“What are your plans today?” she asked quietly.
“Jeff’s coming over in a few minutes for an initial planning session.”
“That sounds exciting. When I’m not at work, I’ll do everything I can to help, too. Thanks to your generosity and humanitarianism, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has come my way to pay back Lorraine.”
“I would think tending George went a long way toward settling your debt with her.”
Lacey grinned. “You’re right. Now I need to make reparations to a certain male neighbor of mine who was kept awake nights by George’s antics.”
One dark blond brow quirked rakishly. “Kept awake doesn’t quite cover it.”
A low chuckle rippled out of Lacey. “I can see that I’d better get going.” The only problem was, she didn’t want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay home and play house with Max.
Apparently he wanted the same thing. Halfway out the back door to her car, two strong hands grabbed her hips and she was spun around.
“I want a good-bye kiss.”
“Whatever you say,” came her breathless response, eagerly meeting the masculine mouth descending on hers.
But at the first moment of contact, all playfulness fled. As if she had a fire in her veins, Lacey clung to him, burning up with need, a need he was reciprocating with an intensity to equal her own.
Somewhere in the periphery she heard the front doorbell ring. This was followed by a smothered groan from Max, who released her so fast she had to brace herself against the door jamb to recover before going out to the car.
She rested her head against the steering wheel before starting up the motor. Whatever Max had intended, that kiss was no good-bye kiss. It was alive with the promise of all the things he couldn’t say to her yet.
One day, Max Jarvis. One day...
Lacey’s day started out with no problems until she made an unscheduled stop at noon to see how Greg was doing, and find out if he was back with Annette.
The second they were alone, he chastised her for living with Max, then demanded to know if she was in love with him.
Though Lacey feared her love for Max would never be reciprocated, she answered ‘yes’ to Greg’s question with her usual forthright honesty.
After a sustained silence, she heard him mutter that he wouldn’t be coming over for dinner with Annette, so not to expect them. Lacey said she was sorry they couldn’t make it, but that she and Max would invite them again soon. Greg promptly told her to forget it.
Since he was in such a bad mood, she didn’t follow through with her plan to treat him to a hamburger. Instead, she ate lunch by herself, then went to her next appointment and worked steadily until it was time to go to the doctor’s office. Fortunately the reception room was empty and it only took a matter of seconds to receive her shot.
By that time, she could hardly wait to get home to Max.
How had she lived this long without him? What would it be like to go home to an empty apartment now? She couldn’t comprehend it, not since he’d moved in.
She’d been remembering the kiss they’d shared before she’d gotten in her car that morning, and was living for a repeat performance.
“Max?” she cried breathlessly, letting herself in the back door. Dinner was in progress, but he was nowhere in sight. In her eagerness to see him, she plopped her briefcase on the floor and went running into the other room, calling his name.
“I’m right here,” he murmured, his head bent over the desk where he’d obviously been working on a script for the documentary.
Somehow Lacey had envisioned any other welcome than this one and her spirits deflated in an instant. He didn’t look at her, let alone get up.
“You’ve had several calls, among them one from Valerie.”
She mouthed her sister’s name in puzzlement. “That’s odd. Valerie never phones this time of day. Did she say what was wrong?”
Suddenly he pushed himself away from the desk and stood up, submitting her to a cold, silent scrutiny. Gone was the loverlike man who’d had trouble letting her out of his arms before she’d left for work nine hours earlier.
“It seems after you visited Greg’s office at lunch, he called Valerie very upset. He told her we were living together. She wanted to know if it was true.”
Lacey’s eyes closed tightly. Before leaving the condo, she’d made out her daily schedule for Max, expressly to show him she could be trusted. Within three hours, she’d proved that she was a liar, and shivered because he would never forgive her for not telling him about her stop to Greg’s office.
Aside from the fact that Greg had no right to say anything at all, Lacey had wanted to discuss certain developments with Valerie in her own good time. Now everything had blown up in her face and she had no one to blame but herself.
“W-what did you tell her?” she stammered.
“Actually it was more a case of her congratulating me after I answered the phone.”
“Congratulating?”
“It seems she’s been worried about you since the Perry episode and is overjoyed to learn that you’ve finally come out of your shell. She is still under the illusion that you are an innocent.”
His words devastated Lacey. An unintentional mistake had put them back to square one. “Max—It was a spontaneous idea on my part because his office is so close to Croft’s. I decided to stop by and see if he and Annette were coming for dinner.”
“Did you honestly think he’d consider it?” His voice grated.
“I hoped. We’ve been friends since we were kids. I’d hate to see it end with such hard feelings.”
She couldn’t decipher his closed expression. “Your sister doesn’t seem to be worried about it. In so many words, she gave us her blessing and is thrilled you’re going to Florida with me, particularly as you’ve never been anywhere except California.” After a pause, he added, “She asked me to take good care of you.”
Lacey couldn’t sustain his glance and lowered her eyes. “What did you say to that?”
“I told her I’d guard you with my life.”
