“So you think I’m not too old for red?” the white-haired man was saying.
“Do you feel too old for red?”
The man chuckled. “I feel like I’m twenty.”
“Well, then, why don’t you take her for a spin? I’ll get Bill to move it out of here.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to know. There’s no charge for trying it, and why deny yourself a little fun? Go cruise the main drag and check out the women.”
“I’m married,” the man protested.
“Well, then, give her a treat. Stop and pick her up along the way. Take her out to some secluded place and remind her why she married you.”
“Ace.” Crystal couldn’t help herself. The elderly man was a leader in the church community.
The man laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not offended. I love this guy,” he said, throwing his arm around Ace. “He makes me feel young, makes me think I still have possibilities. And I think I will give this little car a test drive. Send Bill on in,” he said.
“How can your father compete with that?” Crystal whispered to Fiona.
“He can’t. And I don’t think he wants to.”
Crystal gave her friend a confused look.
“He’d like to hire Ace,” Fiona said.
“Oh, that’s never going to work. You know that Ace’s mother worked for Ford. It would be a slap in the face for him to end up doing the same thing.”
“You can’t deny that Ace has some great ideas. He’s the consummate salesman.”
Crystal looked over at Ace and found him staring at her, sending her a speculative smile. As if her appearance was giving him wild ideas, sexy ideas. Was he eyeing the top buttons of her blouse? Her breath stopped, her heart sped up, her mouth went dry. In that moment, with that smile, he could have sold her anything.
“And Ace has the right idea,” Fiona said, looking around at the other cars in the showroom, seemingly unaware that her half brother was making love to Crystal with his eyes. “Have fun. Try something new. These cars are here to test-drive. You know what? I want to drive that one.”
Crystal directed her gaze to where her friend was pointing. In the corner of the showroom, bigger than life, was a convertible. A custom job. Long, cobalt-blue and sleek. It practically begged to be driven.
“Yeah, that looks like just the ticket. Would you get Ace?” Fiona said, licking her lips in anticipation.
“Fiona,” Crystal warned. She didn’t want to approach Ace right now. She didn’t trust herself—or him.
“No need to get me. I’m here, darlin’,” Ace said, his voice low and clear at Crystal’s shoulder, his breath whispering through the strands of her hair. A delicious shiver rippled through her.
“Fiona, uh, she wants to test-drive that car,” Crystal managed to say in a choked voice. “We…we just came to tell you that we’re going out for a while. I won’t be home until later tonight.”
That sounded so intimate, like a wife talking to her husband. Crystal felt a blush warming her cheeks.
Ace’s gaze turned fierce as he studied her. “That’s fine, then. No need to explain. I’m used to taking care of myself. Timmy okay?”
She nodded, unable to speak too much more with him standing this close. “He’s with Grace.”
She wondered how he felt about that. He and Timmy had been getting along well these past few days. Maybe too well, considering that Ace would be leaving soon. And Grace was the woman Ford had chosen over Rebecca.
But he simply nodded. “He’ll be safe, then,” was all he said. He frowned at Fiona. “You sure you’re here because you want to drive this car?”
“What other reason?” she asked innocently.
But Crystal knew what Ace was thinking. Fiona had been intent on matching her with Ace since the man rolled into town. Still, this seemed innocent enough. Fiona certainly looked as if she wanted that car.
In less time than one would have thought, the car was out on the lot. Fiona was tying back her hair.
“Hop in,” she said to Crystal and Ace, motioning to the back seat.
Ace raised one brow. He exchanged a look with Crystal.
Uh-oh, it looked like Fiona was matchmaking, after all.
But Ace only smiled and opened the door for Crystal. “No point in wasting a good opportunity to ride in one of the finest convertibles ever invented,” he explained.
And Crystal had to admit that when the car took off down the highway, she felt a rush of exhilaration she’d never experienced before. Whether it was the wind trying to tug her ponytail from its clip or the fact that Ace was seated just inches away from her, she didn’t know. And at this minute she didn’t care.
She glanced to the side and caught Ace grinning at her.
“Like it?” he asked.
“I love it. But then, you knew I would.”
She looked up to see Fiona eyeing her in the rearview mirror.
“You behave yourself with Ace,” Fiona teased, and, looking at Ace, Crystal felt like an awkward and nervous teenager again. “Don’t try to do anything just because you’re back there alone with him.”
Crystal frowned. “Fiona, did you really want to test-drive this car?”
Fiona smiled. “Of course I did.”
Crystal looked at Ace. “Of course she did,” he said, but of course he and Crystal both knew in that moment what Fiona had really had in mind. Especially when she took a turn just a bit too fast and only Crystal’s seat belt kept her from sliding across the seat into Ace. As it was, she slid as far as the belt would allow, which still put her closer to Ace than was probably wise. She glanced to her side and found him studying her from hooded eyes.
“You sell lots of convertibles?” Crystal asked, searching for something, anything to keep her from wondering what that look in his eyes meant.
“More than a few,” he said quietly. “It’s a car for those who are feeling…adventurous.”
A smile played at the corners of his mouth, and she got the distinct impression that he was feeling adventurous right now.
