by Coleen Kwan
Sighing, Hannah rolled her eyes at her friend who was grinning from ear to ear. “Okay, yes. If you must know, I did spend the night with him.” She lifted her head, trying to appear as dignified as possible.
“Oh, yes, I most definitely must know.”
“You can’t tell anyone,” Hannah pleaded. “I don’t want Caleb finding out.”
“I can’t even tell Nicole?”
“Okay, Nicole, but no one else. Promise?”
“Sure.” Amber made beckoning gestures with both hands. “Now let’s hear the details. The juicier the better.”
Hannah sucked in a breath. “I can’t tell you the details!”
“Ooh, was it that dirty, huh? I’m not surprised. That Derek is one sexy hunk, and from the look of him I’d say he knows his way around in bed. Just tell me one thing. Is he well hung?”
The image of Derek’s naked body that had taunted Hannah all day burst into vivid color, and the memory of everything he’d done to her last night sent her blood pressure soaring.
“Yes, he is,” she said, unable to suppress the grin spreading across her lips.
“Ha, I knew it!”
“It was a one-time thing. It’s not going to happen again.”
“Why not? Sounds like you barely got enough last night.”
“Oh God, Amber. Don’t talk crazy. Derek is halfway back to L.A. by now. It’ll be months before I see him again.” Which was a relief, so why did that make her heart pinch just a little?
The doorbell chimed, and a customer walked into the store. Derek. Hannah’s mouth fell open.
“Derek?” Her voice squeaked. “W-what are you doing here?”
Well-hung Derek, who was supposed to be hundreds of miles away from here, stepped toward her. “Change of plans. I’m staying for a couple more weeks.”
Staying? A couple more weeks? No, this can’t be happening. He shouldn’t be here at all! Her shopping bag slipped from her numb fingers and plopped to the floor, spilling some of its contents.
“Let me get that for you,” spectacularly well-hung Derek said.
Oh God, was she ever going to stop blushing? She dropped to her knees at the same time he did, and their heads almost collided.
“Sorry,” she muttered, reaching for a can of tomato soup.
“Here you go.” He helped her to her feet and handed her the shopping bag.
A light sweat had broken out between her shoulder blades, and her hair was sticking to her neck. “Why—” She cleared her throat, trying in vain to calm her racing heart. “Why the change of plans?”
“My filming schedule got changed. Plus, I need more time to sort out my grandpa’s care. So it’s all serendipitous.”
No, this was the opposite of serendipitous. This was a fricking nightmare. She forced herself to make eye contact and was instantly caught by the piercing blueness of his eyes. Was he thinking about last night? She hunted through her mind for something neutral to say and came up with, “Did you know Amber owns this store?”
“Yeah, she told me last night.” A slight smile crinkled his mouth. “That’s why I came here.” He turned to Amber. “I’m looking for a grab rail to install in the shower.”
Amber, who’d been unusually silent so far, set aside her coffee and stepped up. “Yes, I have a few models. I’ll show you where they’re kept.”
“I’d better get going,” Hannah said, quickly moving toward the door.
“Hope I’m not chasing you away.” His blue eyes swept over her, like he was revisiting the things they’d done together.
“I-I was leaving anyway. See you, guys.”
Derek gazed at her for another moment before he nodded, and from behind him, Amber gave her an exaggerated wink. Hannah exited the store, but instead of walking back to her car, she loitered in the doorway of a vacant building nearby, her mind racing, until five minutes later Derek reappeared.
The moment he spied her, his eyes lit up, making her heart skitter. Why did he have to be so damn gorgeous?
“Hey, Hannah,” he said.
“I need to talk to you.”
Before she could continue, a car rolled past them, the female driver giving them a hard, curious stare. Hannah’s heart sank as she recognized her manager at the wheel. Trust Vera to catch her loitering with the hottest guy in town. The car revved up as if Vera was showing her disapproval.
With a sigh, Hannah returned her attention to Derek. “Did Amber talk to you about…anything?” she asked.
