Sizzling (16 page)

* * *

LORI ARRIVED FOR WORK a few minutes early. She locked her car,
then stared up at the imposing house. For the first time since being
hired to help Gloria, she didn't want to go inside.
She could
come up with a thousand reasons why, but they all covered up a single
truth. She was scared. Truly, down to her bones,
terrified.
Yesterday and last night had been incredible. Being
with Reid had made her feel in the best way possible. They'd made
love one more time before she'd finally gone home. It had been well
after midnight and Madeline had waited up.
The teasing had
been worth it, Lori thought as she walked toward the front door and
let herself in with her key. She'd endured the teasing happily
because she was still glowing from all that Reid had done to her
body.
And it wasn't even all about the sex. It had been great—
but not really the best part. The best part had been being with him.
Spending time with the man and finding out she liked him even more
than she'd thought possible.
Which made the morning after even
more awkward. What had their time together meant to him? What was he
thinking? Was he sorry? Did he want to pretend it had never happened?
What were his expectations? She supposed she should be asking the
same of herself and assuming she got a say in how things went, but
that was a level of maturity she wasn't going to reach in this
lifetime. She would have to settle for being terrified he had
regrets.
Because she didn't. She wanted more of last night.
She wanted to talk and laugh and touch. She wanted to be with him in
every way possible.
She was realistic enough to accept that a
good part of his interest in her was due to the fact that he was
basically trapped in the house. There weren't the regular hordes of
admirers all around. When that changed, so would his opinion of her.
But until then…
She knew that as a strong,
self-sufficient woman she should demand answers. Instead she decided
that not acting scared out of her mind would be enough of a win for
today.
She hung up her coat in the hall closet and set her
purse on the shelf, then walked into the kitchen.
Reid was
already there. He stood with his back to her, which meant she could
look all she wanted, so she did.
Her gaze dropped to his butt,
which deserved its own billboard campaign. A hot, needy quivering
began low in her belly. She must have made a sound because he
turned.
For a second he just looked at her. She couldn't seem
to bring herself to move. Fear tightened her chest until her heart
hurt. Then he smiled.
It was a slow, sweet, sexy smile. The
kind designed to reduce a sensible woman to a puddle. It about did
her in. Then he walked over, put his arm around her waist, pulled her
to him and kissed her so thoroughly she practically
floated.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Hi."
Was that low, sexy voice hers?
"Did you sleep
well?"
"Not really." She'd been too busy
thinking about what they'd done to want to sleep.
"Me,
either. You get inside my head. I can't decide if that's good or
bad."
She couldn't, either.
He stared into her
eyes. "I went out and got you scones. I know you like them. I
didn't know what kind, so I got one of each."
Scones?
He'd noticed she had a thing for scones?
"You didn't have
to do that," she murmured.
"I know I didn't
have
to. I wanted to."
And just like that, the walls that had
protected her so well, for so long, tumbled into dust.

