Читать книгу About Last Night - Rhonda Leah - Страница 6

Chapter 2

Misty opened her front door to an impatient courier. He shoved an electronic signature device in her hand, then replaced it with a bulky envelope. She opened the package and, closing the door, shook her head. It contained her locket encased in a velvet jeweler’s cloth, the clasp fixed.

How Tanner had managed to get inside Josh’s apartment and lift the locket was anyone’s guess. She slowly opened it. Her miniature sand dollar was still in place. She closed it and slipped the chain around her neck.

Her ringing phone pulled her from any further thoughts. She picked up the handset. “Hello.”

“Misty McNeil?”

“Yes, this is Misty.”

“This is Mr. Johnson, your landlord.”

“Yes, sir. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Glad you asked, missy. You can start packing.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m renovating the building, turning it into efficiency apartments. Lots of workers around these days. I can make more money leasing to them.”

What about her? She’d lived here for the past few years and had returned immediately after the last hurricane had destroyed most of the area. “I have a lease.”

“Your lease has been on a monthly basis for the past fourteen months. By law I am required to give you a five-day notice. Just so happens I’m giving you seven days to move. Be out by the first.”

“Uh...” She was talking to a dial tone. The old man had hung up on her. Was what he doing even legal? It didn’t matter. She needed to move. This place wasn’t exactly in good shape.

Seven days.

She’d been searching the real estate section for the past couple of months. Of course, there weren’t many prospects unless she wanted to buy a house. Those were available by the truckloads around here, the only problem—most of them needed work. She wasn’t very handy, and finding a good carpenter who’d work cheap would be like winning the lottery.

The latest hurricane had ripped a hole right through the area. The real estate market was only a good place right now for an investor with a lot of money to spend.

Tanner…

It didn’t take much for her to think of him lately. She absentmindedly ran the locket along its chain. She could call and thank him for returning the locket and fixing the clasp, and of course for bailing her out of jail.

She leaned against the counter. Knowing Tanner and his business connections, he could find her a place to live easily enough. If it took more than seven days, she could con Jake out of his spare room for a few weeks. Inspired, she phoned her office and told them she needed a couple of days off. While she didn’t necessarily like to admit it, working for her father had its advantages.

She changed clothes and headed for her brother’s place. Once there, she realized she should have called first. She didn’t know her brother’s schedule. Jake’s door was propped open. She slipped inside. A woman’s soft laughter floated from the direction of the kitchen.

Intrigued, she slowed her steps and tried to hear what was being said. No such luck. A small boy ran past her, interrupting her attempt at sneaking in.

“Hey, Mr. Jake, there’s a lady in your living room,” the boy hollered over his shoulder. Jake appeared around the corner and was physically taken aback when he saw her. “Misty?”

She held her hands palm side up. “Yup, just me.”

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you working?”

“Uh, happy to see you too.” Sometimes her brother was harder on her than their father.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m glad you’re here. Why in the middle of the week? What’s going on?”

“We need to talk. I need a favor.”

A petite blonde eased around the corner. “Look, Jake, I can see you’re busy. I’ll be going now.” She held the little boy by the hand, attempting to drag him with her.

Jake put out his hand to stop her.

“Wait. Alex, this is my sister, Misty. I don’t think you’ve met.” Jake sounded flustered. “Misty, this is Alex. She lives across the way and this…” He put his hand on the squirming child’s head. “…is Matty.”

Now that he was still, she could see the child was cute as could be and not more than three. He had a mop of dirty blond hair and a smudge of chocolate on his face.

“Hi,” Matty shouted and promptly turned around and scurried back into the kitchen. Misty hadn’t noticed until then, but Alex held a dishcloth in her hand and was wiping what appeared to be flour from her shirt.

“Hi, Alex. Nice to meet you.” She nodded in the direction of the kitchen. “Matty sure seems spirited.”

Alex laughed, a soft happy sound. Jake watched Alex with such intensity she felt like an intruder. It was the first time she’d ever seen her brother so taken by a woman. How long had this been going on?

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it. Sorry about Matty. He’ll run you right over when he’s got something on his mind.” Alex held out her hand, and she shook it “Nice to meet you too. Sounds like you need to talk to your brother.” She looked at Jake. “Matty and I will disappear back into the kitchen,” she said.

“We’re making brownies,” Jake blurted out. “Why don’t you come and sit at the table?”

“Uh. Oh, okay,” she muttered, dumbfounded by her brother’s sudden domestic side. She followed the group into her brother’s eat-in kitchen. Alex walked to the counter, opened a cabinet and pulled out a hand-mixer. Matty dragged a stool to the counter and assisted his mom.

