“I almost forgot.” Her mother pointed a perfectly manicured, accusing finger at her. “Michael was the first boy you ever slept with. You know I’d never sleep with a man you’ve been with.”
“How did you know about that?” Dani slammed her wineglass on the coffee table. Her mother must’ve felt all the mixed emotions she’d been struggling with back then. Or maybe she’d had a dream confirming it.
Her mother gave a testy shrug before finishing off her wine. “I knew the minute I saw the expression on your face the next morning. And you didn’t do so well hiding your feelings when you were kissing him a few moments ago, either, sweetheart. The little moan spoke volumes.”
She’d moaned?
Dammit.
“There were no feelings involved. That was . . . oh, I don’t know. He’s just good at it, that’s all.”
Her mom smirked and raised a brow.
That silent routine wouldn’t work a second time. And Dani was definitely going to make another trip to see her grandmother and beg for more tips to deal with her mother.
“I have to go.” She gave her mom a quick hug. “I need to get back to the guesthouse before Michael and Jake come to blows. Have fun in LA.”
Dani turned and was walking toward the door when her mother called out, “Any daughter of mine would act on those sparks Michael generated and be sure he was still there in the morning.”
Without turning around, Dani replied, “Why should I settle for just Michael? Maybe I’ll invite both Jake and Michael to stay over.” It was impossible to shock her mother, but it was fun to try. And she’d gotten the last word in, too. No easy task when sparring with her mom.
As she slipped out the doorway, Annalisa said, “FYI. Threesomes aren’t all they’re made out to be. I love you, Dani. Sweet dreams.”
Dani’s quick grin sent a fresh stab of pain to her throbbing face. Her mother’s quiet chuckle confirmed the threesome comment had been a joke, but as frustrating and confusing as Annalisa Botelli could be, there was never any doubt about the love between them. “I love you, too. Good night, Mrs. Robinson.”
Dani shook her head and walked to the guesthouse. When she opened the door, she saw Michael sitting on the couch with his suit coat off, sleeves rolled up, tie loose, and his feet propped on top of a pile of books on the coffee table. He was laughing at the movie and scarfing down her popcorn.
She nudged his leg with her knee so she could pass by. After he pulled his feet off the table and sat up, she said, “Please, make yourself at home.” She scooped the bowl of popcorn off his lap.
Exhausted, she stepped over his big feet and flopped beside him on the couch.
With his eyes still riveted to the screen, Michael reached into the bowl on her lap, then tossed back more popcorn. “I love these movies. They’re hilarious.”
It had to be a guy thing.
He’d just eaten the last of the popcorn, so she set the bowl aside and closed her eyes, resting her head against the back of the big, comfy leather couch. “Where’s Jake? Did he sign the papers?”
Michael snickered at a dumb joke. “When I mentioned the papers, he suddenly remembered he had a crime to solve.”
“Figures,” she said and gave into a yawn.
Michael’s shoulder warmed hers when he leaned close and whispered, “You look beat, Dani. You should go to bed.”
She opened one eye. “Can’t. I have a pesky guest who won’t leave.”
“Okay, I’m outta here.” He dug a piece of paper from his pocket. “I made a list of requirements for my new home.”
She tapped her hand against her yawning mouth. “Of course you did.” Dani held her hand out to accept the page, then scanned the detailed list. “This sounds just like the house you used to live in, except for the guesthouse. Why do you want a guesthouse?”
“For my mom.” He stood and shrugged into his suit coat. “She’s going to leave Ron soon, and I want her to feel comfortable living with me and the girls.” He glanced around. “Something like this would be nice. I like the two bedrooms, but we’d need more bookcases so she wouldn’t feel compelled to leave her books stacked everywhere. That hasn’t changed about you.”
She was so tired she let a smile bloom before she could stop it. She’d forgotten what a big smartass Michael could be and she kind of missed it. And him. “I’m sorry about your mom’s marriage, but I’ve always known she could do better than Ron.”
