Oh make up your mind, Kara. Think of what you need. She needed that gorgeous hunk in her bed for those two weeks. If that meant late night desserts and unexpected meetings so be it.
Despite her decision, Kara still worried about the whole thing. Briana caught her staring into space and raised her brow in question.
“I have a lot on my mind,” Kara said firmly, not inviting questions.
She accompanied Briana to the doctor’s office and only half-listened as the doctor explained the physical, emotional, and chemical causes of mood swings to her sister. Seeing the sonogram picture of her future nephew lifted Kara’s spirits somewhat, but Briana couldn’t keep her eyes off the picture once they left the doctor’s office. On their way home, they stopped by the Mary Birch Hospital to check out the prenatal Lamaze class. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of their six-week course. Briana signed up for prenatal yoga but informed the woman in charge she would take the next Lamaze session when her husband was available to join her.
Later at a donut shop for snacks, Briana finished her second chocolate iced custard-filled donut and took the barely touched piece from Kara’s hand.
“Don’t look at me like that. You weren’t eating it anyway. So out with it. Why are you moping?”
“I’m not. Give me back my donut.”
Briana broke it into two then offered half to Kara. “Either you’re pining for your man, which is something I understand, or something is bothering you.”
There was no way she’d confide in her sister about her problems. Briana had a knack of bringing up the past when they fight.
“I need to buy a few outfits and I’m mulling over what to buy,” Kara said, using Baron’s invite to get Briana off her back. She still had no idea who she’d be meeting on Saturday but was determined to look her best.
Briana licked the cream off her fingers. “Office clothes?”
“No, something nice and comfortable.”
Briana wrinkled her nose.
“Okay, sexy without being skanky.” Her sister’s idea of comfortable was skin-tight, trendy outfits and six-inched heels.
“Now you’re talking my language. Come on, we’re going to my favorite joint.”
An hour later, Kara had tried on more than a dozen outfits in a very expensive and exclusive boutique while Briana sat on a white overstuffed chair and plotted her demise.
“For chrissakes, Kara. You look great. Doesn’t she look great?” she asked the saleslady for the umpteenth time and didn’t wait for an answer before fixing her gaze on Kara, green eyes flashing. “You look fabulous.”
Kara studied her image and sighed. The dress was amazing, but she’d have to dip into her business savings to get it, too.
“I think I’ll take those two.” She nodded at the ones on Briana’s lap.
Her sister made a face but didn’t argue.
As Kara changed back into her clothes, she could hear Briana asking the saleslady about maternity stores. When Kara joined them and paid for her dress, Briana plopped the last dress Kara had tried on the counter.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll take this one,” Briana told the cashier and handed over her credit card then turned to face Kara. “I love the numbers you picked, I really do, but this one…this one is you.”
Kara glanced around. With customers milling around, private conversation was nearly impossible. Kara waved at the cashier. “Don’t ring that, please.” She took her sister’s arm and led her to the side. “I can afford to pay for my own purchases, Briana.”
“You used to buy me stuff all the time. I don’t recall ever complaining.”
Kara narrowed her eyes. “That was different and you know it. I was working and you were a student.”
Briana looked over her shoulder and nodded at the cashier.
When Kara glanced at the woman, she was already slipping the outfit in a dress bag. “Why are you doing this?”
“Your taste in clothes sucks? You always wear vintage. Even the two you picked are vintage-inspired. The last one is different.”
Kara rolled her eyes. “Please.”
Briana glanced away as though searching for words. When she looked at Kara again, she wore a defiant expression. “Can’t you just accept it as a gift?”
“No. The two I picked were enough. Come on. Let’s go home.”
Briana didn’t move. Instead she whispered through clenched teeth, “Okay, fine. I owe you.”
“Excuse me?” Kara realized they were drawing stares. “Let’s get out of here.”
“With the dress,” Briana said firmly.
Kara glared at her for a few seconds then sighed. “Fine.”
They were back in the car, heading back home when Briana said, “I spoke with Jim last night and this morning. All that talk about him messing around behind my back shouldn’t have come out of my mouth. He loves me and I love him.” She patted her stomach. “We’re going to have a beautiful, beautiful baby, just like his daddy. Did you see how cute the sonogram—?”
“You’re hedging, Briana.”
Her sister sighed. “I know that our marriage wouldn’t last without trust. I almost drove him away with my, you know, drama mess. He was hurt because I didn’t trust him.”
Kara didn’t want to say “told yah,” so she kept quiet and waited. When she stopped at a light and glanced over at Briana, her sister was studying her manicured nails with feigned intensity. Mirth caused Kara to press her lips together. She burst out laughing when Briana scowled at her
“Okay, sheesh,” Briana said in an exasperated tone. “You were right, I was wrong. I owe you. There. Happy?”
“No.” Kara laughed harder.
“Fine. Thank you for the pep talk.”
“What’s so hard about admitting I was right or saying a simple thank you?”
“Because I’m street savvy, the sister who knows stuff about men and relationships while you,” she waved toward Kara, “are my brainiac, clueless older sister.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“Seriously. You’re single. I shouldn’t be getting advice on marriage from you.”
