“Will your disposition be any sweeter?” she asked with the same exasperation he was portraying.
He blew out a breath and shook his head. “Probably not.”
“Then let’s get this over with,” she suggested blandly and started walking toward the door. Feeling his gaze on her back, she kept walking.
She heard him chuckle, then break into a laugh. Suddenly she felt better. They walked to the elevator side by side.
Jon let her into his suite, and she took a good look around. The room was decorated in a rich forest green, the carpet, the blue-and-green flowered spread and drapes, the love seat and chair. The kitchen was small but well equipped. The furniture seemed to be mahogany. She wondered if the desk was as heavy as it looked. It held a fax machine and laptop computer as well as a phone that was a mate to the one by the bed. The bed. King-size. Jon-size.
“What do you think?” he asked, opening the drapes.
“It’s very nice.”
Even with the drapes open, the miniblinds kept the room dim. “But it’s not home,” he stated.
Going over to the sofa, she ran her hand over the back. No worn places. No stains from spills. “I suppose it’s not.”
When he opened the blinds, the morning sunshine poured in. “I miss walks on the beach, the sound of the ocean, the cry of gulls. Funny what you get used to. You don’t miss it until you don’t have it.”
“That’s the problem, Jon. I do know what I have here. I know I’d miss it.”
“I approached you all wrong yesterday.”
“You didn’t approach. You jumped in with both feet. Do you realize you didn’t even knock before you came in? You took over with Emily as if you’d been doing it all her life. You suggested we turn our lives upside down. Then you expected me not to react, to calmly accept all of it?”
Jon’s fax machine beeped. He went over to it as it spewed out a missive. With a frown, he threw the paper on the desk. Then he faced her, giving her his complete attention. “I did not have a scheme in mind, Alicia. I want you to move to California, but the vase had nothing to do with that.”
Knowing she was playing with fire, especially with him dressed as he was, she took a few steps closer to Jon, because she needed to, because she needed for them to be friendly again. “I believe you. And I want to thank you again for the vase and the flowers. It’s been a long time since anyone was that thoughtful.” There hadn’t been romance between her and her late husband. Just quiet friendship and a comfortable feeling that had made her feel safe from the first time she’d met him.
Jon smiled then, a slow, lazy, sexy smile that led her to dream of romance and dark nights and silk. It was an unfamiliar dream and scary in the excitement it aroused in her.
He straightened the lapel of her jacket. “I realize my suggestion is overwhelming. So I have another. What if you and Emily come to Los Angeles with me to look around? You can see my home, meet my mother, see the advantages I can give Emily. It would give you time to get used to the idea and give you a vacation at the same time. How much longer will Emily be in school?”
As his fingers slid over the blue ribbing, she wished he’d touch her skin instead. “She ‘graduates’ in a month, on June third.” He grinned and dropped his hand. “Big event.”
She could see the small lines around Jon’s eyes, almost feel the damp heat from his shirt. “You bet. They get to wear little mortarboards and everything.”
“Am I invited?” he asked, his voice low and husky as his gaze centered on her lips.
She swallowed and tried to take a deep breath. But it was difficult. “I have a feeling Emily wouldn’t want you to miss it. But will you still be here then?”
He ran his thumb across Alicia’s chin and down her neck. She tried to keep her mind on the conversation as he said, “I can arrange it. Do you want me there?”
She moistened her dry lips and tried to find her voice. “I’d like you to come.”
He’d almost closed the distance between them when he paused. “I need a shower. Why don’t you think about a trip to L.A. and when it would be best for you to go. I know you have to plan ahead with your business. I’ll only be five minutes.” As he headed for the bathroom, his gaze fell on the fax. “Will you do me a favor?”
She nodded.
“I’m expecting a call from Adam Hobbs.”
“Your lawyer?” Her chest tightened.
“This has nothing to do with Emily. It’s business. If Adam calls, tell him I received a copy of the contract and I’ll get back to him before five. California time. Got it?”
