Purposely turning her back when Alec made a big production of toweling off that magnificent broad chest of his, Mackenzie said to John, “Why don’t you cool off first, and then we’ll take that long stroll on the beach you mentioned earlier?”
“Sounds great,” John said at the same time Mackenzie felt the towel hit the back of her head.
“Oops! Sorry, Mackenzie!” Alec said with a grin, then made matters worse when he reached out and tried to smooth down her slightly ruffled hair.
Mackenzie slapped his hand away and held the towel out by the corner as if it were now dripping with poison. Draping it nonchalantly over the banister leading up to the deck, she smiled at John and said, “I don’t know about you, but I could use something to drink.”
“I was just about to suggest the same thing myself,” Alec piped in as he threw one arm around John’s shoulder and the other arm around Mackenzie. “How about some sex on the beach, guys? I promise, it’s killer.”
No, I’m going to be the killer, Mackenzie thought as Alec pulled them with him up the stairs to Angie’s top deck. But the minute they reached the bar, John’s partner called him aside and Angie prissed up to hand Alec a notepad and a pen.
“I’m going to take you up on your offer to make those fabulous burgers you were telling me about earlier, Alec,” she said with a smile. “Would you take the orders? So we’ll know how everyone wants their burger cooked?”
“I’d love to,” Alec assured his hostess, then looked back at Mackenzie when Angie walked away. “What?”
Mackenzie’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Like you don’t already know!”
Alec shrugged, then held up his notepad and pen. “All I know is that I’m supposed to take your order. Now, how would you like your burger, Miss Malone?”
“Well, aren’t you Mr. Versatility today,” Mackenzie said, her hands on her hips now. “First you’re the volleyball champion of the world, and now you’re the freaking Galloping Gourmet! What happened to being a fly on the wall, Alec? Weren’t you supposed to be so inconspicuous I wouldn’t even know you were here?”
Alec blinked at her statement, pretending to be clueless. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mackenzie. But I do know I need to get your burger order,” he added, poising his pen back over his notepad again. “What’s it going to be? Rare? Medium rare? Well done?”
“Well done,” Mackenzie said through clenched teeth.
“Ah,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I see you like your burgers the same way you like your men.”
When Mackenzie refused to rise to the bait, Alec added, “Because old John was pretty well done before that game was over, wouldn’t you say?”
“Why, you…you…”
Alec cut her off when he stepped so close his breath tickled her ear. “You really should thank me, Mackenzie,” he whispered. “For going easy on the poor guy. Otherwise, you would have been carrying old John on that long walk you plan to take on the beach.”
Mackenzie jerked her head away from the hot breath that was sending tingles up and down her spine. And even the warp-speed sample of the sensation she might feel if those fiery lips did make contact with her now screaming-to-be-nibbled earlobe wasn’t enough to erase Alec’s cocky comment. Reaching out, she snatched the notepad and pen from Alec’s hand, scribbled only two words across the paper, then gladly handed pad and pen back to her still-grinning nemesis.
“Here’s your own personal thank you note, Alec,” Mackenzie said, then sent him a satisfied smile before she turned and walked away.
“Hey, Mackenzie,” Alec yelled after her. “I didn’t realize thank you started with an F.”
Alec was still laughing when Mackenzie closed Angie’s sliding glass door behind her.
3
ASSURING HERSELF THAT SHE was only down in the dumps because she’d always hated Mondays anyway, Mackenzie sat at her desk, trying to channel her creative energy toward the sketches that were spread out before her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working. Instead, she found herself struggling with her overactive imagination, and trying not to think about what Alec had been up to since he left Angie’s party on Saturday night.
His car hadn’t been in the space next to hers when she returned home late Sunday night after spending the rest of the weekend at Angie’s. Nor had it been there when she left for the office early that morning. Not that it was any of her business where Alec had been, she kept reminding herself. Just as it was none of his business that she’d had a rather enjoyable day with John on Sunday when he’d dropped by Angie’s and asked her to take a drive out to the marina with him to check on his sailboat.
