by Cara Summers
"Why are you on a diet? You're perfect."
The look of complete amazement on his face had a little ribbon of warmth unwinding through her. She couldn't remember anyone ever describing her as even close to perfect. Focus, she reminded herself.
"I just lost twenty-five pounds, and I'm not gaining it back." She glanced at her watch. "Which reminds me, I have to run. What floor is your health club on?"
He was studying her and a small frown had appeared on his brow. "It's on the renovation list."
It was her turn to be shocked. "Where do you send your guests if they want to use a treadmill or work out?"
Tony ran a hand through his hair. "We don't."
"You should at least have a route mapped out for them so that they can run on the street. I'll take care of it for you." She lifted the tray and handed it to him. "Now, if you'll just let me get dressed for my run..."
Tony set the tray on the nightstand. "You're not running on the street alone. Wait until noon, and I can go with you."
"I don't need—"
He took her hand and this time he held it firmly enough that she couldn't pull it away without a struggle. "One favor. That's all I'm asking. Surely, after using me for pleasure and then dumping me, you owe me that."
She tried to keep her mind off the heat that was spreading through her just because he was holding her hand. Focus, she told herself. "Okay. One favor—I'll wait and you can run with me at noon."
"Deal." He smiled at her, and she felt her heart skip. As if those chocolate eyes weren't lethal enough, the man had killer dimples.
Focus. "And we're going to forget that last night ever happened. From now on, our relationship is strictly business."
Grinning, Tony shook his head. "No deal on that one. First of all, I don't believe in one-night stands. And right now, I want to make love to you so badly, it hurts." She hurt too, Lily realized. And she could ease the pain by simply reaching out and— "No."
"Okay." Tony raised both hands, palms out. "You win. We'll play it your way for now."
"Good." It was relief she was feeling, not disappointment. Lily was almost sure of it.
Then in a move so quick she didn't even see it coming, he kissed her. It was a quick meeting of lips, friendly almost. But the arrow of heat it shot through her system was nearly lethal. Worse than that, it was enough to make her remember and yearn.
"It was good," he said as he drew back. "You remember that. I'm a patient man, so we'll take it slow and easy. I'm going to enjoy convincing you to change your mind."
Lily watched as he rose, picked up the tray and moved out of the room. Only then did she let out the breath she was holding. As she heard him start to sing again, she reminded herself to focus. You can have whatever you want. And she wasn't supposed to want Tony Romano!
______4______
The moment the elevator doors slid open, Tony knew he was in trouble. The lobby was occupied by far too many people for 8:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning. Dame Vera was already ensconced on her favorite settee overlooking the entrance. Sir Alistair Brooks sat a short distance away, his attention focused on The London Times. It was rare for either of them to appear in the lobby before noon. Dame Vera had tea in front of her instead of her crystal ball. That was good news. But the fact that his brothers were seated at a table in the lobby bar huddled with Murphy was not. Murphy was here to give him an estimate for the latest plumbing disaster, and Tony didn't like it one bit that Sam and Drew had decided to drop by for the meeting. Both of them should have been on their way to work by this hour.
Shoving down a quick spurt of anger, he strode toward them. He would have a word with Murphy. The hotel had always been his responsibility. Whatever the problem with the plumbing was, he'd handle it, and he didn't want his brothers involved. He was halfway across the lobby when Dame Vera's voice stopped him.
"May I have a word, Anthony?"
It was impossible to ignore a voice that had been trained to reach second and third balconies. Turning, Tony smiled. "I heard you had a leak last night."
"Leak?" she boomed. "They could have filmed Titanic the Sequel in my sitting room." Alistair lowered his paper far enough to send Tony a sympathetic glance.
"Sit." Dame Vera pointed to the chair across the table from her. Once he seated himself, she leaned toward him and spoke in a stage whisper. "Disaster is near." "Come and gone," he assured her. "Murphy will have your pipes mended today."
She waved a hand. "I'm not talking about the plumbing. This is much more serious. I had a dream last night." Tony raised his hands, palms out. "I don't think I want to hear this." This earned him an admiring look from Alistair.