As she shook her head to clear it, Misty focused on her brother, who still stared in the other direction. She cleared her throat. “I got a call from my landlord this morning. I’ve got to be out in seven days.”

She had his attention, and Alex’s too.

“What? Why would he do that?”

“He’s turning the entire building into efficiency apartments or something. I’m not sure. I haven’t been happy there for a while anyway. But I didn’t expect to have to move so fast.”

“I bet,” Jake said. “I guess you’ll be moving into the mausoleum with Dad.”

She stiffened. “No. No, I won’t. There has to be another option. I’ll find a place…fast.”

Alex turned toward her. “I know it’s not any of my business, but this market is hell for renters. I’ve been looking myself.”

“You what?” Jake said, and by the shell-shocked expression on his face, he’d let out more than he intended.

Alex looked sheepish. “I’ve been looking. You know Matty will be starting school soon. I have to think about that, Jake.”

Jake paled, and watching these two, it seemed as if she’d been transported to another dimension. Moving in with her brother wouldn’t be an option. She made her excuses and left Jake and Alex in the middle of a heated discussion.

An hour later, she entered the red-brick building with its elegant white-framed windows. Though a new construction, it held a comfortable old-time feel. In the elevator rising to the top floor, she balled her fists and sucked in a deep breath. She could do this. Had to do this. The elevator stopped and a bell dinged as the doors glided open on the top floor. She rallied her courage and stepped off.

No one was in the reception area. She’d only been here once, but knew the way to Tanner’s office and found the cluttered desk outside his door vacant. Her watch read noon. Lunch time. She tapped on Tanner’s door anyway. No answer. She checked the knob, and the door opened. There was no sign of him inside. Instead of leaving a note on his secretary’s desk, where he might not get it, she’d leave one on his.

His scent surrounded her when she entered. It was a strong masculine smell she always associated with Tanner, but didn’t know if it was cologne or just him. She inhaled. A computer monitor and the calendar she’d given him for Christmas were the only two things visible on the top of his desk. As she turned to go out and find something to write on, an interior office door swung open and Tanner strolled out wearing a white towel low on his hips. His light brown hair looked darker when wet.

She gasped. Tanner stopped mid-stride. “Hi.”

How could one simple word be so seductive? She managed to squeak out a return greeting. Heat raced up her neck and spread across her face. A vivid memory flashed. An image of Tanner shirtless…wearing wet swimming trunks that hugged his lean hips as he strolled to her across her parents’ backyard. Her twenty-first birthday party, and the heat and desire in his eyes had been obvious. They’d shared one hot, passionate night a couple of months before. She’d sampled his body, knew what was under those shorts, how he could make her feel. But she’d arrived late with one of her best guy friends in tow. She’d asked Tim to come home with her as a safety net, in case things were awkward with Tanner. It had been the first time they’d seen each other after... The heat that sparked, extinguished as soon as Tim played his part. Things were never awkward, just left unsaid.

Quickly Tanner reached over and grabbed a gym bag from the low sofa along the side wall. “Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared the way he’d come in. A heavy door closed behind him.

All she was capable of was a nod. It’d been a long time since she’d seen Tanner in all his shirtless glory. As hard as he worked at his career, he still exercised. Broad shoulders narrowed to well defined pecs where beads of water had glistened. Her fingers itched to touch him…and those abs, she wanted to do more than touch. Her face wasn’t the only part of her growing hotter by the second.

A photograph caught her eye. She walked over, and for the first time noticed each wall held a border-like line of picture frames. Making her way around the room, a picture of Tanner and Jake taken pretty recently on a fishing trip stopped her. Tanner’s eyes were squinted against the sun and he wore faded jeans stretched over his powerful thighs. A white t-shirt clung to his chest, making his tan seem darker. He was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

She shook her head and moved around the room taking in all the photos. Most were of buildings or vacant land. Things he must have owned or had bought and sold. The next picture she came to with people in it was of Tanner and his mother. He must have been three or four, and they were sitting on a blanket with a child’s toy ball and picnic food spread all around. Ms. Theroit looked more relaxed in that picture than at any time she’d ever seen her. No wonder Tanner would treasure it.

As she followed the frames around the room, she heard softly running water in the background. The final picture with people was of Tanner and Jake taken the day of their college graduation. Each had an arm wrapped around her, standing between them. She smiled to herself and mindlessly slid her locket on its chain, studying the picture intently.

The door swung open and he stepped into the room. His presence filled the space, knocking her for a loop.

