Single, Sexy...And Sold!

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  Another confession. Jonah didn’t know if he was up to it.

  “I need to ask you something, and you must search your heart and answer me as honestly as you can.”

  Jonah put down his coffee mug. “All right.”

  “You mentioned that you were worried about the money angle of your relationship. Is that because, if the conditions were reversed and you had more money than your sweetheart, you’d consider that a problem?”

  “Of course not!”

  “I didn’t think so.” Alice gave him a smug smile. “Men usually can’t see it the other way around.”

  “If you’re trying to get me to be fair, I’ve tried very hard to do that. I’ll keep trying. It’s just that—”

  “I’m trying to get you to see my little girl for the impetuous, lovable person she is,” Alice said. “I’m afraid by the time you discover the truth it may be too late.” She took both of his hands in hers. “If I tell you something, you must promise to keep it to yourself. Natalie’s pride’s getting in her way, and I can’t stand by and watch that happen. Will you promise?”

  Jonah couldn’t imagine what was coming next, but he looked into Alice’s eyes and promised anyway.

  “Natalie and I aren’t very well off. Our two apartments are rent controlled because of an old agreement with my uncle, who used to own the building. Natalie’s still struggling to make a go of stocks, and I’m managing with the income from a small life-insurance policy on my husband because I’m not old enough for social security. Neither one of us has spare cash.”

  Jonah stared at her. “Then how did she pay for me at the auction?”

  “She emptied her retirement fund for you, Jonah.”

  13

  “YOU’RE KIDDING,” Jonah said, grappling with what Alice had told him.

  “No, I’m not.” She squeezed his hands and released them. “But you can’t say anything. She’s convinced you’ll think it was a stupid move on her part, and she wouldn’t appreciate my telling you. But for the future of your relationship, I felt I had to.”

  Jonah took a deep breath. “Okay, let me understand. She had a retirement account, but she had other savings, right? I mean, that was just one of her—” He stopped speaking as Alice slowly shook her head. “You’re telling me she wiped out all her savings?” Jonah hoped he had the wrong idea.

  “Yes. And I must say it’s typical. When she was a kid, she had a coin collection. We saved old nickels, dimes and pennies for her and some of them were quite rare. When she was fourteen years old, she wanted to buy us a special Christmas present, so she spent them. She didn’t even take them to a coin dealer—just put them right into a clerk’s hands to be used at face value.”

  Jonah wasn’t really surprised at the story. Suddenly all the aspects of Natalie’s personality made sense to him, and he was happy to know the depth of her generosity.

  However…she hadn’t told him about her sacrifice. In many little ways, she’d let him continue to think she was wealthy enough to afford the auction bid. Maybe it was her pride, as her mother had said. But after seeing the way he’d put himself out for his neighbors, how could she think he’d condemn her?

  Unfortunately, there could be another reason that she hadn’t told him. If he knew she was his financial equal, there would be no barriers left between them. And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to keep those barriers. Sure, the sex was great, but that didn’t mean she wanted a lifetime commitment.

  “You’re thinking so hard I can hear the wheels turning,” Alice said. “Please tell me you aren’t going to judge Natalie for such a wildly romantic impulse.”

  “Only a fool would do that,” Jonah said, earning him a brilliant smile from Alice. “But it changes things, knowing the truth about the auction.”

  “Good. I couldn’t have you believing my girl is a show-off.”

  Jonah picked up his coffee mug. “When she cashed in her coin collection, what did she buy you and her father?”

  “A beautiful edition of Pride and Prejudice. She said a teacher at school had told her the romance novel had its roots in Jane Austen’s books, which are now considered classics, of course. I guess she was trying to tell me something—or maybe it was her father she wanted to tweak. She’s always been supportive of my writing.”

  But she hadn’t given her husband a chance to be, Jonah thought. Just as Natalie wasn’t giving Jonah a chance to be supportive about blowing her retirement money. “Natalie believes in you,” he said. “That’s why she asked me to help.”

  “And I appreciate that help.”

  “I’m glad to do it, as long as nobody recognizes me as the hero in the book.”

  Alice grimaced. “Natalie has made that very clear. Now that she knows what it’s like to be hounded, she doesn’t want to make your life even more miserable than she has already.”

  “You know, all things considered, it’s been worth it.” And it had been, even if it turned out that Natalie was only playing him for a fool, even if he never held her in his arms again. He wouldn’t trade the night they’d spent together for anything, not even the privacy he used to love.

  “I’m so glad to hear you say that.” Alice reached for the legal pad and the tape recorder. “And now I guess we’d better get some work done. Natalie may want to see some results when she gets home.”

  “When will she be home?”

  Alice looked surprised. “You don’t know? I figured you two would have decided to meet down at her place after you were finished here.”

  Jonah thought quickly. Alice thought they were hot-and-heavy lovers, according to Natalie. Lovers wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to spend time together. Come to think of it, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity, if only to be near her for a few minutes.

  “We planned to get together,” he said, “but she wasn’t sure which movie Barb wanted to see the last time we talked. I guess she thought you’d fill me in on her plans.”

