A_Little_Harmless_Fascination

by Melissa Schroeder

  She looked at him and realized he was serious. That was a big thing to get from Conner Dillon. She cleared the knot in her throat.

  “I’d like that too.”

  He smiled as if she had offered him gold, and he stepped into the tub then set her on her feet. After they settled in, Jillian turned off the water and leaned back against Conner’s chest.

  “This is nice,” he said, his voice filled with sleepy satisfaction.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  And they stayed there, listening to the surf against the rocks, in the candlelight, and just enjoyed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Conner paced Jillian’s small kitchen and tried to keep his irritation at bay. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours, but he was ready for Devon to find something, anything, in his history.

  “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor, and I will add it to your tab at the end of your stay.”

  He turned around to scowl at her, and he stopped when he saw her. He was used to seeing her in her casual clothes. He wasn’t prepared to see her in a dress. A definite fantasy of a dress at that.

  It was blue-green, the same color as her eyes. The fabric was sheer and light. It draped her body, clinging to her full, rounded hips, and gave a hint of cleavage. The skirt clung to her legs, but when she walked, it seemed to float around her ankles. She was wearing some kind of strappy, high-heeled sandal, and to top it off, her toenails had been painted to match her dress.

  “Conner?”

  It took him a moment to realize he had been staring at her toes. He tore his attention away and finally looked up at her face. The barely-there makeup made her stunning, as did the light red lipstick she wore. She’d pulled her braids back and had something dangling from her ears.

  “Conner?” she asked again.

  He shook his head, trying to come to his senses. “Sorry, you just sort of stunned me.”

  Jillian gave him a dazzling smile. “Thank you. If it leaves you this stupid, I think I might put on a dress and heels more often.”

  Conner shook his head as he walked toward her. “Just the heels will do.”

  He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her against him. She felt right against him, as if she was made for him.

  “Oh, so you like the heels, do you?”

  “Yeah. Cause it makes it a lot easier to do this.”

  He kissed her then, keeping his eyes open as he did it. She shivered, and he felt the familiar tug of need.

  She pulled back from the kiss and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t even think about it, buster.”

  “What?”

  “I got all pretty, and you are taking me to a wedding. Got that?”

  He frowned. “I think you got that wrong. I give the orders.”

  She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer for a quick, loud kiss. “And I think if you want to keep giving those orders in the bedroom, you’ll give me cake and champagne today. I hear Cynthia is the person in charge of the cake, and I do not miss a chance at getting something from that bakery.”

  He sighed. “The things I do for you.”

  She giggled, and he suddenly felt lighter. With her hand in his, he walked her out the door, determined to enjoy the afternoon.

  * * * *

  Jillian took a sip of some very good champagne and looked out over the crowd gathered for the reception. The ceremony had been intimate, filled with only the closest of friends and family. Probably because the chapel had been small. Here, though, the party was picking up steam. A unique gathering of cops, FBI agents—some who knew Conner—and Rough ‘n Ready patrons mingled through the most beautiful room. She sighed, not able to avoid falling for the romance of the situation. She loved weddings and rarely got to attend them.

  Maybe one day, Maura would get married. Then she could be in the wedding. She had never been a bridesmaid, and although she had heard horror stories about being an attendant, she thought it might be fun.

  “How come a pretty lady like you is sitting all by her lonesome?”

  Jillian set down her glass and looked up to find a deliciously cute Hawaiian man smiling down at her. It was genuine, as was the interest in his eyes. It was impossible not to return it with a smile of her own. His dark black hair was short, cut in a buzz with a bit of a flattop. Golden skin accentuated his blue eyes that tipped up a bit at the corners. She would gauge his age around twenty-one, and he had the body of a Greek god. Or, she thought with silent laughter, a Hawaiian god.

  "I'm not by myself, but thanks for asking."

  Without invitation, he slipped into the chair beside her.

  "I don't think we've been introduced. My name is Danny Aiona."

  “Of course we haven’t been introduced. If we had, you would know I am here with a date.”

  His smile widened. “My name is Danny Aiona.”

  For a second, she said nothing, then the name clicked. She had met Evan Chambers beautiful wife just a few moments earlier, and her brother Kai.

  "Oh, so you're the little brother?"

  He laughed. "I'm not so sure you could call me that. I thought I saw you the other night at the club."

  For a second, she couldn't think. She wasn't a woman who went for men a whole decade younger than she or were what she thought of as a pretty boy. But it was hard to resist his teasing smile and jovial manner.

  "Club?” She couldn’t think of the last time she had gone clubbing, then she remembered she had been at one club in the past week. “Oh, Rough ‘n Ready? I was there for research."

  He inched closer. In another man, she might have seen it as a threat, but with Danny, Jillian had an idea that it was all about seduction. A man his age knowing how to seduce a woman—and she was pretty sure he did—was a dangerous thing. "Do you need a subject for your research? I’d be willing to help."

  Before she could say anything, a shadow loomed over them.

  "Settle it down, son," Conner said from behind him. She peeked around Danny. Conner's voice might have been mild, but he didn't look very happy. And she knew from experience that Conner's easygoing voice was more dangerous than any man's yelling.

