Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  “Fascinating. But my date and I met the other couple there. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

  He could feel his patience dissolve. “Can’t or won’t?”

  Rachelle popped up out of her chair. “If I could help you I would, but I can’t.” She smiled. “Is there anything else you need while you’re in New York?”

  Nicholas sighed and stood up. “No, thank you. If you do happen to see the woman again would you please give her my details? It’s important that I reach her.”

  The TV host remained poker-faced. “I can’t promise you that because I don’t expect to see her again.”

  The author walked to the door and opened it. “Well, thanks for your time.”

  “Good seeing you again. Look forward to your next book.” Once he’d left her office, Rachelle let out the breath she’d been holding and sank into her chair. She needed a minute before calling Prue.

  Nicholas walked along the corridor wondering how he would ever get in touch with the woman. He knew Rachelle Reed hadn’t been honest with him, that she knew more than she was telling. Body language told him that.

  ***

  The TV host felt a pang of guilt for lying to the author, but Prue was her best friend and she wouldn’t betray her trust, even though she believed Nicholas Colton had a right to know he had a child. She sat gazing out of the windowed wall to her office contemplating how to tell Prue he’d been there when she appeared in the doorway. She was early.

  “Morning.” Prue entered the office and sat in the chair occupied by the author only thirty minutes before.

  “Morning, hon.” Rachelle stood up, walked around the desk and leaned against the corner. “I have something to tell you.”

  Prue gave her a concerned frown. “What is it?”

  Rachelle folded her arms. “Nicholas was here a half hour ago asking about you.”

  “What?” Prue popped up out of the chair. “What did you tell him?”

  “He asked for your contact details. He’d seen us outside the Maple Saturday night and recognized you right away. He said it was important that he speaks to you. I told him we met at the party and that I didn’t know you personally.” She took her friend’s hand and squeezed it. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure.” She sighed. “If he doesn’t know that I work here…”

  “Yes, but what if he finds out?” Rachelle returned to her chair.

  Prue sat down. “He was here last week. Did you know about that?”

  Rachelle’s left eyebrow rose. “No. Do you know why?”

  She shook her head. “I thought you might. I meant to ask you before now, but I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

  “I’ll check.” Rachelle picked up the cordless phone. “Hi Trace, can you tell me why Nicholas Colton was here last week? Oh. Uh-huh. Thanks. I appreciate it.” She stood the phone on its base. “Apparently he came by to see if he could get a copy of the interview. Sounds logical, I guess.”

  “You don’t think he was asking questions about me, do you?” Prue bit her bottom lip.

  Rachelle shrugged. “I don’t know, hon. Maybe.”

  Prue gave a huge sigh. “Did he leave a number?”

  The TV host’s eyebrows rose. “You’re not thinking of calling him, are you?” She opened the top drawer, took out the note he had left and handed it to her friend.

  She opened it and stared at the words written in black pen. “He has nice handwriting.”

  “Is that all you can say? I’m having kittens thinking about what could happen if he finds out where you are. What about Nikki?”

  Prue’s head shot up and she looked Rachelle in the eyes. “I don’t know. And no, I’m not planning to call him. Not right away, anyhow. Maybe not at all.”

  Gabe appeared at the door. “Showtime, ladies.”

  Rachelle scowled at him. “You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

  “Go away?”

  “Exactly.” She pointed for him to leave.

  “Biatch.”

  “Queen.”

  Prue stood up. “Stop it. Both of you!” She walked over to Gabe and rested a hand on his arm. “We’ll be right there.”

  “At least you have some class, lovely.” Gabe evil-eyed Rachelle then turned on his heel and marched down the corridor.

  Prue frowned at her friend. “You shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Well he shouldn’t call be a bitch. Serves him right.” She stood up and came around the desk.

  “Not nice, Rachelle.”

  Rachelle looped her arm through Prue’s. “So what are you going to do about Nicholas?”