  “Oh. Well, last I heard, they were going to a film festival that could take three or four hours.” She glanced at her watch. “That’s past my bedtime. You wouldn’t mind waiting in her apartment, would you?”

  “Nope.” If Natalie could weasel her way into his apartment through Mrs. Ruggerelo, then he could certainly justify getting into Natalie’s through her mother. His pulse quickened at the prospect. “The problem is she hasn’t had time to get a key made for me.”

  “Oh, that’s no problem. I can let you in.”

  “Great.” Better than great, he thought as an idea slowly took shape. Alice had been relieved that he didn’t view Natalie as merely a sex object. It was suddenly very important to him that Natalie didn’t view him as one, either. And he had a plan.

  “That’s settled, then.” Alice switched on the tape recorder. “Now tell me, did you have a happy childhood?”

  THE FOREIGN FILMS were obscure, but Natalie didn’t think she would have been able to concentrate no matter what Barb had suggested seeing. Thinking of her mother and Jonah having a long conversation gave her a headache. She’d achieved her goal, and now all she could imagine was disaster. Both of them held a different piece of her secret, and bringing them together might really cook her goose.

  Twice during the evening she’d been recognized, once as she and Barb bought their tickets and again as they waited for a cab to take them home. Both times Natalie was able to turn aside the prying questions and escape, but she hated the idea that every time she appeared in public she had to worry about this sort of intrusion. Barb thought it was funny, but then Barb didn’t have to live through it, either.

  By the time Natalie walked down the hall to her apartment, unbuttoning her raincoat as she walked, her nerves were raw. She fit the key in the lock and heard Bobo’s tags jangling as he pranced around on the other side of the door. Petting him would help, she thought. She’d play with him for a while until she calmed down enough to get some sleep.

  She opened the door and he frisked around her, as always. She leaned down to rub
his head, but he darted away and ran into the living room. She followed, and immediately gave a little yelp of surprise.

  Jonah was sprawled casually on the couch, an unreadable look in his dark eyes as he gazed at her. “Can I take your coat?”

  A million thoughts raced through her mind as all the disasters she’d imagined happening during the evening became distinct possibilities. But overriding her concern was another, more elemental reaction. Jonah in a casual knit shirt and jeans lounging on her living-room couch was a very provocative sight indeed.

  On Saturday night he’d offered to take her coat, too, and that had been the beginning of the most incredible evening of her life. She clenched her hands against the urge to hold them out, to invite him to touch, to stroke, to do whatever came naturally.

  She cleared her throat. “What…why are you…how did you…”

  He scratched behind Bobo’s ears. It was obvious he’d already become Bobo’s fast friend. “Your mother let me in.”

  “Why?” The obvious reason made her tremble.

  He gave Bobo a final pat and got up from the couch. “She assumed we’d want to see each other tonight.”

  Oh, she’d wanted to see him, all right. And now she wanted a whole lot more than visual stimulation. But it wasn’t a good idea. “You could have made some excuse.”

  “I could have, but I didn’t want to.” He came closer. Bobo trotted over and insinuated himself between them. “Go lie down,” Jonah said.

  Natalie watched in amazement as Bobo did as he was told. Something about Jonah’s manner was different tonight, she thought. He seemed calmer, more sure of himself. It was very sexy.

  “Jonah…I don’t know what you—”

  “You’ve told your mother that we’re lovers, right?”

  “But I didn’t give her any details! Please, you have to believe that I won’t tell her anything personal about Saturday night.”

  “I hope to hell you won’t, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Your mother’s a sharp woman.”

  Natalie was glad to hear the respect in his voice. Apparently he hadn’t managed to insult her mother or her book. She relaxed enough to take off her raincoat and lay it over a nearby chair. “So you got along with each other, then?”

  “Sure. Although, as much as she wants to know about me, I wonder how she’s going to disguise this hero of hers. I’ve made her promise to let me read the book before she sends it to anyone.”

  “That’s good. Then you’ll know for sure I didn’t give away any details of a…sensitive nature.” She needed to get off this arousing topic, and fast. “Were you able to help her with the specifics of firefighting?”

  “We didn’t even get to that. I’ll have to come back, maybe more than once, as slow as this process seems to be going. And that’s what I think we need to work out. If you keep telling her we’re involved, but every time I’m around you scurry off to the movies, eventually she’s going to wonder what’s up.”

  She had trouble thinking when he was so close. This plan had seemed logical at one time, but now the logic was unraveling in the heat of his stare. “I explained that I didn’t want to interfere,” she said. “The two of you will be working when you’re here, after all.”

  “That’s fine as far as it goes, but she thinks we’re headed toward the altar. She thinks we’re…in love.”

  She wished he hadn’t seemed so hesitant when he said the word. She wondered if the truth of her feelings was sticking out all over her. “So what’s your point?”

  His gaze intensified. “If we were in love, we’d be together every possible minute. We’d spend the night together whenever we could, at my apartment or yours, because we wouldn’t be able to get enough of each other.”

  Her trembling resumed as she imagined them doing exactly that. “So we’ll tell her you’re spending the night, even if you don’t.”