She smiled. “Got it.”
Jon disappeared into the bathroom and her smile remained. They were getting along again. The tension was gone. Well, some of the tension. She had a feeling the knot in her stomach wouldn’t diminish until he kissed her.
Jon had no sooner gotten into the shower when his phone rang. Alicia didn’t hesitate to go to the desk and pick up the receiver. “Hello. Jon Wescott’s room.”
“Well, well. Mrs. Fallon, isn’t it?”
Alicia recognized the voice. Valerie Sentara. She thought about slapping the receiver down again, but that could make matters worse. “Mr. Wescott is unavailable at the moment. May I take a message?”
“Yes. He knows why I’m calling. You tell him he’d better come clean or I’ll dig up the story myself. Got it?”
“I’ll give him the message, Ms. Sentara.”
A few minutes later, Jon came out of the bathroom in cutoff denim shorts and a green T-shirt, his feet bare, his hair still damp after being toweled dry. Ignoring his potent male magnetism, Alicia stayed put on the sofa where she’d settled and worried. “You had a phone call. Valerie Sentara.”
He went over to the dresser and took his wallet from a drawer, stuffing it into his back pocket. “A nuisance I have to deal with occasionally.”
“She might be more than a nuisance. She called me the other day asking for information. She recognized my voice today.”
He swore and spun around. “How the hell did she find out about you?”
Alicia lifted both hands in a vague gesture that said she didn’t know. “She knew you’d come to me about the programs. She didn’t know anything else.”
“That information could have slipped from someone in my office,” he muttered. “Damn the woman.”
When Alicia couldn’t stand the silence, she asked, “What are you going to tell her?”
He hiked a brow. “About?”
“Me. Emily. She wants to know what you’re doing here.” Alicia gave Jon the reporter’s exact message.
Jon crossed to the sofa and sat beside her. Very close. “Only Adam, a lawyer here, and my mother know about you and Emily and my real reason for being in Camp Hill. And they aren’t going to say a word. Believe me, Alicia, I don’t want you and Emily in the middle of a scandal.”
He was near enough to touch, near enough to kiss. But she was still worried. “But how can you stop her? She says she has sources.”
“She’s bluffing. Did you give her anything to go on?”
“No. But my being here—”
“Doesn’t mean a thing. This could be a business meeting.”
Jon seemed confident he could handle the reporter. And if no one but his lawyers and his mother knew the situation, they were safe. Alicia relaxed against the sofa. “Could be?”
He moved even closer and brushed his hand down her cheek. “I don’t think of you as business, Alicia. In fact, sometimes I don’t even think of you as Emily’s mother.”
Her heart thudded; his bare thigh tensing against her skirt alerted her to his next move. Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he turned her to him.
Teasingly he ran his finger along the round neck of her lavender shell. “How do you always manage to look so prim, yet so feminine at the same time?”
“Prim?” Her voice came out on a tiny breath.
He sensually rubbed his cheek against hers. “Mm-hmm. Unless you think I’m not lo
oking. Unless I get too close. Unless I catch you off guard.”
His taut skin against hers, his warm breath on her chin, the whiskey huskiness of his voice led her to tell him the truth. “I’m not feeling very prim right now.”
He chuckled and slid his hand under her hair at the base of her neck. His long fingers appreciated the silky strands as he kissed the tip of her chin, the line of her jaw. He stopped to murmur, “I’m not being predatory right now, Alicia. I’m being a man. There’s a difference. Do you want me to stop?” He nibbled the corner of her lip.
She was trying to keep her head clear. She was trying to hold onto…she forgot what she was trying to hold onto. All she could think about was Jon kissing her, and her kissing him back. “Not yet,” she murmured, attempting to keep some control over the situation.
Pulling away slightly, his expression was serious. “You’ll tell me when?”
She nodded.
Nudging her toward him with his hand, he nibbled at her lips a few seconds more before he pressed his mouth full against hers and waited. She knew what he was waiting for, and his patience melted any last remnants of resistance. With a small sigh, she opened her lips and he thrust inside.