Fiona turned another corner and Crystal slipped back the other way—and so did Ace. He slid his hand along the back of the seat and caught her shoulder to keep her from hitting the side of the car.
Now they were touching. She thought she heard Fiona sigh, but she wasn’t really sure because she was looking into Ace’s eyes, eyes that were filled with worry.
Eventually the car stopped rolling and Fiona got out. “Okay, that’s enough for now. You two have a good time tonight,” she said. “Oh, look at that. I see my husband over there. Guess he got off work early, after all.” And she crossed the street to where Clay was waiting, arms crossed, a big grin on his face.
“I’ll keep her busy tonight,” he promised Ace as he kissed his wife, helped her into his car and drove away.
Silence fell. Crystal knew she should get out. Fiona had stopped the convertible and gotten out at Crystal’s home. But the sun was beating down gently on her hair, the light breeze soothed, the convertible’s upholstery was extra plush and comfortable, and Ace was only inches away.
She turned her head to look at him. “Hmm, Fiona’s usually a bit more subtle than this.”
“I don’t think she was aiming for subtle. I have a feeling my little sister is getting frustrated with us.” He smiled at her and stroked her shoulder lightly.
A shiver went through her. She couldn’t help studying his mouth, his wonderfully masculine mouth. He leaned closer.
She wanted to reach out and brush the sensitive pads of her fingertips over his lips. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and pull him down beside her into the cushions of the roomy seat, to let the breeze tease the air above them as they touched. She wanted his mouth over hers, his taste on her tongue.
Her hand was on the seat-belt clasp. His, too.
A car drove past, reminding her that they were still parked on the street in front of her house and that it was still light outside.
>
She swallowed.
He swore. “We don’t have to do this, you know.”
“Just because Fiona wants it, we don’t have to go along,” she agreed, wishing he would move closer, hoping he wouldn’t.
“Even if we want it, we don’t have to go along,” he said. And then he smiled. He kissed her once softly and then immediately pulled away. He smiled again.
Her breath slipped out of her in a long sigh of resignation, and she sat up straighter, unclipped her seat belt and placed her hand on the door handle. “Well, she almost got her way, didn’t she?”
“It was a good plan, using the convertible. I’ve been known to say that it’s my favorite in the showroom.”
“She would know that. Fiona knows people.”
“But,” he said, climbing from the car and circling around to help her out. “Everything’s fine. We haven’t really touched.”
“Not really,” she agreed, assuming he didn’t count that one swift soft kiss. It was the kind of kiss he probably bestowed on everyone, not just her. He wouldn’t have expected a reaction and would probably be surprised to know that the brief caress had made her heart pound so fast she had an urge to cover it with her hand to mute the sound.
“Fiona’s going to be so disappointed that we didn’t fall right in line,” Crystal said as they moved together toward the door.
He followed her inside as she opened the door. His body, so close behind hers, set her nerves to singing. She suddenly realized that they were completely alone tonight. Fiona had planned that, too.
“Maybe you should go home tonight so that Fiona will know for sure that nothing happened,” she whispered.
“Maybe I should, but I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I know that, because I’m staying.”
“Really, no,” she said. “I admit that I went along with it, but not because I was worried about me. I was worried about Timmy, but he’s with Grace tonight. I’m glad he’s with Grace. He loves her, and he doesn’t get to see her as much as he’d like. Even though she’s not related, she’s always found a special place for him in her heart.”
“She seems like a very nice lady.”
“She is. I think she tries to be a grandmother to Timmy because she knows he hasn’t got one. I’m so grateful. I worry about him.”
Ace knew that he could walk away now. The moment of passion had passed. He was free, and so was she. But in its place was this…something he couldn’t ignore. Crystal looked up at him, and he saw an emotion she usually kept hidden, that longing to make up for all the things her son had missed in his life. But for this moment, in Ace’s presence, she was letting go of the brave and happy front she kept up for Timmy’s sake.
“You give him all he needs,” he said softly. “He’s never going to forget that, you know. He’ll grow up and know that you tried to make up for the things he couldn’t have.”
She looked up then, straight into his eyes, her own lightly misted. “I know he won’t blame me, but…I just want so much for him. I want him to be happy, completely happy. Still, I know there are times and there will be times when he’s going to realize that other kids have things he doesn’t, and that breaks my heart.”
Glancing to the side, she turned from him. To hide the even deeper feeling in her eyes, he was sure.
It made him ache, this knowledge that she hurt and tried so hard to hide it, and he realized that this was the one thing he couldn’t protect himself from. He could hold back his passion when passion was all that was at stake, even passion of such intensity he knew nothing like it. But he couldn’t hold back his need to comfort her, to hold her, to help her.
He stepped closer and slid his hands up her arms.
“Come here,” he said, and he tilted his head and kissed her softly. He licked at the few tears that had escaped her lashes.
A low sob escaped her throat. “I’m ashamed,” she said, and tried to turn her head.
