by Noelle Adams
Kris answered, “A little about your family, a little about how you got started, a little about our first date.”
Shit. Water halfway to his mouth, he paused and cast a swift glance at Sadie to gauge her reaction to that news. Her blue eyes avoided his as she picked up her pencil and jotted a few squiggles and curly-q’s.
Shifting his gaze to the one person enjoying the conversation, he did his best to keep his tone joking and light. “Really? You’ve only been out here a half hour and already you’ve told that story?”
The smart-ass just grinned.
God, I should’ve known better. “She told you it was our only date, right?” Zach asked Sadie before tipping his bottle up for a drink in the increasing heat.
“Relax, Romeo,” Kris said with a laugh as she stood and moved behind him. “I told her all about how kissing you was like kissing my brother.”
“Hey, I resent that,” he parroted, setting his bottle on the table with a thump.
She put her hands on his shoulders as if she were going to massage, but instead pulled him back to whisper in his ear, “I don’t think Sadie does.”
After delivering that little pulse jumpstarter, she reached past him to swipe her cup and straightened. “It’s been fun, but if I don’t get back to work my ogre of a boss will yell at me. Stop by later if you want, Sadie. That’ll give me time to think of some juicer stories.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Zach said.
“Count me in,” Sadie contradicted.
As the door closed behind the trouble-maker, Zach shook his head in resignation, knowing he had no one to blame but himself.
Returning his attention to Sadie, his friend’s quiet observation echoed in his mind. Sadie didn’t seem to care about the relationship he and Kris had shared—or not, in this case. Ironically, he’d prefer jealousy to her air of indifference.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
His gaze shifted down as the pencil’s eraser bounced against Sadie’s notebook. Ah, so not completely indifferent. Holding his smile to a twitch of his lips, he stood and returned his chair to the neighboring table.
“Ready to meet the MovieMail team?”
“Yes.” She rose and gathered her things, never once looking at him. “After speaking with Kris, I have a better idea of how I want to approach the article.”
“How long will you need here at the office?”
“Depending on how available and cooperative everyone is, I hope no more than two days.”
Her brisk tone had him rethinking her anxiety. As she preceded him inside, he cursed his full schedule that made it impossible to keep her to himself longer. He could’ve made some real progress getting to know her better today.
Tomorrow would be a whole different story.
On their way inside, for the first time since she’d arrived, he had the luxury of letting his gaze linger without a thought for who might notice. High heeled, black sandals accented her shapely legs and slim skirt leading up to the sensual curve of her hips before her figure nipped in at the waist. She’d tamed those blond corkscrew curls into some sort of knot at the base of her neck that he guessed was intended to create a professional impression.
But he’d experienced the heat simmering beneath her reserved veneer. All he noticed was how the loose tendrils softened the affect and showed off her slender neck, making her sexier than ever. Really, if Eve was half as enticing as Sadie, who could blame Adam for succumbing to temptation?
Once through the kitchen area, Zach reluctantly moved ahead and led her to the conference room. Before making any introductions, he cast Sadie a reassuring glance, only to find it completely unnecessary. Facing his executives, she appeared cool and collected and nothing short of beautiful.
Maybe she’s a bit of an actress after all.
The thought caught him off guard and sent his gaze across the table. His brother’s smirk set him even more on edge. Reminding himself Matt had no clue what he was thinking, Zach shook off the insidious suspicion as he called for attention from his executive team.
“Thanks for giving me a few extra minutes. I’d like to introduce Sadie Barton. She’s here to do an exclusive in-depth counter story to Friday’s article. Please extend her every courtesy as she’s conducting her interviews over the next couple days.”
“I know you’re all busy,” Sadie added. “I promise I won’t take much of your time.”
Zach made individual introductions and was pleased when each team member gave her a warm welcome on their way out. Then came Matt.
“Hello again, Sadie.”
“Matt.”
“Find anything…profitable yet?”
Zach’s jaw clenched, but before he could say anything, Kris entered the room.
“Zach—I’m sorry to interrupt, but Gerald Truner is holding on line one. I didn’t think you’d want me to have him wait.”
Damn it, she was right. If he didn’t talk to the hesitant CEO, he’d risk three months of touch-and-go negotiations.
“I’ll be right there,” he told Kris before turning to Sadie. “Do you mind waiting a bit for the tour?”
“That’s fine.”
“I’ll take her,” his brother offered. “That is, unless Sadie objects?”
Zach wouldn’t blame her if she did, but his brother had spoken the suggestion in a daring tone that made it hard to refuse. Not surprisingly, Sadie rose to the challenge with a smile full of sugar.
“You were next on my list anyway, Matt.”
Zach watched them depart, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Tick-tock,” Kris reminded.
He strode to the door connecting to his office. “Send him through.”
****
Frustration dogged his heels the rest of the day. Dealing with the first crisis wound his schedule even tighter and allowed him only the occasional glimpse of Sadie as she spoke with one employee or another. He worked through lunch, and Matt was suspiciously absent until he sauntered into Zach’s office shortly after four.
