Without even a nod of acknowledgment to the men surrounding her, Hunter reached out, took her hand in his and said, "I believe this is our dance."
She went with him, moving past her trio of admirers, who grumbled among themselves. Hunter led; she followed. When they joined the other dancers, he took her into his arms and began moving with an amazing agility for a man so huge. He held her close, but not too close, a hairbreadth between their bodies. He didn't speak, only continued staring into her eyes, as if he thought he would be able to see some profound truth revealed there. Speak, damn it, she told herself. Say something to him. Say, it's been a long time. Or how about asking him what the hell he's doing here?
"They can't help themselves, you know," Hunter said, no trace of humor in his voice or show of emotion on his face.
"What?"
"Your men." He nodded toward where the threesome stood on the sideline and watched. "They can't help being infatuated with you. When a woman looks the way you do, men can't resist."
When she stiffened in his arms, he eased her just a little closer, enough so that her breasts brushed his chest. "You certainly never had any trouble resisting me, did you?"
That's it, Manda, dredge up the past. Remind him of what a scandalous little hussy you were at sixteen. Remind him of why he felt unwelcome in this house for so many years.
"That's what you think," Hunter replied, a grin lifting the corners of his mouth.
Manda gasped. "You certainly could have fooled me. You acted like I was poison."
"Baby doll, you were poison. You were jailbait."
She quivered when his large, hard hand spread out across her back, his fingertips resting against the base of her spine. "I didn't stay sixteen forever. If you'd been interested, you could have made your move when I turned eighteen."
"I could have," he said. "But by then you had dozens of guys buzzing around you, ones far more suitable for you than I was. You and I both know that your grams wouldn't have approved of me. Besides, I've never liked the idea of being part of a male harem."
"A male harem?" Manda laughed. "This from a guy who can snap his fingers and have any woman he wants."
Hunter grinned. "You overestimate my charm. I'm just a good ole boy who does his best to remember the gentlemanly manners his grandparents taught him."
Enough idle chitchat, Manda thought. Time to get down to the crux of the matter. "What are you doing here tonight?"
"Perry invited me to Gwen's birthday party."
"Why accept this particular invitation? He's been inviting you to family events for the past ten years and you've never shown up before tonight."
"Let's just say that Perry's invitation intrigued me."
"How's that?" Manda asked.
"He made me a business proposition that I found interesting. He suggested I come to the party and then afterward, we'd talk to the other person involved in the deal and the three of us would come to an agreement."
"I must say that I'm intrigued now. I can't imagine what sort of business deal a former army major would have with a small-town lawyer."
"It's personal business."
"Is that so? Mind telling me who the third person is?"
The music ended. Hunter stopped, but continued holding Manda. He looked at her point-blank and said, "You're the other person."
"What?"
"I take it that Perry hasn't discussed his plan with you."
She shook her head. "No, he hasn't. But since I'm involved, why don't you fill me in on the details?" When the people around them began milling about, she realized that she was still in Hunter's arms. She tried to pull away from him, but he grasped her hand and led her toward the double set of French doors that opened to the backyard.
She didn't balk when he practically forced her onto the patio. What was it about this man that made her accept his caveman tactics? Just because she had always responded to him sexually, on a purely primitive level, didn't mean she wanted him to drag her around by her hair.
A dozen or so people meandered about on the patio, most of them smokers who had escaped for a nicotine fix. Hunter led her to the far side of the patio and into the shadows formed by the centuries-old oak tree at the edge of the house. A shiver of apprehension rippled up her spine. Once out of earshot of the others and with their bodies partially hidden in the jutting curve of the house, Hunter settled his hands on her shoulders, his touch gentle. She stared up at him. He was a good foot taller than she and his size alone was intimidating. But on some instinctive level she knew that he would never hurt her.
"Perry filled me in on your decision to never date again."
"How dare he discuss my personal business— Oh, my God! He called you here to be my protector, didn't he? I didn't think he was serious when he said that what I needed was a man who could defend me against the crazy person who killed Rodney and Mike."