  “She’ll see through a lie in no time, being as close as she is. Besides, you’re an only child. You get all the attention, for better or worse.”

  She hated to admit he might have a point. Maybe there was a flaw in her plan. But fixing that flaw could endanger the whole scheme.

  “There’s something else,” he said. “She’s already mentioned having us both come to dinner some night and I’m supposed to discuss that with you.”

  “My goodness.” Natalie hadn’t envisioned this at all. She thought Jonah could just show up, help her mother and then disappear. She’d tell Alice they were seeing each other constantly and life was great, and that would suffice.

  “And besides that,” Jonah continued, “a guy in love would suggest some activities with his girl and her folks once in a while.” His smile was faint. “It’s the PC thing to do.”

  She folded her arms as an unpleasant thought occurred to her. “You seem to be a real expert on this subject of how a man behaves in such situations.”

  He studied her quietly. “I’ve been in love before, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  Now, there was an unwelcome piece of information. “And that’s…how everything went?”

  “Approximately.”

  “And then what?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  She was growing very ill-tempered, and she knew it. “You’re not with her now, are you? What happened after you spent every spare minute together and had all sorts of happy little gatherings with her family?”

  His glance was speculative. “Is that important?”

  “Yes. No!” She hugged herself tighter and looked away. “Never mind. It’s none of my business, is it?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. About a year ago we decided…that we wanted different things from life. So we went our separate ways.”

  “And do you still love her?” Whoops. She really shouldn’t have asked that.

  A light flared in his eyes. He’d caught her slip, and now he could question her about it, if he wanted to see her squirm. “No,” he said softly.

  Her pulse leaped.

  He moved in close, until she could smell his aftershave and feel the heat of his body. She needed to get him out of here before she forgot herself.

  “There’s so much we don’t know about each other.” He cupped her cheek. “We’ve explored every inch of each other’s bodies, yet you don’t have some basic information about me.”

  His soft caress was heaven. Slowly she dropped her defensive stance and unfolded her arms. “Such as?”

  He stroked her cheekbone with his thumb as he looked deep into her eyes. “I wouldn’t have been able to make love to you the way I did on Saturday night if I loved someone else.”

  Her heart hammered. “Some people take a new lover to forget an old one.”

  “That’s not my style.” His mouth tightened. “But I don’t know that about you. Were you trying to forget someone?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  His mouth eased into a gentle smile. “Good.”

  That smile brought her attention to his lips, and she moistened her own, as if she could taste him still, after all these days apart. Then she lifted her gaze to his eyes, and found a warmth there that made her quiver with longing. She envied the woman he’d loved, and wondered if she’d ever felt that intensity of emotion herself. She couldn’t remember being obsessed with a man the way he’d described being obsessed with his girlfriend. Until now.

  As he stroked her cheek, his breathing quickened, and she thought he would kiss her—hoped he would kiss her. As always, her resolve was turning to Silly Putty the longer he dangled temptation in her way.

  “So how do you want to handle this?” he asked softly.

  She was so dazed and needy that she had no idea what he was talking about. She swallowed. “I’m sorry. I seem to have lost track of what we were discussing.”

  The flame of desire danced in his eyes, but he just kept stroking her cheek and made no move to take her in his arms. “We have to figure out how we’re going to convince your mother that we’re
lovers when we’re not.”

  She couldn’t remember exactly why they couldn’t just be lovers. It had something to do with—oh yes, he would think she might tell her mother everything they did in bed and it would appear in the book. It was about trust.

  “I guess you’re still afraid that anything that happens between us will be repeated to my mother.”

  “Would it?”

  “No.” Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. “And we wouldn’t have to pretend if we…”

  He seemed to be waging an inner battle. Finally he stepped back. “No. I think you had the right idea in the first place.”

  She felt as if she’d been slapped. So he didn’t trust her. So much for her barely formed hope that he might be in love with her. Apparently it was just sexual with him.

  She crossed her arms once again. “Are you suggesting that maybe you should stay here all night on the couch and then invite her down for breakfast to prove that you were here? Because I don’t think I could take that.”

  “Don’t worry. Neither could I.”

  She was very disappointed. If only Jonah would pull her into his arms and declare that he trusted her not to tell her mother the intimate details. It didn’t look as if he was going to do that. “So obviously you’re not here to—”

  “Seduce you? No.”

  He’d done a pretty fair job without even trying, she thought. She took a deep breath and forced herself to think about the problem. Gradually she began to create a solution. “Excuse me a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  She headed for the bedroom and opened a drawer in her desk. Her spare key was right where she kept it. As she picked it up, she wondered what it would be like if she were giving Jonah a key because they were lovers. She glanced at her bed, a walnut four-poster with a thick comforter and piles of pillows. If they were lovers, she would come home from a tough day on Wall Street and find Jonah lying there, waiting for her. Her body warmed at the fantasy.

  Closing the drawer with a snap, she left the room before the strength of the fantasy pulled Jonah right in there with her. No telling what sort of pheromones she was giving out at the moment.