“How’d it go with Truner?” Matt asked, taking a seat as Zach hung up from his conference call.
He leaned his elbows on the desk and ran both hands through his hair before massaging the back of his neck with one hand. “We’re flying out Wednesday morning to close the deal. I had Kris check your schedule and book the flights already.”
“It’s about damn time.”
Zach leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh. “Tell me about it.”
“When do we come back?”
“If all goes as it should, Thursday afternoon. Just in time for a full house with Dad’s birthday party Friday night.”
“My place is full, too. With everyone flying in, it’s going to be a hell of a party,” Matt said.
“More like a reunion, but, yeah, Dad’s going to love it. Though I still wish they’d let me rent a place—their backyard is not that big.”
“I have to agree with them on this one. We’ll fit just fine. Besides, you know mom and dad will never be the rented ballroom type. They’re barely comfortable at your beach house.”
“I know, I know,” he agreed with resignation. As time quietly ticked along, he found himself impatiently swiveling his chair back and forth. “So…?”
A wide grin appeared on his brother’s face. The silence remained.
“You’re going to make me say it.”
“Yep.”
Zach did his best to hide his exasperation. “How’d it go with Sadie?”
“She knows how to work her magic, I’ll give her that.”
Mid-swivel, Zach released an annoyed sideways glance. “She’s not what you think.”
“Melissa wasn’t what any of us thought.”
“Sadie’s not Melissa,” Zach stated, facing him head on.
Matt got to his feet and gave a careless shrug before heading for the door. “Guess we’ll see.”
“Wait—that’s it? You’re not even going to tell me what you talked about?”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Matt—”
“Don’t worry, you’ll thank me later.”
As the door clicked shut, Zach still had no idea if his brother had helped or hindered his case, though the fact that he’d yet again compared Sadie to Melissa wasn’t a good sign. After a moment of contemplation, he ignored the voice warning him not to do it and picked up the phone to dial their friend Gabe Carson with the LAPD.
Eighteen
Sadie ripped out the rent check, flipped the checkbook closed and rubbed her hands over her face. Flattening her palms on her thighs, she took a deep breath and told herself it wasn’t as bad as it appeared.
Gemma had a few days work as an extra she was expecting the check for any day, and the first round of interviews at MovieMail had gone well—if she didn’t count the building tour with Matt. He still thought she was on a man-hunt, and for every question she posed, he grilled her two to one. Short of actually saying, “Stay away from my brother,” he’d made his feelings clear.
Her feelings about Zach were muddied all to hell and swirled together with that initial, nauseating realization that she may have chosen the wrong profession when Kris pointed out she had technically not been fired.
A true reporter didn’t just quit, did they?
Instead of trying to wade through the confusion and give in to the doubt, she’d concentrated on the article and found herself hopeful for the way everything was taking shape. Zach’s was a rags to riches story. Proof good guys could finish first with a lot of hard work and a pure heart. Inspiring. Even now, the words were stringing together in her mind in a way that made her think she could salvage something of her career after all.
She didn’t have to freak out about having wasted the past six years of her life, she just needed to find a new proverbial ladder.
A task more easily accomplished once she stopped thinking about what a great catch Zach would make. Adding the words ‘for some woman some day’ didn’t work because every picture in her mind had her at his side.
Swiping her empty water glass from the coffee table, she headed for the kitchen. A glance out the window spotted the hood on their blue rust-bucket up in the air and stopped her in her tracks. Seeing a guy bent over the engine brought instant fear that they’d be minus the car in minutes. It wasn’t much, but once she replaced the battery, it would be better than the two hour bus ride home.
Rational thought fled and Sadie grabbed the baseball bat they kept for protection as she ran out the door. She stormed across the yard, bat at the ready.
“Get away from my car!”
The guy jerked his head up at the same time it dawned on her how incredibly stupid it was to confront a thief with just a bat. In this neighborhood, the potential to find herself face to face with a gun was higher than normal.
Only, instead of a thief, she found herself face to face with Matt Robinson.
Her eyes widened, and so did his when they caught sight of the bat.
He raised his hands, palms out as he took a step back. “Whoa—take it easy.”
Sadie lowered the bat, but not her defenses. “What are you doing here?”
He appeared to relax with her less aggressive stance. “Gemma mentioned your battery was dead, so I picked up a new one. Zach and I drove cars like this before MovieMail took off.”
“Gem…what? When did you talk to Gemma?” And what the heck was he doing talking to her when he didn’t even like them?
“We exchanged numbers the other day.”
“And she’s been talking…to you?” Sadie asked in amazement.
His grin reminded her of Zach before he returned his attention back to the car. “I can be as charming as my brother when I want to be.”
“Why do you want to be now? Why not earlier at the office?”
“I wasn’t convinced.”
“What changed your mind?”
He cast her a sideways glance while adjusting the connections on the battery. “I saw you waiting for the bus.”
“So?”
“So, you could’ve easily asked my brother for a ride home.”
“I don’t need a personal chauffeur. Nor do I want one.”
