by Lori Wilde
Relief seeped through him. “I’m glad. Can I ask why you don’t just give an interview and put all this behind you? I know it failed the last couple of times you did it, but maybe if you tried again.”
He wasn’t sure if his suggestion was going to upset her, but he had to ask. Rather than being offended, though, she seemed fine with his question.
“I’ve thought about giving another interview, and I think I’ll give one to a reputable newspaper or magazine after we finish the festival. If I do it before then, things may go haywire. I don’t want the press to know I’m in Honey. They could flood into the city and ruin everything.”
“That makes sense.” He shifted Sugar off his lap and moved closer to Paige. “You need to do what you feel is right for you.”
“I agree.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly. “Now that we’ve been honest with each other, I think we should go back to what we were considering when we first got here.”
He kissed her back. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yes. And let’s have some rules. I think rules are a good idea,” she said absently. “I like rules.”
Paige felt desire zing through her. She wanted Max, had wanted him for a long time. She wasn’t lying. She did understand why he’d done what he’d done.
“Rules? Like what?” His voice was raspy and deep, but she didn't miss that she'd caught his interest.
Paige considered the question for a second, and then said, “No taking this too seriously. It’s a fling. We both need to remember that and not let it get serious.”
“That's it? One rule?”
“It's a big rule,” she teased, leaning up and kissing his jaw. “It's the only rule we need when you think about it.”
“I shouldn't do this,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.
Paige leaned back and looked at him. “Do you want to?”
He looked like a man hanging on to his last shred of self-control. “You know I do. But I don't want to hurt you.”
Although she appreciated the thought, she hurried to assure him. “Then there's nothing to worry about because I want this. You're not going to hurt me. I'm not going to hurt you. It's the rule.” She thought for a moment, then teased, “Would it help if I swear on your brother's head?”
He chuckled and pulled her close. “Yes.”
“I swear on your brother’s head,” she said, unable to stop the small giggle that escaped her lips.
“I can't fight both of us,” he said.
“Good. Then don't fight either of us,” she said, thrilled he'd agreed. She'd never acted this way before, but there was something about Max that made her feel and do things she'd never considered possible. He was more than just a man she desired. He was a man she liked and admired. A man she was happy to have in her life. “My bedroom's down the hall.”
He hesitated for a second, and she was afraid he was going to change his mind. So to distract him, she kissed his neck, her mouth gliding over his skin. When he still didn't make a move, she tugged his shirt free of his jeans.
“You're thinking again. I thought you macho Neanderthals didn't do that.”
He chuckled, but the sound became more of a groan when she slipped one hand under his shirt and rested it on his warm, bare chest. “I'm pretty sure my brain isn't working at all right now.”
“All your blood leaving your brain, is it?” she teased. “Good. That's the way I like my men—”
“Dumb?”
“Sexy and distracted,” she corrected.
“Ah. Well, before I get too distracted, where did you say that bedroom was?” Without waiting for her answer, he picked her up in his arms. Paige squeaked with surprise, then settled against his chest. This was nice. He was within easy kissing distance this way.
Never a lady to miss an opportunity, she took full advantage of having him so close. She kissed him deeply. For a second, Max kissed her back. Then he broke the contact and headed down the hall to her bedroom. She tried to kiss him again, but he wouldn't let her.
“That lack of blood problem,” he told her. “I can only do one thing at a time.”
She giggled. “Then let me think about what I want that one thing to be.”
When they reached her room, he set her on the ground. In the past, Paige had always felt shy with a new lover, but not with Max. She felt comfortable with him. A large part of that had to do with the way he looked at her, like she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
Tonight was going to be fun.
Max opened his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He felt terrific for all of ten seconds before guilt hit him like a sucker punch.
He'd made love to Paige. Not once. Not even twice. But several times during the course of a night that had consisted of lots of lovemaking and very little sleep.
What was wrong with him? Glancing over at her, he realized the question was rhetorical. Something about Paige got to him, and whatever it was, it caused him to do stupid things. Really stupid things. He shouldn’t get involved with Paige. He knew that on an intellectual level. He just didn’t know that on an emotional level.
As he watched her sleep, he felt desire flare within him again. Oh, no. Not this morning. This morning he was going to be smart, so he slipped out of bed and pulled on his jeans and shirt. He'd go give Travis a call. That would take his mind off how tempting Paige looked all rumpled and sexy.
When he reached the living room, Sugar perked up and followed him to the front door. He found her leash and brought her with him. Might as well accomplish two things at one time.
Walking softly, he headed out the front door with Sugar. A young woman was outside walking a dog. The woman openly watched him come down the walkway and head toward his car.
Max knew this woman was a neighbor and friend of Paige's. He'd seen her stop by to visit Paige many times during the couple of weeks he'd been watching the house. No doubt as soon as he drove off later this morning, this woman was going to be on Paige's doorstep demanding details.
“Good morning,” the woman said, heading toward him like a heat-seeking missile. “I'm Diane Mitchell. And you are?”
Wow, talk about direct. Max leaned against his truck. “Max Walker.”