  “His book tour finishes at the end of next week so hopefully he’ll fly back to California.”

  “You’ve been keeping track, huh?”

  “Of course I have. I don’t need any more surprises. There have been too many already, and today topped them all. Once he goes home and gets back into writing his next New York Times bestseller he’ll forget all about me.” At least she hoped he would.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nicholas Colton sat in the passenger lounge at JFK Airport waiting for his flight to Monterey, his heart heavy. By now he had hoped to know more about the lovely woman he had lost his heart to. At least her name. Rachelle Reed knew more than she was letting on and he wondered why she wouldn’t help him. His gut told him the TV host knew who the woman was, that, perhaps, they were friends and she was protecting her. But why? All he wanted to do was talk to her.

  At 2.50 p.m. the boarding call for his flight was announced and Nicholas joined the queue of passengers waiting to embark. Something in the pit of his stomach told him he should stay, but he had no choice he had to leave. He was three quarters of the way into writing his next novel and on a strict deadline. His publisher wanted the manuscript on her desk by November 30. Not much time at all.

  How would he concentrate on his work when he couldn’t get his mind off the woman he’d made love to all those years ago? After seeing her again she was all he could think about.

  The flight would take over five hours, so he decided to utilize the time writing. He had his laptop with him and it would be a good opportunity to work on the book while he was in the air. And, hopefully, take his mind off her for a while, although he didn’t think that was possible.

  Once the plane was at cruising altitude, Nicholas retrieved his MacBook from the overhead compartment, sat it on his lap and booted it up. No one occupied the seat next to him, so he could work without the possibility of interruption or prying eyes. He opened up the word document: The Kill Game by Nicholas Colton word count: 61,528. He was happy with the title and knew it was a perfect fit for the plot.

  The five and a half hour flight flew by as he tapped away at the keyboard, and by the time they were ready to land he’d managed to get a few thousand words added to his word count, despite the woman’s face hovering in the back of his mind. How could he find her?

  One of his closest friends was a private investigator whose expertise was surveillance investigations, and Nicholas often picked his brain for plot ideas and correct protocol. Should he pick his brain about ways of finding the woman? Should he hire him to find her?

  The announcement from the cockpit that the plane was five minutes out of Monterey Airport came over the PA system and Nicholas packed away his laptop and fastened his seatbelt. His friend would be picking him up from the airport, so he might broach the topic with him on the drive home.

  ***

  Prue was feeling blue. She missed her big brother and so did Nikki. It had been wonderful having him stay with them Halloween week, and now that he was gone the apartment felt different somehow. Everything had begun to feel different.

  That afternoon, Prue had left work early to pick up her daughter from preschool so they could spend some mother daughter time together before bed. She had also ordered Chinese takeaway, something she didn’t do often. It would be a nice treat for them both.

  The doorbell rang and Nikki
was excited about having food delivered. She ran to the door and waited for her mom to open it. The young Asian guy told Prue the cost was $50.00 plus delivery. Prue paid him, including a tip, took the bag of aromatic cuisine and closed the door. Nikki bounced up and down like a Jack-in-the-Box. “It smells yummy, Mommy.”

  “Yes it does, can’t wait to try it, can you?”

  “Nope, I’m starving.”

  Prue carried the bag over to the table, pulled out a chair for her daughter then sat at the end and unpacked their dinner. She had already set their places in anticipation of the food arriving. She opened each container and sniffed the wonderful aroma. She had chosen three dishes including fried rice and a dessert.

  While they ate, Nikki chattered away about school and her friends and what they did in class that day and Prue enjoyed every second of it. Her daughter also told her about one little boy named Paul, who only had a daddy because his mommy had gone to heaven. And then the unthinkable happened. “Mommy, where’s my daddy?”