* * *

REID MET PENNY in her office at The Waterfront. He and Penny
had been friends through her first marriage to his brother, during
the divorce and the years she and Cal had been apart. They were still
friends now that she and Cal had remarried.
"You didn't
bring Allison into work today?" he asked as he took a seat. "I
like holding her."
"Because like every other female
on the planet, she adores you." Penny tossed down her pen. "I
don't get it. She's only a few months old and the second you hold
her, she gets spacey. It must be chemical."
He grinned.
"I've got it. Not my fault, but there it is."
"Oh,
please. Did you want to talk about yourself or did you want to visit
with me?"
He loved riling Penny. "I get a
choice?"
"I'm ignoring you," she said. "Did
you know Walker and Elissa are ready to start looking for a wedding
venue? I was hoping they'd have it here, but Walker wants a
non-Buchanan location. Which makes no sense to me. If it's not here,
I won't be cooking."
"Maybe he doesn't want you to
cater his wedding."
The wrong thing to say, he realized
as Penny glared at him.
"Why not? Are you saying my food
isn't fabulous enough? Is there even one chef in the entire state who
is better than me?"
Reid held up both hands. "Truce,"
he said. "Deep breath. This isn't about your cooking. Did it
occur to you that your brother-in-law might want to have the wedding
somewhere else so that you could come and enjoy yourself as a member
of the family rather than have to sweat cooking for a couple of
hundred people?"
"No," she admitted. "But
my food would be way better."
"It would. Think of
how much Walker loves you. He's willing to make the sacrifice and
give up your talent."
"You're playing me," she
grumbled.
"Maybe, but I'm doing a hell of a job at
it."
"You don't stink," she said and leaned
back in her chair. "Okay. Maybe I'll allow them to go somewhere
else. But I'm going to insist on catering the rehearsal dinner. What
do you think about something with crab? And maybe— "
He
groaned and dropped his chin to his chest.
"What?"
she demanded.
"Not menus. Please. Anything but that. We
can even talk about shopping. Just not menus or food choices or
anything food-related."
"All right. Another topic.
My choice." She studied him. "Are you dating Lori
yet?"
Trust Penny to find a new way to torture him. She
was good and he could respect that.
"We're not dating,"
he said calmly. They'd had a hell of a good time in bed the other
night, but that wasn't dating.
"Why don't you ask her
out? You like her. And don't bother denying it. I can tell when I see
you together."
"I'm not going to deny it. I do like
Lori. She's great."
She was a whole lot more than that.
Pretty and sexy and smart. She didn't let him get away with crap,
which he respected.
Penny's eyebrows rose. "Oh, my. So
it's possible I phrased the question incorrectly. Let me try again.
Are you and Lori involved?"
He couldn't seem to stop the
grin he felt pulling at the corners of his mouth. He had a feeling
Penny could see just about everything she wanted from the look on his
face.
"We're involved," he admitted.
She
shook her head. "I don't know what to say. You like a woman
you're involved with. It's not convenience or something to do to fill
the time. This means something to you. Have you figured out that
makes you practically normal?"
"I'll never be
normal, but don't sweat it. Lori can handle me. No problem."

