“How long you been seeing that guy?”
“Bradford?”
“Is that his name?”
Raina nodded. “Actually, I haven’t been seeing him that long. Monday night was our first date.”
“Looks like you two really hit it off, then.”
“We did. I have to thank my sister. She introduced us to each other. She and Bradford work at the same hospital.”
“Yeah? So he’s a doctor like your old man, huh?”
Raina grinned. “Well, you know what they say. Daughters always want to marry men like their fathers.”
“Damn, so it’s like that? You’re already talking about marrying this guy?”
Raina laughed coyly. “Of course not.” Some perverse impulse made her add, “But I can definitely tell you he’s the best blind date I’ve ever had.”
Warrick’s jaw tightened. “Yeah, well, you might want to let him know you’re going to be tied up for the next week,” he said brusquely.
“Oh, I’m sure Bradford will understand if we can’t get together once or twice over the next few days,” Raina said breezily.
“Wrong.”
She paused, arching a brow at Warrick. “You intend to take me out for dinner every night this week?” She managed to inject enough displeasure into her voice to make Warrick scowl.
“If that’s what I decide, yeah,” he bit off. “So don’t go making any plans with loverboy.”
Raina gave him a long, measured look, then shrugged dismissively. “We’ll play it by ear.”
“Raina.” His tone was hard, warning her that there would be hell to pay if she argued.
She huffed out a resigned breath. “All right. If you insist.”
“I insist.” With a curt nod, Warrick pivoted on his heel and strode toward his car.
Raina leaned out the window and called innocently, “Aren’t you going to tell me to have a good time this evening?”
He growled something low and obscene that made Raina buzz up the window, then throw back her head and howl with laughter.
She was still laughing as she drove home, allowing herself to bask in the revelation that Warrick, for reasons unknown, had actually been jealous of her relationship with another man.
Chapter 11
At eleven-thirty the next morning, Raina had just hung up the phone with a vendor when Tina Deveaux came bursting into her office, squealing with excitement.
Raina stared at her. “What’s going—”
The rest of her question was smothered in Tina’s bosom, as the massage therapist had rushed around the desk and thrown her arms tightly around Raina.
“I just got off the phone with my brother,” Tina exclaimed. “He said that Warrick Mayne called him this morning and offered him an internship at his company.”
“That’s wonderful, Tina,” Raina said, her voice muffled against the woman’s chest. “I’m so glad to hear that. But could you, uh, ease up a little? I can’t…breathe.”
“What did you say? Oh!” Tina released her and stepped back, laughing boisterously. “I’m sorry, boss lady. I didn’t mean to suffocate you. I got carried away!”
Raina grinned. “So I see.”
Tina laughed. “You should have heard Alphonse. He was screaming into the phone, and then he started speaking patois so fast I could hardly understand him!”
Raina chuckled. “That’s because you’ve been away from home too long.”
Tina grinned. “No, believe me, no one would have been able to understand what my brother was saying. Not until he slowed down and took a deep breath.” Her dark eyes twinkled with merriment as she sat down in the visitor chair. “When he finally calmed down, he told me that Warrick had called to tell him he’d received his résumé. At first Alphonse thought it was a prank! See, when I asked him to e-mail his résumé to me the other day, I decided not to tell him the reason, because I didn’t want to get his hopes up for nothing. I just told him I wanted to see how much he’d added to his résumé since the last time I saw it. So the last thing he was expecting was to hear from Warrick Mayne this morning! He thought it was one of his crazy friends playing a joke on him, so he—”
Raina stared at her in horror. “Oh, no. Please tell me he didn’t tell Warrick to kiss his ass or something!”
Tina laughed. “No, thank God! After a minute Alphonse recognized Warrick’s voice from a television interview he saw last year. That man has a very distinct voice, you know.”
That’s an understatement, Raina thought wryly.