“What do you do for a living, Max?”
He bit back a smile. It was obvious this woman meant business. “I'm a bartender.”
“Where Paige works?”
Sugar jumped on his leg, so he picked her up. “Yes. I work at the Honey Café.”
“How long have you been there?”
Max stood and smiled. “A few weeks. How long have you known Paige?”
Diane waved one hand. “We're talking about you. Intend on being anything other than a bartender?”
He chuckled, which only made Diane frown. “Sorry. I'll think about it. I just got out of the Marines, so I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.”
“Kinda old to be figuring out what you want to be when you grow up,” she said flatly.
“Better late than never.”
“Why Honey?” she asked.
“Because it's a beautiful place. I’m thinking of buying a ranch somewhere near here.” Max felt like he was applying for a job.
“You a cowboy?”
He smiled. “Used to be.”
“You graduate from high school?”
That one made him laugh, which only caused Diane's frown to deepen. “Yes, ma'am. I graduated from high school. I have some college, too.”
“Some?”
“A bachelor’s degree.”
She narrowed her eyes. “In what?”
“Computer Science.” He glanced at his watch. As entertaining as this was, he wanted to call Travis and pick up breakfast for Paige. “It's been really nice meeting you.”
Apparently, his message wasn't as clear as he'd thought it was.
“Got any family?” she asked.
“I have a brother.” He flashed her his best smile. “Let me make this simple for you, Diane. I'm not married or eng
aged, and I don't have any children. I've never committed a crime; I don't smoke, and I like both horses and dogs. Even some cats. But what I really like is Paige, and I have no intention of hurting her.”
Sugar was nudging him, wanting attention, so he scratched her behind the ears. “Good girl,” he said.
“You know Sugar?”
“Yep.”
“I see.” She considered him for a couple of seconds and finally said, “Treat Paige well.”
Then without waiting for him to respond, she turned and walked away.
Max stared after her. Man, he'd have to emulate her the next time he had to question someone. Her machine-gun approach to information gathering was nothing if not effective.
Shaking his head, he put Sugar back inside the house. He was careful to lock the front behind him. He’d have to use the key Paige had given him last night when he got back.
Heading toward the driveway, he climbed in his truck and drove to the doughnut shop down the street. After getting some food, he dialed Travis' cell phone number.
“Where have you been? You should have checked in yesterday,” Travis said the second he answered. “Is Paige okay? Did something happen?”
“Whoa. Everything is fine. Sorry I didn't call sooner, but I've been busy,” he said, pushing the thought of what he'd been busy doing out of his mind. “Everything okay there?”
“No, bro,” Travis said. “Something's up. The company has been getting weird phone calls. Lots of hang-ups. Lots of strange people calling. I figured something was wrong, so I decided to stay here last night and keep an eye on the place.”
Max didn't like the sound of this one bit. “And?”
“And about two a.m., a couple of guys tried to break in. I flipped on the light and scared them off.”
Dread settled over Max. “Did you get a look at them?”
“No. I was dozing in my desk chair, and the second I heard someone at the door, I hit the light. They took off before I even reached the door. By the time I got to the street, they were long gone.”
Max didn't like the thought of Travis being there alone with that kind of trouble. Money was at stake, big money. A skilled photographer could sell photos of Paige for a lot. When money was involved, people were apt to do anything. His brother could have been hurt. Obviously, someone had found out he was working for Roger Delacorte. He’d thought Paige’s problems were over since nothing had happened for a few weeks, but it looked like he’d been wrong.
“Next time, call the police,” he told his brother. “No hero stuff.”
“Gee, too bad I don't know someone trained in security. You know, someone who's occasionally paid a lot of money to be a bodyguard.” He laughed. “That would come in handy.”
Max realized his brother was right, but he still didn't like the thought of Travis being in serious danger. His brother was new at this and often acted before thinking.
“You want to hear my theory?” Travis asked.
“That you were a jerk chasing after them since they could have had guns,” Max said flatly. “You have to use caution. Think the situation through before you act.”
“Fine. I'll think it through next time. That should guarantee that they have plenty of time to get away.”
Max groaned. “Keep safe, Trav.”
“Works both ways. You'd better keep safe, too, because I’m sure those guys were after information on Paige. I think they were going to look for an address for her,” Travis said.
“You don't know for a fact this has to do with Paige,” Max pointed out, even though he figured there was a good chance he was whistling past the graveyard. “Maybe this is about a different job we're working on. Paige isn't the only person we're working with.”
“Come on. Get serious. You think this is about the computer upgrades we’re doing to Dizzy Desi’s theme park? Or how about TeleTech wanting us to beef up their alarm system?”
“Very funny.” Max ran one hand across his forehead. Travis was right. As much as he hated to admit it, there was only one case that would draw that kind of action.
The press hadn’t given up, and now Adam’s fans were chasing Paige. He glanced at his watch. He'd been gone almost a half hour. He needed to get back to the house.
Almost as if he'd read his mind, Travis said, ''You have to stay glued to Paige, bro. I mean it. I've got a bad feeling about this. These guys might have taken off last night, but I know they haven't given up on finding her. That means that sooner or later, trouble is going to be heading your way.”
