at over twenty thousand dollars. When the relationship ended, he asked for the ring back. She’s holding on to the trinket claiming it was a gift, but Jerry is saying that she stole it from his collection of vintage jewelry, and he’s just filed a lawsuit to that effect. He’s been very public and vocal about his accusation, which has affected Elena’s business and her reputation.”
Noah rubbed a hand along his stubbled jaw as he mulled over the information he’d been given. “Maybe she did steal the ring.”
“Maybe,” Cole agreed, not discounting anything. “Except Elena says there’s a personal letter that Jerry wrote to her that says he gave her the ring as a gift, and states that it’s hers to keep forever as a token of the love they shared.”
A deep chuckle escaped Noah. “A real romantic, eh?”
“Romance didn’t even come close to what the two obviously indulged in. Apparently Jerry and Elena were fond of writing explicit love letters to each other, and it was in one of these erotic exchanges that he promised her the ring.”
“No doubt, in the heat of the moment,” his brother commented with sexual humor, which gained a small grin from Cole. “I take it she doesn’t have the letter on hand.”
“No, and she needs it to prove she’s innocent and clear her name.” From the corner of his eye, Cole watched as Melodie closed the cabinet drawer, then headed toward his desk with a stack of papers in her hand.
He absently flipped through the notes in the Russell file as she stopped beside his chair, sorting out the credit reports, invoices and contracts that needed to be reviewed and signed. She shifted and reached, and Cole caught a whiff of a soft, floral scent that wrapped around his senses and wreaked havoc with his concentration—and restraint. Her hip brushed his arm, inciting another damnable rush of heated desire he was hard-pressed to ignore.
He clenched his jaw and continued where he’d left off. “Elena claims the letter is at Thornton’s hilltop mansion, tucked safely away in a monogrammed leather box she gave him for his birthday. The last she saw of the box, it was in his library.”
“And she wants you to break into Thornton’s house and find it?” Noah asked incredulously.
“No, she doesn’t want me to break in,” he shot back, his tone more irritable than was warranted. He inhaled deeply, which did little to soothe the racing pulse that Melodie’s nearness had incited. “Two weeks from this weekend, Thornton is hosting a charity auction at his place for the rich and richer, and she managed to get ahold of two tickets to the formal affair. Since Thornton wouldn’t appreciate her attending the event in his house, it gives me the perfect cover to get in and find that letter.”
Noah shrugged. “Sounds easy enough.”
Yes, at least that part of the case was uncomplicated, Cole thought. Unfortunately, Elena’s other request wasn’t as simple.
Finally, Melodie slowly moved away from him and headed for the door. He breathed a sigh of relief. “This part of the case brings me around to needing an experienced, sophisticated woman who can play up the sexy siren act as my date. A one-night, no-strings-attached kind of deal.” Before his brother could issue another smart-ass remark about his sex life, he explained the stipulation Elena had insisted upon. “Since the letters Elena exchanged with Thornton are risqué and suggestive, and she’s uncomfortable with a man reading what she wrote, she requested that a woman read the letters to find the one that mentions the ring as a gift.”
“Ahh,” Noah said in understanding. “Now I get it.”
Closing the Russell case file, Cole clasped his hands on top of the folder. “Considering the bevy of females you know, I figured you could help me out. And if I could have my choice, I’d prefer if the woman who accompanies me to the charity function isn’t a complete airhead.”
“So you want sexy, stunningly beautiful, and intelligent.” A grin quirked the corner of Noah’s mouth. “Man, you don’t ask for much, do you?”
Cole glanced past where his brother sat, noticing that Melodie had paused at the door. One slender hand rested on the frame and she’d cast a glance at him from over her shoulder. She’d obviously listened to the end of his conversation with Noah and was watching him in a way that made him feel way too warm. Their gazes locked, and she dampened her bottom lip with her tongue in a slow, sensuous glide that contradicted her wide eyes and guileless expression.
He felt the stroke of her tongue in places too long denied. With effort, he banished his train of thought before his body betrayed his work ethic to keep business separate from pleasure.
“Did you need something, Mel?” he asked just as the office phone rang out in the reception area.
She shook her head, causing her tidy braid to slap against her shoulder blades. Still, she didn’t leave, and there was a feminine kind of longing in her soft brown eyes that added to the growing sexual awareness pulsing through his bloodstream.
“Uh, the phone’s ringing,” he said in a neutral tone, which finally pulled her from her daze and got her moving down the hall.
Noah sat up straighter in his chair. “That woman has it bad for you, Cole,” he said in a low tone of voice.
Startled by Noah’s comment, Cole frowned fiercely at him and attempted to brush off his claim. “Melodie is like a sister to me, for God’s sake.”
Noah laughed, a low, devilish sound. “Well, I can guarantee that she doesn’t think of you as a sibling.”
“How would you know?” Cole asked, keeping his composure calm and unruffled.
“You really don’t see it, do you?” Noah shook his head in disbelief. “God, for a trained P.I. you sure are obtuse sometimes.”
Cole didn’t appreciate the insult, and refused to be baited into revealing anything his brother could use against him where Mel was concerned. “See what?” he asked, very interested in finding out what, exactly, his brother had observed.
Noah stared at him for a long, penetrating moment. “Let’s see, where do I start?” He lifted his hand and began ticking off each point on his fingers. “Mel arrives early, stays late and brings you lunch when you don’t go out and get something for yourself. She picks up your stuff at the dry cleaners while she’s at it, runs personal errands for you and is at your beck and call for the ten or more hours a day she works at this office. Figure it out for yourself.” Noah stood, once again adopting that devil-may-care attitude of his. “As for that woman you need, give me some time and I’ll see what I can do for you.”
“Thanks,” Cole murmured as Noah exited his office.
Once he was gone, Cole jammed his fingers through his hair and dragged his palms down his face. Despite his own reaction to his secretary, and the fact that for months now he’d denied the growing attraction making itself known, he was completely shaken by his brother’s observation about Melodie. And how had he missed the overt clues of her feelings toward him?
Cole shook his head in amazement. Obviously, his subconscious had put blinders on when it came to his secretary’s interest in him.
“And they’d damn well better stay in place,” he muttered to himself. Because there was no way in hell he’d ever get personally involved with Richard Turner’s daughter.
IF