“Yeah. Maybe you and I will make better choices the next time, too.” When he grinned, she wondered if he was thinking about their kisses.
She certainly was.
As extremely hot as those kisses were, Michael needed to know nothing more was going to happen between them. She had her dream man in her future. He was the one she was supposed to be with, not Michael.
When he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down beside her.
Curiosity knotted his brow.
How was she going to put it? “Michael, although Jake and I agreed we could, I haven’t seen anyone since I’ve been separated. It just doesn’t seem right until he signs the papers. And I’m not planning on seeing anyone for a while, because I want to focus on my job and on putting my life back in order. So, do we need to talk about what happened earlier in the den?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to refer to the mind-blowing kisses directly.
Michael leaned close, gently tracing a finger along her jaw, just under her bruise.
She barely restrained her shiver at his light touch.
He whispered, “We probably should. Right after we talk about what we’ve never spoken of for over twelve years. What happened that night at the party.” He laid a soft kiss on her aching cheek, then stood to leave. “Feel better. See you tomorrow.”
After the door shut behind him, she moaned. There was no way she wanted to discuss the night they’d both temporarily lost their minds and slept together.
She was exhausted, so she closed her eyes to rest them for just a bit before she mustered the energy to get her butt off the couch and to bed.
A flash of light illuminated her closed lids, revealing her destined man with the scar. When it looked as though he might turn around so she could finally see his face, her stomach lurched in anticipation. But then, the stupid bunny banging his loud drum filled her mind. She tried to conjure Elmer Fudd to shoot the damn thing, but instead, the Pink Panther showed up and grinned at her. He held up a sign that said, “If you talk to Michael about that night, I’ll tell you where the gun is.”
She blinked her eyes open and forced herself awake. Lord, now she was negotiating with cartoon characters? She really needed to go to bed.
Or the nearest psych ward.
Chapter Four
Dani rolled out of bed, awoken at seven fifteen by the ringing of a cell phone. She yawned as she made her way toward the living room, intent on squelching the offending sound. Maybe she’d just toss it into the pool, then go back to bed.
Since she didn’t have a working phone at the moment, Jake or Michael must’ve forgotten theirs. When she spotted a shiny new phone lying on the coffee table, her eyes widened. It was the one she’d wanted but couldn’t afford. It was especially great because it could double as a lockbox key and had access to MLS listings.
She leaned down and picked it up, but it was too late; the call went to voice mail. A yellow sticky note attached declared, “You can feed a hungry man or you can teach him to fish—or some such thing. This is a tool to help you succeed as I know you will.”
Recognizing her mom’s handwriting, Dani grinned. That her mom was finally taking her attempt to be independent seriously made her smile linger.
Studying the complicated phone, she finally figured out how to retrieve her voice mail. She had twenty-five messages after not having cell service for almost a week, so she chose the most recent. Her mother’s voice rang out: “I bet most of the other Realtors in town are out of bed by now. I hope this is the phone you wanted. Be happy this wasn’t a car,
and don’t you dare try to return it. Ciao, bella.”
Ignoring her workaholic mother’s dig about still being in bed, Dani pushed the “Delete” button and dialed her mom’s number. When Annalisa answered, Dani said, “Thank you for the phone, Mom. Would I be totally off base to think that you probably didn’t just pay my outstanding bill?”
“One of my assistants told me they had a special if I paid for a full year, and you know I can’t pass up a good deal. So, you’re welcome.”
Yeah, like her mother ever looked at the price of anything before she bought it. And there was no such thing as paying for a whole year. Her mom must’ve told them to bill her directly. She was sparing her pride, and Dani had to love her mom a little more for that one. “I appreciate it. Say hi to Sara for me when you see her today, will you? Tell her I miss my little sister, and why doesn’t she come here for a change.”
“I will. Gotta run, I have ten more calls to make before I land. Stay safe.”