“I've got it,” he assured Travis.
Something in his voice must have made Travis suspicious. “Nothing's wrong, is it?”
“No,” Max told him. “I know how to do my job.”
“And I know how to do mine,” Travis said. “Something's wrong. I can sense it. So tell me what's the problem. Do you need help?” He laughed, and then added, “Because I won't have a problem staying close to Paige. You can come back here and help one of the other clients.”
Max grunted, because in his opinion, that's all the response his brother deserved. Besides, he had other things on his mind. Make that he had another person on his mind. He'd already restarted his truck. He'd been away too long.
“I got to go. Call me if anything else happens,” Max said, hanging up and heading back to Paige’s house.
He had to face facts. He had the perfect setup here. As Paige's lover, he would be expected to hang around her all the time. He just had to make sure she knew he was spending time with her because he wanted to, not because he was being paid. He’d long since mentally quit his job with her father. Despite what Paige said, he had no intention of taking money from Roger Delacorte.
Protecting Paige was no longer business. It was personal.
He’d brought her doughnuts. Paige had just stepped out of the shower when she saw Max standing in the doorway to the bedroom, swinging a bag of doughnuts in one hand.
“Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up this morning, but I thought you might need some food.” The grin he flashed was downright devilish. “You know, to regain your strength.”
Paige laughed and walked over to him. She took the bag from him and glanced inside. “Yum, chocolate covered doughnuts.”
She took the bag and sat on the side of the bed. Pulling out a doughnut, she offered it to him. “Want one?”
“In a sec.” Instead, he leaned over and kissed her. Paige returned his kiss eagerly. She loved kissing Max. She always felt the impact clear to her toes.
When he ended the kiss, he winked and took a bite out of her doughnut. Paige laughed.
“Hey, no fair. Get your own.”
“Yours tastes better,” he said with a straight face.
“No, it doesn't.”
He dipped one finger in the chocolate frosting, and then dabbed it across her bottom lip. As he kissed the icing off her, he murmured, “Yeah, it tastes much, much better.”
7
“You look like a happy man,” Hal observed when Max walked into the Honey Café later that day. He narrowed his eyes and then looked at Paige. “Hey, you look happy, too.”
Max went to walk past the other man, but Hal stopped him. “Oh. My. God. You two have been consenting adults.”
This wasn't good. The last thing he needed was for Hal to broadcast the news to the entire world.
“Don't go there,” Max said firmly.
Not surprisingly, Hal didn't drop the subject. In fact, he seemed as delighted as a toddler on Christmas morning.
“This is fabulous.” He gave Paige a hug, and when he looked like he might give Max one, too, Max growled. With a laugh, Hal backed up.
“Okay, I get it. No touching.” He looked at Paige, then Max, and laughed again. “I knew this was going to happen.”
Before either Max or Paige could say anything, Hal hollered, “Alma, you won't believe who's involved.”
He said it in a singsong voice that made Max groan.
“Drop it,” he told Hal ag
ain, and just like before, the other man ignored him.
Alma wandered out from the kitchen, looked at Max, then Paige, then laughed. “The salt worked. I told you it would.”
“You were right,” Hal said. “As always.”
“Salt always works.” Alma grinned at Paige. “Congrats, sweetheart.”
Then with a wave to Max, she disappeared back into the kitchen and promptly started to tell everyone very loudly about the new couple.
Max looked at Paige. She seemed partly amused, partly annoyed by the older couple’s reaction. He winked at her, which made her laugh.
“I have to get to work,” Paige finally said.
“Me, too,” Max said.
“What? No details?” Hal sighed.
“No details,” Paige told him.
“No fair. And here I was all set to tell you about the phone call you received today even though you did absolutely nothing for me.”
Max froze, his gaze immediately going to Paige. She seemed to pale before his eyes. Obviously, she didn't get phone calls at work.
“What phone call?” she asked. Max could hear the anxiety in her voice, but obviously Hal didn't. He went on and on about the call coming in right in the middle of the lunch rush and how difficult it was to understand the man on the other end.
“I mean, cell phones are great, but you shouldn't call other people unless you've got a strong signal. That's simple common courtesy. People should—”
Paige cut him off. “What did this man say? Did he give you his name?”
“Nah. In fact, he didn't even know your name. He just asked for, and I quote, 'the hot young babe.'“
Paige was nibbling on her bottom lip. She was obviously upset, but if Max had to guess, he'd lay money on this guy being someone who'd stopped into the bar and now wanted to ask Paige out. He wanted to reassure Paige and tell her he didn't think this had anything to do with Adam and her father, but he wasn’t positive. It could be trouble.
“Did he say anything else?” Paige asked.
“No. And he sounded like he was about fifteen. He kept calling me dude.” Hal shuddered. “I hate that. Makes me feel like I should be wearing tropical clothes and hanging out by the beach.” He glanced at his brightly flowered shirt and the sandals on his feet. “Oh, yeah. I am a dude. Forgot that for a second.”