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

"SHE WAS JUST SO imperious," Lori complained. "Ask
for Ramon. Tell him I sent you. Who does she think she is? European
royalty? She's some old woman with a broken hip. I don't take orders
from her."
Madeline smiled serenely from the other side
of the leather couch in the quietly elegant, upscale salon.
"Poor
Gloria," she said. "All this angst because she gave you the
name of her hair person, as a favor, in case you forgot. As for
taking orders from her, you kind of do. It's part of the job
description."
Lori cupped her impossibly large latte and
scowled. "If you're going to be logical, we're not having this
conversation. I just can't believe I'm here. What was I thinking?
Nothing can be done with my hair. It's impossible. Reid won't even
notice, and if he does he'll think it's hideous."
Madeline
sipped her own coffee. "Reid?" she asked innocently. "Why
would he matter?"
Lori stared at her sister. "I'll
kill you, I swear. Don't test me."
"Oooh, violence.
So it must be about him. Besides, you've never been willing to do
anything for a man. Why is this one different?"
"He
just is," Lori muttered, not wanting to get into something she
hadn't totally figured out for herself.
Madeline smiled
kindly. "Reid already thinks you're great. He's falling for
you."
As much as Lori wanted that to be true, she knew
better. "One night of sex does not a relationship
make."
"Sometimes it helps. Why would he risk being
intimate with someone he has to see every day if he didn't care?"
"I
don't know. It had been a long time and I was accessible? Gloria
warned me about him. I should have listened."
"Honey,
you were gone from the moment you saw him."
It was true,
although she'd rather be tortured than admit it. "I'm not like
them," she said instead. "Those other women he sleeps with.
I'm not all fluff and beauty."
"So he's changing.
Now he wants a little substance with his pretty. Why is that a bad
thing?"
Because those words would never describe her,
Lori thought, more resigned than hurt.
"I can't do it,"
she mumbled. "I won't."
"So you're going to
give up?" her sister asked. "That's terrific. You meet a
great guy you can't stop thinking about and for reasons that make
absolutely no sense, you walk away without even trying. Does it ever
occur to you that the best things in life require a risk? They don't
just show up and shower you with everything you want."
Lori
set down her coffee a little harder than necessary. "Easy for
you to say. If I remember correctly, that pretty much describes your
life. When did you ever work for anything?"
"I
showed up and got the job done," Madeline said quietly. "Yes,
I had some advantages. I know that, and they helped. Maybe being
pretty got me on the cheerleading team, but it didn't keep me there.
I had to bust my ass to learn the routines. College wasn't easy for
me, either."
"Did studying get in the way of your
social life?"
Lori hated how she sounded even as she
spoke. When she least expected it, she got lost in the bitterness of
her past.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "This
isn't about you, and I know it. I'm overreacting."
"I
know." Her sister smiled at her. "You're afraid. You've
never really tried before when it came to a guy."
"Ouch.
I'm trying to bond here. Stop pissing me off."
"I'm
telling you the truth and you know it. I've loved you from the second
you were born, Lori. You're my best friend. I want so much for you,
yet over and over again I've watched you walk away from what you want
because you're not willing to take a chance. I would hate to see you
lose Reid for that reason."
"I don't know that I
have him," Lori told her. "I don't think I do."
"Then
go after him."
"Easy for you to say. When have you
been hurt by a guy?"
As soon as the words were out, Lori
desperately wanted them back.
"I'm sorry," she
whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Madeline shook her head.
"It's okay. I'm the perfect one, remember?"
It was
an old joke between them, but this time it was hard for Lori to
smile.
"I know it's hard for you," Madeline said.
"You want him and he's amazing and that terrifies you. But you
have to try. He's too good to let go."
"I don't know
how to compete with those other women. We have nothing in
common."
"Has it occurred to you that that might be
a good thing? You've told me that Reid isn't into relationships. He's
more a one-night-stand kind of guy. But that's not happening with
you."
"Technically it was just the one night,"
she muttered, then shrugged. "But yeah, he's not hiding from me
or anything."
"So maybe you're exactly what he's
looking for."
"Maybe I'm not."
Madeline
frowned. "I've had it with you. I'm dying, dammit, so you have
to listen to me. You care about this guy. You're going to be fully
engaged during this relationship. You're going to give it your all
and if it ends badly, then you'll have the satisfaction of knowing
you have nothing to regret."
Except possibly a heart
that could never be whole again.
But instead Lori said, "I
hate it when you play the death card."
"Go with your
strengths, baby. Besides, the hair can be just the beginning. We can
do a whole makeover thing. Clothes, makeup. You'll make Reid
crazy."
While Lori liked the sound of that, there was
still reality to face. "I'm not…you know…pretty."
"Of
course you are. Or you can be. You hide in those hideous scrubs, or
that.
" She pointed at Lori's sweater.
Lori glanced
down at the plain brown sweater she wore over jeans. "What?"
"It's
the definition of ugly. It's too big and the color sucks the life
from your face. You're a blob in that. You have a great body—
show it off. Flash a little boob at the guy. Men are basically as
emotionally developed as the average dog. Show them the goodies and
they'll do almost anything."
"That's hideously
sexist."
"But true."
Lori was tempted.
She'd always stayed out of the game because it was easier than
competing. But nothing had ever mattered to her as much as Reid.
Madeline was right. Some things were worth the risk. And if she got
crushed like a bug, then she would figure out a way to go on despite
the pain. Plus, she could hold the whole thing over her sister's
head, and that was always fun.
"Okay," she said as a
tall, painfully thin man walked toward them.
"I am
Ramon," he said. "Who is Lori?"
"I am,"
she said as she rose.
"Ah, yes. Gloria mentioned you had
wild hair." He smiled. "I like wild hair on a woman. It
reflects her spirit, yes?"
Lori didn't have the heart to
tell him that her spirit was less "wild" and more "aging
domestic tabby."
"So, what are you looking for?"
he asked.
She drew in a breath, then went with the truth. "A
miracle."

