Game of Love

by Jeannie James

  He didn’t smile back. “I’m surprising myself. But there’s something about you that makes me want to learn more. Could anyone as beautiful and clever as you, really be that alone? Are you sure you’re not involved with anyone else?”

  The question came out of the blue, though she should have expected it. “No.” She swirled her wine in the glass and stared intently at the patterns the evening sun made in the liquid. “There’s no one else.”

  He stared steadily at her, as if his look might draw the answer directly from her mouth. “There must be at least one jealous boyfriend lurking in the background.”

  “No, sir. I like my men one at a time. It saves me the trouble of keeping their names straight.”

  “How about exes? Old beaus?”

  She smiled humorlessly. “I don’t talk about that either.”

  “Ha!” He lifted an eyebrow triumphantly and settled back in his chair. “Pay dirt! You have a problem with an ex, is that it?”

  She shrugged and looked away. Outside, the pond sparkled. A family of ducks was slowly gliding by, with all the time in the world. She envied their serenity.

  “Was there a screaming fight?” Adam was like a bloodhound on a scent. She sat back miserably in her chair and let him continue. “A nasty divorce? A painful separation?” Adam gave her a pleasant look meant to comfort her and lowered his voice sympathetically. “Micki, I’m a jealous man, but I won’t fault you, or complain about any past relationships you had. As long as they remain in the past. I’m just trying to get to know you.” His voice was soft as silk as he leaned forward. “Tell me, Micki.”

  Sitting there, at a discreet restaurant with the peaceful water view, sipping slowly at the white wine in front of her, it seemed like the most natural question in the world. Almost, she could imagine herself tucking her legs up, leaning across the table and telling this man all about it.

  But her defenses were too firmly entrenched. She straightened her shoulders and met his eyes. “I’m free, that’s all. I’m free and I like it that way.”

  “Free?” He had been watching her with an encouraging smile, as if fully expecting her confidences. Now, he leaned back in disappointment. “That’s a funny way to phrase being all alone.”

  “I’m not so alone. I’m with you, aren’t I? I make friends. I have a good time. I just like being uncommitted.” His raised eyebrows made her feel uncomfortable, as if she was justifying herself and she added, “I have no strings and no attachments. I’m in control of my own life. It’s a good feeling. I’m as free as the wind that filled your sails this afternoon.”

  He grimaced and took a sip of his wine. “You know, I thought like that once, myself.” He glanced out as a breeze drew ripples across the pond. “I thought I could live my life as free as the wind.”

  “What happened?” She was honestly curious. She had seldom met anyone who shared her philosophy, even temporarily.

  “I grew up,” he said gently and her smile faded. He added, more glibly, “Actually, I did a few calculations on what ‘free as the wind’ really means. Given the price of sails and their current life expectancy, I calculate that phrase actually translates to fifteen cents a mile.”

  “Is that right?” She laughed shakily. “That’s a cynically prosaic take on a wonderfully poetic feeling.”

  “I just think you should reconsider the concept.” His eyes gleamed with the intensity of his feeling. “I don’t think anyone is ever really free. There’s always a cost to our actions. Especially when we’re running away.”

  She couldn’t let that statement go unchallenged. If she let herself believe what he said, it would destroy the meaning, the joy, behind her nomadic lifestyle. “What makes you think I’m running away?” She burst out in indignation. “And who are you to criticize? I don’t think this game is fun anymore. I hope you don’t plan on spending the entire evening arguing with me.”

  “Relax. I’m sorry. I’ll drop it.” He lowered his gaze to pour more wine into their glasses. When he spoke again, the pleasant note was back in his voice. “It’s your turn for the twenty questions. Don’t you want to ask about me?”

  She looked doubtful. “Your turn to bare all?”

  “That’s right. And I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  “Twenty questions?”

  “Or more. Or less. I’m easy.”

  “Please,” she gestured him on with an elaborate hand motion and a nod of her head. “Where were you born?”

  “New York City.”

  “New York!” She was surprised. “Why on earth did you move to Seattle? Could you have picked anywhere in the country farther away?”

  “I’m the West Coast representative in my family’s firm.” He smiled. “By definition, I have to live on the West Coast. “

  “But you’re begging the question,” she objected. “If you’re from New York City, why are you representing the West Coast and not the East Coast?”

  “My father and two brothers handle the East Coast.” Adam’s response was clipped.

  “Aha.” She tapped her wineglass. “Don’t skip through the interesting part.”

  “We are…” He paused to examine the light reflecting through the stem of his glass. “We are a strong-willed group, my brothers and my father and I. We don’t always play well together.”

  “What about your mother? Didn’t she have some say in this?”

  “My parents are divorced.” The words were curt, as if he were trying to blot out the memory.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. My father caught her and her boyfriend in their bedroom.” He looked up. “I hate it when people cheat. Or lie.”

  Micki felt a shiver of apprehension, but shook it off. She wouldn’t be in town long enough for Adam to piece through her flimsy web of lies.

  She hurried on with her next question. “Are you involved with anyone else?”

  He shook his head, meeting her eyes with a quick, watchful gaze. “No. I have no ex to contend with and no significant other relationships.”

