by Force, Marie
“Why not?”
“I don’t really know anyone, except for Mac and Luke and Big Mac.”
“You know me. I’ll be there.”
“That’s a good reason to stay away. I wouldn’t want to burn down Stephanie’s new restaurant by shooting fire at you out my eyes.”
He threw his head back and laughed—hard.
Watching him, Kara hated herself for being attracted. She absolutely did not want to be. He was exactly like every other smooth-talking guy who’d never heard the word no from a woman. She refused to get sucked into his web. Been there, done that, learned from it—or so she’d thought.
“If you want someone to go with, I’d be happy to pick you up.”
“That’s not necessary. I’m perfectly capable of going to a party by myself.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Thank you. I will.”
He shivered dramatically. “Getting chilly around here.”
“You’re free to leave at any time.”
“Not until I get the three rides I paid for.”
“Don’t you work?”
“Yep.”
“Yet you have all this free time to hang around and bother me?”
“And here I thought I was charming you with my wit and turkey sandwiches.”
That drew a reluctant grunt of laughter from her.
“Progress,” he said smugly.
Kara scowled at him.
“Ohhh, one step forward, two steps back.”
“You need to learn to quit while you’re ahead.”
“If I’m not mistaken, you like talking to me.”
“You are quite mistaken. I was hungry. That’s it.”
“I bet you get hungry around this time every day.”
She sent him her most withering look, which worked on most people. Unfortunately, Dan Torrington wasn’t most people. He replied with a goofy grin that was positively adorable. Not that she thought he was adorable or anything. His grin was. She’d give him that much.
“If you’re supposedly working, why aren’t you dressed for work?”
He wore a pink Izod polo that would’ve looked fruity on a lesser man and khaki cargo shorts. Today he was sporting flip-flops rather than the foolish dress shoes he’d worn yesterday.
“What should I be wearing?”
“A tie, for one thing.”
He shuddered. “I hate ties. I only wear them in court.”
“You’re not like any lawyer I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.” He smiled as if she’d paid him the world’s biggest compliment. “I hear that a lot.”
“What kind of law do you practice?”
“Lately, I seem to be dabbling in all sorts of things, but I specialize in criminal law.”
“There can’t be much call for your specialty around here.”
“Oh, there isn’t. I’ll let you in on a badly kept secret. I’m writing a book. That’s why I’m here.”
“What kind of book?”
“You know, the kind with words and pages.”
“Very funny.” Mad at herself for being intrigued, Kara took a sip of her soda and tried to decide whether she was curious enough to pursue the line of questioning that was running through her mind. The last thing she wanted was to encourage him to keep coming around.
“It’s about some of the cases I’ve worked on,” he said, sparing her the need for further questions.
“Do you know how to write a book?”
“Not really, but I’m figuring it out. This is my first.”
“Oh.” A host of additional questions popped into her head. She wanted to ask about his writing process, specifics about the cases he was writing about, whether he thought the book would sell to a publisher. But she kept those and all her other questions to herself for fear of encouraging his odd pursuit. What did he even want with her? She was boring compared to the women he must know in LA. Growing up with a posse of brothers, she’d never much concerned herself with fashion or makeup or all the other foolishness most women embraced. As a result, she was a twenty-seven-year-old tomboy and way out of her league with a smooth-talking charmer who could have any woman he wanted. She’d learned not to trust the charming men.
“Why me?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she was instantly mortified to realize she’d actually asked the question.
Naturally, he was nonplussed by her blatant inquiry. “Why not you?”
“I feel like you’re playing some sort of game with me, only I don’t know the rules.”
Much to her dismay, he slid over to sit right next to her. When he took her hand, sensation darted up her arm and zinged through her bloodstream at lightning speed. This is so not good. “I’m not playing games,” he said in the most earnestly sincere tone she’d heard yet from him. “I promise.”
She tried to pull her hand free, but he only held on tighter. “I don’t get you.”
“What you see is what you get.”
“That is so not true.”
His low laugh stirred something deep inside her. She discovered in that moment that she rather enjoyed making him laugh. “Now what is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t act like you’re not all complicated and broody and full of yourself.”
“I’ll give you full of myself—at times. I’m working on trying to be better about that. But complicated and broody? Not so much. I’m an easygoing kind of guy. I work hard and play hard. I like to have fun. Don’t you?”
It’d been such a long time since Kara had done anything that could be called fun. Matt had ruined a lot of things for her. “I guess.”
“Oh the enthusiasm! You bowl me over, Ms. Ballard.”
He shifted their joined hands and linked their fingers. Startled to realize she’d allowed him to hold her hand for several minutes, she tried again to pull free of his grasp.
“Stop,” he said. “Just relax, will you? I’m not about to cause you harm.”
“You may not intend to.”
“What happened to you, honey?”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not your honey.”
“I think I’d like you to be.”