“We had a pleasant discussion about screws and drills.”
She sucked in a breath. Screws and drills. Why did hardware sound so dirty when Derek talked about it? “Nothing about us?”
“No.” He looked at her more closely. “You told her about last night?”
“I didn’t tell her. She guessed.” Hannah chewed on her lip anxiously. “Are you really staying another two weeks?”
“Yes. I can’t leave my grandpa at the moment. Last night—while I was with you—he slipped and fell.”
“Oh, Derek, I’m so sorry. Is he badly injured?”
“No, just a few bumps and bruises. He managed to haul himself to bed.” Derek grimaced. “He was supposed to call me if he had any problems, but of course he didn’t. I’ll have to hire a care assistant for him. In the meantime, I’m doing a few repairs around the house to make it safer for him.” He motioned to the bag tucked under his arm.
“That’s very good of you.” Especially since Otto wouldn’t appreciate Derek’s efforts.
“You know he’s a doomsday prepper? He’s hoarding all this food, fuel, medical supplies.”
“Wow. So he thinks the end of the world is nigh?”
“That, or it’s just his way of telling the rest of the world to get lost.”
“Well, at least he’s making plans for survival.” She felt more than sympathy for Derek. He worried about his granddad, even though Otto didn’t deserve it. “You could offer to make him a proper fallout shelter.”
“Ugh, don’t encourage him.”
“That might be a spin-off from your Better Homes show—‘Better Fallout Shelters.’”
He smiled slowly. “With handy tips like ten ways to cook lentils and beans?”
“If the fallout shelter is crowded, maybe go easy on the beans.”
Derek chuckled. “Good point.” Then his smile faded a little. “So I had to stay, even if my filming hadn’t been delayed.”
“Yes, I realize that, but I just didn’t expect to bump into you so soon.”
“You don’t have to sound that disappointed.”
She shifted under his scrutiny. “You should have warned me at least.”
“I don’t have your phone number.” His eyes narrowed. “So you are having regrets.”
He stood there, legs spread apart, six-foot-three of hard, sexy male, with a wistful expression on his face that caught at her heart.
“No, of course not.” Her voice softened. “I just don’t want people to find out what we did.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell Caleb.”
“It’s not just Caleb. I don’t want people gossiping about me.”
“You don’t care about gossip.”
“Yes, I do. This is a small town. People around here know you’re a TV star, and they still remember my mom running off with a guy ten years her junior. I don’t want to be compared with her. I don’t want people calling me a—a cougar.”
Derek tipped back his head and let out a laugh that came from the depths of his chest. “You? A cougar?”
Oh, she wanted to hit him. Her hands curled into fists. “I’m glad you find it so funny.”
“It is funny.” His grin was as wide as the Grand Canyon. “I’d love it if you went all cougar on me. I can just see you all glammed up in a hot, tight dress and killer heels and fake eyelashes.”
“Oh yeah? And would you like being called a boy toy?”
He shrugged, eyes simmering. “I’d like to be your boy toy. A lot.”
Why was it so hard resisting him? “You can’t be my toy anything. We’re not going to repeat last night, remember?”
He sighed. “Yeah, I remember.”
“From now on, we’ll just treat each other like we used to.”
“Are you going to tell me to get a haircut and do my homework?” The teasing light was back in his eyes.
“If you don’t watch out, I will.” She glanced about as several more cars streamed by and hitched up her bag of groceries. “I’d better get going. Good-bye, Derek.”
“Don’t look so worried. I’ll be out of your hair in two weeks.”
She hurried away, feeling Derek’s gaze still pinned on her. Two more weeks of Derek in town. How would she cope? She’d just have to avoid him as much as possible. Her job and her search for a new home would keep her occupied, and Derek had his grandpa to worry about. They didn’t need to see each other for quite a while.
The thought should have reassured her, but instead it left her feeling rather flat.
Hannah frowned at the text message from her brother on her phone, wondering why fate was conspiring against her.
