She’d fallen in love.
A DAY LATER, MONDAY, Zane still hadn’t put Toni from his mind. Holding to their bargain, since returning from the island, he’d written stories about their weekend in his column “Hot Scoops” and, just as he had predicted, sales had risen. Newsstands had sold out the recent editions. If business stayed this good, he wouldn’t have to lay off anyone. However, every time he turned around, someone was mentioning her to him. His photographers wanted visuals of them together. The other newspapers kept phoning for interviews, which he not only refused but found annoying, and he had twenty party invitations on his desk. A television reporter from Entertainment Tonight had called, wanting to do a follow-up, but he’d declined all the offers. This scoop could pull the paper out of the red, but money wasn’t the deciding factor. He didn’t want anyone else writing about Toni Maxwell.
Despite keeping to Grey’s hectic schedule, thoughts of Toni had intruded into Zane’s thoughts in the most unlikely and intrusive of ways. During an advertising meeting, he’d looked at pictures of models for their new ad campaign, but all he could see was Toni’s golden skin, her blond hair and her marvelous eyes regarding him with a combination of sensual heat and invitation.
And when Stephen had insisted they review production costs, Zane’s mind had glazed over, images invaded his thoughts of their romp in the pool, her frolicking grin and her splashing him as they’d played tag, then made love one last time on the beach.
Stephen peered over the conference table at Zane. “You know, there’s an angle you might want to publish in ‘Hot Scoops’ that you haven’t touched upon yet.”
Zane peered at Grey’s aide through the clear glasses that his brother always wore while reading paperwork. “What?”
Stephen tossed an article toward Zane. “Last week, Toni Maxwell and Senator Birdstrum were engaged.”
“Senator Birdstrum?” His pulse tripped. Even though he didn’t quite believe the gossip, he knew it was probably true. Zane read the article where the senator had announced his engagement. “Toni’s name isn’t mentioned.”
Stephen’s eyes glinted with either amusement or smugness that he’d out-scooped his boss. “Nevertheless, I have it on good authority that the senator bought her a ring and delivered it to her home.”
Senator Birdstrum? While Toni hadn’t revealed to him the name of her suitor, Zane realized that Stephen could very well be correct. Birdstrum had a clean reputation, if one discounted the rumors of his ties to certain ruthless elements in the city. For years the Louisiana Daily Herald had reported Birdstrum’s unsavory contacts to the public, but they had never caught any hard dirt on the good senator. Nothing that would shock a jaded community like New Orleans.
And he was certainly a man who didn’t take no for an answer. No wonder Toni wanted the senator to back out of his proposal. The influential senator could be vindictive when crossed.
“You know Toni Maxwell and the senator might be working together to sabotage the paper,” Stephen suggested slowly.
Zane didn’t want to believe it. When he’d first met Toni he’d been suspicious of her motives, but after he’d gotten to know her, he couldn’t believe her guilty of sabotage and had made excuses for her. He’d allowed his feelings to overpower his logic. But now, he was forced to face facts. And the fact that she’d hidden her connection to the senator couldn’t be ignored. As much as he hated to admit his disappointment in her, he had to look reality in the eye. The senator was an enemy of his newspaper and Toni had deliberately hidden her association with the man from Zane.
Zane didn’t want to admit to Stephen that Toni hadn’t told him about her connection to the senator, but that seemed pointless since Stephen already knew by his reaction a moment ago.
Zane frowned at Stephen. “The senator never gets his hands dirty.”
“He doesn’t have to. His future bride could be doing his messy work for him, distracting you while he sends in troublemakers.”
“I hardly think that even the senator would stoop to having his bride sleep with me in order to bring down the paper,” Zane hotly defended Toni, but doubts lingered. Why hadn’t she mentioned the senator’s name when she’d come clean? He should have asked, but had refrained, thinking the man’s name unimportant.
“You’re probably right,” Stephen agreed.
The connection between Toni and Birdstrum had set Zane’s jaw on edge. He hadn’t planned to see her again for several reasons. She was a woman who wouldn’t be satisfied unless their relationship progressed. Sex by and of itself wasn’t enough for her. She had wanted to get serious; he hadn’t. But he hadn’t wanted to hurt her, either.
On the other hand, when around her, he had trouble thinking of anything else but sex. Together, they’d been electric. Well matched in passion and stamina. He’d repeatedly told himself that he wouldn’t call her. It was over. Done. He’d written his last “Hot Scoops” column. He didn’t want to be tied to a woman—not any, even Toni. And he was determined to let her go before he hurt her or he got in over his head. However, now he felt as if he was drowning and fighting to keep his head above water.
His first instinct was to call her and ask her why she’d withheld vital information from him. Yet, he hesitated.
Seeing her again would make him want her again. He needed to sever all connections.
Get a grip.
He was supposed to be a newspaperman. He had to get the job done. Perhaps he could send reporters to do the investigative work. That would certainly protect him from falling for her Miss Innocent act again. But he also knew he was best suited for the job since she was more likely to open up to him than a stranger.
He had to stay close to her for the sake of the newspaper. But what would she do to his sanity?