  Prue’s mouthful of food lodged in her throat and she swallowed hard to push the wad of gluey rice down into her stomach. She knew this day would come but she had hoped it wouldn’t be for a couple of years… or more. She cleared her throat and wiped her mouth on a paper napkin. “Well, he ‒ he’s…”

  The telephone rang and Prue left the table to answer it, breathing a sigh of relief. “Hello?”

  “Hey, sis, it’s me,” Toby said.

  “Hi, Tobe, what’s up?” She was glad for the interruption. At least she wouldn’t have to answer Nikki’s question right away.

  “I have to come back to New York for a couple days. I think one of the investors wants to negotiate a deal.”

  “That’s wonderful news.” Prue was pleased for her brother and happy he was coming back.

  “Yeah, I think so. Anyhow, I was wondering…”

  “Of course you can stay. This time you can have Nikki’s room and she can bunk with me. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I’m sorry you had to sleep on my uncomfortable sofa for so long.”

  “Hey, I didn’t mind. It was great being there with you and Nikki. Please don’t go to any trouble on my account, I’m not there to disrupt your life. The sofa’s fine.”

  “No way, bro.” Prue was adamant. “You’re sleeping in your niece’s room. No argument.”

  “Ok. You won’t get any argument from me. I’ll take what I can get.” He chuckled.

  “Good.” Prue went quiet.

  “Everything ok?”

  She took the phone and walked down the hallway to her room. “Nikki asked me where her daddy is.”

  “And what did you tell her?”

  “You called and saved my life once again. I didn’t know what to say. I hope she’s forgotten about it by the time I get off the phone.”

  “Don’t count on it. When kids what answers they’re like elephants, they don’t forget.”

  “What am I supposed to say? I’m not prepared for this.” Prue paced.

  Toby thought for a moment. “Why don’t you tell her he’s away working? It’s not far from the truth.”

  “What if she asks when he’ll be back? Or what if she wants to see a picture of him?”

  “Tell her there wasn’t time to take a picture. He had to leave in a hurry and he’ll let you know when he’s finished working and on his way home.”

  Prue sighed. “And you think that’s going to work?”

  “She’s only five. It should satisfy her curiosity for a while, until you can come up with something else.”

  “I guess you’re right. Thanks, Tobe. What would I do without you?”

  “Let’s hope you never have to find out. Hey, I’ll be in New York Sunday to Wednesday at this stage. Think you can put up with me for that long?” He chuckled.

  “No different to last time. I know you’ve only been gone three weeks, but we’ve missed you.”

  “Aw, shucks, I missed you too. See you Sunday. Go talk to your daughter.”

  “Ok. See you then. Love you.”

  “Love ya too, sis.” He rang off.

  Prue walked back to the kitchen and hung up the phone. She wasn’t ready to talk to Nikki about a daddy neither of them knew. But she had to tell her daughter something and Toby’s idea was all she had. She hoped it was enough.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Once Rachelle’s shows were recorded back to back she and Prue headed up to her office. It was Friday, at long last, and the TV host wanted to ask her friend if they could do more Christmas shopping on the weekend, in New York this time. She had some last minute things to pick up before she began the task of gift wrapping. When Prue told her Toby was coming to town again Rachelle’s ears pricked up.

  “How long will he be here?” She sat down behind her desk, kicked off stilettoes and rubbed her aching feet.

  “Don’t get any ideas. Like I said, he’s spoken for.” Prue plonked herself down in the chair in front of the desk. “Why are you so interested in him anyway?”

  “Because he’s a real man.”

  Prue chuckled. “You think so, huh?”

  “Sure do. Is he really taken?” She grimaced.

  “He’s off limits.”

  Rachelle scowled at her. “But why? Can’t I have a little fun with a cowboy? He’s so sexy in his Stetson. He could leave that on.”

  “He’s my brother. I don’t want that kind of image stuck in my brain, thank you very much.”

  Her friend shrugged. “Don’t think about it. Can’t I ask him out for a drink?”

  “No. You don’t like him you’ve got the hots for him, there’s a difference. What happened to Tony?”