The kiss was anything but patient. It was hot and demanding and it awakened all her simmering fires. She hadn’t even known she was capable of fire. But from the moment Jon had walked into her office, the foreign, slow burning had begun. This man created turmoil, he created excitement, he created fear. But he also created an incredible sense of longing, of wanting, and of needing that had laid dormant all her life.
He tempted her to respond fully to him, and it didn’t take any coaxing. She stroked her tongue against his and felt him shudder. When she kneaded his shoulders, discovering strength and muscle, then ran her hands down his upper arms, his whole body tensed. She had power over him!
The longer the kiss lasted, the more need curled inside her. Sex had been pleasant with Patrick, but never passionate, never consuming. He’d seemed to be interested in her more as a companion and then as a mother to his child, than as a woman. And that had suited her just fine. Because she’d been afraid of any male dominance.
But Jon didn’t dominate. He awakened. He excited. When he laid his hand on her breast, she’d never felt more alive. But as he pushed her blazer aside, as he molded his palm against her breast, the caution of a lifetime caught up to the swirling sensations that threatened to overtake her. She covered his hand with hers and pulled away, breaking off the kiss.
He stared at her for an intense moment, and she watched as he banked the flames leaping in his gaze. “When?” he asked, the question raspy.
She’d like nothing more than to let him kiss her again, to feel his touch. But she’d only known him such a short time, and there were still so many issues to settle. “When,” she repeated shakily.
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. “All right. Have you thought about California?”
She’d thought the kiss was just for her. She’d thought it had nothing to do with persuasion. But now she wasn’t so sure. What he was asking was reasonable. Even if she didn’t move out there, it would be good for Emily to become familiar with Jon’s home and surroundings because she’d be visiting him eventually. Alicia realized how difficult that arrangement would be for her to accept. The thought of being parted from Emily made her heart ache. She had to seriously consider a trip to L.A.
Thinking about her schedule and the ebb and flow of business, Alicia said, “I could leave for a week or so in mid-June. Would that be all right? Even if you don’t stay here that long, Emily and I could fly out.”
He looked at the fax lying on the desk. “That would be a good time for you to be in L.A. You can go to the charity gala with me. And as far as staying till then, so far, I’ve been able to handle business from here. I might have to take a trip out before mid-June, but I won’t plan to leave until you can fly back with me.”
Before, she had feared his staying, now she looked forward to it. She definitely needed to talk to Ria.
Later that evening, after Jon had nailed the last shingle to the playhouse roof, had read his daughter a story and kissed Alicia with more restraint than he cared to use, he lifted the phone on his desk and called his mother.
“They’re coming to L.A. in June,” he told her.
“She accepts you as the child’s father?”
“More and more. The results of the testing will settle it for her. Could you do me a favor?”
“You know I will.”
“Find a toy store and buy everything you think a five-year-old will enjoy. Dolls, for sure. Maybe you can find one of those wooden dollhouses with the miniature furniture. She’d like that. I think she has an artistic bent so get drawing materials of all kinds—crayons, markers, pencils. Maybe an easel.”
“Jon, she’s five. And what will her mother think if you buy Emily a roomful of toys?”
He suspected how Alicia felt about presents. “I want my daughter to feel at home. Don’t forget stuffed toys.”
“Jon…”
“Mom, you’re going to love them.”
“Them?” She expectantly waited for an explanation.
“Alicia’s special. She’s different from other women I’ve known.”
“From what you’ve told me she sounds like a good mother,” Marilyn Wescott said cautiously.
“She’s more than that,” he mumbled to himself, only he made the mistake of letting his mother hear.
“Anything like Cecile?”
His mom knew how difficult the end with Cecile had been. She knew he’d seen his dreams go up in smoke. “She’s nothing like Cecile.” He thought about Alicia tucking Emily’s hair behind her ear, laughing with Ria at the flower stand, sharing with other mothers. “She connects with people. You should see her with Emily. She has a twin sister and they’re very close. She even collects depression glass from flea markets.”