"Nonsense," Dame Vera said.
"You promised my luck would change, and I believe it has."
She studied him for a moment, her eyes bright and shrewd. This time she spoke in a tone that only he could hear. "You've already met her, I see."
"Met who?"
Her eyes narrowed. "The woman who is going to change your life." With a smile, Tony reached for her hand and raised it to his lips. "I met you years ago."
She threw back her head and laughed. The rich, throaty sound filled the room. But when he would have released her hand, she held tight. Her smile faded and she spoke in a low tone. "Beware the Ides of March." Something in her voice had Tony's smile fading, too.
"It's March twenty-ninth. The Ides of March are over for this year."
"But the seeds of disaster were planted then and now it is near. Be very careful."
"I will." Tony gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it and tried to ignore the sliver of ice that ran up his spine as he headed towards the table where his ' brothers sat. There were some days when he suspected that Dame Vera might truly have a psychic gift. Not that he needed a psychic to tell him that by sleeping with Lily McNeil, he was taking risks both professionally and personally. However, he'd crossed that bridge, and now he'd have to handle it—just as he was going to have to handle his family.
As he settled himself in the chair next to Murphy, he quickly scanned the lobby again. Alistair had joined Dame Vera and Lucy was behind the desk handling a check-in. With Grace studying all the time for her law school classes, Lucy was taking on more of her hours. He had to think of hiring someone. Then turning his attention to his brothers, he smiled. "If you're here to win your money back, I'm afraid I'm booked solid today."
"We don't want your money," Drew said. "We want the truth about what's going on here."
"Nothing's going on," Tony said, "except the usual."
"You can stop with the line of bull," Sam said shortly as he filled a cup and passed it to Tony. "Dame Vera called me at the crack of dawn. A.J. took the message—and it was something about the Ides of March, - disaster being imminent, and a woman who was going to change your life. A.J. was concerned enough that I called Drew to check it out." "Dame Vera called me with the same message.
Who's the woman?"
Ignoring Drew's question, Tony said, "If you've called this little meeting because of something that Dame Vera said, you can both relax. She also told me that my luck has changed. And I proved that last night."
"Well, you're going to need all the good luck you can get, big brother," Sam said. "Because according to Murphy here, we've got big trouble."
"Plumbing repairs are part of the day-to-day story of running a hotel," Tony said. "Tell him, Murphy," Sam said. "The leak in Dame Vera's room wasn't caused by the general deterioration of your pipes," Murphy said. "Someone cut them, not only in her bathroom, but in the kitchen and guest baths as well. That's why the water damage is so extensive on the floor below. They knew what they were doing." "Cut them? How?" Tony asked. "I've been thinking about that," Sam said. "This is a family hotel, and the security is pretty lax." He raised a hand. "That's not a criticism. But an employee or even any guest who stayed for a few days would be able to figure out the routine. Dame Vera likes to come down to the lobby at regular times—for a late breakfast and again for high te
a in the afternoon. Someone with the proper motivation could also easily discover when the maid services her suite. It wouldn't take much to get in there."
"But why?" Tony asked. "Why would someone de liberately sabotage the plumbing?"
Drew leaned forward. "That's what we want to know, bro. What haven't you told us?"
Tony looked from Drew to Sam. "You don't have to worry about this. The hotel is my responsibility."
"It's your albatross," Sam said. "And the family—all of us—have let you take it on. You shouldn't have to do it alone. Nick would want to help, too."
Tony leaned forward. "You both have careers to think about. Dad left me in charge of the hotel. Do you think I can't handle it?"
"This is not about that," Drew said sharply. "This is about someone sabotaging the place. If you think Sam and I are going to let you handle that alone, you're crazy."
"Drew—" Sam began.
"No." Drew cut off Sam with a look, then returned his gaze to Tony. "Forget your damn pride for once, Tony."
