The Seduction Game

by Maltezos, Anastasia

  “Here, drink first, talk later,” Barbara said as she returned, shoving a drink in her sister’s hands.

  Kate took a generous swig and started to choke and cough as it burned her throat. “What is it?”

  “Ouzo. I got it on vacation. Now tell me what happened.”

  “Get me another one first. I can still feel my fingers and toes.”

  Barbara sighed and returned a few moments later. “This is a double. And slow down this time. This stuff is potent.”

  Kate braced herself and finished half of it. Warmth spread down to her toes. The ouzo tasted like black licorice. It didn’t help that she hadn’t eaten, but right now getting a little tipsy was not a bad idea.

  “My plan was frawless,” she began. “I mean flawless. It was genius, really. Mm, this ouzo is great. Where can I get some?” She loved black licorice.

  “Greece. Now tell me what happened, and I’m not getting up again.”

  “I can’t buy it here?”

  Barbara made a face. “Of course you can. Now shut up about the ouzo and tell me everything.”

  “Well, first keep in mind I was out as the nice girl tonight and I was supposed to display the nice girl’s traits.” She paused and drew in a shaky breath. “Well, confidence was the first trait I was going to show by giving him direct eye contact, being positive, and offering statements with firm conviction. Well, I certainly accomplished the last one when I told him he was an arrogant, conceited bully.” Barbara bit her lip, obviously trying not to laugh. Kate was not amused. “Do you want to hear the rest or not?” Barbara nodded.“Next, I wanted to display independence. I showed him that all right when I ran off before the date even started by handing the maitre d’ a note to give to him. And don’t you dare make a face.” Kate took a deep breath. “Then there was thoughtfulness. Instead of thanking him for jumping to my rescue in the cocktail lounge where I waited for my table.”

  “What do you mean, jump to your rescue?” Barbara interrupted.

  “A man approached me before I met Adam and he tried to pick me up. Anyway, he got a little offensive, he was drunk, and Adam threw him out of the bar.”

  “What?”

  “And then I publicly berated Adam for interfering when I should have been thanking him. Insightful I didn’t even touch. Intelligence I went right over. Actually, he called me impertinent.” Kate glared at her sister. “Do you want to hear this or not?”

  Barbara wiped her tears and spoke between giggles. “I can’t help it. You were going on and on about how you had everything under control and...I’m sorry, sis. Please continue.”

  “Well-read, creative, and a zest for fun I skipped. Unless kissing him like some lovesick college girl would count for zest.” Her face burned at the memory. “And lastly—”

  “Hang on a minute.” Barbara turned serious. “You kissed him? You just met him a half hour ago.”

  “Actually, he kissed me. I just kissed him back.” She managed to avoid Barbara’s eyes, but couldn’t ignore the jolt in her stomach at the memory. “And last there was a good sense of humor. Thinking back, groping him in the car could be construed as pretty funny.”

  “What?”

  “I groped him.” Kate grimaced. “He took a sharp swerve to avoid an accident and I grabbed him. Well, I almost grabbed him, but it was close.” She closed her eyes. “Barbara, you were right. I had no business starting this. I went into it head first, even with all the planning. I…I guess I never counted on one thing.”

  “What?”

  “Adam Tyler. I didn’t expect him to be so attractive. I was having a hard time remaining professional.”

  “Was he nice to you, at least?”

  Kate sighed. “Yes, as nice as any man could be to a neurotic woman, because that’s how I came across tonight.”

  Barbara touched Kate’s hand. “It’s not your fault. You were nervous.”

  It was just as well her research was over, Kate thought. In the short time she had spent with Adam she’d discovered she was far too attracted to him. Besides, he probably thought she was a nut job the way she’d behaved tonight.

  A familiar sting pricked the back of her eyes. For one horrifying moment she thought she was going to burst into tears. She lowered her head to hide it, but it was too late. Her sister had already seen it.