"There was never any proof that Rodney was murdered," Hunter said. "Perry pointed out that before Rodney died in a car crash, you hadn't received any threatening letters, the way you did when you became engaged to Mike."
"What difference does that make? Both of the men I planned to marry met untimely deaths. Because of me."
Hunter tightened his grasp on her shoulders. "Manda, what happened to you is tragic, but if you stop living … if you give up and give in to this lunatic who's trying to control your life, then you're not the feisty, headstrong, determined girl I once knew. Sixteen-year-old Manda Munroe would have spit in the devil's eye."
A shudder of remembrance passed through her as she looked at Hunter. "That girl doesn't exist anymore. She was silly and spoiled and had no idea how unbearably cruel life could be. That Manda Munroe died, slowly and painfully, after being responsible for the deaths of two good men."
"Damn it, you were not responsible for either of those deaths." Hunter slid one hand upward to grasp the nape of her neck and the other around to cradle her back. "Perry was right. It's past time to put an end to this madness. We're going to bring your monster out into the light of day and drive a stake through his heart."
Manda gulped in air. "Whatever plan Perry has cooked up, I won't allow you to risk your life to—"
Hunter leaned over and lowered his head, bringing his mouth to hers. Shocked by his actions, she had no time to respond before he kissed her. Soft and languid in the beginning, but quickly escalating to a full-fledged, tongue-thrusting passionate kiss. Sizzling sensation radiated from the core of her femininity throughout her entire body. She had been kissed many times before, but never like this. This was a teenage girl's fantasy kiss. An all-consuming, curl-your-toes, Me-Tarzan-You-Jane kiss.
She found herself unable to resist. Passion had become a negative word in her vocabulary. She had willed herself to not succumb to any attraction she'd felt for various men over the past five years, but with Hunter she had no control. She suddenly felt sixteen again and her big brother's best friend was making her dreams come true.
Hunter ended the long, lingering kiss with tender nips on her bottom lip and a sweet trail made by his moist lips along her neck. She sighed as her body melted into his. Breathless, Manda gazed at him and one word formed on her lips.
"Why?"
He glanced over her shoulder, across the patio and whispered in her ear, "To begin the charade. This was Act One for our audience."
"What audience?" She turned her head just enough to follow his gaze and saw Chris, Boyd and Grady on the far side of the patio, stunned expressions on their faces.
Damn. Had Hunter kissed her to prove a point to her three overzealous admirers? Was he thumbing his nose at them, showing them that he'd already gotten to first base with the woman they wanted?
Seething with anger, she went rigid in his arms. "I hope you enjoyed this," she said quietly, her jaw tight. "Because it will be the only time you ever use me to—"
He kissed her again. Nothing more than a silencing maneuver. Then he explained. "Don't you realize that one of those three could be your letter
-writing menace? If we're going to draw him out into the open and force him to take action, then we will have to convince him that we're serious about each other."
"Is that why you kissed me? Just what sort of scheme did you and Perry cook up behind my back?"
"A pretty good scheme," he replied. "But I think we should wait until Perry has a free minute, so the three of us can discuss this plan together."
"I agree. Perry had no right to drag you into this mess without my consent."
"I'm sure he thought that you'd never agree," Hunter told her. "Some things about you may have changed, Manda, but one thing hasn't—you're still as stubborn as a mule."
"Hunter?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Go to hell!"
She pulled out of his embrace, marched across the patio, glared at the wide-eyed threesome and went into the house. If Hunter Whitelaw thought he was going to play hero for her, then he'd better think again. He might be a tough guy, but he wasn't invincible. He could be killed just like any ordinary man. He could die because of her. Just as Rodney and Mike had died.
* * *
Hunter watched Manda as she nervously tapped her foot on the floor in Perry's study. Apparently she hadn't cooled off much in the past hour. She was practically foaming at the mouth.