  "Hey, old man. I was just having a conversation with this gorgeous woman."

  She glanced at the younger man and realized he wasn't stupid. He winked at her, telling her he knew Conner was her date.

  "That woman would be mine, and if you don't get up, I will gladly teach you how to behave when you are at a wedding."

  Danny sighed and shook his head. "Change your mind, just let me know. May can give you my number or just come over to Paradise Cover Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. I work there part time."

  He stood and brushed by Conner without a comment. When Conner sat, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. "You know, he's just a kid."

  Conner shook his head. "That was no kid. He's over the age of consent. And, as I heard him say, he saw you out the other night at the club. Means he has a membership."

  "Probably free because he's Evan's brother-in-law."

  He glanced at Danny with narrowed eyes then back at her. "You shouldn't have been leading him on."

  She wanted to blast him and opened her mouth to do it, but it was then that she realized his behavior went beyond being irritated with her. He was jealous.

  She had never been a woman who liked that emotion, from herself or others. But there was a kernel of truth to the feelings when you felt insecure about the one you were with. If he was worried about that, she knew he had more than just lustful feelings for her.

  "I wasn't leading him on. He asked me what I was doing alone. I said I wasn't."

  He looked away from her, but he leaned so close to her she could feel his breath feather over her ear. She shivered.

  "You know damn well you're the most beautiful woman here. You dress up like that, well, guys just can't help hitting on you."

  "Are you telling me I can't be dressed like this? What should I wear?"

  He apparently heard the warning in her voice. He look
ed at her.

  "No, dammit, you look too pretty, and I like seeing you in a dress."

  But he didn't sound too happy about it.

  “You look cute too, Conner.”

  He grumbled something under his breath.

  She couldn’t stop the smile from curving her lips or leaning forward to brush her mouth against his cheek.

  “How about we get some cake?”

  He nodded but said nothing else as they walked to the table. A lot of the cake had been eaten, but of course that was to be expected since Cynthia’s Bakery had done the work. A very pregnant woman with curly blonde hair was attending the table, and a very grumpy—not to mention sexy—black man stood beside her. She recognized Chris and Cynthia Dupree on sight. Both had added to what she referred to as her “hip” problem.

  As Jillian and Conner approached the table, a toddler let out a screech and came running forward.

  “You better come back here, you little rascal,” a woman said, giggling as she ran after the little boy. When she grabbed him, the boy giggled himself as she hoisted him in the air and blew on his belly. The woman then settled him on her hip and walked to the table.

  “Cynthia, I think Chris is right. Max and I came here for a reason—so you could rest.”

  “I have to hand out the cake. Then I am done.”

  The woman rolled her eyes and smiled over at them. Jillian was stunned. The woman was amazing, so small she was probably undervalued until you saw her face. She was gorgeous and the smile packed a punch.

  “Max, go get your father. He needs to stop talking business with Evan and get over here.” She set the little boy down who charged off to do her bidding. She noticed them and smiled. “Hi, my name is Anna. Want some cake?”

  “Yes, I would love some cake.”

  She brushed back her long, curly brown hair and went to the table. She handed Jillian a plate that already had a fork on it. “Oh, look Cynthia, I handled that just fine.”

  Cynthia gave her a look filled with venom, but in the next instant, Jillian noticed something akin to pain in the woman’s expression.

  “You did a fantastic job, Anna, but I think you might want to go to the hospital,” Jillian said.

  “Really?” She smiled. “Why?”

  “Cynthia’s in labor.”

  For a second, no one reacted other than the mother to be. She gave Jillian a nasty look.

  “What?” Anna asked.

  “I was trying to make it through the reception,” Cynthia said, her voice filled with pain.

  “Lord, love a duck, Cynthia, we can’t be having that,” Anna said. “Maxwell, your ex-fiancée is having her baby. Help Chris because I am sure he’s about to faint.”

  “Really, Anna, do you constantly have to remind me that I was once engaged to Max,” Cynthia said as she waddled around the table. Her face was flush with excitement. Jillian noticed a man the size of a University of Georgia linebacker, with dark blond hair and a grim expression, make his way to the table and steady the dad to be.

  “Whoa, son,” Max said as he grabbed Chris, who almost pitched forward into the cake table in a dead faint. The southern she’d heard in Anna’s voice was thicker in Max’s. He easily steadied his friend, and then ordered, “Let’s go.”

  Everyone apparently didn’t have an issue listening to Maxwell. May Aiona came forward to take the little boy from Anna. Anna, for her part, was chattering nonstop as she helped Cynthia through the crowd.

  “You know, you’re allowed to say anything you want while you’re in labor. I think I called Max an ass at least three times.”

  “Love, that was five times, along with referring to me as the sperm factory you were going to divorce when you were done with labor,” Max commented good naturedly.

  Cynthia laughed and Anna smiled. “It’s all going to be okay.”

  A tall, athletic black woman who had the look of Chris Dupree rushed up behind them with a diaper bag. She was followed up by an older version of Danny Aiona.