It almost sounded like a threat.
Lacey couldn’t stand it any longer. “Maybe you should hear the underlying reason why I went to see Greg.” Her voice shook.
His brow quirked. “Underlying reason?”
Throwing caution to the wind, she lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “I told him t-that I was in love with you,” she blurted, causing the room to reverberate with her unequivocal declaration.
Max stared back for several soul-destroying moments. “No wonder he phoned Valerie.”
The tight bands around her chest relaxed a little. “I wanted to be certain he understood that I could never live with a man unless I loved him beyond anything in existence. He has suspected my feelings about you from the beginning, but I guess hearing the words drove him to make that call.”
After another tension-fraught silence she thought she heard him whisper her name, but the sound of the doorbell intruded on their privacy.
“That’ll be the crew,” he murmured.
Lacey could have cried aloud her disappointment. Right now the only thing she wanted was to be in his arms and hear him tell her he loved her, too, but that was impossible.
After discovering that she’d gone to Greg’s office, he’d apparently made a last-minute decision to fill the house with people. Not only hadn’t he wanted to be alone with her, he’d seen no need to consult her.
No matter what she said or did, she couldn’t seem to do it right where he was concerned and feared this was an unbreakable pattern. Admitting that she was in love with him was probably the worst thing she could have done. Now he would have the ultimate weapon to use against her.
“I have to freshen up,” she said in a quiet voice, and hurried from the room, but he followed her despite the loud knocking at the front door.
In thick tones he said, “Whatever you’re thinking, you’d be wrong, but now isn’t the time to discuss it. I thou
ght you should know that I included Lorraine in tonight’s invitation.”
Not Lorraine, she moaned inwardly as he disappeared from the hallway leading to her bedroom. Since he’d invited the older woman to come over before Lacey could explain about Max moving in with her, she was distinctly uncomfortable. Though Lorraine would never pass judgment, Lacey wanted her to know the real truth.
But Lacey never found the opportunity. As soon as Max introduced Lorraine to the crew, he explained how he wished to proceed with the documentary. While they ate, Lorraine gave them background information and suggestions.
Lacey tried, but she couldn’t concentrate very well. As soon as the others went home, she’d be alone with Max and wondered what it was he had to say to her.
Aside from the actual filmmaking, each member of the crew had designated responsibilities for working in the field. To Lacey, it sounded like an enormous undertaking. She couldn’t imagine doing the job they expected of her. At one point she suggested that Lorraine be the one to act the part.
Lorraine laughed as if the idea were preposterous, and explained that she could never leave while she was in the process of helping George adapt to his new patient. The first few months of bonding were critical.
Adding her voice to the others, Lorraine told Lacey she was the perfect person to play the part of a psychologist. She also brought up the point that as Lacey was self-employed, she could arrange to be gone for the anticipated two weeks. Her words effectively cut off further argument.
Milo, more than the others, seemed sensitive to Lacey’s mood and managed to engage her in conversation. A serious type by nature, he was probably the oldest of the four men, closer to forty. Max had told her he was married, but Milo didn’t mention his spouse.
Of the three friends, Lacey liked Milo best. He seemed to enjoy a good, philosophical discussion as much as she did, yet remained mellow.
As far as she could tell, the four men were compatible and loved their work. If they had opinions about her relationship with Max, they didn’t express them. Certainly by now they’d have been informed that he’d moved in with her.
Several times throughout the evening she’d felt Max’s gaze on her, but when she looked up, he’d be talking to someone else. When everyone started to leave, her heart pounded out of rhythm. In a few minutes she’d be alone with him. As she gave Lorraine a hug and saw her out the door, fear and excitement warred inside of her.
“Lacey?”
With her heart in her throat, she whirled around to discover him standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
“Charlie Albright called the condo before you came home. He’s too sick to do the twelve-to-four shift and asked me to fill in for him. I’ve got to leave now. Forget the dishes. I’ll do them tomorrow.”
He couldn’t leave now.
She bit her underlip so hard it drew blood. “Do you feel like company?”
“You’re always welcome as a guest on Radio Talk, but considering the heavy workload ahead of you to get ready for our trip, don’t you think it unwise to stay up all night, too?”
He was saying one thing and meaning another. It was clear to Lacey that he didn’t want to be alone with her. Obviously he hadn’t believed her avowal of love, or else it had made him claustrophobic.
What had he said about never having entertained the thought of marriage? Though he wanted a relationship with her, he wasn’t in the market for a wife and didn’t want her to hold out any false hope.
Since they weren’t sleeping together, she couldn’t figure out what he was getting from their unorthodox arrangement. Nothing made sense. She almost preferred his anger to this polite, civilized stranger he’d become since she’d declared her love. Never again.
“You’re right. I’m exhausted and my arm is starting to ache. See you tomorrow.”
His eyes were half shuttered. “I’ll lock up.”
“Thanks.”
She heard his key turn the dead bolt of the back door. The second he revved the Saab’s motor, she rushed into the kitchen and placed a call to Valerie.
