The Reluctant Beauty (5 page)

“The same with you,” he said, still feeling drugged by her.

“Why, Peg,” Rico said, smacking her arm. “I didn’t know you had it in you. Oh my. I gotta get me a man.” He fanned himself and then he fanned her family and Evelyn, who were in various stages of blushing. “Is it me or do you all have hot flashes now?”

They chuckled. It broke the awkwardness.

Austin turned to her family, trying to play the boyfriend. “Well, Mom and Dad, let’s go get you settled in and we can get to know each other.”

“Can I take a picture with you and get your autograph?” the sister-in-law gushed. She snapped several pictures, and had him put his hand on her rounded belly for the next shot. “Oh, she kicked! She’s a fan, too!”

Austin grimaced and caught his sister’s look. She was standing with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. Her raised eyebrow said it all.
Really?

Yup, that’s what he was thinking right now, too.
Deeper and deeper.
What had he gotten himself into?

***

Peg moved automatically, still shaken by that kiss and what he’d done.
Austin Rhoades?
The
Austin Rhoades had just kissed her until her toes curled?

“Naw,” she said. “Not me. Dreamin’, that’s it.”

But as she walked into her apartment and saw his duffel bag already in her living room, she nearly missed a step. And her family, tumbling in behind her with Austin coming in last, still bore the stunned expressions they’d had at the store. She turned to look at her new boyfriend. Yep, that’s the mega rock star, all right. Why hadn’t she seen it before?

“I’m losing it,” she muttered. 
Evelyn’s half-brother, too.
No wonder the girl had kept his identity secret until now.

He grinned at her, raising his eyebrows. “I’ll go put my bag in your room.”

Her temperature went up a few more degrees. “Wait a minute, bub-babe,” she corrected.

Leaning over, he kissed her quickly on the lips. “No turning back now,
babe.
” He winked at her, snatched up his bag, and strolled down the hallway, whistling.

The sound of his footsteps could still be heard and her family surrounded her.

“Now, dear, how can this be?” her sweet mother asked, blinking several times. Her pretty blue eyes were perfectly made up and her beautiful face revealed how puzzled she was. “Does he, um, have trouble, you know with seeing.”

“Yes, Ma, he knows I’m a giraffe.”

“But…but,” her father stammered. His always perfectly groomed hair seemed ruffled around the edges, as if he’d been dragging a hand through it. “He’s so different.”

“I know. Holy hotness shocked me, too.” That much she could be truthful about. “He’s one of the pretty people, like all of you.” She gazed at her blonde-haired, blue-eyed family of perfect height and body proportion. Even her sister-in-law’s cute rounded belly looked adorable, matching the rest of her.

“And he’s a rock star.” Her sister-in-law’s words voiced what the rest of her family thought, she was certain.

“Yeah, isn’t that something.” She waved a hand. “You know. He’s probably on vaca from everything. Hot women included.”

Her father breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as you know, dear. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

“No way, Jose. I’m gonna enjoy every minute of him.” Why had she thought they would buy into this fantasy? If only he weren’t famous.
And hot
. Now that was the one type of person they’d never believe her hooking up with.

She should have ended it before it began. But she liked him last night at the bar. Before she knew who he was. Before she drank the apple martini. Even then she’d liked talking to him. And then there was that kiss.
Up-against-the-wall, mind-blowing, earth-shaking kiss.

Hell’s bells, she liked kissing him. And wanted to again. And soon.

***

Austin left the bedroom door open. He overheard every word. Peg’s family questioned his attraction to her. He did, too, but not because of her appearance.

Tall. Lean. Curvy in the right places. Yeah, she was just his type. He could imagine her fitting perfectly against him.
Now why hadn’t he tried that yet?

He shook his head, trying to erase the need. Yeah, it wasn’t a want anymore. It was a craving.

Her big, round brown eyes didn’t hide a damn thing. They were mesmerizing at times. Her smile and her lips, even the cute little chin that pointed just a tad, he couldn’t get out of his head.

Recalling her funny sayings and the way she blurted out the truth had him grinning from ear to ear.
A breath of fresh air.
For too long, women threw themselves at him, promising the world and more—while forgoing honesty.

