Billionaire Bad Boy (12 page)

Was there a hint of disappointment in his hooded eyes?
It was difficult to tell with her heart thumping so hard she was practically
blinded by the rush of blood to her head. "Sorry," was all she could
say.

"Yeah, right. Well, now that things have suddenly
become awkward I guess I better go."

"Guess so." She followed him to the door,
cursing herself for letting things go too far, then cursing herself for not
letting them go far enough.

"Are you going to take me for a ride
tomorrow?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her voice steady. She
wasn't sure what she wanted his answer to be. She wanted to see him again but
that would mean falling deeper and deeper—something that scared her where
Zack was concerned. He was so unattainable she didn't stand a chance. Not for
what she wanted. And she wanted it all. The picket fence, the nursery full of
babies and a devoted husband. Not a roll in the hay, no matter how good.

He shrugged, glancing up at the sky. "We'll see. Looks
like rain."

"Right," she said quietly. "Rain."
There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

CHAPTER 10

On Monday, it didn't rain and Zack didn't call. Annie
went to work and she guessed he went to wherever he went to on Monday mornings.
He probably had a stylish office but she didn't know where and she didn't know
what he did there. Most likely he made millions of dollars with one phone call.
It sounded so cool that she decided that was definitely what he did on Monday
mornings.

She, on the other hand, spilled her first cup of
coffee over her keyboard, bumped into Lenny in the hallway and mumbled through
the obligatory "How was your weekend" conversation with him. He made
a comment about how terrible she looked and she decided it was best to sit and
hide at her desk for the rest of the day. It would be safer and she was less
likely to kill someone.

She cursed the raging hormones that had kept her up
all night and made the day even worse than every other Monday. Ever.

"Have a rough weekend, Annie?" Bob asked. She
hadn't even noticed him approach her desk and she began to wonder if she'd
actually fallen asleep sitting up.

"Something like that," she muttered. Zack's
friend and her boss was the last person she wanted to have a chat with.

But Bob, holding a box of doughnuts covered in pink
icing, pushed the papers on her desk to the side and sat on the cleared space,
barely large enough for his behind. He placed the box beside him and crossed
his arms, resting them on a stomach that strained the buttons on his extra
large shirt. Annie kept one eye on the buttons in case they popped off and flew
at her eye.

"What's up, Bob?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much, just wanted to see
how it went with Zack over the weekend."

"Fine."

"You two hit it off?"

"More or less."

He shook his head. "You argued with him didn't
you?"

She threw up her hands. "Why are you blaming me? Maybe
he drove me to it." She cocked an eyebrow. "What has he said
anyway?"

"Nothing, I haven't spoken to him yet. I noticed
you were in a bad mood and I figured it didn't go well." He sighed. "Pity.
I half expected you two to get along. Either that or you'd kill each
other."

"I'm still alive," she muttered.

"Barely. You should look at yourself." He
patted her shoulder and stood. The desk groaned in relief. "Don't worry. We'll
just wing it when Dug-E arrives. We'll get by somehow."

Annie translated that as 'We don't have a hope in hell
without Zack.' He was right. She had the clothes and a few riding skills under
her belt, but she didn't have the attitude. Or a bike. Or the social contacts.

"Bob," she called after him. He returned,
his feet moving quickly for a man past his prime with an unhealthy fondness for
doughnuts. "Can you tell me one thing?"

"Shoot."

"Is Zack as...bad as his reputation
suggests?"

His eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know? What
did he say?"

She shrugged, trying to appear as if she didn't really
care. She was an atrocious actor. "Nothing. I'm just getting mixed
signals. One minute he seems so laid back and devil-may-care and the next he's
tense and mysterious."

"He's not as bad as the tabloids make him out to
be. He hates the public attention and I guess that can make him seem
stand-offish. Get him on his ranch and he's a different man."

Zack had a ranch? How had this piece of information
slipped her research? And why had he never mentioned it? Maybe he didn't want
her to know.

"Um, Annie," Bob said, "we really need
Dug-E. Maybe you should give Zack a call... He patted her arm and left.

Great. Way to make her feel guilty.

The rest of the day went by slower than a snail on
valium. At five to five, Annie couldn't stand it anymore and called Zack. She
figured breaking the kiss off was her fault. The slap afterward was definitely
deserved, but he could have said what he'd said to get back at her for the
interrupted kiss. So it was up to her to make the first move at reconciliation.

She rang his home number and left a message on his
answering machine. She left a message on his cell phone too and would have
called his office number if she had it. Probably just as well he hadn't given
it to her—she didn't want to speak to a secretary and start any rumors. He'd
hate people to think he was seeing someone like her. He might even refuse to
see her. And that was the last thing she wanted right now. Bob needed her and
Zack to work things out. She'd heard the desperation in his voice.

***

Zack listened to the messages on his phone and chewed
his lip. He was relieved Annie had called him although her apology for slapping
him made him feel guilty. She had nothing to apologize for. It had been his
fault. The kiss and the subsequent explanation were uncalled for. He'd felt
like a cad and wanted to call her, but he wasn't sure if that was wise. Maybe
they should just let it go, never see each other again.

All that flew out the window at the sound of her
voice. Bob's call just added to his resolution to call Annie back.

"What did you do to Annie?" Bob said.

"Nothing. Well, okay, something, but I'll fix
it."

"You'd better, DiMarco, because I've never seen
her like this."

Oh hell, he'd rubbed Bob the wrong way
and
hurt
Annie's feelings. "Maybe it's best I don't see her for a while." He
said it partly to test the waters and partly because he felt it was the right
thing to do.

