He sighed deeply. "Well, where do I sleep?"
Lacey hesitated for a startled beat of time. "Your hotel, naturally," she
finally ground out.
"Didn’t I mention that I wasn’t able to get a room when I phoned earlier?" He
looked mildly surprised by his own negligence.
"Jed. I’m warning you!"
"What’s the problem? I’m supposed to be compromising you, aren’t I? Only you
and I will know that we didn’t share the same bed tonight," be added blandly.
"You’re supposed to be doing it subtly."
‘There’s nothing quite as convincing as a full-fledged affair," be told her
loftily. "Having me stay the night is much more likely to condemn you in
Clayton’s eyes than simply being seen out with me in a few strategic nightspots.
What’s the matter? Are you afraid that if you go too far you might not get the
diamond pendant? Just your walking papers?"
A heated flush stormed into Lacey’s cheeks at the insolence. God! What he
must think of her. Well, that wasn’t her problem. She needed his assistance, but
that didn’t mean she had to defend all her actions to him.
"I’ll see what I can do about getting you a room," she hissed, spinning
around and heading toward the phone.
"Lacey, please!" The sudden, unexpected coaxing in his voice almost halted
her. She sensed him getting to his feet and coming up behind her. "Let me stay
the night. I’ll sleep on that ridiculous black sofa, if you like, but don’t send
me out to a hotel. It’s late, and I hate hotels!"
He slid his arms around her waist as she bent over the phone book, flipping
it open. "What do you mean, you hate them?" she demanded bracingly. "What’s
wrong with hotel rooms, for heaven’s sake?"
"I have a phobia about them," be confided, holding her lightly against him
and inhaling the fragrance of her tousled hair. "Don’t you have any phobias?"
Lacey’s fingernail tapped against the Yellow Pages in annoyance. "You expect
me to believe a flimsy story like that?"
"No," he sighed. "But being the man of your dreams, I was hoping I could get
away with it!"
"The man of my dreams!" She twisted out of his arms to face him.
"Haven’t I been the man you wanted this evening? Didn’t I engage you in witty
conversation over dinner? Display an appropriate knowledge of good wine and the
latest films? Don’t I look the part now that the beard is gone? Am I not an
older version of the man to whom you once proposed?"
"Your sense of humor is a little misplaced." She felt as if she were being
cornered, and she didn’t care for that image one bit. The panther in him was too
close to the surface. Lacey flung out a hand to indicate the listings in the
phone book. "Find a hotel, Jed."
"And if I refuse?" He smiled at her with a deceptive blandness which somehow
managed to make her very wary.
‘‘Then I shall throw you out the door and let you fen
That stopped her. "What are you talking about?" she whispered, wide-eyed.
He shrugged with a supreme lack of interest but there was metal in the brown
and gold eyes. ‘‘Throw me out and I’ll keep going. Back home."
"You can’t! You owe me the help."
"My father owed your father," he growled. "I don’t owe you a dime and if you
want to take it to court I’m probably better able to stand the costs than you
are. Face it, Lacey, you need my willing cooperation in this and you know it. If
you didn’t know it, you’d be demanding the thirty thousand. I seriously doubt
Clayton’s diamond will be worth anywhere near that amount."
Lacey flinched, forcefully aware of the fact that in that moment the
indulgence in him was at dangerously low ebb.
She ground her teeth in disgust. He was quite right; she did need his help.
He had no way of knowing just how badly she needed it. The diamond pendant Rick
Clayton gave dismissed women friends with such casual flair meant nothing to
her. She wanted the security of knowing he was no longer interested in her in
any way.
Jed watched the worried
Lacey hesitated for a startled beat of time. "Your hotel, naturally," she
finally ground out.
"Didn’t I mention that I wasn’t able to get a room when I phoned earlier?" He
looked mildly surprised by his own negligence.
"Jed. I’m warning you!"
"What’s the problem? I’m supposed to be compromising you, aren’t I? Only you
and I will know that we didn’t share the same bed tonight," be added blandly.
"You’re supposed to be doing it subtly."
‘There’s nothing quite as convincing as a full-fledged affair," be told her
loftily. "Having me stay the night is much more likely to condemn you in
Clayton’s eyes than simply being seen out with me in a few strategic nightspots.
What’s the matter? Are you afraid that if you go too far you might not get the
diamond pendant? Just your walking papers?"
A heated flush stormed into Lacey’s cheeks at the insolence. God! What he
must think of her. Well, that wasn’t her problem. She needed his assistance, but
that didn’t mean she had to defend all her actions to him.
"I’ll see what I can do about getting you a room," she hissed, spinning
around and heading toward the phone.
"Lacey, please!" The sudden, unexpected coaxing in his voice almost halted
her. She sensed him getting to his feet and coming up behind her. "Let me stay
the night. I’ll sleep on that ridiculous black sofa, if you like, but don’t send
me out to a hotel. It’s late, and I hate hotels!"
He slid his arms around her waist as she bent over the phone book, flipping
it open. "What do you mean, you hate them?" she demanded bracingly. "What’s
wrong with hotel rooms, for heaven’s sake?"
"I have a phobia about them," be confided, holding her lightly against him
and inhaling the fragrance of her tousled hair. "Don’t you have any phobias?"
Lacey’s fingernail tapped against the Yellow Pages in annoyance. "You expect
me to believe a flimsy story like that?"
"No," he sighed. "But being the man of your dreams, I was hoping I could get
away with it!"
"The man of my dreams!" She twisted out of his arms to face him.
"Haven’t I been the man you wanted this evening? Didn’t I engage you in witty
conversation over dinner? Display an appropriate knowledge of good wine and the
latest films? Don’t I look the part now that the beard is gone? Am I not an
older version of the man to whom you once proposed?"
"Your sense of humor is a little misplaced." She felt as if she were being
cornered, and she didn’t care for that image one bit. The panther in him was too
close to the surface. Lacey flung out a hand to indicate the listings in the
phone book. "Find a hotel, Jed."
"And if I refuse?" He smiled at her with a deceptive blandness which somehow
managed to make her very wary.
‘‘Then I shall throw you out the door and let you fen
That stopped her. "What are you talking about?" she whispered, wide-eyed.
He shrugged with a supreme lack of interest but there was metal in the brown
and gold eyes. ‘‘Throw me out and I’ll keep going. Back home."
"You can’t! You owe me the help."
"My father owed your father," he growled. "I don’t owe you a dime and if you
want to take it to court I’m probably better able to stand the costs than you
are. Face it, Lacey, you need my willing cooperation in this and you know it. If
you didn’t know it, you’d be demanding the thirty thousand. I seriously doubt
Clayton’s diamond will be worth anywhere near that amount."
Lacey flinched, forcefully aware of the fact that in that moment the
indulgence in him was at dangerously low ebb.
She ground her teeth in disgust. He was quite right; she did need his help.
He had no way of knowing just how badly she needed it. The diamond pendant Rick
Clayton gave dismissed women friends with such casual flair meant nothing to
her. She wanted the security of knowing he was no longer interested in her in
any way.
Jed watched the worried
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