Miss Liz's Passion

by Sherryl Woods

  “If we sleep together, it will end.”

  “No,” he said, touching his lips gently to hers. “It will just be the beginning. Wait and see. I’m not Ed. I’m not going to turn to someone else.”

  Todd made the promises with confidence, but he worried. Not about his own feelings, but Liz’s. She’d admitted she wanted him, that the attraction was mutual. But her faith in men was obviously shaky, and for good reason. What would happen when she found out that he wasn’t the man she thought he was, when she learned that he was less than perfect, that things she took for granted in her life were next to impossible for him?

  He had seen the shelves of books in the family room, the leather-bound editions that looked like classics, the brightly jacketed current fiction. What would she think if she knew that he couldn’t read them, could barely struggle through the morning headlines? What would they do when she realized that something so important to her was something they could never share? And worse, that he’d kept the truth of it from her?

  He wasn’t sure if it was her fears or his doubts that, in the end, kept him from pushing for a commitment. Liz’s affection for Kevin was strong, and she knew all of his problems. But that didn’t mean she wanted to take them on on a permanent basis in both the child and the lover. He had been right to keep his dyslexia a secret. No matter what Ann thought about her friend’s ability to understand, he didn’t trust Liz’s feelings enough to risk it. She could run, just as Sarah had.

  Time was the answer…if she would give it to them. He was afraid to ask for himself. He asked for Kevin.

  “Will you go to the Keys with Kevin and me next weekend?” he said.

  She saw right through the ploy and shook her head at once. “You’ve met Ann now. You two will be fine in her hands. You don’t need me.”

  “We do. I do.” He grinned. “Remember, I still have to get past Key Largo.”

  Before he could wrangle an agreement from her, his phone rang. With a pitifully grateful expression, she got up to put some distance between them.

  He answered the phone and with his other hand caught her as she turned away, catching her before she could leave the room. She said his name quietly in protest but he held her wrist tightly until he felt her relax, then slid his hand down to encompass hers. He rubbed his thumb in circles on her palm as he listened to Hank.

  “Sorry to track you down, partner, but we’ve got a problem.”

  Todd was instantly alert. “What?”

  “All this rain has turned the site into a sea of mud. I got worried and stopped by. It looks to me like we might be in trouble. The garage foundation could be slipping. I think you’d better get over here and take a look. We sure as hell don’t need to have this garage tumbling down and injuring somebody.”

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Thanks, Hank.”

  “You have to go,” Liz said unnecessarily. There was no doubting the relief he read in her eyes.

  “For a while. That was Hank. He thinks we could have a problem with the garage construction. He’s already there.”

  The set of her lips indicated she still wasn’t exactly pleased, but she merely nodded.

  “Have dinner with us later,” he suggested.

  She withdrew without moving an inch. The shuttered expression in her eyes was unmistakable, even before she said, “No, Todd. I’m exhausted. I don’t want to go through all this again.”

  “We won’t. Not tonight, anyway. I’ll ask Hank to join us. I’d like you to get to know him. We’ve known each other since we were kids. We’ve worked together since the beginning. I’m sure he has a date he’ll bring along. Kevin will be there. You’ll be properly chaperoned. No serious talk, just a pleasant evening at my house. Steaks on the grill, that sort of thing.”

  “More cholesterol,” she chided.

  “If I make it chicken, will you come?”

  “It’s Sunday night. I usually grade papers,” she protested, but he could tell she was weakening.

  “You have all afternoon to do the papers. We won’t make dinner until seven.”

  “You aren’t going to give up, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there.”

  “Terrific.”

  He jotted the address on a piece of paper, then pressed a quick, hard kiss across her lips before taking off. He wanted to get away before she could change her mind.

  Or before he thought about exactly how little she had on under that damned Dolphins jersey.

