"At least I wouldn't have to deal with my very tragic love life."
"It is a unique story," he said.
She smiled. "I agree. I doubt you can top it."
"I can't. So now what?"
"Now I find a new job and look for my father. Which is mostly your fault. You keep talking about the importance of family and now I have to go for it. I just don't know how to start."
"Have you tried a private detective?"
She shook her head. "I never thought of it before. Maybe one could help. I don't have very much to go on." In truth she had nothing, but miracles happened.
"I can give you a couple of names. Both really good at what they do."
She pulled her hand free. "Excuse me? How does a guy who teaches theology and math know about private detectives?"
"I'm a man of many talents."
"Apparently. Okay, sure. Names would be great."
He pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket and then passed over a napkin. "Why don't you give me your number and I'll call you with the information."
Fifteen minutes ago she wouldn't have hesitated to give him the information. Gay Gary was safe. But if he wasn't, and why would he lie about that, things were different. What if he called her for other reasons? Like to ask her out?
Dani wasn't sure how she felt about that. Getting involved should be illegal in her case. Yet this was Gary. She liked him and nothing about him even hinted that he could ever be a threat. Of course the neighbors of serial killers always went on about how nice they were.
Still she wrote down her cell number and passed it back to him. Sometimes you just had to take a chance on people.
* * *
LORI ARRIVED FOR WORK a few minutes early. She locked her car, then stared up at the imposing house. For the first time since being hired to help Gloria, she didn't want to go inside.
She could come up with a thousand reasons why, but they all covered up a single truth. She was scared. Truly, down to her bones, terrified.
Yesterday and last night had been incredible. Being with Reid had made her feel in the best way possible. They'd made love one more time before she'd finally gone home. It had been well after midnight and Madeline had waited up.
The teasing had been worth it, Lori thought as she walked toward the front door and let herself in with her key. She'd endured the teasing happily because she was still glowing from all that Reid had done to her body.
And it wasn't even all about the sex. It had been great- but not really the best part. The best part had been being with him. Spending time with the man and finding out she liked him even more than she'd thought possible.
Which made the morning after even more awkward. What had their time together meant to him? What was he thinking? Was he sorry? Did he want to pretend it had never happened? What were his expectations? She supposed she should be asking the same of herself and assuming she got a say in how things went, but that was a level of maturity she wasn't going to reach in this lifetime. She would have to settle for being terrified he had regrets.
Because she didn't. She wanted more of last night. She wanted to talk and laugh and touch. She wanted to be with him in every way possible.
She was realistic enough to accept that a good part of his interest in her was due to the fact that he was basically trapped in the house. There weren't the regular hordes of admirers all around. When that changed, so would his opinion of her. But until then…
She knew that as a strong, self-sufficient woman she should demand answers. Instead she decided that not acting scared out of her mind would be enough of a win for today.
She hung up her coat in the hall closet and set her purse on the shelf, then walked into the kitchen.
Reid was already there. He stood with his back to her, which meant she could look all she wanted, so she did.
Her gaze dropped to his butt, which deserved its own billboard campaign. A hot, needy quivering began low in her belly. She must have made a sound because he turned.
For a second he just looked at her. She couldn't seem to bring herself to move. Fear tightened her chest until her heart hurt. Then he smiled.
It was a slow, sweet, sexy smile. The kind designed to reduce a sensible woman to a puddle. It about did her in. Then he walked over, put his arm around her waist, pulled her to him and kissed her so thoroughly she practically floated.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Hi." Was that low, sexy voice hers?
"Did you sleep well?"
"Not really." She'd been too busy thinking about what they'd done to want to sleep.
"Me, either. You get inside my head. I can't decide if that's good or bad."
She couldn't, either.
He stared into her eyes. "I went out and got you scones. I know you like them. I didn't know what kind, so I got one of each."
Scones? He'd noticed she had a thing for scones?
"You didn't have to do that," she murmured.
"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to."
And just like that, the walls that had protected her so well, for so long, tumbled into dust.
* * *
REID MET PENNY in her office at The Waterfront. He and Penny had been friends through her first marriage to his brother, during the divorce and the years she and Cal had been apart. They were still friends now that she and Cal had remarried.
"You didn't bring Allison into work today?" he asked as he took a seat. "I like holding her."
"Because like every other female on the planet, she adores you." Penny tossed down her pen. "I don't get it. She's only a few months old and the second you hold her, she gets spacey. It must be chemical."
He grinned. "I've got it. Not my fault, but there it is."
"Oh, please. Did you want to talk about yourself or did you want to visit with me?"
He loved riling Penny. "I get a choice?"
"I'm ignoring you," she said. "Did you know Walker and Elissa are ready to start looking for a wedding venue? I was hoping they'd have it here, but Walker wants a non-Buchanan location. Which makes no sense to me. If it's not here, I won't be cooking."
"Maybe he doesn't want you to cater his wedding."
The wrong thing to say, he realized as Penny glared at him.
