Читать книгу Accidentally Yours - Сьюзен Мэллери, Susan Mallery - Страница 8

NATHAN’S MOUTH WAS warm and firm, but not demanding, which surprised Kerri. She’d expected to be ravished, not kissed. He didn’t grab her. Instead he let his lips handle all the action, and they did a fine job.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she gave herself up to the kiss, enjoying the heat, the pressure, the little tingles that shot down her arms. Without meaning to, she tilted her head slightly, in silent invitation.

One he ignored, she thought sadly. His touch was fleeting, more heat than substance, and left her wanting more. Something she wouldn’t have guessed. When he pulled back, she felt an unexpected whisper of hunger. Probably because she hadn’t kissed a man since Brian had died…before Cody had been born. How sad was that?

He looked stunned, as if he hadn’t planned to kiss her. She quickly reassured him.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I don’t mind.”

His expression hardened. “Is this about sleeping with me for the money?”

“What? No. Besides, you kissed me.”

“It’s your fault it happened.”

“That’s mature.” Why was he making this so difficult? “I don’t mind. It’s fine. I owe you.”

“So you’ll have sex with me?”

“Not the most subtle come-on.” She considered the question, then answered honestly. “If it’s important to you.” She touched his arm. “You came through for me. That means a lot.”

“Fifteen million dollars’ worth of meaning.”

She smiled. “At least I’m not cheap.” Her smile faded. “Don’t make this more than it is. I was grateful and I spoke in a moment without thinking. I offered Tim a kidney. That doesn’t mean I’m scheduling surgery.”

“So you won’t sleep with me.”

“Are you asking me to?”

“No. I’m looking for clarification. Is sex on the table?”

“Do you want it to be?”

“This isn’t about me.” He sounded frustrated.

“But you’re the one asking.”

“I’m not asking. I’m not interested.”

“Then we don’t have a problem.”

“But if I was, you’d say yes?” he asked, sounding as if he really wanted to know.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She eyed his mouth. Maybe with a little more kissing.

Then she jerked her head away. No, she reminded herself. She had to put all her energy into Cody. If she turned her attention from him for even a second, something bad might happen.

“You don’t want me, so it’s not an issue,” she said. “Right?”

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the parking garage. Tim was waiting by the limo. She sighed. It had been a lovely ride. She looked forward to the return trip. Maybe they could stop by Kidd Valley for burgers before they headed up I90. She was starved.

She turned back to Nathan. “I’ll see you soon,” she called.

He muttered something she couldn’t hear and pushed a button. The elevator doors closed.

“Strange, strange man,” she said to herself, and walked toward Tim.

FRANKIE TYPED frantically on her computer keyboard. Even when she wasn’t sure what to say, she kept typing because the rhythm was as important as the words. Her to-do list hovered in the periphery of her mind, but most of her attention was on her article for the monthly newsletter. She had the lead.

Damage to the Puget Sound continued at a devastating pace. So many species of plants and animals had already disappeared. Many more were on the verge of becoming extinct. Sometimes, when she wrote, she felt as if the fate of the planet rested on her shoulders. That if she could just find the right combination of words and sentences, she could change everything.

“Frankie, got a sec?”

Frankie looked up at her boss and nodded, not showing her irritation at being interrupted. She hated to be interrupted before she was finished. It broke her rhythm. But she’d learned that most people didn’t understand that.

She finished her sentence, saved her file, then pumped some hand sanitizer onto her palms and began rubbing her hands together.

One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Exactly eighteen times the groups of four, because seventy-two was her favorite number.

She followed Owen into his crowded office. There were reports and books and office supplies stacked everywhere. The room seemed to close in on itself. Sometimes Frankie couldn’t stand to be in there—she needed order—but today she was strong.

She looked at her boss. “What’s up?”

He sighed heavily. “We’re not going to make it, Frankie. We don’t have the funding. I’ve been fighting them for nearly two years and it’s a battle that can’t be won. We’re shutting down.”

“No,” she breathed, unable to believe him. “No, no. This is where I belong. We have to stay in business. We have to make a difference. We’re needed.”

Owen, a thirtysomething, heavyset man, shrugged. “We’ve let most of the staff go already. The truth is we’re too radical to get mainstream funding and the fringe element that agrees with us is generally lacking in funds. Right now the only thing that keeps us from going under is the money you put in. I can’t keep taking that from you.”

