“Woman, if you were from Texas, you’d know it’s a crime to steal a man’s hat.” His drawl had become more pronounced as he stalked her and she backed down the aisle.
“Trying to protect an idiot from himself isn’t a crime in Chicago. It’s an act of kindness.” She stuck her tongue out at him, whipped around, and headed for the escalator. She felt playful, glad to leave the worries of the office behind her. As she tucked her own colorful knitted hat into her pocket and donned his Stetson, she felt his warm breath on her neck.
“Stealing my hat is punishable with a kiss; maybe more than one.”
She just laughed, stepping off the escalator and turning toward the hat and mitten area. He reached around her for a fedora, plopping it on at a cocky angle. “How’s this?”
She snagged the hat from his head and handed him a Chicago Bulls stocking cap. “The whole idea of a hat in winter is to cover your ears.”
He made a face at her choice. “The only thing this has right is the word bull.” But he put it on anyway, sidestepping to glance in the mirror. “My brothers would laugh their heads off if they saw me now.” He pulled the cap down over most of his face and poked his index fingers at her. “Your kisses or your life.” All she could see were his lips, tilted into a sexy grin she found irresistible. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips then stepped away before he could grab her like he’d done before.
AJ jerked the cap off his head and stared at her, not saying a word, but his eyes spoke volumes. She had no doubt if they weren’t in the middle of a store, he would have stolen more than a kiss. The chemistry between them was so strong, she sucked in a breath and held it, afraid of what he might do, and afraid of him not doing anything. Seconds ticked past.
“I always do what I’m told when I have two fingers pointed right at my heart,” she said with a laugh, deciding levity would release the tension.
If anything, his direct gaze heated. “I’ll have to remember that.”
* * *
While sexual tension simmered just beneath the surface, AJ was the perfect gentleman as he held doors and then the chair for her when they got to Drake Bros. While they waited for a table, they ordered drinks at the bar.
“Don’t cowboys drink whiskey?” she asked when he ordered a rich burgundy wine. She was finding she loved to tease him because he took it in stride and gave it right back.
“Ma’am, y’all need to visit our fair state. I’ve a hankering to show you how far we’ve progressed in the last hundred years.”
She laughed at the absurdity of his drawl, unable to recall ever having this much fun on a date.
She had quickly forgotten theirs was a business relationship. “Why did you decide to stay and help me when you had a ticket home tomorrow?”
His smile disappeared. “Helping children definitely beats helping some high ranking official, his wife and missing mistress.”
“That’s why you’re in Chicago?” She leaned forward. “Give me the scoop on Chicago’s dirt!”
He shook his head. “Tell me why you won’t let Jake release a story of what you’re doing to the press.”
She shrugged. “Ethics; the privacy of the families in need; I don’t know. It just wouldn’t be right.”
He tapped the end of her nose. “There you have it.”
So he had ethics, too.
They were shown to their table, both ordered steaks, and visited about the party until their meal arrived. Chanti cut into her steak with gusto. She caught herself about the time she had finished the filet mignon, wondering what AJ would think of her for eating all of it. As though reading her mind, he reached over with his napkin and wiped a speck from her lip.
“I like a woman with an appetite. Why is it women all think a man won’t like them if they have a little meat on their bones?”
“You are something else. Gentlemanly and charming one minute and a…a man the next.”
He gave her that wicked grin again. “So glad you noticed.”
She could feel a blush stain her cheeks and sought a safer topic. “You said in the store something about brothers.”
He nodded. “I have two; one younger and one older who live on the ranch outside Houston. Together with Dad and Mom, we run several thousand head of purebred cattle.”
“Then why do you spend your time all over the country doing investigations?”
“When I was young and thought I knew more than my dad, I figured there had to be more to life than cattle ranching. So I joined the Special Forces, and when I left the service, decided to use my skills to help people.”
“You don’t look too happy about that. Isn’t it fulfilling?”
“It was, but some days, cattle ranching is infinitely easier.”
Chanti knew he was probably thinking of his most recent case, but wasn’t going to ask him again for details.
As they walked back to the office building, Chanti realized that if AJ did ranching on such a large scale, he was probably worth a lot of money. The fact that men always seemed to be after her money had always been a stumbling block to her relationships, but from what she had learned about AJ, he wouldn’t be that way. Nothing he said or did since discovering who she was indicated he cared about her money, one way or the other. He seemed to like her for herself, and he had definitely appealed to Chanti before she knew exactly who he was.
She tucked her arm a little tighter through his as they walked. Could she now act on the attraction she felt for him since she knew any mutual feelings would be real?
A dismal thought crept in like the cold wind off Lake Michigan. What if AJ thought she was the fortune hunter?
Chapter 6
Chanti decided the next morning that if she was going to make this party work, she might as well spend the next couple of weeks in the city. There was no sense driving home late every night. Besides, she enjoyed spending time with AJ and figured there were things she could show him in Chicago to change his opinion about the northern city. That is, if he was interested.