* * *

LORI WAS STARING at herself in the department store mirror so
intently that she nearly ran into a pole. Madeline stopped and
laughed.
"It's you," she said, sounding pleased.
"Honestto-God you."
"I can't believe it,"
Lori admitted.
Ramon had performed the requested miracle and
it had been worth every penny of the hundred-and-twenty-dollar
bill.
He'd started by chopping off about six inches of her
hair, which had nearly given her a heart attack. Then he'd snipped
and sliced and used a razor, thinning her hair and giving her layers.
The whole time he'd raved about the various colors in her hair, how
she would never need highlights and how beautiful the curls
were.
Lori had protested, saying she had weird waves, not
curls, but she'd been wrong. Apparently wearing her hair long her
whole life had pulled the shape out of her curls. But now, with her
hair just below her shoulders, there were curls. Lots of them.
Ramon
had shown her how to use a couple of different products that both
defined and separated the curls. He'd explained how she could blow
dry her hair straight if she had the time and was interested in an
upper body workout. Then he'd turned her to face her reflection and
she'd nearly fainted.
Her hair was fabulous. Light and sexy
and moving, and the color was incredible. Mostly auburn, but with
hints of gold and blond.
Before Lori could bask in her
newfound wonderfulness, Madeline had dragged her to the back of the
salon where an evil woman had waxed her eyebrows. The pain had been
intense, but brief. A total makeover had followed.
Desiree had
promised a five-minute routine that would change everything. Lori had
timed her. The makeup had taken seven minutes, but when she'd seen
the results she decided not to complain about the extra time.
Her
skin was luminous, her eyes huge. Lip gloss drew attention to her
mouth that suddenly appeared full and really sexy.
Now, in the
department store, Lori shook her head. "I can't believe that's
me."
"It is. Although, honestly, the glasses have to
go."
"I can't wear contacts," Lori said,
tearing her gaze away from her reflection and following her sister
into a department filled with really cute casual clothes.
"There
are other solutions," Madeline said. "Like Lasik
surgery."
"I'm not having a laser burn off my cornea
just so I don't have to wear glasses."
"Beauty is
pain. Besides, wouldn't you like to see the digital clock in the
morning?"
"I can see it just fine."
"If
you lean forward and drag it right to your face. Come on, Lori, it's
perfectly safe. Millions of people have had it done and they love the
results."
"You're just flapping your lips. It's easy
for you to talk— no one is discussing burning off your
cornea."
"Fine. I'll let the glasses thing go. Let's
find you some great jeans."
Thirty minutes later Lori had
three pairs of jeans that fit perfectly. She buttoned up the first of
the blouses Madeline had brought her.
"It's more fitted,"
her sister said. "See how it follows the curves of your body.
That's a good thing. I brought in some sweaters, too. And look—
no brown."
"Very funny."
But Lori wasn't
about to complain. She liked the dark green shirt her sister had
picked out. It brought out the green in her hazel eyes.
Madeline
forced her into colors she would never have tried on her own. Teals
and dark purples, a fun sweater in a range of colors from dark orange
to pale peach. The pile kept growing until Lori was sure she could
feel her credit card trembling in fear.
"I don't need all
this," she said, although she wasn't sure how she would pick her
favorites. Funny, but when she shopped on her own she hated the
process. Nothing seemed right.
Her sister walked into the
crowded dressing room with a simple black dress.
"I know
what you're going to say," Madeline began. "'Where would I
wear it? It's too expensive. It's not my thing.' Yada, yada. So
you're going to try it on and then we'll talk."
Lori took
the dress, put it on a hook, then pulled her sister close.
"I
love you," she said as they hugged. "I want to make sure
you know that."
"I love you, too," Madeline
told her.
They smiled at each other, then Lori reached for the
dress. "I really don't have anywhere to wear this."
"No
one cares."
They had to make a trip to the car to dump
all the packages. Lori thought they were finished, but Madeline
dragged her back into the mall and steered her toward a familiar
store. Well, familiar from seeing it on the outside. Technically,
Lori had never been inside.
"No way," she said,
balking at the entrance. "I'm fine."
"You're
not fine. You wear ordinary panties and your bras are too plain.
You're with a great guy. He deserves a little lace and silk."
With
that, Madeline pushed her into Victoria's Secret. "Trust me,
he'll love it."
If he wanted to see her in her underwear
again, Lori thought, both intrigued by the prospect of something sexy
and nervous about Reid's reaction to the new her.
Madeline
began collecting scraps of silk and lace, beautiful bras with
matching bikini panties. When she paused by a display of thongs, Lori
shook her head.
"There is absolutely no way in hell
you're getting me into one of those."
Madeline's grin
broadened. "Want to bet?"