Given a little time, she could possibly even grow rather fond of John. Possibly even…
“Your twelve o’clock appointment is here, Miss Malone.”
Mackenzie sent a puzzled look at her appointment calendar, but before she could buzz her receptionist with the news that she didn’t have any such an appointment, she looked up to find Alec grinning at her from the doorway of her private office.
“I told your receptionist a little white lie about the appointment,” he said, sending her a devilish smile. “I just wanted to stop by and tell you I had a great time at the party Saturday.”
“Glad to hear you had such a good time,” Mackenzie lied, shoving her heart so far back in her chest for protection she thought she heard it clang against her rib cage. “I’m afraid I was too busy to notice myself. In fact, I never even noticed when you left.”
You liar! the little voice inside her head yelled. Too busy to notice? Ha! You would have thrown poison darts at those three girls from Hilton Head if you’d had any poison darts to throw. And what about that personal trainer? The one Alec did leave with later on in the evening? You were only two seconds away from pouring your drink over the poor woman’s head when Angie saw that look in your eye and stepped between you and your unsuspecting victim.
“You stayed the night?” he asked casually, still leaning against the door frame.
“The rest of the weekend, actually,” Mackenzie said with a smile. “It was late Sunday night before I even got home.” And where have you been? Hilton Head? Or working out with your new personal trainer!
“I had an early flight out Sunday morning and didn’t get back until a few hours ago,” he said, relieving Mackenzie’s angst about his mysterious whereabouts until he added with a grin, “Of course, I’m ashamed to say I damn near missed that flight, if you know what I mean.”
Mackenzie had to restrain herself from grabbing the stapler on her desk and hurling it in his direction.
“But since I’m here,” he added, “why don’t you let me take you to lunch? It’s the least I can do since you were nice enough to invite me to Angie’s party so I could meet some new friends.”
You invited yourself, you nitwit, and I’m not one bit interested in any of your new friends, Mackenzie wanted to scream, but she said instead, “Sorry, Alec, but I already have a date with John today if his court case doesn’t run through lunch.”
Her comment didn’t phase him in the least. Instead, Alec strolled into her office uninvited and took a look around the room. “Great office,” he said. “It suits you.”
“Meaning?”
“Your decor is unique, just like you are. Your desk, for instance. Where did you find something like that?”
“It was one of my design projects in college,” Mackenzie admitted.
“How clever,” he said. “What made you think of using driftwood as a base for the desk?”
“My student budget. The driftwood was free.”
Alec laughed. “And the top?”
“A little more expensive,” Mackenzie said looking down at the large piece of oval smoked glass that served as her desktop.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re amazing, Miss Malone,” he said and winked.
And I think you’re full of…. She was about to say when he looked down at his watch, and said with a slow smile, “You kno
w, it’s already half past noon, Mackenzie, so it appears your boyfriend got tied up. I guess that means you can have lunch with me after all.”
Mackenzie opened her mouth to disagree, but the intercom on her desk came to life again.
“John Stanley is on line one, Miss Malone. Shall I take a message?”
“No, that won’t be necessary, Karen,” Mackenzie said, sending Alec a smug look. “I’ll be happy to take John’s call now.”
Reaching for the phone on her desk, Mackenzie turned her swivel office chair around and deliberately turned her back on her phony client. Sending what she hoped was a sultry “hello” into the receiver, she then spent the next few minutes whispering into the phone. And when she finally ended the conversation with a supportive “I’m really glad you won your case, John,” she fully expected to receive a thunderous round of applause for her Academy Award-winning performance.
Unfortunately, her satisfied smile was wasted when she turned back around and found Alec standing with his back to her, admiring the view of the ocean from her floor-to-ceiling window on the opposite side of the room.
“Oh, well, you can’t win them all,” Alec said with his back still to her. But when he turned back to face her, he raised his eyebrow suggestively. “Besides, a nice long dinner tonight would give us much more time to discuss what I want to do with my condo.”