As she drove home to pack a bag, she recalled the ending to last evening. When they had arrived back at the office building, she had told him she had to go through the building to get to the underground garage, which was the truth, even if that wasn’t where she was headed. His truck was parked at the Fairmont hotel a few blocks away where he had gotten a room. So he had said goodbye to her at the door, after Roman had buzzed them inside.
When she had turned to leave, he had pulled her back around a pillar and out of sight of the security guard, circled her with his strong arms and kissed her senseless.
Oh, man, what a kiss it had been. He had started out soft and slow, but it had quickly turned heated, his lips hot and firm over hers, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips until she let him inside.
She had heard a groan, but didn’t know who had uttered it, not that it mattered. When they finally came up for air, he had dipped his head against her forehead, his breathing as ragged as her own.
“That was for stealing my hat,” he had whispered.
She had surprised herself by replying, “I thought it was going to cost me more than one.”
“If I kiss you again, I’ll end up stealing you right to my hotel room.”
“Oh.” Her stomach had knotted at the thought, and for a minute she almost kissed him again, just to see if he meant it. Before she could act on her thought, he lightly kissed the top of her head and stepped away.
“Drive carefully going home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And he was gone.
She had tried not to look at Roman as she walked to the elevator, but out of the corner of her eye she had seen him smiling.
“Have a good evening, did you, Ms M?” she had heard him ask just as the elevator doors closed.
A great evening, she now thought, pulling into her drive in the light of a new day. And she planned on having more of them before this project was over. No strings, no attachments, and when AJ left for Texas she would have some great memories.
<
br /> She visited with Wilma and George after she had packed some things, giving them the phone number of the conference room in addition to the ones they already knew at work. She told them about the party plans, and of course they wanted to get involved. Chanti would have to think of some easy jobs they could do from home, but she assured them they would be at the party.
“You sure look perky for being out late last night,” Wilma commented over coffee.
“I’ve met someone,” Chanti told her.
“Do we know him?” George asked, always protective.
“No, he’s from Texas and is the one who’s finding our addresses.” Before they could protest her picking up some stranger off the streets, she added, “Charlie vouched for him; they’re friends.”
With George and Wilma appeased, she headed back into the city.
* * *
AJ asked for Chanti when he got to the office in the morning, but Annie told him she wasn’t in yet. He hoped she hadn’t had car trouble last night. He probably should have offered to drive her home.
He thought about their good night kiss and knew driving her anywhere would not have been a good idea. As hot as they had gotten in the lobby, he probably wouldn’t have made it back to the city.
He sighed as he started up his computer. He was fascinated with everything about Chanti Morrison and didn’t want to rush things. If they reached the point of making love, it would be something more than a one-night stand. Usually when AJ thought of anything near to long-term relationships, he broke out in hives. But not so with Chanti. He had thoroughly enjoyed last night. He hadn’t had to put on pretenses; he could be himself. She had a delightful laugh, loved to tease him, and didn’t mind when he teased her right back.
He glanced down at the computer screen. If he hoped to make the woman happy – and she had a very nice way of showing her gratitude – he’d better get busy. He buzzed Annie for a pot of coffee and when she brought it, she also had another stack of letters. He got to work, paying little attention to the children’s requests and concentrating only on names and addresses.
AJ gradually became aware of angry voices out in the reception area.
“She’d better see me or I’ll sue her ass,” a man hollered.
Never one to abuse a woman with foul language or otherwise, AJ was immediately on his feet.
“Annie, do you want me to throw this man out on his…tail?” he asked, striding purposefully over to wedge himself between her and the short, thin man leaning over her desk. Having at least a foot in height over the intruder, AJ let his size alone intimidate him.
“Mr. Tillman, I think you’d better leave.” Annie’s voice was soft, but firm. “I don’t know how you got up here in the first place. Ms Morrison let you go weeks ago.”
So this was the man who had caused the chaos in Chanti’s life. “I’ll make sure he stays gone this time.” AJ reached for the man’s arm but he shook him off.
“Go on your own, or I’ll bodily remove you,” AJ said. He followed the man into the elevator and rode in silence to the ground floor.
Tillman stomped toward the outer doors, throwing a threat over his shoulder. “You tell her I’ll be back.”
AJ turned to Wade, the day security guard. “He never gets into the building again, do you understand?”
“Who are you telling me what to do?” The man looked defiantly at him. AJ knew this man and Tillman were apparently friends and the guard had allowed a disgruntled employee access to Chanti. He was glad she hadn’t been in the office.
Leaning close, he growled in his meanest voice. “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll make sure Ms Morrison knows what you did and you will be right out there with Tillman. Now do you understand?”
The security guard nodded rapidly. As AJ took the elevator back up to the office, he wished he had his gun. What started out as a simple act of humanity appeared to have deeper roots.
As soon as he got back to the conference room, he called his office to have them run a check on Tillman. He told Annie not to say anything to Chanti about his visit, as he didn’t want to worry her.