  Chapter 8

  “So, old buddy, wasn’t that the sexy teacher I heard in the background when I called you? I thought you weren’t interested in her,” Hank said the minute Todd joined him at the shopping-center site. Though his expression was cautiously neutral, his voice was thick with innuendo. It took every ounce of Todd’s restraint to keep from punching him. Only exhaustion and the fact that Hank outweighed him held him in check. After all these years, he should have grown used to Hank’s baiting. Today, though, because it involved Liz, it annoyed him more than usual.

  “Tell me what makes you think the foundation for the garage might be slipping,” Todd said tightly.

  “Don’t want to talk about her, hmmm? Interesting.”

  “Hank, don’t you have anything better to do than to speculate on my love life? I assure you it’s incredibly boring compared to yours.”

  “Hey, I’m just curious. It’s been a long time since I’ve discovered you at a lady’s house at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning. I thought you were the one who was worried about her reputation. Not that I plan to squeal on the two of you, of course. That’s not my style. My mama taught me never to kiss and tell.”

  “I think the more appropriate lesson here would have to do with tattling,” Todd said wryly. “Just for your information, though, I did not spend the night at Liz Gentry’s place, if that’s what you’re implying with your usual lack of good taste. I went by this morning.”

  “To share a couple of sweet rolls and the Sunday paper, no doubt.” The innocent words were delivered with a healthy amount of masculine skepticism. Todd clenched his fists.

  “Contrary to your limited range of thinking, Riley, not every male-female relationship is based on sex,” he said. Goodness knows he wished this one were, but Hank would have to subject him to torture before he’d ever admit it.

  “It is possible,” he told his inherently lecherous friend, “for two people of opposite sexes to be friends.”

  Hank poured himself a cup of coffee and regarded Todd doubtfully. “And that’s what you and Kevin’s teacher are? Friends?”

  “Exactly.” It was only a tiny white lie, aimed at protecting the lady’s honor. He’d had those same kiss-and-tell lectures Hank had.

  “It wasn’t so many days ago the two of you were standing right here shouting at each other. Some of my best dates don’t arouse that much passion. If that’s what you call a friendly discussion, maybe I need to develop a new technique.”

  “We had a slight disagreement. Things change. If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself. I was planning to ask you to join us for dinner tonight at my place.”

  “Whoa,” Hank said, a knowing grin spreading across his face. Todd considered once more rearranging that face. “First breakfast. Now dinner. I’m impressed. Now you’ll never convince me this isn’t serious.”

  “Hank, the only thing serious around here this morning is the likelihood that I’m going to hold you face-down in the mud until you scream for mercy,” Todd snapped. He realized he was grinding his teeth. “Now do you want to come for dinner or not?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it, buddy. Anything I can bring?”

  “A date, and a zipper for that smart mouth of yours. If you insult Liz, I’ll start proceedings in the morning to dissolve our partnership. The only engineering job you’ll be able to get will be in the far reaches of some very distant country that nobody can even pronounce, much less locate on a map.”

  The threat fell on deaf ears.
Hank draped an arm around his shoulders and poked him playfully in the chest. His eyes sparked with mischief, just as they had during their hell-raising adolescence. Despite his current discomfort at being the object of it, he usually enjoyed Hank’s irreverent humor.

  “You are so-o-o cute when you’re angry,” he taunted Todd. “No wonder the teacher lady is crazy about you.”

  With a muttered oath and a glare, Todd stomped out of the trailer and splashed through the mud to the garage. He had a sinking feeling that tonight was headed for disaster.

  Liz spent the whole day wondering how she had let Todd manipulate her into this dinner. For a woman with very definite ideas about what she did and did not want in her life, she seemed to be losing sight of that clear vision. She didn’t want to go. She didn’t have time to go.

  She could hardly wait to get there.

  Even though he hadn’t asked her to bring anything, she had made a key lime pie. Crumbling the graham crackers for the crust and squeezing the key limes kept her hands occupied, if not her mind. Her thoughts reeled like so many leaves caught up in an autumn breeze.