“That was a long time ago,” Tanner said and slipped into the chair behind his desk.

“Yes, it was. You’ve both come a long way since then.” She smiled.

“I wasn’t thinking about that, but true enough.” He looked lost in his own thoughts. “You know, you’ve certainly grown up since then too.”

She laughed. “I should hope so. Like you said, it was a long time ago.”

“I doubt you’ve come by to talk about old photos, huh?”

“You’re right. First I want to say thank you.” She still held out the locket in her hand. “I appreciate you driving all the way over to pick me up.” She took a deep breath. “And everything else.”

Tanner gave her a crooked grin. Her toes curled. He didn’t have a clue.

“Well, I couldn’t let you go around with a mark on your perfect record.”

Did he think she had a ‘perfect’ anything? “Oh, it’s not like a little breaking and entering is the first horrible thing I’ve ever done, you know.”

“No, I don’t know.” He held up a hand. “And please don’t spoil the perfect image I have of you.”

As if he had any image of her. “Well, however you did it, I do thank you.”

He winked. “Anything for you, jailbird.”

“Yeah, well, no talk like that in front of my brother, got it?”

“Sometimes you’re no fun at all,” he said. She dropped into the chair across from his desk. Was he flirting with her?

“I need to talk to you…” they said at the same time, running over each other’s words. They laughed and Tanner said, “Ladies first.”

“You wanted to talk to me? Does it have to do with the other night?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s all being taken care of. Forget about it, okay?”

“Thanks for whatever it is you did.” She reached for and held onto the locket, blinking back tears. If only he had a clue how much it meant to her—

“You came here for something. What’s up?”

* * * *

Tanner was deep in his own thoughts. Freakin’ mesmerized by Misty McNeil. He had to be close to losing his grip on reality. What the hell was up? She was Jake’s baby sister. He’d watched her grow up into one hell of a woman.

“I need some help, Tanner,” she blurted, bringing him back to reality.

“What kind of help?” She quirked a smile, and his empty stomach did a flip-flop.

“I guess you’re thinking what’s wrong now? Huh?”

“Of course not. You know I’d…”

“Yeah, yeah, do whatever you can, I’m like a kid sister. Blah, blah, I get it,” she muttered. She shook her head, her sleek black hair drifting around her bare shoulders. All she had on was a skimpy tank top, capri pants and barely-there sandals. Taking in the whole package was making him grow hotter and more uncomfortable by the second. He’d already been to the gym for two hours this morning, trying to get her out of his head. Since the other night, she’d been the main feature playing through his mind during his down time. Now lusty thoughts of her were taking over business hours.

One night long ago was enough to make those thoughts too real. He looked down and noticed her bare toes polished to pink perfection in her strappy sandals. Unbelievable, how sexy he found them. His cock stirred. He shifted in his seat. Maybe if he knew what she needed he could get her to go away, and once she was out of his office, his pulse would return to normal. “What kind of help do you need?”

“I’m being kicked out of my apartment. I’m not sure if it’s legal, but the landlord said I have to be out in seven days.” She glanced at her watch. “Well, six and half, now.”

Something he could run with, and get her sexy shoulders and bare toes and…well, all of her assets off of his mind. He quizzed her, and she told him the details of what her landlord had said. It was perfectly legal, but something he’d never do. “Why don’t you move home with your parents for a while?”

Heck. Mr. McNeil wanted to buy Jake a house, buying one for Misty couldn’t be too far behind.

She rolled her deep blue eyes heavenward, exasperation creasing her features. “Sorry I’ve wasted your time, Tanner,” she said, and made a move to stand.

He bolted up and held his hand out. “Whoa. Wait a minute. You’re not. I only thought moving home would give you some extra time.”

“No sane twenty-eight-year-old woman wants to move home.”

He swallowed. “You’re twenty-eight?”

“Yes, I’m only a few years younger than Jake.”

He shook his head. “I guess I always thought of you as…well, much younger.”

“Immature, you mean?”

“No. Definitely not.” This was getting off track. “What’s so bad about moving home for a couple of weeks to find a new place? You work with your dad every day.”

“Tanner, office hours are one thing, living with him is something totally different. And with my mother on her extended European tour, or whatever it is he’s calling it…” She shook her head. “There’s no way I’m putting myself in the middle of that. Not gonna happen.”

“What are you talking about? I thought your mom went to France for a couple of weeks? She’s gone indefinitely?”

Sadness clouded her delicate features. Misty shook her head. “I assumed you knew.”

He walked around the desk and took her hand in his, trying to ignore the heat shooting up his arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. There’s a coffee shop around the corner.”