  “Well, hot damn, our first real Rough ‘n Ready baby,” Micah said as he walked up to them.

  “It can’t be the first one,” Conner said as he slipped his arm around her waist.

  “Not for the patrons, no, or even the employees. But we do have sort of a family we’ve gathered of friends. Dee and I will be the second in that group.”

  Jillian felt the unfamiliar feeling of envy at the pride she heard in Micah’s voice. She might write erotic romance, but she had never planned on love or marriage. With her weird situation, she had thought it too hard to even attempt to find a man who understood. And she had been happy with that situation. Until now. Now, she had a feeling that until Conner left, and for many months after that, she would constantly wonder what it would be like to raise a rowdy bunch of kids with them.

  Dee slipped into the circle, forcing Jillian to stop worrying about things that wouldn’t happen. She smiled. “I cannot wait to get fat. I’m doing my best right now to gain weight.”

  She was shoveling cake into her mouth, and it was then that Jillian realized she never got a piece of cake.

  “Oh, cake.”

  She walked around Micah and made a beeline for the table. Grabbing two plates, she turned and almost ran into Conner.

  “Oh,” she said as she handed him a plate.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

  She frowned up at him. “Nothing. I have cake, a good-looking man, and a pretty fantastic band to dance to.”

  “You looked kind of sad there for a moment.”

  “Oh.” She took a bite of the cake and hummed at the taste of it. Pure, sugary decadence.

  “Jillian?”

  She glanced at Conner, saw the worry on his face and wanted to soothe it. Never in her life had she wanted to make someone she cared about so happy. What did that say about her?

  “Nothing, I just get a little weepy at weddings. They’re sweet.”

  He looked like he didn’t believe her. “Really?”

  “Yes.” That much was true. “Starting a new life, all that crap. Makes me kind of happy and sad at the same time.”

  He snorted, but said nothing else as he ate his cake. Before she could finish hers, a hand wrapped around her wrist. She looked up and noticed it was Micah. “Come on, princess.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Bouquet time.”

  “Oh, God, no.”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “I have to eat my cake.” But even as she said it, Conner was taking it away from her and smiling evilly. “You suck.”

  He shrugged as he dumped the rest of her cake on his plate and commenced eating it.

  “I do not want to do this.”

  “Sucks to be you,” as Micah pushed her forward into the fray.

  She hated this. No matter what she did, she always ended up with the flowers. It sucked.

  The band started playing a song, and she saw that Maria had picked her out of the crowd. She turned her back to the audience then tossed it directly in Jillian’s area. Jillian tried to sidestep it, but the woman next to her dove for it, missing it. Instead, it bounced on the tips of her fingers and it hit Jillian in the chest. Instinctively, she grabbed for them.

  Dammit.

  She frowned down at them but didn’t have a chance to do anything with them as she heard her name called out. Pictures. Great. She sighed as she walked to the stage. Better to get it over with quickly, just like ripping off a bandage.

  * * * *

  Conner watched Jillian, trying not to laugh. “Looks like she’s going to her execution.”

  Micah smiled. “Beware of the woman who doesn’t want to get married.”

  Conner slanted him a look. “Yeah? Why’s that?”

  “You sometimes find yourself wanting to convince her otherwise.”

  Conner shook his head. “You really are getting to be like an old woman.”

  “You’ve been warned. I just wanted to let you know that Devon is sti
ll working on the list, but he’s had a few hits that he’s looking into.”

  Conner sobered. “Good. Anything promising?”

  Micah shook his head. “In fact, he said most were nonviolent, so it isn’t probably going to pan out.”

  The same familiar irritation he had been dealing with crawled down his spine. He knew that there was something they had to be missing. The fact that there seemed to be no lead was beyond troubling.

  “I doubt we find anything, but I would feel better if all avenues were looked at,” Conner said.

  “Nothing from the police I take it?”

  Conner shook his head as he watched Jillian walk back to him. “I’m hoping it was some freak but who knows. Even if it was random, I would rather find out and soon. These things rarely just go away.”

  Micah nodded. Both of them knew that more often than not, the problem would escalate. The fact that the bastard had been quiet for a few days meant nothing. Neither of them said anything to Jillian.

  She shook the bouquet in disgust. “I cannot believe I caught another one. You saw that I didn’t try to get it, right?”

  He smiled. “How many have you caught?”

  “Five.”

  “Five?”

  She sighed. “Yeah. Every wedding I’ve been to since I turned eighteen. It’s disturbing.”

  “I’m off to the hospital,” Micah said as he leaned in for a kiss on her cheek. “You two have fun.”

  And with that, he left them alone. Conner looked at Jillian, who was still frowning down at the flowers.

  “They’re pretty.”

  She shrugged. “I’d rather not have them.”

  He laughed and grabbed her hand. For tonight, he would try to put everything else out of his mind and enjoy it. They had little time left together, and even though he knew they had to figure out what was going on, they needed tonight to be fun.

  “Let’s dance, love.”

  She gave him a smile and followed him, setting the bouquet down on a table on the way to the floor. In this, he could lose himself in her, the beauty of the music, and just how happy she made him.