  “Hey, it’s not the end of the world,” Barbara began softly. “You already have all those interviews and case studies for your book. Do you really need Phase Four to complete it?”

  “Yes. Adam’s ad specifically said he was tired of bad girls and wanted to meet a nice girl. He was the perfect male subject to validate that good girls do finish first.”

  “What if he’d chosen your bad girl persona?”

  “He may have been turned on by Miranda, but I don’t believe he would—”

  “Miranda? You mean Katrina, right?”

  Kate stiffened. Mentioning the woman who stole her man was a Freudian slip she didn’t want to analyze. “It was a slip of the tongue. Of course I meant Katrina.”

  Barbara’s eyes flashed. “That bastard Simon is behind all this, isn’t he?”

  Kate raised a firm hand. “Stop. And spare me the psychoanalysis,” she added tautly. “I’m the last person who needs it. Besides, as a doctor’s fiancée, you should appreciate the dangers of reopening old wounds.”

  “I’m sorry,” Barbara said.

  Inwardly, Kate began to unravel. “No, I’m sorry. You have every right to be concerned. I guess I would be too if the shoe was reversed and you were the one meeting Adam tonight.” Her hands went up to her bun and she pulled out her pins. “My head’s throbbing. Do you have any aspirin?” Barbara nodded and left while Kate loosened her hair from its confining knot. She was massaging her scalp when the doorbell rang.

  “Can you get that for me?” Barbara called from the bathroom.

  Kate sighed wearily as she rose. Her sister was right. Phase Four was a bust. She pressed the button on the intercom panel by the door. “Hello?”

  “Is that you, Kate?”

  Her stomach did a flip flop. “Adam? What…what are you doing here?”

  “You left your planner in my car.”

  She felt a flash of fear. Her business cards were inside the front cover! Business cards that had Kate Moore, Psychologist in bold, gold letters printed on them.

  “Just a second,” she replied with forced cheeriness. She removed her finger from the intercom. “Barbara! Barbara!”

  “What? Why are you yelling?” her sister asked as she rushed back in with a bottle of aspirin.

  Kate glanced around her sister’s living room, littered with her luggage from her trip to Greece. “Quick! Get rid of your bags. And then go in your bedroom and…and hide!”

  Barbara looked baffled. “Would you mind telling me what—”

  “He’s here. Adam’s here and he’s downstairs.”

  “Why is he—”

  “Damn it, Barbara,” Kate snapped. “This is my chance to be sweet and innocent. Now move! Go and lie down. I’ll wake you up when we’re done.”

  Barbara narrowed her eyes. “Done what? Not on my couch you won’t.”

  “Barb! Don’t be ridiculous. We’re not going to have sex! Just go and lie down.”

  “Fine.” Barbara reached for her suitcase.

  Moments later Kate took a deep breath and silently recounted the nice girl’s nine character traits. She’d do it right this time. She’d be the picture of courtesy, refinement, and friendliness if it killed her.

  She hit the intercom. “Come on up, Adam,” she said sweetly.

  * * * *

  Adam took the stairs two at a time, wondering if he was in the right building. The woman who answered the intercom couldn’t be the same Kate he had met tonight. She sounded too sweet and pleasant. Something wasn’t right.

  He’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t intrigued by her. What was it about her that made him want to find out what lay beneath? Adam tensed as he reached her
door.

  Who was he kidding? The best thing to do was just give her the daily journal and leave. Exploring Kate’s effect on him was something he couldn’t do, because in the long run he would end up hurting her. Kate Moore had the word “commitment” flashing on her forehead, and those were exactly the kind of women he stayed away from.

  The moment she opened the door he lost his train of thought.

  He stared at her lustrous hair loose about her shoulders and arms, and resisted the urge to reach out and touch it. A man could lose himself in hair that beautiful, he thought. His gaze rested on her mouth. Her smile was dazzling and he had to hold himself back from reaching out to her. Desire shot through him.

  “Thank you so much for returning this,” she said as she took the planner from him.