"You had no right to call Hunter and ask him to pretend to be my new boyfriend!" Manda glared at Perry. "You're asking him to risk his life and for what? Tell me that—for what?"
"How can you ask me such a question?" Perry slammed his fist down on top of his antique desk. "I've stood around and done nothing for the past twelve years, except watch you suffer. I thought that given time after Rodney's death, you'd find love again, and you did, with Mike. But then when he was murdered, you cut yourself off from men entirely. And just when you ventured back into the dating arena, you let a freak accident—a damn food poisoning incident—determine the rest of your life."
"It's my life, isn't it? I have a right to decide how to live it. And if I choose to spend the rest of my life alone, then—"
"I think there's something you're overlooking," Hunter said.
Settling her gaze on Hunter, she all but snarled at him. "And just what would that be?"
"The fact that no matter what you choose to do, men aren't going to stop coming on to you." His lips twitched with an almost smile. "A woman who looks the way you do is always going to have men chasing after her. This nutcase who's so determined to see that you never marry could eventually start eliminating any man who shows an interest in you."
"Oh, good Lord. Do you actually think that…" She shook her head as if trying to erase his words from her mind. "Oh, all right. Let me hear the rest of your plan." She pointed her finger first at Hunter and then at Perry. "But if I don't agree, then the whole thing is off. Is that understood?"
A response from Manda, but not exactly an agreement. Perry nodded. Hunter grunted. After what Perry had told him, all the details of Manda's life and the death of her second fiancé, Hunter realized that Manda could never live a normal life until the person behind the threats was exposed and ultimately, stopped.
"I called Hunter not only because he's an old friend and someone you knew in the past, someone you actually had a teenage crush on, but because of his background." Perry reached out and clasped Manda's hands in his. "For a number of years, Hunter was a member of the Delta Force, a special operations military unit. And now he's an agent for the top security and investigation agency in the country. He's qualified to not only protect you, but to take care of himself under fire."
"All right, I agree Hunter is highly qualified," Manda said. "But that doesn't tell me exactly what you intend for him to do. Are we supposed to date and see what happens?"
"You'll date," Perry said. "Y'all will have a whirlwind courtship. Hunter's going to sweep you off your feet. You two are going to fall madly in love and within a few weeks, we'll be putting together the quickest planned and executed wedding in history."
"Wedding?" Manda's face paled.
"Hmm—mm." Perry placed Manda's hand in Hunter's. "You two are going to get married."
"Married!" Manda screamed. "You can't seriously intend for me to marry him." She focused her gaze on Hunter. "You're going to use yourself as bait to catch this guy. I won't allow you to risk your life for me. Don't you realize that— Oh, I get it. You're so damn sure of yourself that you think once we announce our engagement, my secret admirer will make his move and you'll not only be able protect me and yourself, but you'll catch him, too." She pulled away from Hunter and paced around the room. "By all means, let's follow through with this idiotic plan. Let's put both of our lives in danger. Let's show everyone in Dearborn that we're fools in love, and to hell with the consequences."
Hunter grabbed her, cupping her chin as he stared into her eyes. "No one outside this room is to know that we're only pretending. As far as anyone else is concerned—your grandmother, Gwen, Mrs. Austin—this thing between us is real. We're going to convince everyone that we can't keep our hands off each other."
"I'm not sure I'm that good an actress."
"Just pretend you feel about me now the way you did when you were sixteen and performed your little striptease for me out by the pool."
Manda's face flushed as she huffed loudly, "And what are you going to pretend?"
"I'm a man, baby doll. With a woman who looks like you, I won't have to pretend."
* * *
Chapter 3
« ^ »
Barbara Finch Munroe didn't bother to knock before she entered her grandson's study; she swept into the room like the queen she was. Mrs. Munroe had held the title of Dearborn society's grand dame for the past twenty-five years, and despite the fact she had to be close to eighty, Hunter would lay odds she'd be around to keep her crown for another twenty-five years. There was spirit in her step and determination in her eyes—eyes the exact same shade of blue as Manda's. She glanced from person to person, her gaze lingering on Hunter. A barely discernable change in her facial expression warned him that she remembered who he was.