MUCH TO TONI’S SURPRISE, her sisters hadn’t grilled her the moment she’d walked in the door late Sunday night. And though she’d gotten a great night’s rest, she stalled at her closet, staring blindly at her clothes, trying to put the weekend in perspective. What exactly had happened between her and Grey on the island?
The way their fantasy weekend had ended provided no obvious clues. Grey had dropped her off at her house without saying one word about seeing her again. To his credit, he must have been even more exhausted than she since she’d at least napped during the chopper ride back to the city.
She wished she could relegate Grey Masterson and her weekend with him to simply a fling. Sure, the sex had been better than terrific. She’d learned things about her body she’d never known. Her weekend had gotten her exactly what she’d wanted. Passion. Publicity. She should be content, yet things with Grey felt somehow unfinished, up in the air.
The conversation had occasionally turned personal and Grey had listened to anything she’d cared to say. But he’d revealed little about himself. And she was puzzled by it. The man she’d come to know on the island seemed so unlike the man Lane Morrow had described in the book that they could have been alter egos. Morrow had described a man who always looked forward and planned for the future. But the Grey Toni knew lived in the moment.
She supposed different women could bring out different sides of a man’s personality. But why had Lane Morrow sensed Grey’s need for stability when Toni could have sworn he enjoyed chaos?
Troubled, deep in thought, she was relieved to have the kitchen to herself. Today was Bobby’s day to sleep in late and come into the shop at noon. Jude had school and Mickey…
Where was Mickey? Toni poured a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and retrieved the morning paper. Grey must have written the column after they returned Sunday evening to make this morning’s paper. “Hot Scoops” stared at her from the front page but she didn’t read it.
Instead, she pressed the blinking red light on the answering machine and played back the messages. As several reporters requested interviews, she wondered if getting an unlisted number might be wise. Senator Birdstrum had called twice and her mother once. Two calls were for Mickey and Toni conscienti
ously wrote them down and left the paper hanging on the refrigerator by a magnet.
With her feelings uncertain and raw, she sipped the orange juice and wondered if she should call her mom. But what could she say to her? That she’d deliberately created a scandal to chase off Senator Birdstrum? Somehow she didn’t think that would go over well. And she felt too fragile to put up with the hassle of explaining.
Best to simply go to Feminine Touch and open the doors. Let her normal routine settle her. So she got herself together and set off for work.
Within two blocks of her walk to Feminine Touch, Toni knew something was wrong. While the French Quarter was always unpredictable, filled with everything from tour guides that sold ghost and vampire tours, to horse-drawn carriages ridden by tourists, pan-handlers and upscale shoppers, the press didn’t make a habit of camping outside her shop, actually blocking the street traffic.
When she saw the Hard Copy van, she almost turned and ran the other way. But along with the reporters was a group of upscale shoppers who she couldn’t bring herself to disappoint. Ignoring the microphones shoved in her face, walking on shaking legs past the flashing bulbs from photographers, Toni unlocked her front door and entered her shop.
For one moment, she let the familiar, soothing decor calm her frazzled nerves. Rack after rack of her designs in myriad colors. Shoes, hats and purses to accessorize with. The scent of new fabrics, the sheen of the freshly waxed floor and the glint of the polished glass candy dish, filled with lagniappe—the French custom of giving a little back to the customer after they made a purchase—usually all these served to calm her.
And then the shoppers and reporters rushed into the store. The phone kept ringing and Bobby came out of the back room to the front to answer it. Toni has assumed her sister would take her normal day off, but, apparently, she’d anticipated problems and had shown up early. Toni gave her a quick hug, grateful for her presence. Dressed in pink jeans and tube top, with her long dangling earrings and deep southern smile, Bobby was in her element. Nothing seemed to faze her as she spoke on the phone and racked up sales and sweet-talked the customers.
With the store in good hands, Toni dealt with the press and answered every question with a “no comment.” She’d never expected her little scandal to get national coverage. The media attention had gotten way out of control, just like her feelings for Grey. Heartily wishing the paparazzi would leave, she did her best to ignore them, but it did no good.
The low murmur of activity in her store suddenly reached a crescendo. She looked up as the door opened. Senator Birdstrum walked in, followed by his aides.
Oh God.
Senator Birdstrum. There was no mistaking his blond hair that had just recently started to recede over his wide forehead and his startlingly piercing eyes that glinted from his deeply tanned face. His eyes focused on her.
Damn.
She swallowed hard, and saw right through his wide smile to the strain beneath. He greeted her shoppers but his handshakes seemed forced. Flashbulbs popped in his face as the reporters clamored for a statement.
At the attention, he posed, preened.
What in Hades was he doing here?
She’d never expected him to show up without an appointment. Unannounced. In front of the press.
Head high, Birdstrum marched toward Toni. She wished the floor would open under her feet and deposit her in another universe. But she couldn’t be that lucky.
When he swept her into his arms, he ignored her gasp of astonishment. Before she could say a word, his mouth covered hers with a kiss. A dry kiss that froze her blood to ice. Anger chilled her and she placed her palms on his shoulders to shove him back. But he was as strong as a wrestler, and she couldn’t budge him.