“I don’t mind,” she said quickly. She didn’t need the money. Blood money, she thought as she closed her eyes and saw the blood on the living room walls. It wasn’t like in the movies. It wasn’t clean or neat or organized. When someone got shot in real life, it was messy. It smelled and it stayed inside your brain forever.

“It’s not right,” Owen told her. “You need that money yourself.”

“I don’t.” For what? This place was her life. “We need publicity,” she said. “Something big.”

Owen’s eyes were kind. “Frankie, let it alone. I figure we’ve got a month left. I’ll understand if you want to leave now and look for something else. Or hell, take a vacation now that you’re not spending every penny here. Check out the endangered plant life in Hawaii.”

“We can get him,” Frankie told Owen. “He wants those towers and there’s going to be a lot of protesting. We can use that. We can get him.”

It was what she wanted more than anything. To destroy Nathan King. To punish him in every way possible. To leave him weak and alone and afraid.

“You can’t keeping doing this, Frankie.”

“I can. I will. I’ll find a way.”

“It’s time to put the past behind you.”

She’d trusted Owen enough to tell him the truth about what had happened—she’d never thought he would use it against her.

She stood. “It will never be time. I’ll never forgive him. I’ll get him, then people will listen and we’ll have enough money.”

Owen rose to his feet. “Frankie, he’s your brother. He’s the one who gives you the money. You can’t use it to destroy him.”

“Sure I can. That’s what makes it a perfect plan.”

She walked back to her desk and returned to her typing. But her mind wasn’t on the article anymore. It was on how she was going to destroy Nathan once and for all.

“BUT I DON’T WANNA,” Cody whined. “It’ll be boring.”

“Probably,” Kerri said as she smiled at her son. “Long and boring.”

“So we could stay home.”

“You’re right. Why should we worry about all the kids in the world who don’t have food or a home or toys? I mean, they should just have to put up with that. It’s way more important than you being bored.”

Cody sighed heavily. “You’re trying to make me feel bad.”

“I know. Is it working?”

“Kinda.”

“Look at it this way. I’ll bet the food will be really good. And it’s a charity for kids, so there might be some fun stuff for you to do. Either way, we’re helping and that matters.”

“Okay.”

The consent was grudgingly given. Kerri could have just told him they were going and he didn’t have a choice, but she preferred to have him a willing partner. Besides, he had to learn about the importance of giving to others. Although technically they were attending the charity because Nathan King had e-mailed her that her presence, along with her son’s, was expected. But she preferred to put a happier spin on things.

“Can we have some of the charity?” Cody asked.

“Not this week.”

“But what if there’s really cool stuff there?”

“Then you’ll know what to put on your birthday list.”

Although if it was too expensive, she wasn’t going to be able to afford it. Something to worry about later, she told herself. Fortunately, Cody’s wants had been fairly manageable to date. Although he’d asked for a video game system at Christmas last year, it hadn’t been one of the really pricey ones and she’d been able to swing it…barely.

“Tell you what,” she said. “Events like this usually have a raffle. If it’s for something really cool, I’ll give you five dollars for tickets.”

“Sweet.” He grinned. “Think we’ll get lucky?”

“If it’s a car, I really hope so.”

“Me, too. But don’t buy any tickets if it’s weird, okay, Mom? Remember that year’s supply of soup you won a couple of years ago? They were really bad.”

“I know.”

It had seemed like a great prize until they’d sampled the first can. The soups had been inedible.

“You wouldn’t even give some of them away,” he grumbled. “We had to eat them all.”

“I didn’t want to make anyone else suffer.”

“But it was okay to make me suffer?”

“Of course,” she told him with a grin. “You’re my child. I can do all kinds of horrible things to you. Like make you eat vegetables.”

He laughed. “And clean my room.”

“And do homework. Or like now, when I tell you to go pick out something nice to wear.”

He grumbled under his breath as he turned on his crutches and moved out of the kitchen. She watched him go, seeing so much of her late husband in her son. Every day Cody reminded her more and more of Brian. She treasured the similarities, even as they continued to break her heart.

Someone knocked on the front door. She walked through the living room and let in her friend Linda.

“I come bearing basic black,” Linda said. “Along with a couple of blazers and accessories.”

“Thank you. You’re saving me here. I don’t have a charity-worthy wardrobe. It’s just an afternoon thing, but I know all those rich people are going to be really well dressed and I need to fit in.”

“You’ll do great,” Linda told her. “Now let’s get you dressed.”