  These meetings between them, except when they had to do with Kevin’s progress, had to stop, she decided as she poured the filling into the pie shell. They were too volatile. They had her doing and saying things she immediately regretted, things that were totally out of character.

  Just this morning, for instance, she had known she ought to go and change out of that provocative football jersey. She’d never thought of it as sexy, only comfortable. Then she had seen the way Todd’s gaze lingered at the sweep of faded material over her bare breasts. She had felt her stomach turn inside out as he’d glanced with increasing frequency at the bare expanse of her legs below the too-short hem. And, dear God in heaven, she’d enjoyed it. Too much, in fact. She’d deliberately refused to change because Todd’s masculine appreciation had made her feel sexy in a way that Ed’s technically expert lovemaking never had. Lust did astonishing and dangerous things to common sense, she thought, running her finger around the inside of the bowl and licking the filling off her fingers in an unconsciously sensual gesture.

  Tonight, though, she would tell him flatly that the flirtatious games, enjoyable though they were, were over. She didn’t have to explain. It was enough to say that that was the way she wanted it. Todd was a gentleman. He wouldn’t force the issue. And even if he tried, there was very little he could do without her cooperation. He was too busy to invent ways to spend time with her, if she wanted to be elusive.

  Despite her resolve, she found herself dressing in a becoming turquoise sundress with an off-the-shoulder neckline. Her sandals were the merest scraps of turquoise leather. It took her twenty minutes to get her makeup exactly right. She balked when she found herself reaching for an outrageously expensive bottle of perfume on her dresser. Ridiculous. She’d just vowed that Todd would never get really close to her again, certainly not close enough to appreciate seventy-five-dollars-an-ounce perfume. She shrugged finally and dabbed the scent on her wrists and behind her ears. At least if she planned to say goodbye, she might as well make sure he’d remember her.

  Todd’s house wasn’t at all what Liz had expected. It was old and like Ann’s it wandered with haphazard charm. The nooks and crannies inside would be a child’s hide-and-seek delight. Built of Dade County pine, it was situated on a Coconut Grove lot that was overgrown with palm trees, hibiscus and towering banyan trees. From the narrow, winding, well-shaded street it was almost impossible to tell that the house even existed.

  Once inside, though, she discovered that it had been made comfortably modern without losing any of its original character. The colors were bold and practical. The clutter was exactly what you’d expect from a single parent and an eight-year-old boy. There were toys scattered over the floor of the den, papers littered the top of the huge desk, a magazine had been discarded in a chair; and a pair of sneakers was lying in front of the sofa with one sock nearby. Idly, she wondered about the location of the other sock.

  It was the back patio area, though, that took her breath away. Complete with a pool that blended into the landscape, it was a lush tropical paradise. It was a setting meant for seduction and Liz shivered as she imagined swimming there, alone with Todd, on a starlit night.

  When she reached the terrace, Hank was already there. There was an impertinent gleam in his blue eyes when Todd introduced them. His appreciative gaze swept over her and he sighed dramatically.

  “Too bad old Todd here saw you first,” he said regretfully as he took the pie and gave it an approving once-over before placing it on the redwood table that was set for five. “You’re just my type.”

  “As long as they’re over the age of consent, they’re your type,” Todd countered. “Watch him, Liz. He’s an inveterate flirt.”

  She laughed. “And you’re not?”

  She wasn’t sure which of the males was more startled by her assessment. As Todd started to launch an injured protest, she caught a spark of curiosity in Hank’s expression, a closer examination. In that instant, she realized that whatever else these men might be—business partners, healthy competitors with the ladies, opponents on a tennis court—they were friends. Surrounded mostly by women at school, she hadn’t spent a lot of time observing the traditional rituals of male bonding, the backslapping buddies who played cards or sports or simply hung out sipping beer and discussing life, but she recognized deeply ingrained loyalty when she saw it. With a single look, Hank had displayed a protectiveness toward Todd that she admired, even as it left her shaken.