Mackenzie sent him a puzzled look. “What are you talking about, Alec? And who said anything about dinner tonight?”
Alec grinned. “Me. Just now. You told me to let you know if I needed any help decorating my condo, so I’m letting you know. Surely you have an occasional dinner with a client don’t you, Mackenzie?”
So now he plans to become a personal client of mine, does he? Well, we’ll just see about that!
Reaching across her desk, Mackenzie flipped the button for her intercom. “Karen? Could you please come in and show Mr. Southerland to Miss Crane’s office?” Mackenzie asked before she glanced back at Alec and smiled. “Sorry, Alec, but I handle our commercial clients. Angie’s the one you need to see. And you saw for yourself what wonderful things she did with her own place. I’m sure she can come up with exactly what you have in mind.”
His surprised look pleased her immensely, and delivering the second wallop of her one-two punch was Karen, who promptly arrived at her office door before Alec could protest. “Alec, this is Karen,” Mackenzie said, then purposely glanced down at her watch. “And since I don’t want to keep John waiting, I’m sure you won’t object if I leave you in Angie’s very capable hands.”
“And if I do object?” Alec called out as she hurried out the door with her purse under her arm.
Mackenzie never looked back.
She couldn’t.
Whether she liked it or not, Alec was beginning to wear down her defenses with all of these surprise appearances he was making. And Mackenzie feared if she wasn’t extremely careful, she’d soon find herself acting out some of the sexual scenarios she’d envisioned on Angie’s deck, since they kept popping into her mind every time she found herself in the damn man’s presence.
IN SPITE OF MACKENZIE’S miraculous escape, Alec smiled to himself as he followed the young receptionist down the hallway to another spacious business office. Yes, his lovely neighbor had managed to slip through his fingers again faster than sand sifting through a fishing net. And although it was upsetting, Alec knew the battle was far from being over yet.
Under different circumstances, Alec would have even been pleased to see the attractive blonde sitting behind the desk. But even a real looker like Angie Crane couldn’t erase his interest in his foxy neighbor. Alec hated to admit it, but he was hooked whether he liked it or not. And the fact that he was hooked only led to his growing concern about Mackenzie’s current relationship with John Stanley.
And boy, she’d certainly laid it on thick to John on the telephone, Alec would give her that much. So thick, in fact, Alec clenched his fists now, trying not to think about exactly what type of luncheon date the two them really had in mind.
“Alec! What a wonderful surprise,” Angie said, snapping him back to reality. “What brings you to our office today? Business or pleasure?”
Alec smiled. Okay. It was obvious the lovely Miss Crane was toying with him. And though Alec should have been a little embarrassed that she could see through him so easily, he was actually relieved Angie was being direct and to the point.
“Well, let’s just say I was testing the waters today, Miss Crane,” Alec admitted, “and from my fishing expedition it looks like I’m here on business today.”
Angie laughed. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I promise you’ve come to the right place for your decorating needs.”
Alec smiled. “You might want to reserve that statement until you take a look at all of my mismatched belongings.”
“Nonsense,” she said as he took a seat by her desk. “Mismatched anything is the rage these days, Alec. They call it shabby-chic, but when we get through with your condo it’ll be much more chic than shabby. Is there anything in particular you had in mind?”
Alec hesitated, then glanced down at his watch. “Look, Angie, I didn’t exactly have an appointment today, and I’m sure this is your lunch hour. Would you at least let me treat you to lunch? Maybe we could toss around a few ideas then.”
To his relief, Angie agreed, and the second she said yes, Alec mentally clicked Plan B into operation. This woman was, after all, Mackenzie Malone’s best friend and business partner. Someone who would know Mackenzie inside and out. Someone who might, with a little careful persuasion, give Alec some insight into what was going on inside that glorious head of shiny dark hair.
“WELL?” MACKENZIE ASKED the second she walked into Angie’s office after lunch.