“Don’t be. You’re human, and you’re a mother. And these past ten days have been tough and unnerving. It’s all right to be afraid at times. It just means that you care. I just can’t…I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go through this thing alone.” He pulled her tightly against him and, bringing his hand up to cup her jaw, kissed her slowly, reverently. Again and again.
She softened in his arms, twined her own arms around his neck. Her body molded to his.
But even so, he could feel some hesitation.
“Crystal?”
“I can’t let you do this. I can’t lean on you. I only have me to depend on. I have to be strong.”
“Not tonight.”
“Yes, tonight. When you’re gone—”
“When I’m gone, I’ll be gone and you’ll go on as you have. But tonight I’m here with you, and you can lean on me. Just this one time. Take what I have.”
She lifted her head from where she had hidden it against his body. Tears still glistened in her eyes, but there was a sense of wonder, as well. She smiled at him, slowly.
“You’re a wonderful, generous man, Ace.” She rose on her toes and kissed him. Softly, shyly. She pulled back, and then a sudden light, a glow, filled her face, and she kissed him again. Less softly, less shyly. She nibbled at the corners of his mouth, brushed her lips against his, kissed him fully, deeply, until the heat rose within him like an inferno, engulfing him, scorching him.
He groaned. “I’m sorry, angel,” he said. “I’m sorry.” Licking at the seam of her lips, he gained entrance and claimed the territory of her mouth.
It was hot, moist, tasting of mint. Crystal met him, kiss for kiss.
He urged her deeper into the entry of the house, then kicked the door shut. The closed curtains of the house encased them in shadows with just a few thin rays of sunlight intruding.
Good. He wanted no intruders this evening. If this was all of her he was to have—and it was—he would take it. Every bit, every minute, every touch and every sigh.
“You’re sure?” she asked on a whisper as if she’d heard his thoughts.
“You know we’ve been heading toward this since that first day,” he said, and he swung her into his arms, marching toward the room he’d dreamed of for long nights.
But as he laid her down on the cinnamon-and-cream-and-peaches coverlet of her bed, he hesitated. That terrible trusting look in her eyes pulled him up short.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He said the words he never remembered saying to a woman before at a moment like this. No doubt because he’d never had a woman like Crystal before.
She raised her chin and took in a deep breath, her curves shifting and making him crazy to have her. But he held back.
“You can’t hurt me,” she whispered. “You’re a fantasy, a one-night thing, like that gorgeous blue convertible. Something to enjoy once before life overtakes you and routine catches you up. My life is filled with routine, Ace. Responsibility. Happiness, too, of course, but not much excitement. Not many fantasy moments.”
A man didn’t get an invitation like that from a woman like this very often. Most men would have leaped on her, taken all she had, but… She considered him a fantasy, not real. A small, insistent pain nagged him as he gazed down at her, admiring all that she was.
Well, he wasn’t real, at least not for her, was he? He’d told her time and time again that he couldn’t stay, and wasn’t that what fantasies were? Temporary temptations. She would have a hard life ahead of her raising her son alone. He knew that better than anyone. He could give her one night; he could make a memory for himself, as well.
“If you want a fantasy, then maybe we should be a bit more adventurous than making love on the bed,” he said with a grin.
She opened her eyes wide. “What would you suggest?”
He raised one shoulder. “Where’s your car?”
She frowned, confused. “At the hospital. Fiona drove.”
“Then your garage is empty?”
“Yes.”
>
“Good. I’ll be right back.” He turned to go.
“Ace?”
“Yes?” He looked over his shoulder.
“Should I…” He could almost hear her nervous swallow. “Should I undress?”
He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall as he took deep breaths. “No. Don’t.” The words came out choked. “If you get undressed, I won’t be able to do this right, and I intend to do this right. Just wait.”
He left quickly, before he could think of her naked in his arms. He gathered what he needed, did what he’d decided to do. In less than five minutes he was back.
She sat up nervously.
He circled the bed and took her hand. “Come with me.”
She followed him, and he led her toward the side of the house. “Ace, this is the way to the garage.”
“I know.” And he slid the door open, revealed what he’d done.
The blue convertible took up almost all of the space, but he had still managed to light a dozen candles and tuck them in safe places. She didn’t have any decent wine, but he had made do with what she had. Now he led her to the rear door. He opened it and motioned her inside.
And suddenly she smiled. “We’re going to make love in one of your cars. Are you sure you can do that? Can you sell it afterward?”
“I can charge double,” he teased, and he maneuvered her farther in, then turned to her. He reached for the glasses of wine he had placed there and handed one to her. “To fantasies,” he said.
“To blue convertibles and men named Ace,” she whispered, and took a sip. When she set the glass aside, her lips were moist. He couldn’t wait any longer.
“I’m going to make love to you now, darlin’,” he told her.
“I’m going to let you. I’m going to touch you, too,” she said.
He kissed her mouth, then placed his arm beneath her and lowered her to the cushions.
“It won’t be as comfortable as a bed,” he whispered over her lips.
“It’s going to be wonderful,” she said.
And later, as he opened the last button on her dress and bared her to his view, he knew that she was right. As he took the bud of her breast into his mouth, he knew that she was more than right.
Her Sweet Talkin' Man Page 13