“You never did answer my question.” The feel of his warm palm pressed against hers was doing odd things to her nervous system.
“Which one was that?”
“Why me?”
“Because the night I met you at Luke’s house… Remember that?”
“Yes,” she said, exasperated. Of course she remembered! She’d thought about that night so many times during the long, cold winter in Maine, and she’d thought about him, too, not that she’d ever admit that.
“I… You…”
“Articulate, Counselor. Seriously. I’m dazzled.”
He laughed again and squeezed her hand. “As soon as I met you, I wanted to know you better. I wanted to know who had hurt you, and I wanted to hurt him on your behalf. I wanted to tell you what happened with my fiancée, and I haven’t told anyone.”
“You haven’t?”
He shook his head. “Only she knows the truth. And one other person.”
His entire demeanor changed when he spoke of his ex. Kara wondered if he knew that.
“I wanted to talk to you and be with you and maybe kiss you, if you’d let me,” he continued.
As if she’d left the door wide open, he was slipping through her defenses. Amazingly, she wasn’t nearly as bothered by that as she probably should’ve been.
“I’m not interested in being part of a harem,” she said, hating how prim and proper she sounded.
“Oh, damn! Really? There go all my plans to make you one of the sister wives. Shit.”
“Stop,” she said, laughing as she bumped his shoulder with hers.
“You should laugh more often. It looks good on you.”
Kara hadn’t laughed in a very long time. It felt good. “My ex dumped me for my sister,” she said. Again, the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could t
ake a moment to consider the implications. What was it about him that made her say things she had no intention of saying?
“Ouch,” he said with a grimace.
“Yeah. Ouch.”
“Are they still together?”
“Married with a baby on the way.”
“Oh, man. That’s got to be rough.”
“I haven’t spoken to either of them in two years.”
“Can’t say I blame you.”
“I thought he was going to ask me to marry him. Instead, he took me out for a nice dinner to tell me he’d fallen in love with my sister. I think he did it in public so I wouldn’t make a scene.”
“I hope you made one anyway.”
Kara recalled throwing her glass of merlot in his face in the middle of one of Bar Harbor’s nicer restaurants. The town had buzzed over the incident for months afterward. She hadn’t touched a drop of merlot since. “Damn right, I did.”
“Good for you,” he said with another squeeze of her hand. “I caught my fiancée in bed with my best man two days before the wedding.”
“Oh my God!” Without releasing his hand, she turned in her seat so she was looking at him. “What did you do?”
“Made a scene, punched my so-called best friend in the face and thought about kicking him in the junk. I should’ve. When I think back on that day, that’s my biggest regret. Funny, huh?”
Kara smiled. “You so should’ve done it.”
“If I ever run into him again, he’d better hope he’s wearing a cup.”
That drew a genuine laugh from her.
“You are so very pretty, especially when you smile.”
Her smile faded.
“You don’t think so?”
“My self-esteem isn’t quite what it used to be.”
“Let me assure you that any man who’d walk away from you is an idiot.”
“You’re very smooth with the lines.”
“Is that right?”
“Like you didn’t know that.”
“I want you to go with me to Stephanie’s party tomorrow night.”
“Why?”
“Because I really like talking to you, and I want to talk to you some more. Very soon. Actually, tomorrow night is a long time from now. What’re you doing tonight?”
Kara held up her free hand to stop him. “I’ll go with you tomorrow night, but I’m busy tonight.” She wasn’t really, but she felt the need to regain some control over this rapidly evolving situation.
His smile stretched from ear to ear. “Tell me the truth. Was it the Mountain Dew?”
“It didn’t hurt,” she conceded.
“Where do you live?”
She pointed to a white building that abutted the marina property.
“Ah, well, that’s easy.”
“Don’t make me sorry I told you that.”
“You injure me with your lack of faith in me.”
“I’m sure you’ll recover in due time.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“Um, excuse me,” a male voice behind them said. “Is the launch running?”
Kara had been so caught up in the conversation she hadn’t planned to have that she’d completely forgotten where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. She tugged her hand free and jumped up. “Yes, we are. Come aboard.”
Chapter 10
Tiffany was alone in the store when the bells rang, alerting her to a potential customer. She hustled from the stockroom and stopped short when she saw Linda McCarthy taking a look around.
“Hi, Linda,” Tiffany managed to say, even though her mouth had gone totally dry. “Nice to see you.”
Linda raised her arms to hug Tiffany. “I wanted to come in and see your store and congratulate you on starting a business. I surely remember what that is like.”
“Kind of stressful,” Tiffany said, relieved that this would be a friendly visit from her sister’s mother-in-law.
“Do you mind if I poke around a bit?”
“Of course not.” Knowing Linda’s approval and endorsement could be critical to the success—or failure—of her store, butterflies stormed in Tiffany’s stomach. “Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“I certainly will. Everything is so pretty.” Linda held up a floral silk robe and glanced at the price tag.