He smiled as he wiped his hands on a rag sitting off to the side.
“You probably think that’s all part of my plan, though,” she said.
“It’s a good one, if it is. Very convincing.”
“Oh, go to hell.” Sadie spun around to go back inside. She heard the hood on the car slam shut and then he called her name. A glance over her shoulder confirmed he’d started across the courtyard after her.
“What do you want?”
“Gemma said she’d be home by six. Mind if I come up and wait for her?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
Sadie glared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes with a shake of her head. She sighed and continued up to the second floor. When Matt followed, all she did was open their apartment door and motion him in.
His gaze swept over the living room before he headed into the kitchen to turn on the water. While he washed his hands, Sadie cleaned up the mess of paperwork on the coffee table. Didn’t need him to start nosing through their bills. After they were put away, she grabbed her notebook and laptop to start organizing her notes from the day’s interviews.
Matt came to take a seat on the couch. It teetered back when he settled on the side with the broken leg. She bit back a smile at the flash of alarm that preceded his reactive lurch forward. Once he realized it wouldn’t tip over, he sat back once more, stretching his legs out.
It bugged her that he looked relaxed and comfortable in her home while she sat there seething over her sister’s duplicity. Keeping her gaze focused on her computer screen, she asked Matt a question she knew would push his buttons. “How many dates do you think it would take before I could get Zach to buy us a new couch?”
“Sleep with him and he’d probably buy you anything.”
Now he had her full attention. Her anger boiled over when he responded to her glare with a careless shrug.
“You brought it up.”
“I appreciate the tip. Tell me, does it run in the family? Is that why you’re ‘charming’ my sister so fast?”
He laughed. “Gemma’s fun. And she doesn’t play games.”
Sadie’s turn to laugh. “You don’t know my sister then.”
His brown eyes narrowed. Sadie ignored a twinge of guilt, because with Gemma, what you saw really was what you got. But Matt would only break her sister’s heart, so it was for Gemma’s own good that Sadie planted the false doubt.
The sound of the key in the lock drew their attention across the apartment. Gemma breezed inside on full throttle, talking as she shut the door and turned her back to hang her stuff up.
“Sadie—I’m home! What a day! A good day, but I’m meeting a friend in a little bit so I’ll have to tell you about it la…ter.” She’d finally spun back around to find Sadie and Matt watching her. “Hey, Matt…um…hi.”
He smiled, but Sadie noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes in the face of her sister’s surprise at seeing him. It appeared she’d been keeping secrets from both of them. Good, that only reinforced her statement that he didn’t know her.
Gemma’s guilty gaze swung to Sadie. Yeah, you should feel bad.
“Matt brought us a new battery today,” Sadie informed her.
“What?” Another volley to Matt. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. But after your help yesterday, I thought I’d return the favor.”
Sadie snapped the laptop shut. “Oh really? Do tell, Gemma. What did you ‘help’ him with?”
The tinge of color in her cheeks turned from pink to red.
“Relax,” Matt snapped at Sadie. “I was having trouble getting a letter worded just right and she offered to edit it for me. Apparently more
than one talent runs in your family.”
Sadie shot him another glare, but he rose to stand by her sister.
His expression softened as he said, “The letter was perfect by the way. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” After a zip of her gaze between him and Sadie, she smiled up at Matt. “Give me a couple minutes to get ready and then we can go, okay?”
“Sure. Remember, casual is fine.”
When Sadie noticed her sister’s lingering touch on Matt’s arm before she walked away, she drew in a silent, calming breath and followed her down the hall. Neither one spoke until the bedroom door was closed behind them, then they faced off in the room.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” Gemma implored. “I was going to tell you later.”
“I’m not mad, I’m worried.”
“Why? He’s Zach’s brother.”
“He’s a jerk who still thinks I’m after Zach for his money. How did all this happen anyway? You didn’t even like him the other morning.”
Gemma shrugged as she began shoving aside hanger after hanger in her closet. “We started talking while you and Zach were in the kitchen. Something just clicked.”
“That was all of what—three minutes?”
“So? I like him, Sadie. We have fun together.”
“When have you gone out? Wait, is he the ‘friend’ you met Saturday night?”
The guilt in her expression was answer enough.
“Why lie to me?” Sadie asked.
“Because you were really mad when we left Zach’s that morning. And look how you are now. You would’ve told me not to go.”
“Because I don’t trust him.” She bit her tongue on why.
“You don’t know him,” Gemma shot back as she pulled a dusty-rose sleeveless sundress from the closet and stepped back to hold it up before the full-length mirror.
Maybe Sadie didn’t know him, but neither did she.
Sadie sat on the bed while her sister tossed the dress aside and returned to the closet. “Where are you going tonight?”
Her smile held a hint of excitement as she tried a blue dress this time. “He’s taking me to a pre-screening of Jensen Ackles’ new movie. He’s friends with the director.”
“So you’re using him?”
“No!” Gemma’s gaze met hers in the mirror. “It was his suggestion. I didn’t even know he knew the guy.”