“That’s the plan. Break a leg or whatever.” Dani disconnected the call and crossed to the kitchen, shaking her head at her mother’s disregard for the rules. She always used her cell when she flew. Her mom said it was just one of the perks of owning her own plane. That and setting new records in the mile-high club, which had been way too much information.
Dani switched the coffee maker on as she listened to her voice mails. There were calls from the office, Jake, her friend Zoe, and then there were Michael’s messages. She smiled at the way his voice grew more and more irritated with each one.
Michael hadn’t changed a bit. Always the responsible sort.
She’d had a long night, thinking about their kisses and how they’d rocked her to the core. She’d told Michael she wasn’t interested, and her mind agreed with that theory, but her body wasn’t buying it. After mulling the idea over, she came to the conclusion that she just hadn’t had sex in a while and that was what was behind her attraction to him, nothing more.
When she played one of the messages from an unknown number, Dani’s heart stuttered. A male voice growled, “If you wanna live to see your next birthday, you’d better not testify against my brother tomorrow.” Carlos, the car beater. He’d probably gotten her number from her listing signs around town.
Then the next message said, “I see you walking into the courtroom. I’m gonna hurt you if you say one bad word against my brother, bitch!”
She swallowed hard and then retrieved the third. “You’re messin’ with the wrong people, lady. I’m gonna track you down and kill you.”
She’d gotten in way over her head this time. That wasn’t a man who was having a temper tantrum, soon to forget about her. The guy was serious.
Now where was that gun Jake had given her? Running toward her closet, she dialed Jake’s number. It went straight to voice mail, so she said, “Jake, I need bullets for my gun. I may have to shoot someone. And if I don’t get my car back soon, it might be you.” She punched the “End” button, then flung her closet doors open. After tossing shoeboxes and purses aside, she finally found the .22-caliber weapon Jake had taught her to shoot. Though empty, she’d feel better having it.
Not that she had to worry when she was home—she lived in an impenetrable fortress staffed with 24–7 armed guards—but maybe she’d carry the big black Coach purse today and keep her new friend tucked inside, just in case. Jake said he’d let her know when the Carlos person was released, and he hadn’t been yet, but the gun was staying with her. Carlos might have friends she’d have to be ready for.
She plopped the gun into her purse and then spotted the perfect shoes to match. Then she spied a short black skirt and a jade-green silk shirt that would look fabulous together. Amazing how a wardrobe could be built around a gun.
She laid it all out on her bed, studying it. The outfit was killer, combining both fun and business.
Being a Realtor hadn’t been a walk in the park like she thought it’d be. Looking at houses and seeing the latest and greatest designs were fun, but there was much more to it, and the work involved was brutal. Competing with other agents for listings, hours spent researching on the computer, clients pretending to be serious but who were really just looking for decorating ideas, and being expected to be a marriage counselor when the couples disagreed on their version of the perfect house were all just part of the job. The amazing thing was that she enjoyed matching the right people with just the right house in just the right neighborhood, and she was finally getting the hang of it. It’d be nice if she got paid a little more regularly, but, hopefully, that would come in time.
It really sucked being poor. She’d taken her former lifestyle for granted, but not anymore. Now she couldn’t even afford to go to happy hour in her nice outfits and get . . . happy. But she was on the road to independence, determined to succeed on her own.
Before she showered and dressed, she needed to input Michael’s requirements into the MLS system and find boring, nonimaginative homes with guesthouses. She was going to do as he asked, then she was going to run some of her own ideas through the system. It’d be fun to see which home he ended up with. She poured herself a cup of coffee, then got to work.
Just as she booted up her computer, she winced at a searing flash of pain as that stupid bunny with his bass drum began marching around in her aching head again. What could that mean? He was pink, like the master bedroom at Jake’s crime scene. But that wasn’t it. Did he depict a toy in the boy’s bedroom? Something that could record the event? That probably wasn’t right; the rabbit seemed most at home in the master closet. How about batteries? That was what it represented, but what would batteries have to do with that guy killing his wife? And why wouldn’t that bunny stop playing that awful Pink Panther theme song?