Kerri led the way into her small bedroom. She’d already curled her hair and put on makeup. After Linda closed the bedroom door, Kerri slipped out of her robe, then studied the selection her friend had brought.

“I like the black skirt,” she said, picking it up and holding it in front of her. “Basic, but a good simple style. I bought some black pumps at the thrift store last week. They’ve barely been used and they’re Stuart Weitzman. Who gives those away? I figure somebody must have died or something and the family had no idea what they were donating.”

“Lucky you.” Linda held up a cobalt-blue blouse. “What about this? I have a black tweed blazer. You’ll look coordinated without being too matchy. With some earrings and maybe a bracelet, you’ll be good to go.”

“It’s perfect.”

Kerri quickly tried everything on. The blouse and blazer were a touch long but otherwise fit great. The shoes were two kinds of heaven. Stylish but comfortable. She shrugged out of the blazer, then went into the bathroom where she began removing the curlers.

“Tell me you’ve received the money,” Kerri called. “I’m not stepping one foot into that limo if it hasn’t been transferred yet.”

She looked in the mirror as she spoke, making sure she got all the curlers. Linda was still in the bedroom.

“It’s been transferred,” the other woman said.

“Good. So you’re going to be hiring more researchers?”

“It takes time to pull it all together.”

That didn’t sound right. Kerri dropped an electric curler into the sink, then stuck her head in the bedroom. “Is there a problem?”

Linda shook her head. “It’s fine. Things are moving along.”

All the right words, so why did Kerri suddenly have a knot in her stomach? “The money got into the bank, right?”

“All fifteen million. Apparently it came from Nathan King’s personal account.”

If only, Kerri thought ruefully. “Yeah, I’ll have that much when I get paid on Friday.”

“Oh, me, too.”

They laughed.

“So what’s he like?” Linda asked. “Are you enjoying him?”

“I haven’t tied him up and asked him to call me his love poodle yet.”

“Good to know. You’ll want to save that for your second week together.”

“We’re not together. I have to admit he’s good-looking, but his attitude could use an adjustment.”

“It’s not in your nature to be totally grateful, is it?”

“I’m grateful, but I won’t crawl. I think I bug him, which is just an added bonus. He’s a little straitlaced.” She returned to the bathroom and pulled out the rest of her curlers, then smiled in anticipation as she said, “Not a bad kisser.”

There was a moment of silence followed by Linda’s appearance in the small bathroom.

“You kissed him?”

“He kissed me, but it was still good. Lots of tingles. It made me realize I haven’t seriously kissed a guy since Brian died. I miss kissing and touching.” But not with just any guy. If she had the choice, she would like to be doing all that with Brian.

“Now you can do both,” Linda said. “Although I’m not sure about Nathan King. Be careful. He’s a dangerous guy.”

“Not to me. I’m not interested in him or anyone that way.”

“How did you come to be kissing?”

Kerri tried to remember. “I’m not sure. We were talking about whether or not his giving up the fifteen million meant he could sleep with me.”

“What? He expects to get sex?”

“I’m not sure. I think it was more an intellectual discussion, then he kissed me. Probably to shut me up.”

Kerri bent over at the waist and brushed her hair. Then she fluffed it with her fingers, straightened and reached for the can of hair spray.

It took a couple of good passes to get all the curls to stay in place. “I’ll do another spray right before we leave.”

She put on fake pearl earrings and a gold-tone watch, then slipped into her fabulous shoes and pulled on the blazer. Then she stared at herself in the mirror.

“I still look like me,” she said. “I was hoping for better.”

“You look great.”

Kerri knew that on a good day she could pass for pretty, but no one would ever describe her as elegant or sophisticated.

“This isn’t my world. I won’t know what to say to anyone.”

“Just smile and if someone gets bitchy, remember she gets cramps and bloats, just like the rest of us.”

There was another knock on the front door. “That’ll be Tim,” Kerri said as she walked through the living room to answer it. “I suddenly feel so popular.”

“It’s because you’re a special person,” Linda teased.

“I’m getting that.” Kerri opened the front door and smiled as she saw both Tim and Lance on her tiny porch. “Two for one,” she said. “It’s my lucky day.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Lance said as he walked inside, then kissed her on the cheek. “You’re looking very ladies-who-lunch. Love the shoes.”

“Aren’t they great? Less than ten dollars.”

Lance winced. “You’re not going to want to mention that today.”