“Anyway, Warrick told Alphonse he was impressed by his résumé and started asking him some questions, like he was interviewing him. Alphonse said they were tough questions, too. The kind where you really have to think on your feet. He said he was nervous, but at the end of the conversation, Warrick offered him an internship for next summer! He explained to Alphonse that the program had already started this year, so he didn’t want him missing anything important. But that’s not all, Raina. Warrick is flying Alphonse to Philadelphia in two weeks to visit Mayne Industries! Can you believe it?” She let out another high-pitched squeal.
Raina laughed. “That’s great, Tina. Your brother must be thrilled.”
“Oh, but that’s not all. Warrick is flying me, Julien and my mother up there to meet Alphonse when he arrives! My mother couldn’t believe it when I just called and told her. She was so excited, she started crying and praising God.”
Raina smiled softly, her heart swelling with gratitude that Warrick had delivered on his promise, and then some. “That’s wonderful, Tina,” she said warmly. “I’m really happy for Alphonse, and for you and your mother. I know you haven’t seen Alphonse in a few years, so this will be like a family reunion for all of you.”
Tina nodded vigorously, beaming with unadulterated joy. “Alphonse hasn’t seen Julien since he was a baby. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am to Warrick Mayne for making this possible. And you! How can I ever repay you for telling him about my brother.”
Raina waved off her gratitude, smiling. “Girl, you don’t have to repay me. It was the least I could do. You’ve been a godsend to me ever since you started working here, and I mean that.”
Tina laughed, embarrassed as she dabbed tears from the corners of her eyes. “Oh, stop it. You’re going to make me cry, and Lord knows I’ve done enough of that this morning. I started boohooing when my brother called me, and then my mother just got me going all over again.”
Raina chuckled, swallowing past a lump that had formed in her own throat.
“But seriously though, Raina,” Tina said, shaking her head at her in amazement. “How in the world did you get Warrick Mayne to do all this, especially since you said you were so mean to him when he came here on Monday?”
Raina hedged, “Well, I, um, just—”
Mercifully, she was spared from answering when Nikki suddenly appeared in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear. She was carrying two beautifully gift-wrapped silver boxes tied together with a white satin ribbon and finished with an elaborate bow.
“This just came for you,” she said to Raina in an excited rush as she crossed to the desk. “I asked one of the girls to cover the phone for me while I brought it to you. I just had to see what it was and who sent it to you.”
Raina had a sneaking suspicion about the sender’s identity, but she kept the thought to herself. As she carefully untied the ribbon and unwrapped the first present, Tina and Nikki leaned forward intently, almost breathless with anticipation.
When they saw the Carolina Herrera designer emblem on the clothing box, their eyes widened.
Raina frowned. I thought I told him I didn’t want any expensive—
Suddenly she gasped.
“What is it?” Nikki asked eagerly.
Slowly, almost gingerly, Raina reached inside the box and lifted out a silk halter dress with a jeweled collar and fitted bodice.
“Ooh,” Tina and Nikki breathed in unison. “That is absolutely gorgeous!”
/> “It is,” Raina murmured, turning the dress around so that she could admire it from every angle. Everything about it, from its sleek couture design to the lovely moss-green color, was exquisite.
“Oh my God!” Nikki suddenly exclaimed. “I saw that dress the last time I was at the Galleria. My best friend and I always browse around the Carolina Herrera store, even though we can never afford anything in there. When we saw that dress, our jaws dropped to the floor. We couldn’t stop admiring it. But it cost, like, six thousand dollars!”
Tina gasped, staring at the dress with a new level of appreciation.
“Who sent this to you, Raina?” Nikki demanded excitedly. “Is there a card?”
Raina looked, and sure enough, a small white envelope was lying on the bottom of the box. She opened it and silently read the message:
Golden Girl:
You may not believe this, but I’ve always thought you looked good in this color. We have tickets to the orchestra tomorrow night. I’d be honored if you would wear this for me.