He didn’t feed into it anymore.

In fact, he’d grown to hate it.

Everything around him had become forced and fake.

Except Peg
.

That thought troubled him.

Why now?

Why when he heard what her family said and her response did he want to convince all of them otherwise? He could walk away; it wouldn’t be a surprise by the sound of their conversation.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored the text message coming in.

Their voices dropped, filled with concern. Peg assured the family she knew the score.

Something gnawed at Austin.

Maybe he didn’t want to be lumped in with those other guys. Maybe he wanted to give her family and especially Peg a chance to see that a man could appreciate her, just for being her.

And maybe he wanted to live a normal life, even for just a few days.

Could he pull this off?

Peg scurried into the room and eased the door closed. He was there on her bed, leaning back on her pile of pillows with his boots off and ankles crossed and his hands linked behind his head.

Gulping hard, she said, “Geez ’em Pete, you gotta do that around me?” She stuck her thumb in the direction of the other room. “I could jump your bones right now, but I won’t cause big ears and everything.”

He chuckled. “Come on, Peg.” He pat the bed beside him. “You slept beside me last night and you didn’t try anything.”

“R-I-C-O, that’s why, bub.” She put her hands on her hips. “Look, it ain’t convincing them. Famous? Hell’s bells, you could have told me or something.” She threw up her hands. “You had to be badass hot and a rock star?! They don’t believe it. Us.” She brushed her hands together. “So, ibso, facto. Finito. Hit the road, Jack.”

“No.”

“Whatda mean, no?”

“I’m staying. I’m your boyfriend, remember? You wanted this.” He shrugged. “I’m here and ain’t going anywhere.”

Rounding the bed, she hopped up on the side and knelt by his hip, saying, “Boyfriend? They barely can believe I know you, Austin Rhoades.” She grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged. “You and me are not a you and me, got it?”

“Your eyes are so big,” he said out of the blue. “And the way you’re pretending to be mad. It’s so cute.”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Cuter, still.” He grinned. “I can’t stop watching your lips. God, you’re a great kisser… Yeah, but I told you that already.”

Peg felt the heat climb up her long neck and into her cheeks. His eyes were gazing at her mouth. She couldn’t breathe, never mind talk at the moment.

He reached up and cupped her head in his hand, pulling her down to him. She landed on him.

He grunted at the impact, and then chuckled.

She could break away. If she wanted to. If she didn’t want the same thing so darn bad.

Sighing, she gave in to the want, to the need.

His lips were firm and hot. He moaned.

Capturing the sound, Peg gasped. A swirl of desire licked through her. She gave in, completely and wantonly. It was her one and only chance to do all the things she’d ever dreamt of doing.

She splayed her hands across his rock hard chest, popped a button or two when she tugged on his shirt and slide her hands under the fabric. Peg groaned.
Soft, yet hard. Hot skin. Perfect muscles.
She trailed her fingers up and then down, going lower.

And she still kissed him, bold and hungry.
Hey, why not?
He’d never remember her in a million years after all the girls he’d kissed in his lifetime.

“Oh, my!” Her father’s voice broke through her foggy brain.

Peg jerked away and scrambled off the bed. Austin sat up slowly while buttoning his shirt and appearing dazed. “Mr. Newbury, I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

Frowning, Peg thought he sounded sincere. He’s a good actor, too. “Pop. We were just—"

Her father held up his hands. “No, no need to explain. I know exactly what was going on.” His puzzled look said it all. “A couple, Peg?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t add up.”

Oh, that was it. Her economist father couldn’t put it all together. It wasn’t feasible. Or practical.

“It’s going to blow,” her mother called from the other room.

“Buffy, is the baby coming? Now?” Peg rushed out of the room behind her father and with Austin close on her size ten flats. She crammed into the small bathroom with her family and the rock star. “Sis, you all right? I thought your water broke.”

“Not mine,” she said, pointing toward the ceiling over the tub. “But that’s about to any minute.”

The bulging ceiling looked eight months pregnant itself. “Danger, Will Robinson, danger! What is that thing?”