"Why not? Are you saying my food isn't fabulous enough? Is there even one chef in the entire state who is better than me?"
Reid held up both hands. "Truce," he said. "Deep breath. This isn't about your cooking. Did it occur to you that your brother-in-law might want to have the wedding somewhere else so that you could come and enjoy yourself as a member of the family rather than have to sweat cooking for a couple of hundred people?"
"No," she admitted. "But my food would be way better."
"It would. Think of how much Walker loves you. He's willing to make the sacrifice and give up your talent."
"You're playing me," she grumbled.
"Maybe, but I'm doing a hell of a job at it."
"You don't stink," she said and leaned back in her chair. "Okay. Maybe I'll allow them to go somewhere else. But I'm going to insist on catering the rehearsal dinner. What do you think about something with crab? And maybe- "
He groaned and dropped his chin to his chest.
"What?" she demanded.
"Not menus. Please. Anything but that. We can even talk about shopping. Just not menus or food choices or anything food-related."
"All right. Another topic. My choice." She studied him. "Are you dating Lori yet?"
Trust Penny to find a new way to torture him. She was good and he could respect that.
"We're not dating," he said calmly. They'd had a hell of a good time in bed the other night, but that wasn't dating.
"Why don't you ask her out? You like her. And don't bother denying it. I can tell when I see you together."
"I'm not going to deny it. I do like Lori. She's great."
She was a whole lot more than that. Pretty and sexy and smart. She didn't let him get away with crap, which he re
spected.
Penny's eyebrows rose. "Oh, my. So it's possible I phrased the question incorrectly. Let me try again. Are you and Lori involved?"
He couldn't seem to stop the grin he felt pulling at the corners of his mouth. He had a feeling Penny could see just about everything she wanted from the look on his face.
"We're involved," he admitted.
She shook her head. "I don't know what to say. You like a woman you're involved with. It's not convenience or something to do to fill the time. This means something to you. Have you figured out that makes you practically normal?"
"I'll never be normal, but don't sweat it. Lori can handle me. No problem."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"SHE WAS JUST SO imperious," Lori complained. "Ask for Ramon. Tell him I sent you. Who does she think she is? European royalty? She's some old woman with a broken hip. I don't take orders from her."
Madeline smiled serenely from the other side of the leather couch in the quietly elegant, upscale salon.
"Poor Gloria," she said. "All this angst because she gave you the name of her hair person, as a favor, in case you forgot. As for taking orders from her, you kind of do. It's part of the job description."
Lori cupped her impossibly large latte and scowled. "If you're going to be logical, we're not having this conversation. I just can't believe I'm here. What was I thinking? Nothing can be done with my hair. It's impossible. Reid won't even notice, and if he does he'll think it's hideous."
Madeline sipped her own coffee. "Reid?" she asked innocently. "Why would he matter?"
Lori stared at her sister. "I'll kill you, I swear. Don't test me."
"Oooh, violence. So it must be about him. Besides, you've never been willing to do anything for a man. Why is this one different?"
"He just is," Lori muttered, not wanting to get into something she hadn't totally figured out for herself.
Madeline smiled kindly. "Reid already thinks you're great. He's falling for you."
As much as Lori wanted that to be true, she knew better. "One night of sex does not a relationship make."
"Sometimes it helps. Why would he risk being intimate with someone he has to see every day if he didn't care?"
"I don't know. It had been a long time and I was accessible? Gloria warned me about him. I should have listened."
"Honey, you were gone from the moment you saw him."
It was true, although she'd rather be tortured than admit it. "I'm not like them," she said instead. "Those other women he sleeps with. I'm not all fluff and beauty."
"So he's changing. Now he wants a little substance with his pretty. Why is that a bad thing?"
Because those words would never describe her, Lori thought, more resigned than hurt.
"I can't do it," she mumbled. "I won't."
"So you're going to give up?" her sister asked. "That's terrific. You meet a great guy you can't stop thinking about and for reasons that make absolutely no sense, you walk away without even trying. Does it ever occur to you that the best things in life require a risk? They don't just show up and shower you with everything you want."
Lori set down her coffee a little harder than necessary. "Easy for you to say. If I remember correctly, that pretty much describes your life. When did you ever work for anything?"
"I showed up and got the job done," Madeline said quietly. "Yes, I had some advantages. I know that, and they helped. Maybe being pretty got me on the cheerleading team, but it didn't keep me there. I had to bust my ass to learn the routines. College wasn't easy for me, either."
"Did studying get in the way of your social life?"
Lori hated how she sounded even as she spoke. When she least expected it, she got lost in the bitterness of her past.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "This isn't about you, and I know it. I'm overreacting."
"I know." Her sister smiled at her. "You're afraid. You've never really tried before when it came to a guy."
"Ouch. I'm trying to bond here. Stop pissing me off."
"I'm telling you the truth and you know it. I've loved you from the second you were born, Lori. You're my best friend. I want so much for you, yet over and over again I've watched you walk away from what you want because you're not willing to take a chance. I would hate to see you lose Reid for that reason."
