Page 519 of Summer Heat
“No occasion,” she said airily, and Lance knew something was up. “I was hoping you might be able to help me with an errand this afternoon. The new museum curator is coming in today, and I want to be there to go over things with her.”
Lance buttered a muffin, waiting for the other shoe. “But—?” he prompted.
“Well, I promised Mrs. Jordan I’d help her with her shopping. You know she can’t drive anymore, not since that little accident last summer—”
“Little accident, my eye.” Lance snorted. “She took out three parking meters and the front window of a dry cleaner’s shop.”
Alonzo’s eye twinkled, but he was absorbed in his muffin.
“Anyway,” Louise continued, “she needs to go to the grocery store. I know she’s fussy, but you’re so patient with her, and I was hoping you might do it in my place.”
Lance shrugged. “Okay.”
Louise reached over and patted his arm. “You’re such a good man. What would I do without you?” She looked at Alonzo. “You know, when he was a child, I could always count on Lance to run any errand I needed, even when he had to ride his bike all the way down the hill.”
“Down was never the trouble. Up was the killer.”
Alonzo neatly blotted his mustache. “Delicious!” he pronounced. “I eat too much food from restaurants. And food needs a woman’s hand, you know?”
“Are you always so charming, Mr. Chacon?”
He winked. “Yes.”
Louise chuckled and pushed the basket closer to him. “Well, it’s always a pleasure to feed a man who appreciates it. Help yourself.”
Happily, Alonzo picked out another muffin. “Gracias.”
* * *
While getting dressed Saturday morning, Tamara was appalled to find she had a hickey on her neck. A hickey! Leaning into the mirror, she touched the red mark with embarrassment and a certain heat. She hadn’t even noticed that Lance had been nibbling that hard.
Her skin showed bruises easily. Maybe he’d only been—
She sank down to the bed, her hand over the bruise, suddenly awash in sensual memories. His mouth, moving over her neck, supping at her flesh as if he were starving. His hands down her back, on her bottom, against her ear.
She closed her eyes. She was in so far over her head! Lance Forrest was out of her league on every imaginable level. He was gorgeous and rich and experienced. What in the world did he even find to like about her?
With a sigh, she dug through her drawers, looking for something that might be used to cover up the mark. All she could find was a soft cotton turtleneck that was a bit too warm for the weather. It was fall, but the day was bright and sunny. In the mountains, Indian summer might mean anything from fifty to eighty degrees.
“Mommy!” Cody said from the doorway. “Are we ever going to go?” Saturdays were the only days Tamara had to spend long hours with her son. She combined trips to the park or the hills with whatever small errands she needed to run. They often stopped to have a cup of chocolate at the diner when they were finished, and Cody loved it. He looked forward to Saturdays all week long.
“I’m almost done, honey. Watch the rest of your show, and I’ll be ready.”
“Hurry!”
Tamara kissed his blond head. “I will, sweetie.”
He ambled off, and Tamara tossed on the turtleneck with a pair of jeans, and hurried through her makeup. It was only as she caught sight of herself in the mirror in the living room that she remembered why she wore this shirt with something over it. She stopped, frowning. It wasn’t particularly tight, or revealing—after all, how revealing could a long-sleeved turtleneck be?—but it always seemed to do something wild to her figure. The soft fabric clung lightly to her every curve, and the color was vivid.
“You look really nice, Mommy,” Cody said. He lifted a hand and rubbed her arm.
Tamara smiled at him. “Thanks.” What was she so afraid of, anyway? Wasn’t she just whining to herself last night about wanting to look good?
Yeah, but that was before Lance had kissed her.
Before he brought alive every sexual longing she’d ever even thought about having.
Oh, honestly! she thought with exasperation. She had to stop this. With a wry grin at Cody, she said, “C’mon, kiddo, let’s go have some fun.”