However, the longer he held her, the more the flashbulbs popped, until her rage froze to a solid block of ice. Just what the hell did he think he was doing? Coming in here as if he owned the place and kissing her in front of…the entire world. She wasn’t going to just make the New Orleans papers, but national television news.
It would serve him right if she vomited all over him. Where was her loss of control when she needed it? Her mouth was dry and her muscles had gone rigid. She might as well have been made of stone.
The kiss probably lasted less than two horrible seconds, but seemed endless. Nothing like Grey’s, who could heat her from lips to toes in a nanosecond. And when the senator finally released her mouth, she found that he’d ushered her into the private sewing room in the back of her store.
Too angry to calm herself before she spoke, she practically snarled at him. “Just what in hell do you think you are doing?”
He spoke mildly. “I’ve come to see my fiancée.”
“We are not engaged. I sent back your ring.”
He waved his hand in the air. “A mere technicality.”
She regrouped and tried again. “Haven’t you been reading the papers? You don’t want to have your name associated with mine.”
“But I do.”
He sounded so pleased with himself that she wanted to throw her cutting shears at him. Instead, she thanked her lucky stars that her sister had come in today and had the good sense to keep the reporters up front and out of earshot.
Birdstrum grinned. “I came to tell you the good news in person.”
“What news?”
“I just hired your father. He’s moving to Washington immediately. He wanted to call but I told him I preferred to tell you in person.”
Birdstrum had hired her father. The shards of frozen blood in her veins shattered into a thousand sharp pieces. No doubt the senator figured he now had more control over her than ever. But no way would she agree to marry him. The senator could hire and fire his employees, including her father, but he had no hold on her except that which she allowed him. And Toni knew that her father wouldn’t want her to destroy her future to further his career. Still, she backpedaled slowly. Maybe there was a way to save this situation.
Toni tried to regroup and spoke again. “Politicians abhor scandals. Having your name associated with me will ruin your reputation.”
“Not quite.” He shot a grin at her that never reached his eyes. “According to the pollsters, my image is too conservative. So having my name coupled with yours may help me win the upcoming election.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that I spent the weekend with Grey Masterson?”
He shrugged. “I figure you’re entitled to your friends and I’m entitled to mine. But after we get married, we’ll have to keep our extracurricular activities off the front page.”
He’d spoken so reasonably that her fingers itched to slap him. His view of marriage and infidelity left her numb. Sickened. And sorry for a man who would probably never stand a chance at happiness.
She would never agree with the senator’s calculated viewpoints. Even if Grey broke her heart, just having experienced passion was better than the senator’s mercenary logic. At least she’d tried to live, had opened herself to the possibility of love and she was proud of herself for having the courage to have tried—even if she failed.
Here she thought her own behavior outlandish, but the senator’s plan for their future was frighteningly outrageous. Not only didn’t she want this man, she wasn’t going to let him anywhere near sweet, naive Bobby.
Just when she thought matters couldn’t possibly get any worse, she heard another commotion at the front of her store. More flashbulbs. And reporters shouting. Reporters who knew too much about her private life.
“Mr. Masterson, did you spend the weekend on your private island with Toni Maxwell?”
She realized the reporters must have spoken to a helicopter mechanic or someone who had refueled the chopper. That the reporter was willing to go to such lengths shook her. By creating this scandal, she’d given up her privacy.
They started shouting questions at her in the back room.
“Are you engaged to the senator, ma’am?”
“Are you involved in a ménage à
trois?”
11
ZANE FIGURED THAT, RIGHT about now, Grey would have blown his cool. Being publicly outed by Lane Morrow’s book had driven him to take a much-needed vacation. Grey took life seriously. Even when Grey had a fling, it meant something to him. Grey didn’t do light and easy.
But even the laid-back Zane had to hide his annoyance with the woman who had so generously shared her body with him over the weekend. The woman who had played him for a fool. Even after Stephen had told him about her connection to the senator, even after Zane had read the article, he’d given her the benefit of the doubt.
That Grey had made a powerful enemy of the senator didn’t surprise Zane. With their politics diametrically opposed, Grey had considered it his job to portray the politician in the worst light. And a powerful man like the senator wouldn’t take kindly to criticism. However, Zane hadn’t expected the man to use such underhanded tactics, or for Toni to go along with him.
He still had trouble believing it. But there were so many coincidences that not even he could keep making excuses for her. She’d been posing in her gorilla suit, distracting Grey when someone had poured oil into the ink and ruined the run. She’d been with him at Club Carnal when someone had poured sand into the fuel tanks and sabotaged the trucks. She’d had access to the computers right before the headlines had been almost disastrously changed. And now she’d hidden her connection to the senator.
It was time Zane faced the hard facts. Even if he didn’t want to.
He’d come over to Feminine Touch to ask her for an explanation in person, only to find the press hovering in the front room like vultures. When he didn’t see Toni, he headed straight to the back to find her standing much too close to Birdstrum, who didn’t look the least bit upset by Zane’s sudden appearance. In fact, the senator was practically gloating, his politician’s phony grin plastered on his face, his hand outstretched.
Double the Thrill Page 15