Derek’s coming 4 dinner. Okay with u?
Caleb had only texted her an hour before he was due at her place, and without a thought had invited Derek along. But then again, Caleb had been bringing Derek to dinner for years, most often without any prior notice. So she couldn’t be too mad at him. She couldn’t be too mad at Derek for accepting the invitation, either. Caleb would’ve thought it very strange if Derek turned down the chance to catch up with them. But how was she going to act as if everything was normal all night? What if she slipped up and gave herself away by staring at Derek for too long or touching his leg or something?
She tried to distract her worries by checking on the chicken roasting in the oven and making gravy. When the front door opened and two male voices sounded in the hallway, she stiffened, hastily wiping her hands before tidying her hair and clothes.
She’d just whipped off her apron when Caleb and Derek sauntered into the kitchen. While Caleb landed a kiss on her cheek in greeting, Derek hung back, his expression bland and unreadable.
“Hope you don’t mind my dropping in like this,” Derek said when she was free.
“Of course she doesn’t mind.” Caleb clapped a hand on his shoulder, looking surprised. “This is your second home, remember? You’re welcome here anytime. You’re like family.”
Derek’s deep blue eyes held Hannah’s, and her heart twisted at her brother’s words.
“Caleb’s right,” she said quietly. “You’re like family.” And therefore out of bounds.
They sat around the kitchen table, and Caleb carved up the chicken while Hannah ladled out roast potatoes, carrots, and peas. She couldn’t settle, not with Derek sitting at right angles to her, so close to her that every once in a while his knee bumped hers under the table, triggering a flush of memories in her. Caleb did most of the talking and luckily didn’t seem to notice the tension between Hannah and Derek.
“You’re a big kahuna now,” Caleb ragged Derek. “Got your own fan club yet?”
“Why?” Derek replied. “Do you want to be the secretary?”
“Oh, sure. Then I can tell your fans about all the mischief you used to get up to.”
“Fine by me. Everyone loves a bad boy.”
Derek’s eyes were on Hannah again, and hers on him. It seemed she couldn’t go five minutes without taking a peek at him, and Caleb must have been blind not to have noticed. Either that, or his sister and his best friend having the hots for each other was such a ludicrous concept it never entered his mind.
“Don’t they, Hannah?” Derek’s question jerked her back.
“You’re not a bad boy anymore.” Although he did still get pulled over by the cops.
“I’m not? So I’m a respectable guy any girl could take home to meet her parents?”
The loaded meaning behind his question made her tense up. What did he want from her?
“Oh, absolutely.” She went for a lighthearted tone. “You’ll be running for town councilor before too long.”
“Town councilor, huh? So can I count on your vote?”
His muscular arm brushed against hers, sending a frisson of heady attraction through her veins. She swallowed, aware of her brother’s presence.
“That depends on your policies.”
“Oh, she’s tough,” Caleb crowed at Derek. “You’ll have to work harder on Hannah.”
“I don’t mind.” The heat in Derek’s eyes told her how much he wanted to work on her.
Before her blushing got out of control, Hannah pushed her chair back from the table. “Enough of that. Is everyone ready for dessert? I baked pecan pie.” Derek’s favorite. She must have subconsciously been thinking of him this afternoon.
“No one makes pecan pie like you.” Derek’s smile sent another wave of flutters through her. God, he was turning her into a silly airhead.
“I like baking pies,” she said.
“You could bake pies for my election campaign.”
“Like I said, that depends on your policies.”
He chuckled. “You are tough.”
She went to fetch the dessert, and the conversation turned to more general subjects.
“Hey, sis, I just remembered.” Caleb looked up from his second helping of pie. “I think I’ve found a house for you. A friend of mine’s uncle owns this house a few miles from here. He says it’s pretty small, but the rent is cheap. Are you interested?”
“Sure am.” Hannah nodded enthusiastically.
“Apparently it hasn’t been occupied for a while, and it needs some work, but the owner’s willing to pay the cost of supplies and give you two weeks free rent.”