"Crap. It's not the best thing. You better see
her, and soon." Bob hung up, leaving Zack confused. What should he say to
her? How could he make it up to her?

They needed to put the previous night out of their
minds. The best way to do that was to go out, away from the privacy of home,
but somewhere where they would be left alone...

He knew the perfect place. But knowing Annie, she
wouldn't have anything appropriate to wear and he didn't want her to use that
as an excuse.

***

At five, Annie left the office. She'd had enough of
the day. If Zack didn't call, she'd curl up with a good book and forget about
him. Forever. But a good dose of misery was boring without chocolate fudge ice
cream so she stopped on the way home and purchased a tub. She also bought two
Snickers bars and some Cheetos. No point doing things by halves.

When she got home, the red light on her answering
machine flashed wildly. She pressed the button and listened as she put her
groceries away.

"It's me," said Zack's sultry voice. "Call
me when you get in."

The next message was also from him. "Bob said you
left the office half an hour ago so either you've changed your mind about
talking to me and you're listening to this right now, or you've stopped on the
way home from work. I'm going with that option because my ego's too fragile
today to cope with the other one. How about dinner?"

The machine beeped for the third message. "I'm on
my way," Zack said. "If you're there and you've chickened out, don't
even think about leaving or I'll just visit you tomorrow at work and embarrass
the hell out of you. Besides, I've got something I want to show you."

Oh boy. She suddenly felt weak at the knees and had to
sit lean against her kitchen bench to steady herself. Zack wanted to see her. Why?
Probably he wanted to get revenge for last night. If she had any sense she'd
leave the house right now, but she was sorely lacking in the sense department
lately. Besides, she'd made the first move by leaving messages on his phone and
now she had to face the consequences.

She thought about all the things she could possibly
say to him. 'Sorry' sounded lame but it was all she came up with in the end.

She flipped open the lid on the ice cream tub. Situations
like this called for serious thinking and she could only think if she was calm.
Ice cream had that effect on her, especially the chocolate kind.

When the doorbell rang, she jumped, knocking the ice
cream tub off the bench. Chocolate fudge splattered on the floor. She returned
the tub to the bench but left the ice cream that had fallen out for Snoopy to
lick up.

She opened the door.
Oh boy
. Zack wore a
tuxedo. He looked hot enough to melt any woman's defenses and Annie could feel
hers pooling in the pit of her stomach. His hair was combed back into sleek
waves and his chin was hairless, quite an achievement considering he seemed to
have a permanent five o'clock shadow.

"Wow," she breathed, then bit her lip
because she hadn't meant to say it out loud.

He lifted both eyebrows. "Do I pass your
inspection?"

She nodded. "But you're going to look a little
over dressed next to me. I haven't exactly got anything that meets those
standards."

He held up a bag which she hadn't noticed him
carrying. "Don't worry. I bought you something."

"Zack, you shouldn't have."

"Well, I can't go around with a shabby looking
woman on my arm, can I?"

"Shabby! I might look ordinary, but shabby's
taking it a bit far."

He grinned and chucked her under the chin. "Teasing
you is like taking candy from a baby." He pushed past her and held out the
bag. "Try it on."

"What if it doesn't fit?"

He held out his hands and shrugged his shoulders in a
gesture typical of his Italian heritage. "I spent an entire day shopping
with you, I think I know your size."

She still didn't move so he took her by the shoulders
and steered her toward the bedroom door. "Promise I won't walk in on you
naked." He handed her the bag, gently shoved her through and closed the
door before she could protest.

But that wasn't going to stop her. She opened the door
and poked her head round. "This could take a while. I have to put makeup
on and do something with this hair."

"I know. The booking's for eight. Snoopy will
keep me company until you're ready."

"I doubt it. He's in the kitchen licking my floor
clean of chocolate fudge. He's in doggy Heaven."

Zack put one arm against the door frame and leaned
towards her. He smelled edible. He looked cheeky. "So that's why you were
late? Stopped off for ice cream, eh? That a comfort thing?"

Annie had the great satisfaction of slamming the door
in his smiling face.

***

Zack felt like a teenager as he waited for Annie to
finish dressing. He paced the cleanly licked floor of her small kitchen, then
stopped mid-stride as Snoopy cocked his head to one side and looked up at him.

"You're right. I'm behaving like an idiot." He
helped himself to the tub of ice cream. "This isn't a date. It's two
friends having a nice dinner."

Half an hour later, he'd flipped on the TV but not
even sport could soothe his anxiety. Last night had been an embarrassment, a
blow to his ego. He thought he'd ruined everything with his smartass comment
about the kiss being part of her training. He regretted saying it and he wanted
to make it up to her. But he'd been worried all day about how she'd react. It
had been an enormous relief to hear her voice on his answering machine that
afternoon. Now all he had to do was explain why he'd kissed her in the first
place. That wouldn't be easy.

Finally, the bedroom door opened and Annie made her
entrance. Zack released his breath and stood.

Her strapless black dress, flecked with gold,
shimmered in the waning light. It hugged her petite frame, enhancing the nip of
her tiny waist and the gentle roundness of her hips. Her breasts swelled over
the top of the dress and he wished he could place his lips on the exposed flesh.
She wore her hair up with sexy tendrils falling from her temples down her
cheeks. Her makeup was subtle yet perfect for her naturally pretty features.

She was, by far, the most stunning woman he'd ever
seen.