"What are y'all doing hiding away in here when it's time to bring out Gwen's birthday cake? I was ready to give the caterers the nod when I noticed that you—" she glared at Perry "—were nowhere to be seen. It just so happened that Bobbie Rue saw you and Manda come into the study with a … gentleman."
"Grams, you remember Hunter Whitelaw, don't you?" Perry said, a quirky grin on his face.
Always the cordial lady, Mrs. Munroe offered Hunter a pleasant smile and nod. "Mr. Whitelaw, we haven't seen you in a number of years. Are you in town visiting family?"
"No, ma'am, I'm afraid I don't have any family left in Dearborn. I drove down from Atlanta for Gwen's birthday party, and I'm certainly glad that I accepted Perry's invitation." Hunter looked point-blank at Manda and grinned like a lovesick fool.
Manda's cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry you had to come looking for us." Manda walked over and laced her arm through her grandmother's. "Hunter and Perry and I were just talking over old times. And Hunter and I were laughing about that silly teenage crush I had on him when I was sixteen. Remember, Grams? I told you and Daddy the most awful fib about Hunter."
Mrs. Munroe focused her gaze directly on Hunter. She pursed her lips in a disapproving manner.
"Believe me, Mrs. Munroe, if she comes to you with that same story tomorrow, it will be true," Hunter said, his voice light, his tone humorous.
Manda gasped. "Hunter! Don't tease Grams." She tightened her hold on her grandmother and tried to maneuver the old woman toward the open door. "We'd better get back to the party, hadn't we?" She stared at Perry as she inclined her head toward the door. "Come on. We don't want to hold up the big production. I'm sure Gwen's getting anxious about the presentation of her cake."
Mrs. Munroe held her ground and pinned Hunter with her disapproving glare. "Young man, was that your rather vulgar way of saying that you're interested in my granddaughter?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hunter said.
"And I apologize, if my comment offended you. I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to seeing me with Manda. I've asked her out for tomorrow night and she's accepted."
Mrs. Munroe turned her attention to her granddaughter. "Manda, is this true? Do you intend to—"
"Grams, don't you think it's wonderful that these two have finally connected?" Perry rushed across the room and took his grandmother's hand. "I think it was practically love at first sight for both of them tonight."
"Hardly." Mrs. Munroe huffed in a delicate, ladylike way. "Manda and Hunter have known each other for years."
"That was just a figure of speech," Manda said. "What Perry was trying to say is that after seeing each other again tonight, Hunter and I find that we're attracted to each other and … and we're going to go with what we're feeling and see what happens. Right?" She looked to Hunter for affirmation.
"That's right. I plan to take some vacation time and stay in Dearborn so Manda and I can become reacquainted."
"Are you sure that's wise, my dear?" Mrs. Munroe asked. "After all… Does he know?"
"Yes, he knows," Perry said.
Mrs. Munroe nodded her head. "Very well. Then I see no harm in their dating." She grasped Manda's hand. "It'll do you good to have a social life again, even if…" She looked right at Hunter. "I'm an old-fashioned woman, Mr. Whitelaw. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a snob, and they'd be right. I'm going to be honest with you—under normal circumstances, I wouldn't approve of your escorting Manda around, but if you can bring her back to life and make her happy, then you have my blessings."
"Thank you. I'm sure your approval means a great deal to Manda," Hunter said, implying that her approval didn't mean a damn to him. "And I promise that I intend to do everything I can to put a smile on her face."
* * *
Manda's gaze connected momentarily with Hunter's and she caught the teasing gleam in his eyes. She just hoped that Grams hadn't comprehended the sexual connotation of his comment. Before she realized his intentions, Perry whisked Grams away from her and out the door.
WHITELAW'S WEDDING Page 3