“I know. Hi, Tim.”

“Kerri.”

Tim nodded slightly as he, too, walked into her living room. The space had never been big, but with four adults, one of whom was the size of a small mountain, the space shrank even more.

Kerri introduced Linda.

“I’ve heard all about you,” her friend said. “You got Kerri the job at The Grill so she could attack Nathan King.”

Tim shifted slightly. On anyone else, Kerri would call it a wince.

Lance grinned. “Did I tell you? I’m a hero at work. They’re all talking about how I handled the crazy woman. Nathan came in to the restaurant last week and personally thanked the manager for my quick action. I got a raise.”

“Impressive,” Kerri told him. “So what did Nathan get out of it?”

“Nothing,” Lance told her. He glanced at Tim, then lowered his voice. “There are untold depths to our Mr. King, sweetie.”

“That’s what they say about Antarctica, but those depths are chilly.”

“He’s not all darkly evil,” Lance said. “He gave you the money.”

“I know, I know.” She looked at Tim. “Want to chime in here and defend your boss?”

“No.”

“Tim is very tight-lipped about his work.” Lance winked. “A loyal employee. The only kind our Mr. King hires.”

“You should call him Nathan,” Kerri said.

“Using his last name makes him all the more mysterious.”

“Because you like the guy?”

“Tim likes him,” Lance said. “I trust Tim.”

As Tim had been the one to come up with the idea of announcing the fifteen-million-dollar grant, Kerri liked him, too. But that didn’t mean she trusted his judgment when it came to Nathan.

“We should go,” Tim said.

“I’ll get Cody.”

Five minutes later, Linda was waving goodbye as they climbed into the waiting limo.

“I want details,” her friend called. “Take notes.”

“Promise.”

Cody maneuvered into the car. Kerri grabbed his crutches and followed him into the vehicle.

“Sweet ride,” her nine-year-old said with a grin as he slid onto the long bench on the side. “When I grow up, I want one of these to take me everywhere.”

“I thought you wanted a sports car that goes really fast.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Get both,” Lance said as he settled next to Kerri and closed the door.

“Yeah,” Cody breathed as he rubbed the leather seat. “I’ll get both.”

His words made Kerri’s chest tighten. Please, God, let him live long enough to make that decision, she thought, knowing that, without a miracle, odds were Cody wouldn’t see his twelfth birthday, let alone reach sixteen and learn to drive.

“We should buy a lottery ticket, Mom,” he told her. “If we won big, we could get one of these now.”

“And hire Tim.”

“Tim would never leave Nathan, but you could hire me,” Lance told her.

“It’s a deal.”

Cody looked at Lance. “Mr. King is, like, really rich, right?”

“We’re talking billions.”

“Cool.”

He’d come from nothing, Kerri thought, remembering her research on the man. He’d grown up in Bremerton, a navy town across the sound. He’d left for college and then had managed to amass an impressive fortune.

Maybe that’s what she’d done wrong, she thought humorously. She’d never graduated from college, and apparently beauty school didn’t count.

“Is the charity thing going to be boring?” Cody asked Lance.

“There are a lot of kids there, and games and the food is excellent,” Lance said. “You’ll have fun. There’s a huge arcade set up and all the games are free.”

“Yeah?”

Lance nodded, then turned his attention to Kerri. “I hate your lipstick. Do you have a different one?”

She dug in her purse and found two at the bottom. Lance studied them both, then handed her the pink one.

“Put this one on top.”

As she did, she looked at Cody, who rolled his eyes.

“Not your thing?” she asked with a grin.

He sighed heavily. “Does this limo have a TV?”

NATHAN KEPT a mental list of people he tried to avoid. Carol Mansfield was one of them. She was the tall, thin ex-wife of a high-powered executive and a successful boutique owner in her own right. She was the right age and had the right pedigree—she should have been someone he wanted to date. But there was something about Carol that made him think of a bird of prey coming in for the kill.

“You don’t usually attend these sorts of things,” Carol said as she put her hand on his arm. “You’re more the send-a-check type. Not that it isn’t lovely to see you.”

“I think this is an important cause.”

“Children’s charities?” She raised her eyebrows. “How charmingly unexpected. Are you meeting someone?”

“What?”

“You keep looking around. Either you’re meeting someone or I’m boring you.” She laughed as if the idea of her boring anyone was impossible to imagine.

“A friend.”

“I see. A female friend?”

“Just someone I know.”