  A petite blonde in silky designer pants and a scanty bandeau top emerged from the house just then and Hank’s attention slid away from Liz. The woman draped herself around Hank. His thick, powerful arm circled her bare waist in a friendly hug as he made the introductions.

  “Gina here is an investment banker,” he said.

  Liz took another look at the woman she’d been about to dismiss as a cute bit of expensively clad fluff and caught the shrewdness in her eyes. Gina was grinning at her as if she knew exactly what Liz had been thinking. She wanted to die of embarrassment, as she gave herself a stern lecture on the dangers of stereotyping.

  “Have you two been dating long?” she asked, envying the fact that they seemed so comfortable together. Perversely, after all her good intentions of the afternoon, she suddenly wanted Todd’s arm around her shoulders. She felt a sharp pang of longing for the feeling of belonging it would impart, but he’d gone inside for the rest of the food.

  “Ages,” Hank said in response to her question about his relationship with Gina.

  “You realize that to Hank anything longer than two hours is ages,” Todd commented from the doorway as he returned with a platter of chicken ready for the grill.

  “Not so,” Hank protested, his expression wounded. “I’ve known Gina for three weeks, ever since I asked her to go over my portfolio.”

  “And it took you twenty days to get her to go out with you,” Todd reminded him, winking at Gina. “She’s obviously more discerning than most of your dates.”

  “Cruel, partner. Are you trying to ruin this for me?”

  Gina laughed, seemingly unaffected by the harmless bantering about Hank’s flirtations. She patted his bearded cheek consolingly. “Don’t let him get to you, honeycakes.”

  “Honeycakes?” Todd and Liz repeated in unison. Liz couldn’t imagine anyone even daring to call the burly giant of a man by such an endearment. Hank looked chagrined.

  “I will never live it down,” he muttered, grabbing the chicken. “Let me tackle a manly task before my image is destroyed.”

  Gina turned to Liz. “Do you have any idea why it’s considered manly to cook over a grill, when you probably couldn’t get him to do the exact same thing at a stove? I know for a fact that he has never, ever cooked anything more complicated than a boiled egg.”

  “Perhaps it’s simply a genetic defect,” Liz suggested.

  “No doubt.”

 
; The whole evening went like that, filled with fast quips and easy laughter. Kevin put in a brief appearance, long enough to eat, then went back to his room to play video games. He seemed to take Liz’s presence in stride. He withstood Hank’s friendly teasing, responding in a way that gave Liz an entirely new perspective on Todd’s friend and business partner. For all of his pretended indifference to commitment, Hank fit neatly into Todd’s small family. Surrogate uncle, pal, whatever, he belonged. Again, Liz felt a subtle yearning tug at her.

  When the rain came back, the air cooled and they all retreated indoors. Todd pulled Liz down beside him on the sofa and rested his hand lightly on her bare shoulder in a gesture that was both comfortably right and exciting. The light caress of his fingers played havoc with her good intentions.

  It would be easy to get used to this, she thought as the conversation swirled around her. The warmth, the open friendliness, Todd’s casual intimacy were all too alluring. It would be dangerous to believe in this, to believe it could last.

  If Todd was to be believed about Hank’s tendency to roam, Gina was all too likely to be replaced by next weekend. Was her own relationship with Todd any less tenuous? Not likely. No, this was definitely not something to count on for more than the moment.

  It was Hank who broke up the party, mentioning an early day and the problems at the site that he and Todd had identified that morning and now needed to rectify. Liz suspected that the polite excuses had very little to do with his desire to go. She’d seen the exchange of heated glances between him and Gina. They might be leaving at a respectable hour, but she doubted that their evening would end. To her amazement, she found that she was jealous.

  She glanced at Todd as he was saying goodbye, wishing that for just one night she could abandon her common sense. She’d almost done it last night, but Todd had stopped her. Would he do it again? It would be foolish to even consider finding out. By the time he came back into the living room, she had begun straightening up.

  “You don’t need to do this,” he told her. “Sit with me awhile.”