“Well, what?” Angie wanted to know, looking up from the sketches that were spread across her desk.
“I’m not in the mood to play games, Angie,” Mackenzie grumbled as she flopped down in one of the chairs that faced her partner’s desk. “Did you get rid of our phony client, or didn’t you?”
Angie smiled. “Absolutely not. Alec’s really serious about decorating his condo. And he actually has some pretty good ideas.”
“Like what? Installing a revolving door at the entrance to his condo, maybe?”
Angie laughed and shook her head. “I swear, it would save you both a lot of grief if you would just jump each other’s bones and get it over with.”
“Yeah, right. Like I’d ever let that happen,” Mackenzie snorted. “I can just see me now,” she added, “lined up out in the hallway with the rest of Alec’s fan club, clutching a number in my trembling hand, waiting patiently for Alec to poke his head out the door and yell ‘next.”’
“That’s a gross exaggeration, and you know it.”
The irritation in Angie’s voice caused Mackenzie to glare in her best friend’s direction. “Oh, really? Let me guess. Alec spoon fed you his I-just-don’t-want-to-hurt-anyone’s-feelings routine, now didn’t he?”
Angie lifted her chin a bit. “Sounds plausible to me.”
“Come a little closer, my dear, probably sounded plausible to Little Red Riding Hood, too,” Mackenzie tossed back, “and we all know how that turned out, now don’t we?”
Angie laughed in spite of herself. “Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t view Alec as the big bad wolf like you do. In fact, he seems like a really nice guy to me. He was a perfect gentleman at lunch…”
“Lunch!” Mackenzie gasped, jerking herself upright in the chair. “He took you to lunch?”
Angie’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Now listen, Mackie, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t dump him in my lap and then expect me not to talk to him.”
Mackenzie slumped back in the chair and folded her arms across her chest. “So? Where did he take you?”
“Alec suggested Antonio’s, and since we both love Italian…”
“How cozy.”
“Would you just listen to yourse
lf?” Angie said, exasperated. “You’re sitting there seething because I went to lunch with a guy you insist you want nothing to do with! Exactly how long are you going to keep lying to yourself?”
Mackenzie’s look was apologetic when she said, “I’m sorry. You’re right. Alec makes me totally nuts. When I’m around him I can’t remember if I’m the good twin or the evil one. The good twin keeps reminding me I should stick with a nice, safe, dependable guy like John. And the evil twin keeps telling me…well, I’m too embarrassed to even repeat what the evil twin keeps telling me to do.”
“Conflict only enhances the attraction people feel for each other, Mackie,” Angie said. “You don’t want to get involved with Alec because you think he’s like your father, and he wants to win you over because you’re probably the first woman who’s ever turned him down.”
Mackenzie sighed. “And how long do you think I’d hold his interest if I didn’t turn him down?”
Angie shrugged. “I guess the only way to answer that question is to try it and see.”
“Sure, and risk making the biggest mistake of my life?”
“Maybe. But the one good thing about making mistakes is that if you ever repeat them, you already know when to cringe.”
“Thank you, Doctor Ruth.”
“You’re welcome,” Angie said with a grin. “Sarcasm is just one more service I like to offer my friends when I can.”
Mackenzie stuck her tongue out at Angie at about the same time Karen walked through Angie’s office door holding a gigantic vase filled with fresh daisies of every color imaginable.
“Well? Who have you charmed today?” Mackenzie asked Angie, but she was afraid she already knew the answer.
“No, these are for you, Mackenzie,” Karen said. “Should I put them on your desk?”
Mackenzie jumped up and grabbed the card. Leaning forward, she smelled the flowers first, then said, “Yes, Karen, please put them on my desk if you don’t mind.”
“I bet they’re from John,” Angie said, but when Mackenzie kept staring at the unopened envelope in her hand, Angie left her desk and grabbed the card herself. “Here, if you won’t read the blasted card, I will.”
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