—WM
Stunned, Raina reread the card twice, unable to believe what Warrick had written. She didn’t know what shocked her more: the fact that he remembered what he’d called her that afternoon at the beach eighteen years ago, or the fact that he’d ever looked at her long enough to not only notice what color she was wearing, but to form a preference.
When she finally glanced up, Tina and Nikki were staring at her, mouths agape.
“What?” Raina said.
Tina shook her head slowly, looking both astonished and fascinated. “I’ve never seen you smile like that before, Raina.”
“And you’re blushing!” Nikki added.
Raina clapped a hand to her cheek, muttering, “I am not,” even as an embarrassed flush heated her face.
Tina and Nikki exchanged incredulous grins.
In an effort to distract them, Raina quickly began opening the other present. This time the box bore the logo of Bebe, another upscale women’s boutique located at the Galleria.
When Raina saw what was inside the box, she covered her mouth with her hand and began laughing.
“What is it?” Nikki asked curiously.
When Raina held up a pair of white designer jeans, the receptionist looked a little disappointed. “That’s nice, but you already have a pair like that. Didn’t you just wear them on Tuesday?”
Raina nodded, grinning. “It’s a long story.”
The enclosed card read:
I figured I owed you a new pair after our encounter the other day. I’ll never look at the T-Bird the same way again.
That makes two of us, Raina thought, chuckling to herself.
“There she goes, blushing again,” Nikki remarked to Tina.
Tina grinned slyly at Raina. “Are you going to tell us who sent you these gifts, or are you going to keep us in suspense?”
“Yeah, Raina, give up the goods. Who’s your sugar daddy?”
Raina smiled, carefully refolding the jeans. “If you must know—and it seems you must—the gifts are from Warrick.”
“Warrick Mayne?” Tina and Nikki exclaimed.
“Yes, and before you go getting the wrong idea, he’s not my sugar daddy. As you both know he wants to buy this property, so this is his way of…courting me.”
Nikki grinned. “Well, if these are the kind of gifts he’s going to be sending, I say let him court you all he wants!”
“Amen to that!” Tina laughingly agreed.
After the two women left the office, Raina reached for her cell phone and dialed Warrick’s number. He answered on the second ring, the rich, masculine timbre of his voice pouring heat into her ear.
“I thought we had an agreement,” Raina said without preamble. “No expensive gifts.”
Warrick chuckled softly. “Good morning to you, too.”
She fought the tug of a smile. “Don’t change the subject. We had an agreement. Now, I realize we may have different definitions of expensive, but come on, Warrick. A six-thousand-dollar dress?”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it,” Raina answered truthfully. “It’s beautiful.”
“Then that’s all that matters. I can’t wait to see you in it,” he said huskily.
Raina warmed with pleasure. Closing her eyes, she silently prayed for the strength to resist this man, who was too damned tempting for his—her—own good.
“Thank you for the dress,” she said. “It was an unexpected surprise. So were the jeans. But I could have just sent you the dry-cleaning bill.”
Warrick laughed, a low, sexy rumble that made her cross her legs. “I tried to warn you about the handprints,” he drawled, “but you didn’t give me a chance.”
“Oh, God,” Raina groaned, struck by a new realization. “Did your uncle see them?”
“Probably. But he didn’t say anything. Not about that, anyway. Hope I didn’t get you into too much trouble with your sister.”
“You did, actually.”
Warrick chuckled. “At least you weren’t meeting your boyfriend for dinner. By the way, how was your date last night?”
“Wonderful,” Raina said. It wasn’t an outright lie. The meal had been delicious, Bradford’s home was lovely and he was the perfect gentleman. They’d had a pleasant conversation over dinner, and at the end of the evening when Bradford had walked her to her car and kissed her goodnight, that, too, had been pleasant. She only wished she hadn’t spent the entire time trying—and failing miserably—to keep Warrick off her mind.