“Be careful, son.”
“I’ve been careful a long time. After being with Emily and Alicia, I know I haven’t been happy. Maybe it’s time not to be so cautious.”
“There’s a child to think of.”
“I know. I won’t rush into anything, believe me.” But then he thought about Alicia’s blue eyes, her beautiful smile, the arousing feel of her in his arms.
After he hung up the phone, he repeated to himself, Don’t rush. But he knew he wasn’t the type to bide his time for long.
Chapter Seven
Alicia’s house had almost become a second home to Jon. He’d been in Camp Hill almost seven weeks, though it didn’t seem possible. Yet in other ways, it did. Any day now, they could expect the results from the DNA testing. Then he and Alicia could tell Emily he was her father.
In the past month, he’d gotten into the routine of working in his hotel suite during the day, spending each evening with Alicia and Emily. And weekends. They’d painted the exterior of the playhouse, visited Hershey-park, the National Zoo in D.C., had picnics with Ria, or simply watched videos with Emily. Once or twice a week, he’d surprise Alicia with lunch. He’d taken her to the movies, the theater and to dinner for two as often as he could convince her to let Ria or Gertie baby-sit. He enjoyed every moment with Alicia, every kiss, every touch. He’d been careful not to rush or crowd her, and always pulled away before the urge to sweep her into his arms and carry her to her bedroom overwhelmed him. A reticence in Alicia’s response told him although she’d relaxed around him considerably, she might still not be sure about his motives. He didn’t know how to teach her to trust him. Maybe going to L.A. and being on his home turf would help.
Los Angeles seemed a world away, but he was anxious to get back, to walk on the beach and try to sort out his feelings for Alicia. He couldn’t imagine leaving her or Emily here while he returned to the West Coast. He’d just have to convince her that living in California had many more advantages than living in Pennsylvania. Maybe today they’d pick the best time to fly out. But first, h
e had to tell her he was going to miss Emily’s graduation.
Once at the house, he realized that not knocking was now a habit. Opening Alicia’s office door, he saw the room was empty. That was unusual for a Monday morning. The outside door wasn’t locked, so he assumed she’d run upstairs for something. But as he stepped deeper into the room, he heard voices from the kitchen. One female voice, and one male.
He didn’t think twice about calling up the stairs.
Alicia’s voice came back lilting, with a smile in it. “C’mon up, Jon. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
The scene that met Jon was a little too cozy for his peace of mind—place settings for two, coffee, muffins and an attractive man a few years younger than himself sitting across from Alicia. The man had brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache that seemed to crown a smug smile.
Alicia’s smile was relaxed and welcoming. “Jon Wescott, this is Doug Arigo.”
Jon clenched his jaw and extended his hand. The printer Alicia often spoke with shook it then motioned to the breakfast he and Alicia were sharing. “Join us?”
Alicia took a mug from the wooden tree on the counter and filled it with coffee. “Doug brought the muffins and since we both skipped breakfast, we’re taking a midmorning break.” She brushed past Doug to set Jon’s coffee in front of him and didn’t flinch when her arm brushed Doug’s shoulder.
“So, Doug. Do you take breaks like this often?” Jon asked, his tight-lipped question a little too snappy.
Alicia’s smile faltered and she glanced at him sharply.
Doug didn’t seem to notice. “Licia and I don’t get a chance to visit much anymore. We’re both too busy.”
Jon couldn’t prevent his irritated frown. A pet name, too. “You know Alicia from high school, right?”
“Went through most of grammar school together, too.”
“Did you date?”
“Jon!”
He knew he’d stepped across the boundary but didn’t care. Doug Arigo was entirely too comfortable with Alicia. And worse yet, she seemed comfortable with him. Jon kept an expectant attitude in the silence that followed.
Always Daddy Page 10