“Tough. You just did.”
Briana’s mouth twisted as she suppressed laughter and punched Kara on the arm. “And I was a total bitch to you when you didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry, sis.”
An apology? Wow. “That’s okay. That was your out-of-control hormones talking.”
Briana sighed. “I don’t know how you put up with me.”
“Me too,” Kara said, grinning.
Briana grinned back.
***
In the evening, they headed to their parents’ for dinner with an apple pie they’d picked up from the donut shop.
Her mother’s guests turned out to be Dexter Richardson and his parents. Dex was a junior and the star quarterback at her high school when Kara was a freshman. She had the most awful crush on him. Hell, half the school had a crush on the tall, handsome jock. He still looked good, which made Kara wonder why he was allowing their parents to hook them up.
After the initial awkward hugs and greetings, he cornered her on the patio. Soon they were swapping stories. Turned out he’d lost his wife when his three-year old twin daughters were born and was presently doing his residency at a local hospital.
“I’m sorry for your loss. Where are they…the twins?” Kara asked.
“At home with my sister. My mother threatened to stop helping me with them if I didn’t come with her tonight.”
“Poor you. At least mine didn’t need to threaten me.”
“Does that mean you don’t mind this?” He waved to indicate their parents’ attempt to bring them together.
Kara chuckled. “Oh, I do mind. I just don’t fight my mother over it. You?”
He flashed a self-conscious smile, a dimple winking on his lean cheek. He really was a handsome man. Too bad her heart didn’t leap when he looked at her.
“This is a first, but I don’t mind,” he said. “I got to
see you again.” He frowned and added, “My mother likes to remind me that the twins need a mother, but I’m not ready to go down that route again. However, I can take an old friend to dinner while she’s in town.”
“Old?” Kara made a play of looking around. “Who?”
The two of them burst out laughing, drawing attention from the people inside the house. Even though she’d enjoyed talking to Dex, Kara wasn’t sure about having dinner with him. She promised to call him the next day and they traded business cards.
The evening wasn’t a total fiasco like the previous ones her mother had arranged. As for Penny and Dex’s mother, they wore smug smiles throughout the meal. After dinner, Kara got a chance to see and okay some of the designs her father had come up with for her frames.
Briana and Kara didn’t get home until after eleven. Kara missed Baron’s call, but he’d left a message to call him back. When she did, she shared with him her day and didn’t realize he didn’t say much until after she hung up. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned her mother’s tendency to try and marry her off every time she visited. At least she hadn’t mentioned Dex.
***
Mid-morning the next day, Kara and Briana were by the pool when Mrs. Marten walked out of the house and said, “Ms. Kara, you have a visitor. He’s in the foyer.”
“Tell him to come out here, Mrs. Marten,” Briana instructed the housekeeper.
“Who do you think it is?” Kara sat up and reached for the robe.
“Probably Dex. You made quite an impression on him.” Briana winked.
“Not that kind of impression.” Kara was tightening the sash of her robe when the tall figure stepped onto the deck.
Her heart hurtled upward to her throat and a gentle wash of warmth curled around her stomach when she looked up. She took in his light blue shirt and charcoal pants, the wolfish, intelligent eyes, and the bone-crumbling smile. She started around the pool, grinning.
CHAPTER 10
“What a wonderful surprise. Why didn’t you say you’d stop by today?”
Every muscle in Baron’s body shot to sexual alert at Kara’s husky voice. She’d starred in his dreams for the past few nights, but seeing her in real time shocked his system. “Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
He gave her a slow perusal, the flushed porcelain skin, lush curves, and that sexy walk of hers. He’d never drooled over a half-clad woman until now.
In the past few days, he’d deliberately left out the news about VanderMarck Junior and the missing collection during their telephone conversation. Part of him had hoped the man, now in police custody, would reveal where he had stashed the artwork. In fact, Baron would have continued to stay in Idaho until the police finished their investigation, but last night changed everything.
Kara tended to talk fast and jump from topic to topic when edgy. Their conversation had indicated she was uneasy about something. Gut instinct told him she was having doubts about the decision to go away with him, which could be a prelude to ending things between them. So he did what any sane man nuts about a skittish woman would do—flew down to woo her up close.
Now he watched her glide toward him, tension tightening his gut with each step she took. Acting on impulse was out of character for him.
“I was on my way home and thought to check on you ladies.” Let’s hope it doesn’t explode in my face.
“Was it, uh,” she glanced at her watch, “ten hours ago we spoke on the phone and I said we were doing fine?”
“Yes, you did.” He chuckled at her teasing. She stopped in front of him, her generous smile making him long to stoop low and capture it in a kiss. “But I was hoping you and your sister would accompany me to lunch. And if you have time, maybe show me all those wonderful childhood haunts you’ve been talking about. Of course, that’s if Briana’s up to it,” he added.
Kara turned her head and Baron followed her gaze to the blue and white poolside cabana. The housekeeper had told him Kara and her sister were by the pool, but Briana wasn’t visible from his position despite the sheer curtains covering the structure.