  “Tom. He was eye candy for the party. We didn’t do anything.”

  “Oh, puhleeze, you were all over each other like a rash.”

  Rachelle crossed her heart with a well-manicured and polished fingernail. “I give you my word.”

  Prue waved it off. “Your word? Come on. I know you, remember?”

  The TV host looked sheepish.

  “Ha, I knew it!” Prue pointed at her. “Then it’s a double NO. You keep your hands off my brother. He’s a sweetheart and deserves someone who’ll love him.”

  “Oh, alright, if I must. You’re lucky I like you.”

  “You like me because I’m honest with you. You’re a nice person most of the time, but you’re a floozy.”

  Rachelle gave Prue a disgruntled frown. “Not entirely. I prefer a smorgasbord not the same course over and over. Is there anything wrong with that? Men can do it and no one bats an eyelid. Why can’t women? It is the twenty-first century, after all.”

  Prue sighed. “Ok. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You wouldn’t want all the men you go out with to fall for you at the same time, would you?”

  Her friend scoffed. “That will never happen. And I’m only seeing three.”

  “I’m serious about Toby.”

  “Such a waste.” Rachelle gave a heavy sigh and decided to take her mind off him by changing the subject. “Has Nikki asked anymore questions about her daddy?”

  “No, thank goodness. She seems to be ok with the fact that he’s away working, at least for now.”

  “So what are you going to say if she does ask?”

  “I’ll stay with the story I’ve already told her.”

  Rachelle leaned on the desk. “That’s not going to satisfy her curiosity forever. She’ll want answers one day. Real ones. What then?”

  “Not for a long time I hope. I’ll work it out by then.”

  “Have you given any more thought to calling Nicholas? You kept his note, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I have it. But I still maintain that it wouldn’t be fair to disrupt our life or his. Things have been fine so far. Why change it?”

  “Because your daughter is asking questions. I think that’s a pretty good reason.”

  Prue folded her arms. “Let’s get through the holidays first, then maybe I’ll think about it.”

  “Ok.”
Rachelle clapped her hands together. “So are we shopping Saturday?”

  “Sure. I still haven’t bought my dad a gift yet and I want to get some stocking stuffers too.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up around 8.00. It’ll give us time for a coffee before we get into some serious shopping. Only five weeks to go, you know.”

  “I know. Nikki’s so excited that Santa will be here soon. And I’m really looking forward to going home.”

  “It’ll be nice for you. I’m heading home too.”

  “That’s great. Take lots of photos. I’d love to see pics of your family.”

  “Speaking of family, I need to pick up a new pair of leather boots for my mom. She’s been dropping hints about them for ages so I thought I’d make them one of her Christmas gifts. I saw the pair she likes in Macy’s online catalog and thought we could check them out while we’re shopping.”

  Prue’s body tightened at the mention of the department store. “At least I won’t run into Nicholas here. That’s a plus.”

  “Don’t put it out there, hon.”

  Prue pressed her lips together and pulled an imaginary zipper across her mouth. Rachelle was right. Don’t put it out there.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nicholas Colton was at his desk in his home office working on the final revision for his next novel, The Kill Game, before express posting a copy off to his publisher. She was of the old school and preferred to read a hard copy to an electronic file. He was also of the old school and always typed THE END when he finished a book, much to her chagrin. Some of the classic authors did it and he was enamored with writers such as Agatha Christie and Ernest Hemingway. Nicholas hoped to write a literary classic one day.

  He gazed out of the panoramic window. The view was spectacular overlooking the cliffs: Cypress trees swaying in the autumn breeze, foamy turquoise waves rolling to shore, and the clear, pale blue sky were perfect. He leaned back in his comfortable office chair, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, he was glad the book was finished. It had been a difficult task because he couldn’t get the woman he’d met all those years ago and again only weeks ago out of his mind. She had lived in his heart for so long how could he move on without telling her?