“Answer it,” she prayed, needing her sister as she’d never needed her before.
A half hour later, a drained Lacey hung up the receiver wondering if she’d be able to take Valerie’s advice. Her sister agreed that Max’s behavior was too bizarre to put up with much longer, particularly since Lacey had foregone her pride and told him she loved him. But since she’d be leaving with Max for Florida in a week’s time, it would be best to go along with things until the film had been made.
If by then Max still hadn’t explained himself, then it was time for Lacey to say good-bye and get on with the rest of her life.
“What life?” she cried to the empty room, loading the dishwasher without thinking what she was doing. A pain too deep for tears seared her insides. This wasn’t like the Perry incident. Lacey lived with the very real fear that Max had ruined her forever...
The next week proved to be her worst nightmare. She saw very little of Max, who spent most of his free time with the crew. When he was home, he urged her to study her lines, but never brought up anything personal or detained her with the kind of smoldering kisses she ached for.
He still continued to cook their dinner, but more often than not she came home to an empty house after work and ate alone.
The day before the trip, Lacey cleaned the condo from top to bottom. Of necessity, Max left early for his condo to attend to his packing and personal business. For the first time in weeks she had the place to herself. But despite the precarious state of affairs between them, within five minutes she was mourning his absence. By afternoon she’d worked herself into a crisis state because she loved him so desperately and couldn’t fathom life without him.
Lorraine’s phone call forced Lacey to pull herself together and pretend everything was wonderful. The older woman volunteered to check both Max’s and Lacey’s condos every day, water plants and see to the mail. She said it was the least she could do while they were gone, which relieved one of Lacey’s worries. But nothing could take away her fear that when they returned from Florida, she’d never see Max again.
As the dinner hour approached, she sent out for pizza, expecting he would make an appearance, but there was no sign of him. He’d gone off someplace in his car.
She lost her appetite completely and went into the bedroom to finish her packing. Around nine the doorbell rang.
Praying it was Max, she dashed into the living room. Occasionally he parked in front and let himself in with the key. But he couldn’t gain entrance until she undid the dead bolt.
“Max?” she cried with breathless excitement and flung open the door. She felt like he’d been gone twelve years instead of twelve hours.
“Sorry,” Greg said in a quiet voice. He stood there, still wearing his walking cast.
Lacey fought to mask her disappointment. “Are you coming as friend or foe?”
“I just wanted to say good-bye and give you a little going-away present.”
“For heaven’s sake, Greg! Come in and stop acting as if we’d only met yesterday.”
After a slight hesitation, he entered the condo but didn’t sit down. “How soon do you expect the lord of the manor?”
She closed the door behind him. “I have no idea.”
“That’s surprising, considering neither of you has budged from the nest for days.”
“You’d have been welcome any time and you know it.”
“With Max Jarvis hanging on my every word? No thanks.”
Lacey let out a deep sigh. “Greg? Why are you behaving like this? Where has my brother gone?”
His face blanched. “You never could see me, could you, Lacey?”
There was no point in pretending she’d misunderstood him. “You were the brother Valerie and I always wanted.”
“You were the girl I always wanted.”
“I’m sorry, Greg. I had no idea you felt that way.”
His lips thinned. �
��Are you going to marry him?”
Her heart plummeted to her feet. “I can’t answer that question right now. What about Annette?”
“It’s no good.”
“I don’t believe that. You’re upset because the relationship you and I’ve shared over the years has changed. It was bound to change, Greg. For both of us. We couldn’t go on existing as we did when we were kids. I think you’re feeling possessive of me, and have confused this feeling with love. They aren’t the same thing.”
He appeared to ponder her comments for a minute, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a present. “Here.”
Lacey took the tiny gift-wrapped box from him and opened it. Inside was a green jeweled pin of a monkey. She lifted her head in consternation. “How much—”
“The cost isn’t important. When I saw it, the face reminded me of George and I felt like buying it as a peace offering.”
“I love it! As far as I’m concerned, we’ll always be best friends. Thank you,” she said, and gave him a friendly hug which, after a moment’s hesitation, he reciprocated.
“What a touching scene,” a voice of pure ice resounded in the room.
Lacey spun away guiltily from Greg. Neither of them had heard Max come in through the back door. She could imagine what was running through his mind. The minute his back was turned, she was in Greg’s arms. But in his black mood, he’d never believe her explanation, so why try to defend herself.
“Your dinner is in the oven if you want some.”
His eyes glinted like metallic shards. “How thoughtful of you, considering you’ve been occupied elsewhere.” The insinuation was unmistakable.
“I dropped in to give Lacey a going-away present,” Greg interjected.
Lacey held her breath as Max strolled toward her and put a possessive arm around her shoulders, the first physical contact they’d had in a week. He plucked the pin from her trembling hand and examined it.
“That’s a nice piece of jewelry. I wish I’d found it first. The stones are the exact green of your eyes, sweetheart.”
No Wife Required! Page 11