“I can do some cleaning and painting. You got the owner’s number?”
“I’ll text it to you tomorrow.”
“Oh, Caleb, you’re a lifesaver.” She got up and hugged her brother. “I’ve been looking for a place but there’s nothing in my price range, and I was kinda thinking I’d have to stay here. Not that I don’t get along with Rosalind, but, well…”
“I know.” Caleb patted her hand. “Can’t get two cats to share the same litter box.”
Trust her brother to voice her dilemma so colorfully. “Something like that.”
“I’m real busy at work this week, though.” Caleb looked worried. “I won’t be able to help you fix up the place until the week after.”
“That’s okay, I can manage on my own.”
“I’ll help you.” Derek spoke up, his eyes trained on Hannah.
Her heart flipped. “Oh, you don’t have to do that—”
“Hey, thanks, man.” Caleb nodded at Derek.
“No problem. I’ve got some spare time.”
“You know where my dad keeps his stepladders, don’t you?”
Hannah huffed out a breath as she pressed her hands to her hips. “Excuse the little woman for speaking up, but don’t I have any say in this?”
Both men glanced at her.
“We’re just looking out for you,” Caleb said. “Right, Derek?”
“Right.” Derek’s gaze was steady and earnest. “You’re in charge, Hannah. I’ll just provide the muscle.”
Her brain turned a little mushy at the thought of Derek’s muscle. God, why was she so affected by him? Why couldn’t she still view him as her brother’s friend? Everything between them had changed, and she couldn’t push him away without arousing her brother’s suspicion.
“Fine.” She’d deal with this later when Caleb was out of town.
“Great.” Derek actually seemed pleased. “I’ll leave my number with you, and you can call me when you need help.”
“You can do that right now.” Caleb picked up Hannah’s cell phone from the nearby kitchen counter and handed it to Derek, and within a minute Derek was in Hannah’s contact list.
Hannah didn’t comment. She wouldn’t call Derek, she decided. Even though she’d really apprecia
te his help, she couldn’t risk being alone with him again.
After dinner, Caleb and Derek cleaned up the dishes while Hannah took out a load of clean clothing from the dryer and carted it upstairs to her room. She was returning downstairs when she heard loud music pulsing from the living room. She walked in and stopped in amazement.
A dance video game played on the TV, pop music blaring out, while Caleb and Derek strutted and shimmied in front of the large screen. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. As teenagers, these two wouldn’t have been caught dead dancing like this, and now they were bopping around to the sound of “Moves Like Jagger.”
“Hey, since when did Dad and Rosalind have an Xbox Kinect?” Caleb yelled over the music.
“Since Rosalind bought it for when her grandkids stay over. Why aren’t you guys playing car racing games like you usually do?”
“We checked. There aren’t any,” Caleb puffed, flinging his arms in the air.
Hannah couldn’t take her eyes off Derek. He was grooving and bumping with minimum effort and maximum effect, his lithe body moving sinuously. He looked a little goofy, but he didn’t seem to care.
“This is more fun than Grand Theft Auto.” Derek beckoned to her, gyrating his hips in time to the song. “Come and dance.”
Oh God, those hips of his. Last time she’d seen them move like that had been in her bed. Warmth surged through her, and it wasn’t from the temperature in the room.
“Woo!” Caleb spun around and executed what looked like a few karate chops. He wasn’t paying much attention to them.
Derek shifted closer to Hannah, his face glowing. He hummed the lyrics softly so that only she could hear.
“You’ve got some moves, all right,” she couldn’t help chuckling.
He took her hand. “Come on. It’s easy. Show me your moves, Hannah.”
She couldn’t resist. The touch of his hand and the eagerness in his eyes sucked her in. Before she knew what was happening, she was swinging her hips, punching her arms, and rolling her shoulders as she tried to keep up with the dance moves on the screen. And Derek was dancing right next to her, but he wasn’t looking at the TV. Instead, he watched her, his face lit up with delight, as if he couldn’t believe she was doing this.