  “Significant?” She narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”

  “That means,” he said deliberately, “I have no relationships I wouldn’t drop in a heartbeat, if you’d agree to date me.”

  “Oh.” She felt her hands trembling and quickly put her glass down. “I don’t want a relationship, you know. All I’m looking for is a good time until my contract’s up and I move on to the next job.”

  “Very intriguing.” He nodded his head as if agreeing with her sentiments. “Is this part of your ‘Life’s a Game’ philosophy?”

  “That’s right,” she said defiantly.

  He looked at her with curiosity. “I thought that was just a line. I didn’t realize you really believed that.”

  “Well now you know. Life is a game. I’m in it for the good times and that’s all.”

  “What about love? What about commitment?” His questions caught her by surprise.

  “I did love and commitment already.” She was flip. “Checked them off my list ages ago.” She leaned forward and whispered, as if to impart a great secret, “They didn’t get me anywhere.”

  “So.” The hint of steel in his tone showed that she hadn’t yet convinced him of her sincerity. “So here’s where the ex rears his ugly head again.”

  “I never said I had an ex.”

  “You never said you didn’t,” he pointed out.

  “I believe I was still asking you the questions.”

  “That’s true.” He waved his glass in acceptance. “Please continue.”

  “Don’t you have a reputation of being, shall we say, a trifle footloose in your relationships?”

  “Says who?” He looked wary of falling into a trap.

  “Says Jan, that’s who. Are you denying it?”

  “No.” He nodded his head. “Although I may object to the characterization as a whole, I have had several relationships in the past.”

  “Then what makes you the expert on love and commi
tment?” she exclaimed triumphantly. “By your own admission, you don’t have long-term relationships. Not even with your own family.”

  “I think that I’m finally growing up,” he said softly, eyeing her. “Especially here and now. Watching you bounce around, talking about your life. I think I’m beginning to see where I’ve been going wrong these past few years.”

  Not this again! This wasn’t getting her anywhere. She backed off to a safer line of questioning. “What do you actually do for your company? And how can you afford so much time off?”

  “That’s two questions,” he protested with a smile. “I’m counting that as two.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “My company specializes in efficiency consultations. We’re contracted by companies to streamline their businesses. Or expand their business with the least amount of overhead.”

  “Streamline. Low overhead.” She raised a cynical eyebrow. “Does that mean layoffs?”

  “Sometimes.” He nodded his head. “Although we generally advise companies to reduce personnel through attrition.”

  “Just not hiring new employees can have a devastating effect on communities.”

  “That’s true,” he agreed seriously. “We try to take that into account. A company’s reputation with its employees has to survive our reorganization plans, or else we end up taking the heat. But sometimes a company has to take ruthless actions just in order to survive. Or else there wouldn’t be any jobs at all.”

  “A great justification.” She raised her wineglass in a silent toast. “I wonder if the workers think that same way.”

  “You know a lot of things, don’t you?” he mused. “The effect of attrition on a community. How to operate computer networks. How to live alone. How to flirt. What else do you know?”

  “I bet you can’t guess.”

  He leaned back and looked at her, taking his time to slowly view as much of her as the table between them would allow. She could feel a bright red flush moving up her cheeks. When his gaze finally made it to her eyes, she felt nearly naked.

  “I wonder if you’re right,” he said slowly.

  “Of course I’m right,” she answered promptly. “Right about what?”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t be so curious about your past. Maybe I should just jump for joy that you’re unattached and available. It’s what I’d do with any other woman I’m attracted to. I wonder why it seems so different with you?”

  “Now you’re getting the idea.” Despite her flip response, her heart began hammering. She’d flirted before, but she’d always backed away before it got too serious. Somehow she couldn’t see Adam allowing her that luxury. This time, she really might be in over her head. But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. A romance with this man would be a wonderful adventure. She just had to make it clear that this was a short-term affair. “But we have to keep it light, because I’ll be leaving town in four months.”

  “Then there’s no time to waste.” He moved his chair closer to hers, capturing her hand with his. “Shall we retire to my place? I have some excellent wine and, as you guessed earlier, a wide selection of music.” His fingers moved over her palm, delicately brushing the surface while she shivered with pleasure. “And, like every great lover, I have a collection of lithographs I’m sure you’ll be fascinated with.”

  “That sounds terrific.” She managed a husky voice, quite to her amazement. He seemed enthralled. “I’d like that.”

  “Then that’s where we should be.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and gave a gentle nibble. “I’ll just get the check and we’ll be off.”

  Her heart began a violent hammering deep inside her chest. She could barely speak above its noise. “We haven’t had our dinner yet,” she managed to get out.

  “My housekeeper will have something in the refrigerator to heat. I’m done talking.”

  Chapter Five

  Micki studied Adam’s profile as he deftly maneuvered his Jaguar through the evening traffic. His long fingers curved lightly over the leather-bound steering wheel and she couldn’t keep from staring at them, wondering what he would be like as a lover. Adam was an intensely attractive man. He was so sure of himself. And with his reputation, he must have had a lot of experience with women.

