped a kiss on the hollow of his throat and her
hair caressed his chest.

"I was a fool," he said with a gasp. "From now on,
you're the pirate."

"About time you saw the potential." She teased his
lips with her teeth.

"Call me slow." Michael arched up, trying to capture
her lips.

"Baby, you haven't seen slow yet." She bit the lobe
of his ear and began to show him how slow they could go.

Chapter Twenty-seven

"Where do you think she is?" Olivia flipped the sign
on her door to "Closed" and peeked out the window. When there was
no reply, she turned around with a frown to find Eve sprawled in
one of the stuffed velvet chairs, her eyes shut. "Hey, are you
asleep?"

"I wish. I'm exhausted."

"Treat keep you up all night? Or was shopping for
Lainie tiring?"

Eve grinned but didn't open her eyes. "All of the
above. Plus we've been insanely busy lately. I love that Lainie
asked me to provide the pastries for the movie's wrap party, but
it's a lot of work."

Olivia dropped the bra she was rearranging and
stared at Eve. "The movie's wrapping up?"

Eve sat up straight, her brow furrowed. "You didn't
know. I'm sorry."

"Not a big deal." She turned her back and fussed
with a display. She needed something to do with her hands. Since
Michael wasn't here to strangle, fixing her display seemed a good
second choice.

"Are you sure it's not a big deal?"

"Of course it's not. We all knew this was temporary.
It was only a matter of time before Michael went back to Los
Angeles."

"It'd be nice if he could stay longer though."

She could feel Eve boring a hole in her back. She
forced a casual shrug. "It won't make any difference really. It's
good that he's leaving now before things go any further."

"Is it?"

No. Her heart felt like it was being ripped out of
her chest. She pasted a smile on her face and turned to face Eve.
"Sure it is."

Eve didn't look convinced but fortunately Lainie
chose that moment to rush in. "Sorry I'm late. We had a production
meeting that ran overtime. With the filming just about done, there
were a lot of loose ends to wrap up."

Of course Lainie would know the movie was just about
done. It seemed like everyone knew except for her. Damn
Michael.

Why hadn't he said anything to her? It wasn't like
he hadn't had a chance. Their intimacy seemed cheapened or fake in
light of this information.

She felt a hand on her arm. She raised her eyes to
find Lainie's face, lined with concern, peering at her. "You didn't
know?"

It took conscious effort to smooth out her
expression. This was Lainie's night. She'd deal with Michael later.
"It's fine. Let's get started. We don't have long to get you ready.
You said your reservation was for seven o'clock?"

"Yes."

Olivia felt a stab of envy at the way Lainie shined.
The older woman was at the beginning of her romance.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Eve,
where's the dress?"