Tiffany had to hold herself back from recommending items that might interest her. Maybe, if she got very lucky, Linda wouldn’t notice the smaller room behind the beaded curtain. The idea of Linda McCarthy in a room full of dildos and vibrators had Tiffany on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
While keeping half an eye on Linda as she perused the racks, Tiffany sorted a stack of invoices and made note of which ones had to be paid sooner rather than later.
“Could I try this on, Tiffany?” Linda asked, holding up a pink floral silk nightgown and robe.
“Of course. Let me get a fitting room ready for you.”
“Would also you mind offering an opinion?” Linda asked almost shyly, which was interesting. Tiffany had never known her to be shy.
“I’d love to.”
“Great, thanks.” Linda stepped into the dressing room. “Okay,” she said a few minutes later. “Here goes nothing.” She opened the door tentatively. “What do you think?”
“It looks wonderful on you—and I’m not just saying that because I want you to buy it.”
“I quite like it myself.” Linda took a closer look in the mirror. “I wonder what my husband would think of it?”
“Venturing a guess here, but I’ll bet he approves wholeheartedly.”
Linda smiled at Tiffany in the mirror. “I bet he will, too. Sold!”
“I’m so glad you found something you love.”
“I do love it.”
Linda changed and brought her purchases to the register. As Tiffany was ringing up the sale, Linda pointed to the beaded curtain. “What’re you hiding back there?”
“Oh, nothing. Just this. And that.”
Linda raised an eyebrow. “This and that, huh? Mind if I take a look?”
Tiffany wanted to die on the spot. “Um, well, ah…”
Linda surprised her by giggling. “Must be some pretty good this and that if your face turns bright red.”
“It’s pretty good, all right.”
As she watched Linda walk over to the curtain, Tiffany’s heart pounded.
Linda parted the curtain and took a good long look before glancing back at Tiffany with a scandalized expression on her face. “Oh. My.”
“I told you—this and that.”
“Where does one begin to know where to start with…items…such as this…and that?”
“I recommend starting simply.” Tiffany forced her legs to carry her across the room. “May I?”
Linda stepped aside to admit Tiffany into the room. “By all means.”
Tiffany reached for an egg-shaped vibrator and handed it to Linda, all the while telling herself to treat her sister’s mother-in-law the way she would any other customer who had questions about her inventory. As long as she kept up that pretense, she might get through this without suffering a stroke.
“And what does this little number do?”
“It vibrates.”
“Oh.”
Watching Linda McCarthy examine the vibrator from every angle made Tiffany want to giggle like a child, but somehow she managed to maintain her professional demeanor.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with this.”
Images of what Blaine had done to her with theirs flashed through Tiffany’s mind like an X-rated movie. “You place it against your, um, pleasure points.”
“I don’t know if I could do that.”
“Well, you don’t have to do it. Your, ah…your husband could do it for you.”
“Oh. Oh.” Linda’s face turned bright red this time. “I don’t know if he could do it, either.”
“I bet he’d love to try.”
“You think so?”
“I’d almos
t guarantee it.”
“I’m trying to imagine how I’d broach the subject with him…”
“You could say that you stopped into my shop today, and I talked you into trying something new.”
“That’d be one way to introduce the idea.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Tiffany said. “Take that one on the house. If you discover you like it, come back and get another one to try.”
“I couldn’t do that! You’re in business to make money. Not to give things away.”
“I’m also in business to help people try new things and to spice up their love lives.”
“Not that my love life needs much spicing, but I have to admit I’m curious. I’ll take it.”
Tiffany smiled all the way to the register, where Linda insisted on paying for the vibrator.
“You’re very good at this,” Linda said as she accepted the red-striped bag from Tiffany. “I predict you’ll be a smashing success.”
“That’d be very nice.”
“Congratulations on your new venture. I’ll be sure to tell my friends they need to stop in and check out what you’ve got.”
“That’d be great. Thank you. I, um, I also want to say that I appreciate how good you’ve been to my sister. She’s quite fond of you, and I can see why, after spending some time with you.”
“Thank you, honey. I love her very much. She’s made my son so happy.”
“They are some kind of happy,” Tiffany said wistfully.
She was surprised when Linda reached for her hand. “You’ll have your turn one of these days. Don’t let what happened with Jim make you bitter about love. You can do better.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
“Well, I must be off. Thanks again.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the business.”
Linda was almost to the door when she stopped and turned back to Tiffany. “You won’t tell anyone what I bought, will you?”
“Absolutely not. It’s our secret. But I’d love to know what your hubby has to say about it, if you feel like dishing.”
Linda flashed a bright smile. “You got it.”
As the bells chimed to announce Linda’s departure, Tiffany clapped her hands and did a little jig. The bells chimed again when Patty came into the store.
“Was that Linda McCarthy?” Patty asked, wide-eyed.