In spite of his annoyance, Tony couldn't help but ad- mire his two younger brothers. They were double- teaming him—and they had their good-cop, bad-cop routine down pretty well. Sam, in the expensive Italian suit was the good cop, of course. And Drew, the real cop, was the bad one.
"We can do this the easy way," Drew continued, "or we can go up to the roof and Sam and I can beat it out of you."
Tony smiled then. And the smile erupted into a laugh. "You could try. But I seem to remember that the last time you made the attempt, it was not successful."
"I'd be willing to help this time," Murphy offered.
"No." All three brothers spoke in unison. "Sooorrry!" Murphy said. "Family only," Tony explained. "Sam and I were kids last time," Drew pointed out. "You were a senior and you had us by fifteen pounds." "Excuses," Tony said.
"We're tougher now," Sam said. "And meaner. And don't forget Drew here took karate classes just in case we ever talked you into a rematch."
Tony remembered it well. He'd had to walk Drew to and from the classes when his father had learned about the fight. And he'd had to take Sam to boxing lessons. "Plus we're older. We know something about fighting dirty," Drew warned.
Tony didn't doubt it for a moment. Two against one, he had no doubt that they would beat him. Still, it would be one heck of a fight. He was almost tempted. "But it doesn't have to come to that," Sam said. "We already know some of what's going on."
Sam had always been the intellectual one—and though he'd trained as a P.I. under their cousin Nick, he'd eventually gone to work for a high-tech security firm where they made good use of his brains.
"You had me run that check on Lily McNeil. Her father is McNeil Enterprises, and they make their money eating up small hotels. So we figure, they could be key players in this. Are we right? Are they pressuring you to sell?"
When he didn't answer right away, Tony saw temper flash into Drew's eyes.
"We're family," Drew said. "And this is our home. We have a right to know." They were right. Tony couldn't think of one good argument against the case they'd made. "McNeil Enterprises made me an offer a month ago. Two weeks later, I received a higher offer from Fortescue Investments."
"And you didn't think that was important enough to tell us?" Drew asked, the temper flashing in his eye again.
"There wasn't anything to tell," Tony said. "I refused both offers."
"Lucy says that Lily McNeil from McNeil Enterprises checked into the penthouse suite last night," Sam said. "According to Lucy, she's here to advise you on renovations."
"On the same night that someone sabotages our plumbing," Drew pointed out.
Tony met Drew's eyes steadily. "Lily McNeil would not be involved in sabotage."
"And you know that because?" Drew asked.
"I know that she wouldn't do something like that," Tony said.
Always the peacemaker, Sam raised both hands, palms out. "Okay. We're willing to take your word on that. But that doesn't mean that McNeil isn't behind the sabotage."
"Don't shut us out," Drew said. "We can help."
Tony sighed. "Okay. Maybe you can. Dad once told me that under no circumstances was I ever supposed to sell to McNeil. I sensed that there was some bad blood there. Does either of you know anything about it?"
Drew frowned. "The name doesn't ring a bell."
Sam smiled slowly and rubbed his hands together. "I'll check into it. If there's a connection, I bet I can dig it up. And I'll check on Fortescue, too."
"I've got a twenty that says I can dig up something before you can," Drew said. "You're on," Sam said. Then both brothers turned to look at Tony.
He shook his head. The battle was a long and ongoing one. Sam used technology, and Drew believed in old-fashioned footwork. And though one worked for a private firm and the other for the NYPD, there weren't two better investigators in the city. "Count me out. That way I can root for both of you."
Over Drew's shoulder, Tony saw Lily step out of the elevator. For a moment, everything else slipped from his mind. She was dressed in a neat, very businesslike suit, navy pinstripes with a crisp white blouse. He could picture exactly what she was wearing underneath—the merest wisps of silk and lace. For a moment, he could have sworn that he caught her scent— lilies, the kind his mother used to grow in pots on the roof. Tony didn't notice that his brothers had followed the direction of his gaze.
Sam's voice was a distant echo when he said, "Uh-oh. We've got big trouble."
