Wedding Fever. Susan Crosby

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СКАЧАТЬ you’re thirty now. Old. Your stamina must be fading.”

      Maggie responded to his teasing by crossing her arms and cocking a hip. She looked around, making sure they were alone. “I can finish my work here, jog home and still have enough energy to make love, honey. I’m in my prime.”

      She shivered as he ran a finger along her jaw Fog crept into her brain, masking logical thought.

      “What did Hastings put in your pocket?” he asked so softly she had to lean toward him to hear the whole sentence.

      “Huh?”

      “Hastings. Did he give you money?”

      The synapses in her brain started transmitting information again.

      “Of course he gave me money,” she said as she turned and picked up the dirty dishes. “A tip. You know, this hot-and-cold business of yours is really gettin’ on my nerves.”

      “How much of a tip?”

      “None of your business.”

      He slid a hand into her skirt pocket, shocking her. The cup rattled against the saucer in her right hand; in her left, the fork slid off the dessert plate. The feel of his hand against her hip, however briefly, brought forth all sorts of images that danced before her eyes, then faded into confusion over whether he was establishing a closer relationship with her or preventing her from having one with someone else.

      “What are you doing?” She tried to jerk away. He held her in place as he drew the folded currency from her pocket and turned it to look at its value.

      “Dios. A hundred dollar bill, Magnolia?”

      She stared in amazement. Brendan always left her a generous tip, but this was staggering. She swallowed. “I give good service.”

      He unfolded the bill, revealing a white business card with a phone number handwritten on the back. He held it close to her face for her to read, front and back.

      She looked from the card to him. “At least he didn’t write, ‘There’s more where this came from.”’

      “It is implied.”

      “I’m not stupid, honey. I know what it means.”

      “Do not call me ‘honey.’ You use your Southernness like a shield, when it is convenient. I am serious here.”

      “You think you don’t fall back on your background, as well? Listen to yourself. Do not. lt is. I am. And your machismo gets pretty tiresome, too. You don’t have the right to tell me what to do. But that’s been your choice all this time, not mine, as you well know.” She angled her right hip his way. “Return my property, please.”

      Holding her captive with his dark, unblinking gaze, he deliberately tucked the card and money into the breast pocket of her shirt. She held her breath as he stuffed them to the bottom, the backs of his fingers more than lightly grazing her nipple, which pebbled at the first touch of his fingers and ached as he pulled his hand away.

      She fought for every ounce of control she could muster. “If you’re done manhandling me...?”

      J.D. jammed his hands in his pockets. “I cannot—can ’t help the way I speak. I didn’t learn English until I was an adult.” ‘

      “Don’t be idiotic. I love the way you talk.”

      The words were tossed over her shoulder as she stormed off, leaving behind a breeze scented with perfume and Magnolia.

      He cursed himself with each stride she took. He needed her to appear unattainable in Hastings’s eyes. To do that, J.D. had to have her attention focused on him. He was just looking out for her—

      So what was that adolescent move to grab a quick feel? he asked himself. Machismo, as she called it? Wish fulfillment? Long-demed need? All three?

      He didn’t change his clothes, instead leaned against the wall and waited her out She finally emerged from the women’s locker room dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt proclaiming English Majors Are Novel Lovers. She carried her carton of presents, the still-wrapped box from Misty balanced on top.

      “I parked a couple of blocks behind you,” he said. “I’ll meet you at your apartment.”

      “You know where I live?” She tipped her head to one side. “How come I’ve known you all this time and I hardly know anything about you?”

      “Maybe it’s time to find out.”

      “Maybe it is ”

      They walked silently to their cars. As she drove off, he started his engine and put the car in gear, then he noticed a dark sedan pull away from the curb a hundred feet ahead. He’d teamed to trust his instincts, so he tailed the sedan that slowed to almost a complete stop when Maggie pulled into the garage below the duplex she rented.

      He followed the car until it disappeared into the valet parking area of the expensive hotel where Hastings rented the penthouse.

      J.D. stopped at a pay phone and punched in a familiar number. “I’m sorry to wake you, boss,” he said in greeting.

      “No problem. What’s up?”

      He glanced around as he heard Callahan yawn. “He wants to deal tomorrow night.”

      “We’ll cover you.”

      “Okay. See you.”

      “Wait a second, J.D. Did you give it to her?”

      “Not yet.”

      “Are you sure you don’t want to bring her in on it? If she’d go out with him—”

      Creative Spanish epithets peppered the air within the phone booth.

      “Lighten up, pal. I was kidding.”

      “Don’t kid with me about Magnolia.”

      “You’ll relax after you give it to her.”

      “I don’t trust it,” J.D. said.

      “Hey, it’s state of the art.”

      “Yeah. Experimental state of the art.”

      “So, figure out a backup.”

      He glanced at his watch. Too much time had passed. “Already got it covered.”

      “I figured as much. Relax already.”

      “When this is over. Maybe.”

      Two

      Maggie eyed her mantel clock when it chimed once, a delicate ping that pierced her anticipation. Twelve-thirty. He should have been at her apartment twenty minutes ago.

      She leaned forward on the sofa, resting her elbows on her thighs as she stared at the crystal bowl mounded with СКАЧАТЬ