“Which means a woman. I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”

“I’m not. It’s not like that.”

He told himself he didn’t owe Carol an explanation, even as he wondered why he felt it necessary to make it clear he wasn’t dating Kerri. Maybe because she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in him.

If she’d wanted to make sure nothing ever happened between them, she’d done a hell of a job, he thought grimly. Not knowing if her response was genuine or her twisted way of paying him back for the money put him in an impossible situation. Damn her.

He heard the sound of laughter and turned. The sun poked through the clouds just in time to light the entrance to the hotel and cast Kerri in a golden glow.

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but she looked good. Pretty and dressed to fit in. Her hair was curly, which was different but still appealing. She glanced behind her and he saw her kid moving easily on his crutches.

Nathan felt a subtle shift beneath his feet, as if there’d been an earthquake. He blinked and, instead of Cody, he saw his own son. Daniel on crutches, then Daniel in a wheelchair, because that was next. He blinked again and his son was gone, but the reality of what would happen to Cody remained.

Nathan knew what it was like at the end. How the body weakened, how he would go from the chair to bed. How at the end, the drugs didn’t work and all the boy could do was scream from the pain.

He wanted to walk away, to be anywhere but here. What the hell had he been thinking when he’d agreed to the deal?

“You sent me an e-mail,” Kerri said by way of greeting.

“Yes. I needed to tell you where we’d be meeting and what time.”

“I know, but jeez. How did you get my e-mail address?”

“I have a file on you.”

“Sure, but my e-mail address? Isn’t that private?”

“Not in my world.”

She considered that for a second. “You could have just called.”

“E-mail is more efficient.”

“A phone call is more personal.”

“We don’t need to be personal.”

She smiled. “You say that now.”

Was she bringing up the kiss? Annoyance flared, but he ignored it. Emotions weren’t productive.

“So what’s the deal with this place?” Kerri asked. “Is there anything specific I should be doing?”

“Walk around with me and pretend you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Should I carry a sign telling the world I think you’re a god?”

“You’re a lot less reverent now that you have your money.”

“I know. Isn’t it fun?”

“Don’t talk about the money,” he said, ignoring her question.

“Promise.”

“Just be friendly. Don’t give out personal information, don’t volunteer anything. If someone asks if we’re dating, say no, but don’t use a facial expression.”

“What? How can I know what my face is doing?”

“You know what I mean.”

“You’re giving me way too much credit.” She waved Cody forward. “Cody, this is Mr. King. Nathan, my son.”

Trapped, Nathan shook hands with the kid without really looking at him.

“Nice to meet you,” Cody mumbled.

“You’d rather be anywhere but here, right?” Nathan asked. He pointed to the far corner, where a multicolored balloon arch beckoned. “All the kid stuff is there, including the free arcade.”

Cody grinned. “Sweet.”

“I’ll take him,” Lance said. “Make sure he doesn’t get lost.”

“Thanks,” Kerri told him. “I think I have to stay with Nathan and play grateful supplicant.”

“And here I thought you were sincere,” Lance said.

“I am.” Kerri’s eyes sparkled. “Have fun, Cody. Be good. Stay in the kids’ section until I come to get you.”

“Oh, Mo-om.”

She looked at Nathan. “That’s boy speak for ‘Why, yes, Mother. Of course I will. I would never give you a moment’s trouble because you are so loving and kind.’”

Cody grumbled something under his breath as he went off with Lance. Nathan watched them go, wondering if his relationship with Daniel had been so comfortable. He’d loved his son more than he’d ever loved any other person, but sometimes he hadn’t known what to do or say.

“He’s having a good day,” Kerri said happily. “I love the good days. They make me believe in miracles.”

“You have to be realistic,” Nathan said, oddly annoyed by her faith and optimism.

“No way.” She looked at him, her blue eyes narrowed. “If I was realistic, Cody would have been dead a long time ago. Faith matters. My grandmother was diagnosed with liver cancer and given six months to live. She refused to believe it. She thought her doctor was an idiot. She lived six years because she wanted to see me graduate from high school.” Some of the fight went out of her. “She did. She lasted until the following summer.”

Kerri crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. “So I’m a big believer in cheating death and I’ll take on anyone who says otherwise.”

She radiated strength and power and an inner beauty he’d never noticed before. In that moment, he almost believed her. But he had a grave marker for a little boy that reminded him that miracles were a cheap trick and faith was for suckers.