“Looks like a leak from your upstairs neighbor. Let’s get out of here before it breaks and hurts someone,” Austin suggested.

She reached over and yanked the shower curtain shut. “Containment.” Peg nudged her sister-in-law out first, and then her brother and her parents.

Austin made sure she got out before him. “Got the superintendent’s number?”

“Do I? I’ve been bellyaching about that sound of dripping for weeks. It’s grown into a full-size cantaloupe now. Geez ’em Pete, that’s all I need.”

Peg rushed to get her clipboard and phone, found the man’s number, and pushed speed dial. “Yo, Super Duper, it’s Peg. We got trouble in River City.”

He cussed. “It’s Saturday. Why you bothering me today?”

“Look, bub, that alien thing in my bathroom, that’s why!”

“Just flush—"

“Not anything like that. Holy mackerel, Sup, I’m talking about the water leak. Again. It’s like bunnies, multiplying fast.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

There was a whooshing sound from the other room. She ran to the bathroom. Water soaked every inch of her once pretty sage green bathroom. “For criminy’s sake. We have our water baby.”

“You’re always talking in riddles.”

She grunted. “Look—”

Austin nudged her. “Here, let me.”

She handed over the phone and turned back to the dripping mess in front of her. Her family crowded in the doorway, sticking their heads around her to see. She turned the top page of her clipboard and found a fresh one and began scratching out details of the disaster.

“Buddy, this is Peg’s…boyfriend.” He stopped talking for a minute. “Yeah, you heard right. I just got back in town from a long gig. Never mind that. We’ve got trouble here. Water damage. Possible mold growing. What’s the name of your insurance company?”

It wasn’t two seconds later that Austin hung up the phone. Smiling, he said, “He’ll be right over.”

“How’d you do that? He never moves that fast for anyone, especially the people he’s supposed to be working for. Sweet talker,” she said, eyeing him closely.
What was his secret?
Maybe she could bottle it and sell it at King’s. She’d make a fortune for the store.

“You’re next,” he warned, dropping his gaze to her lips.

Her mouth tingled. Her body hummed.

Yep, he had a way with people. Even her. Now that was a first. Geez, Louise, what the heck was going on with her?

***

“I can’t believe they kicked me out of my own apartment,” Peg muttered under her breath as she paced her office at King’s. Her insurance company had banned her from remaining in the unit until the place was dried out and there was no hint of mold to be had.

Her family lounged either around her or in her boss’s office, all of them calling local hotels for rooms for the night.

“Yo, Pegilicious,” Bruno, the night guard, said as he strolled into the room and looked around. “Any luck?”

“Nada,” she said, holding the phone away from her ear, still waiting for the canned music to end and a live person to answer. “Everything’s booked solid. Charlie and Alex are on the West Coast, but, get this, her stepmother and the colonel are staying there for the weekend while their house is being renovated. Mr. Puddles is there, too.”

“No wonder they left town.” He chuckled.

Peg joined in. “Yeah, and Marcus and Francie are living in a sea of boxes since they’re going to move out of the penthouse in a week. They’re stuck like Chuck, too. Barely kept their bed from being carted away to the storage unit.”

“What about baby girl? Her and Griffin?”

“Filled to the gills with his wounded war buddies. The charity event this weekend. They’re hosting the guys in his unit. Priscilla’s doing.”

His eyes went round.

“Slap me upside the head, too. I couldn’t believe it when he agreed.”

“Mr. Griff? No way!”

“I told her she had to take pictures, because the man hates to be around people.”

“Except us, of course.” He chuckled.

“Hey, I’m still breaking in the boss. Maybe something’s finally working.” Peg loved Griff as a boss, but she was still trying to get him a sense of humor. Too bad she just couldn’t buy him one.
Fat chance!

Bruno’s radio crackled. “Need a hand here, Bruno, to close up. You at a decent stopping point?”

“Sure thing,” he said into the radio. “Roger and out.” He looked at Peg and shrugged. “New guy. Hand holding, you know.” He turned to leave and threw over his shoulder, “You can always stay here at the store tonight. You’re family. Nobody would mind a bit.”

The music clicked off in her ear. A dial tone buzzed. “Here, here?!”