  Adam cleared his throat. “It was no trouble.”

  “How did you find my apartment?” She motioned him inside.

  “Luck,” he began, stepping over the threshold. “Your apartment was the first buzzer I tried.” Her perfume drifted back to him and he inhaled the appealing scent. She smelled like a field of flowers. His gaze dropped to her backside. She had a delicate sway to her hips.

  Dragging his gaze away from her, he looked around the small apartment. There were movie and fashion magazines on a coffee table, a big colorful couch, and a huge collection of DVDs by a big plasma screen TV. He glanced at the pink nylon bag that spilled make-up, and the hair drier and brushes on the floor by the couch. Adam frowned. Her place was cluttered and lived in and he had the strangest feeling she didn’t belong here. He pictured her with plants, lots of them, the kind that needed water to survive, and space. High ceilings, big windows.

  “Please, sit down,” she said. “We never had our dinner and I thought I could make that up to you now. Mama’s Pizza makes the best pepperoni and cheese. They deliver in twenty minutes. My treat.”

  He didn’t immediately respond and he caught a flash of vulnerability on her face. Almost as though she was worried he’d reject her offer. “It would be my pleasure to have pizza with you,” he said.

  She smiled up at him. “Great. Make yourself comfortable, Adam. I’ll be right back.”

  Adam stared at her retreating form and knew then and there he was in big trouble.

  Chapter 4

  Bubbling with excitement, she opened Barbara’s bedroom door. So far so good, she thought. Neither one of them had gotten on each other’s nerves.

  But she wasn’t in the clear yet. They were only two minutes into the date and she still had another hour to go. She took a deep breath and focused on positive thoughts.

  “Barb, Phase Four isn’t a bust! As long as I convey a pleasant, polite, confidant woman and keep my insecurities and hormones at bay.”

  “No way!” Barbara whispered. “You’re not cooping me in here all night.”

  “Please, Barb. It’s only for an hour, maximum. This is my chance to make everything right.”

  “By whose definition? Look, I caught a glimpse of you two together and—”

  “What? Did Adam see you?”

  “No. The point is I saw you and I don’t need a Harvard degree in psychology to know when a man and a woman are attracted to each other. There’s chemistry between you two.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s all strictly professional on my part and he was just being nice returning my journal. Besides, I was acting, remember? I’m supposed to be enticing him with my nice girl persona.” Kate shot a nervous glance at the door. “He’s been waiting too long. I have to go.”

  “All right,” Barbara mumbled, “but you better save me a slice of pizza.”

  Kate smiled gratefully and headed for the door. She ordered the pizza from the phone in the kitchen before returning to the living room. She found Adam looking at a framed photograph.

  “My family,” she explained as she took the seat beside him. “It was taken last Christmas at my mom’s house. That’s her in the center.”

  Adam looked back at the picture. “She’s very striking.”

  “Mm. Very Lauren Bacall with the smoky voice to match. That’s Gail and Barbara at each end, my two sisters. You can see they take their looks from her. I look more like my father.”

  “Your dad’s not in the picture.”

  “No,” she said quietly. “He died twenty years ago.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. He died from a heart attack. One morning I was kissing him good-bye before he went to work and that night he was gone.” She smiled sadly. “I still miss him. Even after all these years.”

  “You were close to him.”

  “Yes. Growing up, it was always me and my dad. He took me to ball games, fishing, or hikes. He…he taught me to be strong and confident. And he made me feel there was nothing in the world I could not accomplish.”

  “Your father sounded like a great man. Very supportive and loving. What did he do?”

  “He was a professor in behavioral psychology.” She paused, struggling to find the right words. “I…I just wished he was here to see my life and to know he made an impact on me.”

  “I’m sure he would have been very proud of you. It must have been hard on your family losing him.”