Dani dropped her head in her hands and tried to force the images away. She had to concentrate on work. The only way to stop the images from bombarding her brain was to keep her mind occupied. Her grandmother had been the one to suggest reading books when unwanted visions started forming in her brain. She could usually stop them, at least for a while, by reading intently. That technique had resulted in four college degrees and had stopped the random visions about people she didn’t even know from sneaking in.
Most of the time.
If only she could be like her mom and use her extra abilities only when she needed them, she’d be able to hold on to her new job.
She glanced up and concentrated on the listings displayed on the computer screen, forcing the beat of the drum in her ears to slowly fade away.
Michael was reluctantly impressed as he drove away from the fourth house Dani had showed him, all of which had been within his specifications. Maybe the pampered princess did know what she was doing after all.
He glanced in her direction, and memories of kissing her flooded back again. He’d thought about it all night and still couldn’t find an explanation for his ridiculous behavior. They didn’t even like each other—anymore. Nobody kissed someone they didn’t care for like that. Did they?
At least she hadn’t brought it up again. Maybe she’d blown it off just as he should. “So, that last house was pretty good, huh? It had a little more room for the girls to play, and the school is nearby and therefore their friends, too. And it had the largest bedrooms of any of them so far.”
“Yeah,” she replied then yawned widely.
“Am I boring you?”
“No more than usual.” She rolled her head lazily in his direction. “The only interesting thing I saw today is how much you miss your kids. You seem like a good dad. I didn’t think anyone as stuffy as you could be. When do Carly and Amanda get back from Heather’s mother’s house?”
So she’d actually been listening earlier when he went on about his kids. He never meant to overshare about them, but he loved his girls more than he’d ever thought possible. “Sunday. That is, if Heather doesn’t decide to keep them away longer just to irritate me.” When they stopped at a light, he turned and faced her. “Because you’re new to the
business world, I feel compelled to share some advice.”
She raised a brow in her snotty rich-girl way. “I’m all aflutter that someone as important as you would stoop so low as to help little ol’ me. Do tell.”
Dani was the only woman he’d ever known who made him want to throw her across his knee and give her the spanking she deserved. That urge was almost as strong as the one to kiss her again. “It’s difficult to get repeat customers when you tell them that they bore you. If you don’t learn to curtail those comments, you’ll have nothing to do but spend your days at the spa, being pampered. Sometimes adults have to make concessions to actually earn a living.”
She yawned again, then added a long, luxurious stretch of her arms over her head. The clingy material of her shirt tightened over her ample breasts, outlining the possibilities he refused to let enter his mind.
“You’re right, Mikey. Who’d want to go to a fun spa rather than spend a fascinating afternoon looking at boring, nondescript houses with a cranky lawyer?”
“Nondescript houses? Is that your underhanded way to get me to look at more expensive homes to increase your commission?”
The lazy cat finding its bit of sunshine on the thick carpet instantly disappeared, and Dani’s claws came out. “I’m not like that, Michael, and you know it.”
He did, and guilt twisted his gut.
She was right. He’d been out of sorts all afternoon. Looking at all those kids’ cheery bedrooms made him miss his daughters and the life he used to share with them. For the past year and a half, he’d only had them a few days each week and every other weekend. It wasn’t enough.
He glanced at Dani, who was still fuming like a semiactive volcano. “Sorry. That was out of line. I’d like to hear your thoughts about the houses we’ve seen.”
Dani narrowed her eyes as if deciding whether or not he was being sarcastic. “Why would you want to buy a house, for this much money, that’s just pretty good? Oh, wait, let me guess. Your last house, the one that Heather picked out, you looked at for ten minutes, and when she begged you to buy it, you did. Am I right?”
Seeing Double (A Heartbreaker Novel Book 1) Page 7