Lily had taken great care to dress for success. She had regrouped in the shower, recaptured her focus. Never mind that Ben Franklin's words had formed a little background chorus in her head—early to bed, early to rise... Oh, she'd gone early to bed with Tony Romano all right. She hadn't even introduced herself first! But she was not about to let it become the disaster Dame Vera had predicted. She would start all over with Tony Romano. Clean slate. She would meet him on a strictly business level, and she would do the job her father was depending on her to do.
Usually the clothes helped her. She'd chosen the pin striped suit because of its General Patton, don't-give me-any-crap quality. One of many tips for fighting your way to success that she'd picked up at her recent seminar was Jack Nicholson's often quoted advice to other actors: "Let the costume do the work." From now on she was determined to do just that.
However, her suit stopped working the moment she stepped out of the elevator and saw that Tony's eyes were on her. The kick-ass outfit offered no defense against the wave of heat that rolled right through her Was she ever going to be able to see the man without remembering what they'd done to each other in that bed?
Was she ever going to see him without wanting to do it again?
The thought had her stopping short, and for one long moment she was torn between wanting to run toward him—or as far away as she could get.
So much for her clean-slate plan. Maybe what she needed was a better costume—something from the Metropolitan Museum's medieval armor collection, perhaps. On second thought, she wouldn't need it— not if she remained paralyzed forever right here in the middle of the lobby. And it wasn't only Tony who was looking at her. The other three men at his table were also staring in her direction. Two of them had to be Romanos. They'd been in the photo with Tony.
''Lily, there you are."
The sound of Lucy's voice broke her trance, and Lily turned just as the girl took her arm. "Are you ready for your tour?"
"Yes," Lily managed to say, grateful to find she could move again when Lucy urged her toward a small gift shop that opened off the lobby.
"Grace is going to take you because I'm covering for her on registration. She has to study. Law school."
It wasn't a gift shop, exactly, Lily discovered as Lucy drew her into the small, distinctly feminine store. She took in the mannequins and the shelves displaying a variety of women's clothing—from simple T-shirts and shells to suits and cocktail dresses. And she recognized the label at once. Gina R.
> For the second time since she'd stepped off the elevator, Lily stopped dead in her tracks. "You carry clothes by Gina R in your hotel gift shop?"
Lucy laughed as she urged her forward. "That's all we carry. C'mon. I'll introduce you. Mom will love that you recognize her designs."
There were two women behind the small counter at the back of the shop. One, Lily judged to be in her late forties or early fifties. She wore her dark hair pulled back and tied with a scarf. The other was younger— with the same dark hair pulled back—no scarf. She was studying Lily through the narrow glasses perched on her nose. The older woman smiled at her. The
younger one didn't.
"Lily McNeil, meet my Mom, Gina Romano, and my sister, Grace," Lucy said.
Lily found her hand enveloped in the older woman's. "I'm wearing one of your suits." "I recognize it, and I'm thrilled," Gina said.
"Lily's a consultant, and she's going to talk Tony into turning Uncle Henry's penthouse into a restaurant," Lucy explained.
Lily felt a pang of guilt as she withdrew her hand from Gina's warm clasp. She should never have led Lucy to believe that. Her goal was to find the weak nesses of the hotel so that her father could exploit them. She wasn't supposed to be giving the Romanos false hopes. In an attempt to change the subject, she glanced around the small shop again, then said to Gina, "I had no idea that you ran your own shop."
"I won't for much longer," Gina said. "Now that my clothes are being carried in Bloomingdale's and upscale boutiques across the country, I'm finding that don't get much business here anymore."
"You should," Lily said. "If I had known you were here, I would have made the trip."
"Maybe once," Gina said. "And then you'd find a more convenient location. This area is a little off the beaten path for shopping."
Lily moved toward the door of the shop and studied the lobby for a moment. "It wouldn't take much to make this place a destination. All we'd have to do is renovate the lobby, add some potted plants, a string quartet, and serve a really outstanding high tea. Look how many people visit the Plaza just to have a drink at the Palm Court