can’t believe it! You made it back!”
Made it back?
“Oh! Oh! You must be here to surprise Rachel!”
“Did you say Rachel?” His heart leaped with hope. “Late twenties, straight dark hair, blue eyes—”
“Well, of course!”
The woman yanked off her headset, tossed it aside and leaped to her feet, scurrying around the desk. “She’s not going to believe this. She’s simply not going to believe it. Oooh! What a wonderful surprise!”
She spun around and pointed to the kid in the waiting area. “You! Never mind! I don’t need you after all!”
The guy leaped to his feet, his silver chains jangling. “Hey! I’ve been waiting here for fifteen minutes, and now you’re telling me—”
“I’ll send you a check!”
Before leather boy could protest further, the receptionist grabbed Jack by the arm and dragged him down a short hall, then stopped suddenly and pushed him up against the wall, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Okay. You stand here. Just wait here until I give you the word, okay?”
“I don’t get this. What are you—”
She put her fingers to her lips and shushed him, then held up her palm. “Just wait here. This is going to be so cool!”
This place was a loony bin. Or, at least, this woman was loony. And he was pretty sure the guy in the waiting room had a screw loose, too. What in the world had he walked into?
The receptionist pushed the door open and strolled into the office, downshifting her voice into a soft, professional tone.
“Excuse me, Rachel. Do you have a moment?”
“I’m really busy, Megan. Can it wait?”
“No, I’m sorry,” Megan said, her voice edged with excitement. “It can’t wait. Your real birthday present is here.”
Jack heard a gasp.
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yeah. And you’re gonna love it.”
“No, Megan. I’m warning you. The cupcake was plenty. Don’t you dare do something weird. Do you hear me? Don’t you dare—”
Megan’s hand snaked around the doorway, found Jack’s arm, and yanked him into the office. The moment his eyes met Rachel’s, she leaped up out of her chair so suddenly that it rolled backward and smacked against her credenza.
Looking at her up close now, he knew. It was Rachel. No question about it.
Not that he would have recognized her by the clothes she wore. After the weekend they’d spent together, he would have expected to see her in something significantly more daring than the drab wool suit and buttoned-up white silk blouse she had on right now. Something brighter. Slinkier. Cut down to here and up to there. Something bold and carefree. Something that said, Come here, if you dare, instead of Don’t touch me if you value your life.
But there was a part of her she couldn’t hide behind those yards and yards of wool. Her eyes. He’d never forget those eyes as long as he lived, gorgeous ice-blue eyes that had kept him enthralled for hours on end.
But now they seemed to hold another quality. Surprise. No, not just surprise. Something more like…
Panic.
Megan patted Jack’s arm. “I’d have put a big red bow on him, but I was fresh out of ribbon. Happy birthday, Rachel.”
3
RACHEL’S BRAIN WAS TELLING her mouth that it really ought to close itself, but the message simply wasn’t getting through.
Jack Kellerman. Her imaginary husband, in the flesh.
Oh. My. God.
“Hello, Rachel.”
That voice. Rich. Resonant. A voice just made for seduction. Only one of many reasons that she’d been so easily…seduced.
“Your husband!” Megan gushed. “Can you believe it? All of a sudden I looked up, and there he was! He traveled four thousand miles to surprise you on your birthday! Isn’t that just the most romantic thing ever?” She gave Jack an appreciative once-over, then stage-whispered to Rachel. “His picture doesn’t do him justice.”
“Picture?” Jack said.
“The one on her credenza. She stares at it all the time. Now I know why.”
Jack’s gaze flicked over to the photograph. Rachel felt her cheeks flush hotly, an anatomical glitch she’d been cursed with since childhood. Like a pair of internal humiliation indicators, her cheeks became ripe tomatoes whenever she was embarrassed. And Jack noticed it. How could he not? She didn’t remember one single part of her body that had escaped his scrutiny six months ago, and nothing was escaping him now.
Absolutely nothing.
Jack eyed the photo for a moment, then looked back at Rachel. When his brows dipped down with a confused expression and he opened his mouth to speak, she knew he was only a few words away from turning her career into toast.
“Jack!” she said. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
She circled her desk, rushed toward him, threw her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear. “Play along. Please.”
Then she tried to ease away from him, but to her surprise, he pulled her right back up against him, holding her as if he hadn’t seen her in weeks and was making up for lost time.
“I’ve missed you,” he murmured. “Have you missed me?”
She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Uh…of course. You know I have.”
A smile eased across his face. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
Kiss him?
Rachel swallowed hard, knowing she had no choice. She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and his face fell into a disappointed frown.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s been so long. Surely you can do better than that.”
She inched toward him again, but this time, as her lips approached his, he tucked her head into the crook of his elbow, bent her backward, and showed her exactly what kind of kiss he was talking about.
Rachel’s heart leaped wildly as his mouth fell against hers. Her lips had parted in a tiny gasp, and that small opening was all he needed to ease his tongue into her mouth, twining it sensually with hers. At the same time, he slid his free hand beneath her suit coat and around her waist, splaying his fingers against the small of her back. He held her firmly, possessively, demandingly—kissing her in a way that could bring a dead woman back