“I’ll ask her,” Kara said.
“Lunch would be fabulous,” Briana said, stepping out of the cabana. She gazed at them through dark sunglasses. “Why don’t I entertain Mr. Fitzgerald while you change, Kara.” Her voice was a low seductive purr.
Kara hesitated, then gave Baron a tiny smile and shrugged. “Sure. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No thanks. I’m fine.”
Once again, Kara glanced toward her sister. “Okay then. I’ll be back in a few.”
Baron frowned. He didn’t know whether Briana sent sensual vibes to all men she met or merely singled him out for some depraved reason. Whatever the case, her actions bothered Kara and tolerating it wasn’t an option.
He trapped Kara’s hand before she took another step. “Just a sec. Aren’t you forgetting something?” His gaze caressed her lips then locked with hers.
She squinted at him. “What?”
“You haven’t greeted me properly.”
He knew exactly when she caught his meaning. Her face tightened with alarm and she shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You think too much.” He gave her a lazy smile meant to put her at ease and silently urge her to sway toward him and claim him. This could prove she still wanted him and also tell her sister to back off, or it could backfire. What then?
“It’s been two days, sweetheart. I’ve missed you.” He reached out and looped a strand of hair behind her ear, lingering on her slanting jaw.
Her eyes widened, telling him he’d surprised her. Good. He didn’t care if she knew how much he wanted her.
Kara sighed but the smile she gave him started small and took on a reckless quality. She leaned forward, pressed a hand on his chest and reached up to brush lips with his.
Baron shuddered at the feel of her mouth and the rush of her sweet breath against his skin. Her tongue flickered flirtatiously against the outer contour of his lips. As though his response made her bolder, she gripped his shirt with one hand, cupped his cheek and yanked him down. What followed was the sweetest taste on earth. The full effect of the moist interior of her satiny mouth almost brought him to his knees.
Blood rushed below his belt and in seconds, he was harder than a steel rod. There was only so much a man could take before he succumbed to the spell a woman wielded, and his control when it came to Kara was already nil. The point of the kiss ceased to matter as Baron opened his mouth and welcomed her questing tongue. She indulged herself and he, a glutton for punishment, reveled in the erotic licks and nibbles.
Time ceased to exist.
It took every muscle and tendon in his body not to take over and show her the full range of his need. He gripped her arms, pulled back, and stopped the torture. They stared at each other, a hot buzz of sexual tension shimmering between them. Her eyes were luminous, her lips wet, lush, and inviting.
“God, you’re beautiful.” Her mouth twitched, then she giggled. The pure joy of the sound created warmth in his chest he couldn’t explain. He faked irritation. “I offer you a compliment and you laugh?”
“No, I’d never do that.” She gave him a beatific smile. “Thank you for the compliment. I was undecided about something but I’m happy it doesn’t matter now. I’ll go and change.” She flattened the shirt she’d scrunched only minutes ago and glanced toward the cabana. Her voice dropped. “Be nice to my sister. Pregnancy can mess with a woman’s head.”
Somehow Baron doubted Briana needed an excuse to act outrageous. He watched Kara walk away, loving the way her bikini bottom hugged her firm ass. If a man went to hell for every X-rated fantasy, he would have dethroned the devil by now.
As soon as she disappeared inside the house, Baron took a deep breath and turned to face Briana, who watched him through her sunglasses, arms crossed, and mouth turned up in a sneer. Physically, she was a striking woman, but she couldn’t hold a torch to his Kara. Kara’s
subtle beauty combined warm personality with just the right amount of sass, but the way she dropped everything to run to her sister’s side showed a caring side of her any man would appreciate.
Baron offered Briana a smile. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Wilkins?”
She whipped the sunglasses off her face and squinted at him. “How am I feeling? If you must know, a whole lot better until you showed up. What sob story did you give my sister to make her disregard what and who you are, Fitzgerald?”
Baron raised a questioning brow. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve got to be packing more than good looks for my sister to mess around with you when she knows you’re a married man.” She planted a hand on her hip and gave him a scathing once over. “So what is it? The missus doesn’t understand you? You’re on the verge of getting a divorce? Or are you staying with your wife because of the children but you don’t really love her?” she finished in a mocking falsetto voice and started toward him. “I have one word for you. Bullshit. I’m married to a ball player and have heard them all.”
Baron frowned, his head spinning from trying to follow the woman’s hurled accusations. “Married?”
“I’m tired of men like you taking advantage of women like my sister.” Briana clicked her tongue and gave him an annoyed look. “So whatever crap you sold her stops right here, mister. Scuttle on home to the little wifey and leave my sister alone, or I swear I’ll come to L.A. and make your life a living hell.”
Annoyance sliced through Baron. “Do you always jump to your sister’s defense without checking out your facts?”
“I don’t need to check anything. My mother knows you’re married, and my sister sure as hell didn’t deny it when I mentioned it. Yes, we Michaels watch out for each other.” She dismissed him with a curt wave and turned toward the cabana. “Get lost before I resort to my old M.O. to get rid of you.”
Baron laughed.
Kiss Me Crazy Page 14