  “It was hard at first, but we all eventually had to pull ourselves together to survive. I used to think my mother and sisters were the ones who took my father’s death the hardest, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged self-consciously. “I know this will sound silly, but when I was ten years old, he painted the most beautiful picture for me. It was a painting of the sky with a snow capped mountain top in the background and a blue sea in the front. On the back he wrote, Katie, your hopes should be as high as the mountains, your dreams as big as the sea. Love, your father.”

  Adam glanced around the apartment. “I would love to see it. Where is it?”

  “It’s gone,” she said. “Mom got rid of all his things. She took his death very hard. One day I came home from school and saw it missing from my wall in my bedroom. I’ve spent years trying to find it.” She gave him a look tinged with embarrassment. “My sisters and my mom think I should just give up. It’s probably destroyed or lost or forgotten in some waste site by now. Who knows?”

  “Your mother must feel very guilty about getting rid of it.”

  “She does, but I forgave her a long time ago. I had to. She’s the only parent I have left and even though we don’t see eye to eye, I love her very much.”

  “You and your family seem very close. I envy that.”

  She smiled at him. “We have our ups and downs like every family.”

  Adam remained silent as he gazed at the picture. “You mentioned you look more like your father, but I think you look a lot like your mother. You have her eyes.”

  Kate nodded slowly, glancing at the beautiful Nora Moore. “Yes, but that’s where our similarities end, I’m afraid.” She pointed to the infant on Gail’s lap. “That’s our little angel, Bryan. Gail gave birth to him four months ago. And that’s Mark, her husband. That’s Ben next to Barb. They just returned from a trip to Greece. They’re getting married next summer.”

  “And this young girl?”

  “Lindsay. Gail’s first.” Kate smiled at the little girl in the picture.

  “She’s cute.”

  “She’s a darling when she wants to be and other times she can be quite the handful. We went shopping earlier today and she was trying to climb up on a display of toy boxes.”

  Had it really been this afternoon? Had she only met Adam a few hours ago? The evening had started off so chaotic, and she was enjoying this quiet, friendly time with him. She realized for the first time that Adam was a nice guy.

  “Do you spend a lot of time with her?”

  “Not as much as I’d like to.” Regret shot through her. Fame had its drawbacks and the busier she got, the less time she had to spend with her niece.

  “You love her very much,�
�� Adam said quietly.

  She met his gaze. “As though she was my own. I adore children.”

  He nodded. “I suppose that’s why you do what you do.”

  For a moment she was confused until she realized he was referring to her being a schoolteacher. Her guilty conscience flared.

  “Yes. I…I suppose that’s why I chose to become a…a teacher.” She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye and went about clearing the coffee table for the pizza that was about to arrive.

  She tried to keep her voice steady. “What about you? What did you study in school? Marketing? You’re obviously very good at selling cars,” she added, thinking about his fancy sports car.

  “Computer science.”

  Was it her imagination or did he look uncomfortable? Kate frowned. Was it because he turned to sales instead? “Have you been selling cars very long?”

  “Long enough.” He cleared his throat and rose. “The pizza should be arriving soon. Where can I wash my hands?”

  She told him where the bathroom was and after he left, she wondered over his abrupt change of mood. When he returned she noticed his grim expression.

  “Adam, I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to pry. It’s just Dana never mentioned you were so successful. She led me to believe that you were…that you…” She blushed.

  “Were struggling to make ends meet?” he replied cynically. “Perhaps I was fifteen years ago, but not anymore.” His mouth softened a little. “You thought I was struggling and yet you still met me?”

  “Money does not make the man, Adam,” she said.

  “You’re right. Money does not make the man, but it helps secure a stable future.”

  “You mean how you struggled fifteen years ago?”

  “Yes. I had Dana to think about. She was just a child then and I was thrust into the role of a parent.”

  “How did you manage to go to school, work, and take care of Dana?” Was it her imagination or was he starting to look uncomfortable again?

  Adam was literally saved by the bell when the buzzer sounded, signaling the pizza. Kate reached for her purse, but Adam intervened, placing his hand on hers, sending darts of heat up her arm. She drew back with questioning eyes.