the man of my reality.
“Really, how so?” Feigning deep interest, she let her green eyes slide over him just as seductively as his had slid over her. What was the harm? He was about to strike out anyway.
He sighed wearily. “Well, first of all, let’s get one thing out of the way. Are you on your honeymoon?”
“Nope.”
His dark-blond eyebrows shot up. “Married?”
“Nope.”
He took a deep breath and made a big show of expelling it. “Whew, it must be my lucky day. Okay, then, here’s what would happen…” Before Rainey could object, he dropped into the chair next to hers. “We’d start the evening with a nice meal at the Bragg Creek Steak Pit. Ever heard of it?”
Rainey nodded. She and her parents had dined there at least once a week, all those summers ago. The food was fabulous.
“Terrific. Then we’d take a stroll through town, just so the locals could see what a good score you made.” He actually kept a straight face while awaiting her reaction.
Good score? Good grief! If this guy wasn’t the most arrogant, conceited jerk who had ever lived, Rainey sure would like to meet his competition. “Of course,” she purred. “That’s a given. Then what would we do?”
“Then we’d retire to my cottage out on Bear Road. Did I tell you that I own a beautiful cottage?”
“Nope. We hadn’t got that far. We were still in town, showing off my good score.”
He nodded earnestly. “Well, I do. Then we’d strip you down to your undoubtedly gorgeous birthday suit and I’d give you a long, slow massage. On the house, of course.”
At the mention of the words long and slow, Rainey felt a serious blush coming on. But hey, there was no way she was going to fall under the spell of this frivolous creature. No, sir. And what exactly did he mean by “on the house?”
She peeked at her watch again. It was almost time for the fun to end. “Need I ask what we would do after that?”
In a voice more seductive, more nakedly intimate than any voice she had ever heard, he leaned forward and murmured, “That’s easy. I’d make you forget every man you’ve ever known.”
Rainey blinked. For one fleeting moment, Mr. Insincerity had sounded almost, well, sincere. As if he couldn’t think of anything in the world he would rather do, or anyone he would rather do it with.
Whoa! Wait a minute. There you had it. There was the power of the hunter to entice his prey just before snaring, and then devouring, it. That she had been enticed, even for a millisecond, left Rainey feeling foolish. She wasn’t about to be devoured—not again. She grabbed her purse and stood to leave. There was no check to pay, of course. The owner of the Honeymoon Haven dined for free.
“Look,” she said curtly, “I have to run. It’s been fun chatting with you. Best of luck on the hunt.”
Jumping to his feet, Romeo seemed genuinely disappointed. “Hey, not so fast! I didn’t get your name. Let’s get to know one another.”
Rainey laughed derisively. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not exchange names. I’m going to file this little encounter away under the heading ‘Anonymous.’ Or maybe ‘Meaningless.”’
He feigned devastation. “Meaningless? Now there you go again, hurting my feelings. I thought we had something here. I thought we really, you know, connected.”
Right, thought Rainey, I know what kind of connection you’re looking for! Shaking her head, she tried to ease past the flake without brushing up against him, but it proved impossible. The tables were placed too close together, and the huge potted plants between them didn’t help. She made a mental note to lose the greenery and reconfigure the room.
Romeo stood fast and she had no choice but to clutch one of his muscular arms, to steady herself as she made her way around him. It was either that or fall into the plant. “Well, you thought wrong,” she snapped.
He finally stepped aside and let her pass, but not before taking one last shot. “Hey, look, I meant what I said about wanting to get to know you. You give as good as you get. I like that in a woman.”
There it was again, that well-rehearsed sincerity. Rainey wasn’t buying it, but she was charmed nonetheless. She offered him a small, conciliatory smile. “Uh-huh, and I suppose you’re going to tell me now that I have beautiful eyes, and that I remind you of somebody you used to know.”
Thrilled to have captivated her a few seconds longer, he leaned forward and gushed, “You do have beautiful eyes. What are they? Green? Hazel?”
“Green,” Rainey called over her shoulder as she marched out of the dining room and into the wide corridor leading to the lobby. Why was she still talking to this jerk? And why was he following her? He’d given up on the blonde pretty quickly. Of course, she hadn’t cut him one inch of slack. Rainey should have known better than to flirt with a flirt.
Close on her heels, he declared, “And, for your information, you don’t remind me of anyone. You’re an original.”
Rainey abruptly stopped and turned around, and Romeo crashed into her. “Whoa there!” He grasped her forearms. When she didn’t fall, he released her, but not before lightly caressing the bare skin below her short sleeves. His touch felt strangely soothing.
“Look, buster,” Rainey muttered, sounding to herself like the exasperated blonde, “I’m tired and I have a very important meeting in less than two hours. It’s time for you to run along now.”
He lit up like a neon sign. “Hey, what an interesting coincidence! I, too, have an important meeting this afternoon. See, we already have something in common.”
As she turned smartly on her heel and headed for the lobby, Rainey muttered, “Oh, I doubt very much that we have anything in common.” When she reached the wide staircase leading to Lilly’s private apartment and the second-floor suites, Romeo was still on her tail, trying to persuade her that dinner at the Steak Pit, say, around seven, was definitely her best bet for tonight.
At her wit’s end, she confronted him one last time. “Surely you’re not going to follow me upstairs!”
“Aha! So you’re staying here at the inn. I may not know your name, but at least I know where to find you.” He grinned as if that were a major coup.
“Get lost!”
“Okay, okay!” Backing away, he raised both hands to signal defeat. “I know when I’m not wanted.” He tilted his leonine head sideways and wagged a finger at her. “But sooner or later you’ll be seeing me again. And I promise you won’t be able to resist me next time.”
“Oh, yes, I will,” Rainey said to herself as she climbed the creaky stairs. “You can count on it.”
STILL SHAKING HER HEAD, Rainey let herself into Lilly’s apartment—her apartment now—and locked the door behind her. She wouldn’t put it past Romeo to have followed her up the stairs. For all she knew, he might be the town nutcase. Then again, he might just be a harmless hustler. That was more likely.
Whew,
