facility would have its own pool?” She couldn’t keep the eagerness from her voice. She’d so wanted a pool at KinderWay. But the cost had been prohibitive when she began. And at her current location she didn’t have the space to add one.
He made a low sound in his throat. “I thought there could be group swimming lessons, perhaps family get-togethers. You could teach water safety….”
“A pool would be a huge addition to the program.” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. “It’s a whole other section in terms of life skills.”
He chuckled. “Not to mention that in the summer, all Las Vegas kids ought to have a pool.”
“Great point.” She heard her own laugh rising up, throaty. Warm. She slid him a glance. His silver eyes were waiting….
There was a moment. Time hung suspended, spinning on a shimmering thread. She looked at him and he looked at her….
Somewhere back in her mind, alarm bells jangled. She heard them only faintly.
He said softly, “Your eyes are amber—no, brandy. The color of brandy …”
Straighten up. Step back, her wiser self commanded. She stayed where she was—much, much too close to him. “You’re flattering me.”
“No. Just stating a fact.” He shifted his big body slightly. The movement brought him a fraction closer to her. She saw that there was a distinct ring of icy blue at the outer edge of his irises, making the gray look paler, giving his eyes that otherworldly glow. He said, “Have dinner with me.”
She felt … slower, somehow. Lazy. Her heart was beating thickly, as if her blood had turned to honey. Danny, she thought. Remember Danny. She said, “No. I’m with someone. Someone very special.”
“It’s only dinner.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Brandy-colored eyes. And auburn hair …” He touched her cheek. She didn’t stop him. He brushed a finger along the line of her jaw. It was a shocking and inappropriate intimacy, and she felt it through every singing nerve in her body.
She made herself speak. “Take your hand away, please.”
He did. Then he said, “Dinner,” again, as if she hadn’t just told him no. “Strictly business.”
“For some reason, I don’t believe you.” Straighten up, you fool, she thought. Step away from him. Slowly her body obeyed. One step, two …
He swiveled his chair around until he faced her and then he leaned back—so cool. So casual. “Business,” he said again. “We’ll enjoy a fine meal and we’ll discuss the new KinderWay facility you’ll be opening right here at Impresario.”
“But that would be a complete waste of your time and mine.” He arched a brow, but before he could speak, she informed him—again, “I’m not opening a new KinderWay facility here at Impresario.” She stuck out her hand. “Fletcher. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
His lean fingers engulfed hers. “The pleasure was all mine.” He gave her hand one firm shake and then released it.
His letting go didn’t help. She could still feel the tempting press of his skin to hers. “Goodbye, then.” She circled back around the massive desk. At her chair, she scooped up her bag and made for the door.
Fletcher watched her go, admiring the rear view of her tall, curvy dancer’s body, appreciating the shine and bounce to that silky-looking cinnamon hair. Once the door had closed—quietly but firmly—behind her, he picked up the phone and buzzed his assistant.
“Marla, get me Brian Klimas.” Brian Klimas was a P.I., a damn good one, both thorough and discreet. “And call Tiffany’s. Something pretty. A necklace. A bracelet. Either. Have it sent to Ms. Cleopatra Bliss. Her home address. It should be in the database.”
“I have it,” Marla said. “Is there a message?”
He considered. “Yeah. ‘Lunch, then?’ With a comma and a question mark.”
“A signature?”
“No. She’ll know I sent it. Put Klimas through as soon as you get him.”
He disconnected and waited. It didn’t take Marla long to reach the P.I. Her line blinked.
Fletcher punched the speaker button. “Put him on.”
There was a click. Marla said, “You’re connected.”
Fletcher instructed, “Brian, I want more on Cleo Bliss.” He waited, giving Klimas a chance to access his records.
“Got her,” said the P.I. “Cleopatra Bliss. Twenty-nine. Owner and Director, KinderWay Preschool. Graduate in child development, UNLV. Put herself through college working nights as a showgirl.”
“That’s the one. I want everything you can find for me. There’s a boyfriend. Check him out—who he is, what he does, how long he and Cleo have been together and how serious the relationship is.”
“Anything else?”
“How soon can I get a report?”
“I’ll put a rush on it and give you a call tomorrow to let you know where we are with it.”
“Good.” Fletcher ended the call. As he sat back again, his gaze settled on his computer and the KinderWay design it still displayed.
She’d liked the design. A lot. It had, in fact, provided the moment or two in their meeting where he’d been certain she would say yes to his offer.
All right, then. The design.
Once again Fletcher reached for the phone.
Chapter Two
“So what’s in the fancy little box?” Danny Pope asked when Cleo ushered him in the door that evening.
The unopened gift waited, nestled in packing popcorn, in a brown box on the narrow table in Cleo’s tiny square of a foyer. She’d found it waiting on the front step when she got home from KinderWay. Once she’d peeled back the cardboard flaps and seen the blue Tiffany box, she’d known who sent it.
There’d been no need to read the card. But she had: Lunch, then?
Uh-uh. Not dinner. And not lunch. Not anything. No way.
“It’s nothing important,” Cleo told Danny. “As a matter of fact, I’m sending it right back where it came from.” Danny frowned. “You know what it is?”
“No, I don’t. If I had to guess, I’d say jewelry. The shape of the box seems to indicate a bracelet. Maybe.
Or it could be a necklace. Who knows?”
“Well, why don’t you open it and find out?” Cleo took his