"I don't know that I have him," Lori told her. "I don't think I do."
"Then go after him."
"Easy for you to say. When have you been hurt by a guy?"
As soon as the words were out, Lori desperately wanted them back.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Madeline shook her head. "It's okay. I'm the perfect one, remember?"
It was an old joke between them, but this time it was hard for Lori to smile.
"I know it's hard for you," Madeline said. "You want him and he's amazing and that terrifies you. But you have to try. He's too good to let go."
"I don't know how to compete with those other women. We have nothing in common."
"Has it occurred to you that that might be a good thing? You've told me that Reid isn't into relationships. He's more a one-night-stand kind of guy. But that's not happening with you."
"Technically it was just the one night," she muttered, then shrugged. "But yeah, he's not hiding from me or anything."
"So maybe you're exactly what he's looking for."
"Maybe I'm not."
Madeline frowned. "I've had it with you. I'm dying, dammit, so you have to listen to me. You care about this guy. You're going to be fully engaged during this relationship. You're going to give it your all and if it ends badly, then you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you have nothing to regret."
Except possibly a heart that could never be whole again.
But instead Lori said, "I hate it when you play the death card."
"Go with your strengths, baby. Besides, the hair can be just the beginning. We can do a whole makeover thing. Clothes, makeup. You'll make Reid crazy."
While Lori liked the sound of that, there was still reality to face. "I'm not…you know…pretty."
"Of course you are. Or you can be. You hide in those hideous scrubs, or that." She pointed at Lori's sweater.
Lori glanced down at the plain brown sweater she wore over jeans. "What?"
"It's the definition of ugly. It's too big and the color sucks the life from your face. You're a blob in that. You have a great body- show it off. Flash a little boob at the guy. Men are basically as emotionally developed as the average dog. Show them the goodies and they'll do almost anything."
"That's hideously sexist."
"But true."
Lori was tempted. She'd always stayed out of the game because it was easier than competing. But nothing had ever mattered to her as much as Reid. Madeline was right. Some things were worth the risk. And if she got crushed like a bug, then she would figure out a way to go on despite the pain. Plus, she could hold the whole thing over her sister's head, and that was always fun.
"Okay," she said as a tall, painfully thin man walked toward them.
"I am Ramon," he said. "Who is Lori?"
"I am," she said as she rose.
"Ah, yes. Gloria mentioned you had wild hair." He smiled. "I like wild hair on a woman. It reflects her spirit, yes?"
Lori didn't have the heart to tell him that her spirit was less "wild" and more "aging domestic tabby."
"So, what are you looking for?" he asked.
She drew in a breath, then went with the truth. "A miracle."
* * *
LORI WAS STARING at herself in the department store mirror so intently that she nearly ran into a pole. Madeline stopped and laughed.
"It's you," she said, sounding pleased. "Honestto-God you."
"I can't believe it," Lori admitted.
Ramon had performed the requested miracle and it had been worth every penny of the hundred-and-twenty-dollar bill.
He'd started by chopping off about six inches of her hair, which had
nearly given her a heart attack. Then he'd snipped and sliced and used a razor, thinning her hair and giving her layers. The whole time he'd raved about the various colors in her hair, how she would never need highlights and how beautiful the curls were.
Lori had protested, saying she had weird waves, not curls, but she'd been wrong. Apparently wearing her hair long her whole life had pulled the shape out of her curls. But now, with her hair just below her shoulders, there were curls. Lots of them.
Ramon had shown her how to use a couple of different products that both defined and separated the curls. He'd explained how she could blow dry her hair straight if she had the time and was interested in an upper body workout. Then he'd turned her to face her reflection and she'd nearly fainted.
Her hair was fabulous. Light and sexy and moving, and the color was incredible. Mostly auburn, but with hints of gold and blond.
Before Lori could bask in her newfound wonderfulness, Madeline had dragged her to the back of the salon where an evil woman had waxed her eyebrows. The pain had been intense, but brief. A total makeover had followed.
Desiree had promised a five-minute routine that would change everything. Lori had timed her. The makeup had taken seven minutes, but when she'd seen the results she decided not to complain about the extra time.
Her skin was luminous, her eyes huge. Lip gloss drew attention to her mouth that suddenly appeared full and really sexy.
Now, in the department store, Lori shook her head. "I can't believe that's me."
"It is. Although, honestly, the glasses have to go."
"I can't wear contacts," Lori said, tearing her gaze away from her reflection and following her sister into a department filled with really cute casual clothes.
"There are other solutions," Madeline said. "Like Lasik surgery."
"I'm not having a laser burn off my cornea just so I don't have to wear glasses."
"Beauty is pain. Besides, wouldn't you like to see the digital clock in the morning?"
"I can see it just fine."
"If you lean forward and drag it right to your face. Come on, Lori, it's perfectly safe. Millions of people have had it done and they love the results."
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