Читать книгу Pure Temptation & Old Enough to Know Better: Pure Temptation / Old Enough To Know Better - Vicki Thompson Lewis - Страница 15

THE NEXT AFTERNOON as Tess pulled packages from the car after her shopping trip to Phoenix, her neighbor, Hazel Nedbetter, came hurrying over with a florist’s vase full of daisies. Tess quickly shoved the Naughty But Nice lingerie box under the front seat.

“I took these into my house so they wouldn’t wilt on your front porch,” Hazel said.

“Why, thank you, Hazel.” Tess took the vase and stared at the cheerful bouquet of white and gold daisies, exactly like the ones on her dress. They could only have come from one person.

“It isn’t even from the Copperville Flower Shoppe. The van was from some big florist in Phoenix. Can you imagine? The delivery fee must have been huge!”

“Probably was.” At least Mac had taken some precautions, Tess thought. If he’d ordered from the local flower shop, the news would have spread by now. She was thrilled that he’d sent a bouquet, but she didn’t know how in hell she’d explain it to Hazel. And Hazel would need an explanation. The more mysterious Tess was, the more Hazel would speculate and the wilder the gossip would become.

The sun beat down on them, and Tess needed to buy some time to think of what she’d say. “It must be three hundred degrees out here. Let’s go into the shade,” she said, starting toward her front porch. Doggone Mac, anyway. He’d put her in a precarious spot, but his reckless gesture made her smile. She could just hear him—I wanted to send you flowers. I figured you’re a smart girl. You’ll think of something to tell the neighbors.

Setting the vase on the porch rail, she turned to Hazel and used the first explanation she could think of. “I’ll bet they’re from my new principal in New York.”

“Really? How fancy! I don’t think Mr. Grimes ever sends flowers to the people he hires at Copperville High. They must do things differently back East.” Hazel eyed the small white envelope secured in the arrangement with a plastic holder. Clearly she wanted Tess to take the envelope out and open it to prove that the flowers were indeed from Tess’s new principal, as she’d speculated.

The envelope wasn’t sealed shut, so Hazel could have looked at the card, but Tess didn’t think she had. Still, it was possible, so Tess decided to go for broke.

She could pull this off, although Mac had given her quite a challenge. He knew good and well that the neighbors would notice flowers arriving at her doorstep and he was probably sitting in Flagstaff chuckling as he imagined her predicament. Even if she’d been home, the delivery van would have attracted attention. Most of her neighbors in this older section of Copperville were retired and had plenty of time to observe the activities surrounding them.

Determined to convince Hazel, Tess boldly plucked the envelope from the plastic holder. “Let’s just see if I’m right.” She opened the envelope, figuring whatever Mac had said, she’d tell Hazel it was indeed from her principal.

As it turned out, Mac had come to her aid. The cryptic card read Wishing you the best as you explore new worlds—M. Tess knew exactly what new worlds he was talking about, and they all involved the bed she was about to redecorate. But Hazel wouldn’t realize that.

“Yep, it’s from my principal, all right,” Tess said. She repeated the greeting for Hazel and on impulse decided she could even nail her story down a little tighter. “My principal’s name is Emma Kirkwood, but most people call her Em, or they use the initial M for short. See?” She turned the card around for Hazel’s inspection. Tess had no idea if anyone called Emma Kirkwood Em, let alone abbreviated the nickname to an initial, but the chances of Emma appearing in Copperville were remote.

Hazel adjusted her bifocals and peered at the card. “Sure enough.” She glanced at Tess. “That’s real nice, sending you a bouquet like that. Although I would have thought maybe roses or carnations would be more likely than daisies.”

“M likes daisies.”

Hazel nodded. “Been shopping?”

With the change of topic, Tess knew she was home free. The daisies were explained. “Yes. Picked up some things for the trip.” And it would be some trip, considering the supplies she’d found today. She thought Mac would be pleased. Maybe more than pleased. She wanted him to salivate, actually.

“When does Lionel plan on putting up a For Rent sign in front of your house?” Hazel asked.

“Not until next month, I think. Don’t worry, Hazel. Lionel is very particular who he rents this place to. You’ll get good neighbors.”

“I suppose, but I’ll miss you, anyway.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Hazel.” Tess lifted the hair off the back of her neck. Even the shade of her porch was darned warm, but if she invited Hazel in she might be there for another hour. She was a dear lady, and another time Tess might not have minded visiting with her, but at the moment she was eager to get her purchases inside before someone else showed up and noticed the lingerie box or the satin sheets.

“Your poor mother’s going to cry her eyes out when you go.”