“Got it?” he asked when she didn’t immediately agree with him.
“Oh, yeah.” Annie just smiled and sighed.
“Got what?” Chanti asked and he turned to see her walk in, fresh and delicious looking in a red pantsuit and candy cane striped blouse.
“Any more mail,” AJ replied before Annie had a chance to say anything.
“The mail usually doesn’t get here until later in the morning.”
“Any trouble getting home last night?” AJ changed the subject.
“No,” she quickly responded before turning to Annie, who handed her a group of pink message slips. “How’s it going?”
“We have the first group set up, and most of the addresses found,” AJ answered.
Chanti’s face broke into a smile and the whole room lit up. At least AJ felt it did. “That’s wonderful! I’m in the mood to go shopping. Let me make these calls and I’ll get with you and see what we have. Does our database let you sort by presents so we can see what kinds of things we need?”
“Consider it done,” AJ said and she gave him another smile. Unless he was reading a lot into it, her eyes said what she couldn’t in front of Annie. He figured he’d just earned a few more kisses.
AJ handed Chanti the list when she got to the conference room some minutes later. She smelled great, and he sat close to her, casually draping an arm on the back of her chair as she scrutinized the list.
“Oh, my, there are an awful lot of puppies and kittens here, aren’t there?”
“Yeah. Do you suppose the parents knew what their kids were asking for?”
“I remember writing for a new baby sister when I was little and my mom explained that Santa didn’t have anything to do with that.” Chanti grinned. “I would suppose that most parents read their letters before they put a stamp on the envelope.”
She turned to him, her excitement evident in her sparkling eyes. “This is so exciting. I’m glad you’re able to find these kids. Now, are you caught up so you can go shopping with me, or do you have more to do?”
“My office is working on the ones I couldn’t easily find, and if the mail isn’t in yet, I have time to go with you.” Besides, until he heard from his office about Tillman, he wasn’t sure he should let Chanti out of his sight.
“Great. I already have a list of the animal shelters. We’ll start there because those little critters definitely need rescued first.”
They took AJ’s truck, which he felt more comfortable driving, and Chanti directed him all over town, rescuing fifteen kittens and ten puppies from a death sentence. She explained to the people at the shelters the need to keep the animals until the party, and her generous checks guaranteed the pets wouldn’t come to harm before then. All of them agreed to deliver the animals if Chanti brought the necessary cages.
“There have only been maybe fifteen puppy and kitten requests so far and you bought twenty-five critters,” AJ commented as he held the truck door for her at the last shelter.
“So, your point is?” She grinned.
AJ just shook his head, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Where to now?”
“To the pet store.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
AJ liked this job more and more.
Two hours later the truck bed was loaded with sacks of pet food, collars, pet toys and small carriers.
“When we return to the office, pull into the parking garage and I’ll get you a pass. That will keep all this secure, and will keep you from having to walk in the cold.”
“Believe it or not, I’m getting used to the weather. Maybe it’s this beanie you bought me.” He had left his Stetson in the hotel room this morning and wore the red and black Bulls knitted cap.
“You look very cute.”
He gave her a mock scowl. “Men aren’t cute. Puppies and kittens are cute.”
She grinned. “They were, weren’t they? I
should get George and Wilma one.”
“You already bought out the animal pounds,” AJ said as he pulled into the garage.
“I know, and it was so much fun. Not only are we getting the children things they want, but we’re keeping all those poor little creatures from an unhappy end.”
She slid out of the truck right into AJ’s waiting arms and he couldn’t help but take advantage.
* * *
AJ’s kiss was just as warm and sweet as the ones they’d shared the other nights and Chanti could feel herself liking him more and more. He had been just as excited as she had when they had gone to the animal shelters, and she was beginning to see him as a kindred spirit. It wasn’t until she heard another car enter the lot that she remembered where they were.
“There are surveillance cameras down here,” she said.
“So, and your point is?” He threw her words back at her.
“Come on.” She grabbed his hand. “I want to see what else Annie has for us to buy.”
The letters Annie had set aside that afternoon weren’t as easy to fix as getting puppies from the pound.
One fairly large group was from children who wanted their daddies or moms to come home. All read pretty much like Jennifer’s, the letter Chanti kept on her desk to remind herself what this was all about.
“Let me see what I can do with these.” AJ took the group.
“And then there’s one from a lady, but she doesn’t want cosmetics.” Annie handed the last one to Chanti.
Chanti read it out loud. “Dear Santa. I’m not a child eighteen and under, and I don’t need any cosmetics. But I had a child, whom I would like very much to find. I had to give her up for adoption, something I have regretted all my life. She was born twenty-three years ago on Christmas day, and I just can’t celebrate that holiday knowing what I did. I know I’m probably asking the impossible, but I’m hoping miracles do come true.” Chanti looked up at AJ through the tears in her eyes. “It’s signed Mabel Johnson.”
If Wishes Were Magic Page 6