  Isn’t that what I need? A man to help me get over Danny. A brief hot affair to drown out these incessant memories. I dare you, Micki Vaughn. I dare you to sleep with this man.

  He’d take his time, she thought. He’d want to learn and enjoy every inch of her body. She imagined those same hands restlessly exploring her curves. Adam turned a corner, his hands sliding lightly but firmly over the steering wheel and she nearly shivered in delight.

  “A penny for your thoughts.”

  Micki snapped back to the present with a startled gasp. She certainly couldn’t tell him what she’d been thinking! Hurriedly, she asked the first question that came into her mind. “What type of a place do you have?”

  Adam spared an amused glance at her as he drove through the city traffic. “What kind of place do you think I have? Why don’t you guess?”

  She flashed a crooked smile. “I’m caught out with my own words, aren’t I? I tell you I love games and now I can’t get a straight answer out of you.”

  He grinned. “Something like that.”

  “All right. I can do this.” She turned sideways in her seat, facing Adam as squarely as the seat belt would allow. “What type of a home would a handsome, debonair playboy have?” she asked rhetorically and deliberately.

  Adam bowed his head in silent acknowledgment of the title.

  “I would say…” Her voice faded as she considered his smiling, handsome face, his reputation, his undeniable sexiness. “A luxurious penthouse apartment,” she stated with sudden assurance. “With a concierge, complete maid service and a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree view of the city.”

  “Nope.” To her surprise, he shook his head. “I’m not living in a penthouse.”

  “Hmmm. Well, it must be a condominium at least.” At his negative shake she protested, “It can’t be an apartment.”

  “You’re wrong on all counts. I own a house.”

  “A house?” Micki’s astonishment rose.

  “That’s right.” Adam was laughing at her. “An actual real house, with doors and windows and a lawn that needs to be mowed and dishes that always seem to need to be washed.”

  She considered the new information. “Concrete then,” she announced. “Ultra modern square blocks of concrete, all stacked on top of each other.”

  “Your sleuthing skills need some work.” He turned into a sweeping driveway and shut off the motor. “Take a peek for yourself.”

  Prepared as she was for a modern house, Micki was shocked at the magnificent craftsman home perched on what looked to be an acre of carefully tended grounds. Where she was expecting sleek concrete, this was a traditional wooden home, with large wraparound porches and stained wood that glinted brownish-orange in the fading light. From the outside, at least, this was exactly the type of home she had always wanted, but never dreamed of owning.

  A cabin. It was her old self talking. That’s what you wanted, remember? A small, compact cabin in the woods.

  She answered herself by whispering aloud, “The cabin was Danny’s dream, not mine.” And immediately felt a guilty pang of disloyalty toward Danny.

  “What was that?” Adam was getting out of the car and he leaned his head to make out her words.

  She stood by the car door, a little overwhelmed. “I said this is a beautiful place, isn’t it?” Her voice was hesitant as she considered how it clashed with the ideal she and Danny had built together.

  “You don’t like it?” He seemed surprised and she glanced up to see him regarding her quizzically.

  “It’s gorgeous.” Embarrassment made her effusive. “I love it! It’s really beautiful. It’s just so…nice.”

  “Not what you expected, is it?” He watched her reaction with interest.

  “No,” sh
e admitted. “Not at all.” She fell into step alongside him, up the meandering walk to the front door. “And just who does mow this real lawn of yours and take care of the grounds? Surely not you. I can’t picture you pushing a mower over all this.”

  It was a beautiful lawn, presenting the same gracious appeal she would prefer for her own home. If she had a home.

  “Unfortunately, I travel too much. I really would like to take care of it myself.” At Micki’s startled glance he offered, “I like to garden. Are you surprised? I even have a small plot in the back reserved for my meddling. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge right now, actually. I put all kinds of cuttings in there so I can watch them grow, but then I travel too much to really take care of them. I think the gardener would like to tear them up by their roots and replant the entire area with exotic roses. He can hardly bear to keep from hoeing it out every time I leave for a week.”

  Micki laughed, vividly imagining the scene. She had had her own garden, once, planning it carefully so it would have brilliant flowers in bloom nearly every month of the year.

  “Do you garden?” Adam asked abruptly. “I could overrule my gardener and give you a plot of your own, if you’d like to experiment.”

  “No thank you,” she said with finality, though her hands itched to take him up on his offer. “Plants have roots, not like me. They take too long to grow. I wouldn’t even be here to watch them bloom.”

  “That’s too bad. I’d liked to have seen what kind of flowerbed you’d create. Riotous color, I’d presume.” She smiled faintly and Adam touched her arm. “Let’s go in, shall we? I can give you the grand tour.”

  Inside, the first thing she focused on was the immense number of windows lining the front wall, looking out past the deck and onto the mountains. The views to the southeast of Mt. Rainier were startling, with its white, glacier-filled peak swept by a wisp of clouds. The sun was just beginning to set and the snow was tinged with hints of light blues and pinks. The sight drew her like a magnet.

  “This is awesome,” she breathed. “The mountain is so close, I feel like I can almost see the climbers.”