“I know. I’ll probably cry, too. But I have to spread my wings, Hazel. My brothers all got to be football heroes. This is a chance for me to shine.”

“Oh, yes, your brothers. They might act like they don’t care about such things, but they’re going to hate having you so far away. And then there’s Mac MacDougal. That boy’s going to miss you something terrible. I noticed you two were out last night. I was surprised at that, because Mabel Bellweather told me you were feeling sick when you were at the Nugget for dinner.”

Tess began to wonder if she and Mac had any chance of keeping their secret, after all. Copperville was a hotbed of gossip. “I was feeling sick, but after I left the restaurant I started feeling better, so we took a long drive. He, um, wanted to discuss the breeding program he and his father are starting. They’re going to look at a few studs during that big horse show in Flagstaff this weekend. You did know they’re in Flagstaff?”

Hazel nodded. “I heard. Nora’s at one of her antique shows up there.”

“Right.” Tess decided she needed to prepare Hazel for Mac’s next move. “I made Mac promise to come over when he gets home and tell me all about the trip,” she said. “So you’ll likely see his truck here after they get home.”

“Now, see there?” Hazel wagged her finger at Tess. “You two have always been close like that, sharing your news. Who’s he going to tell about his goings-on when you’re in New York City?”

Tess hadn’t wanted to face that, herself. “I guess we’ll have to use the phone. Well, Hazel, I’d better let you get to your dinner preparations.”

“Guess so.” Hazel seemed reluctant to take the hint. “How was Phoenix?”

“Hot,” Tess said.

“I’ll bet. These nights have been so warm I can barely sleep.”

Which means Mac and I had better close the blinds good and tight, Tess thought. “I know what you mean,” she said. “Well, see you later, Hazel. And thanks again for preserving my bouquet.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy it.” Hazel headed back over the path worn in the grass between the two houses.

Tess picked up the flowers and went inside. The phone rang the minute she set the vase on her coffee table. She walked over to the little telephone table next to the sofa and picked up the cordless receiver. “Hello?”

“Where have you been?” Mac asked. “I tried about six times today and kept getting your machine.”

The sound of his voice made her nipples tighten. He’d never had that effect on her before, but times had changed. “I was in Phoenix.”

“Oh, really? Buying more books?”

“Not this time. This trip was for other things.” Her first impulse, because it was the way they’d always interacted, was to tell him everything she’d bought. But the dynamics had changed and secrets were very appealing now.

“Anything to do with… Sunday night?”

“As a matter of fact.”

“What did you buy?”

She smiled. “Oh, something very, very brief.”

“Really.” The timbre of his voice changed. “Care to describe it?”

“I’d rather surprise you. Use your imagination.”

“That’s been my problem today. I can’t seem to use anything but my imagination. I’ve been so spaced out my dad keeps asking if I overdosed on allergy medicine, even though he knows I don’t have allergies.”

“So you’ve been thinking about me.” Her body reacted, moistening and throbbing as if he were right there beside her.

“That would be an understatement. I keep thinking about that daisy dress of yours, and…everything that happened last night.”

“Me, too.” She stroked the petals of her floral arrangement. “But the daisies were very hard to explain to Hazel Nedbetter, Mac.”

His laugh was low and sexy. “I’ll bet you came up with a story, though, didn’t you?”

“I told her they were from my new principal, whose name is Emma, but she often goes by just the initial M.”

He laughed again. “Damn, but you’re clever. I wish I’d been there to hear you spin that yarn.”

“Me, too.”

His voice lowered, became soft and seductive. “I wish I could be there right now.”

Tess sighed. “Me, too.”

“What are you wearing?”

“A sleeveless blouse and shorts.” Scenarios from her reading flashed through her mind, and she had the urge to experiment with her newfound power. “But it’s very hot, Mac.” She picked up the vase of flowers. “I think I’ll just walk back into the bedroom and take my blouse off.”

“Now?”

“Well, sure, unless you want me to hang up.”

His tone was strained. “No, I don’t want you to hang up. I might not get another chance to call you today. But Tess—”

“Just unfastening the buttons will help.”

In her bedroom she set the vase down and started unbuttoning her blouse. “Ah. I can feel a little breeze from the air conditioner right here, blowing on my bare skin. By the way, did you find any good studs?”

“Uh, yes. No. Maybe. Have you got your blouse off yet?”

“I’m getting there. These buttons aren’t the easiest in the world. I tell you, it’s so warm here, Mac. This little trickle of sweat just rolled down between my breasts. I’ll bet I’d taste really salty right now.”