“Did you tell him you won’t be available for a week?” Warrick murmured.
“It didn’t come up.” Absently she ran her hand over the exquisite silk dress. “I want to thank you for calling Alphonse Deveaux this morning. His sister just left my office, and you should have seen how ecstatic she was, Warrick. You can’t begin to imagine how much your generosity means to their family. I owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“No, you don’t,” Warrick said softly. “I’m always on the lookout for fresh talent, and I was very impressed with Alphonse. If he turns out to be as gifted an engineer as I think he will be, I’m going to owe you a finder’s fee.”
Raina smiled. “If that happens, we can just call it even.”
“Sounds good. So where’d you go on your date last night?”
“Aren’t you nosy?”
“I’ve never claimed otherwise.”
“Well, if you must know,” Raina said loftily, “Bradford cooked dinner for me at his house.”
“How cozy.”
“It was. Very.”
“Hmm. Is he a good cook?”
“He’s a great cook. Anything else you want to know?”
“Nothing you’d be willing to answer.”
“You’re right. So don’t even bother asking.” The nerve of the man, wanting to know whether she’d spent the night with Bradford! How was that any of his business?
“So, you’re taking me to the symphony tomorrow night?” she asked, deliberately changing the subject.
“Yeah, but technically it’s called the orchestra.” Warrick paused. “The Philadelphia Orchestra.”
Raina frowned in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“We’re going to Philadelphia.”
“Philadelphia?”
Warrick chuckled dryly. “You make it sound like it’s on another planet.”
“Why would we fly all the way there to attend the orchestra when we have a perfectly good symphony right here in Houston?”
“That’s not the reason we’re going to Philly,” Warrick said mildly. “I want to give you a tour of Mayne Industries and introduce you to some of the staff members. I think you can make a more informed decision about my business proposal if you have a better idea of what we do and the type of projects we’re working on.”
“Why can’t you just tell me?” Raina countered, exasperated. “Give me one of your bells-and-whistles presentations. Or better yet, I can read all about what you do on your com
pany’s Web site.”
“It’s not quite the same as touring the facilities and speaking directly to my engineers.”
“That wasn’t necessary for Tyler Ralston or his brother,” Raina pointed out.
“That was different. They were already receptive to the sale.” Warrick paused meaningfully. “You aren’t.”
Raina faltered a moment. “Well, be that as it may, I can’t just drop everything and go flying halfway across the country with you!”
“I thought you might say that, so I took the liberty of having my secretary call yours to check your schedule. As it turns out, you don’t have any appointments or meetings scheduled until next week, after the Fourth of July holiday.”
Raina scowled, incensed by his high-handedness. “When did your secretary call mine?” she demanded. Nikki had just left her office, for heaven’s sake.
“Just now, while we were on the phone. Mabel just sent me a message confirming that your schedule is clear.” A note of wry amusement entered his voice. “Any other objections I can shoot down for you?”
Raina gnashed her teeth, silently fuming. “How long would we be gone?”
“We’ll return on Sunday.”
Four days! Raina thought, stricken. Four days alone with Warrick? I can hardly spend five minutes around him without wanting to jump his damned bones. How on earth am I going to survive four whole days?
“I—I can’t, Warrick,” she stammered.
“You can,” he countered silkily, “and you will. Need I remind you of the terms of our agreement? You’re not allowed to argue about where I want to take you. Remember that?”
Raina closed her eyes and shook her head at the ceiling, knowing she had run out of excuses. Warrick was right. Against her better judgment, she’d struck a deal with him and had agreed to his terms. He had already kept his word by personally contacting Tina’s brother and offering an internship; he’d even gone above and beyond Raina’s expectations by generously volunteering to fly Alphonse and his family to Philadelphia. The least Raina could do was keep her end of the bargain.
“Raina,” Warrick prompted softly. “I’m waiting.”
Touch of Heaven (St. James Sisters Book 1) Page 15
