Flirting with Disaster (23 page)

“Weren't you?”

“No, we were going over the list of people he wanted me to see while I'm here,” Josh claimed, amazed at how readily the lies tripped off his tongue. “I should be able to catch up with most of them while you're going over the desk restoration with Geoffrey.”

Her face revealed undisguised skepticism, but she finally nodded. “I'll be ready in fifteen minutes. How about you?”

“I can be ready then,” he agreed, pushing down the desire to try to tempt her back to bed. He might succeed, but she wouldn't thank him for it. “Just let me take a quick shower.”

She nodded, her cheeks turning pink when he climbed out of bed buck naked and walked into the bathroom.

“Nothing you haven't seen before,” he said as he passed her and shut the bathroom door.

“It's not going to work, you know,” she called after him.

He opened the door and poked his head out. “What's not going to work?”

“You're not going to lure me into that shower with you.”

“Did you hear me try?”

“No, but I know how your mind works,” she claimed.

“Not half as well as I know yours,” he retorted. “If I wanted you in this shower with me, I'd be more direct.”

“Oh? How's that?”

He walked into the bedroom, scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom and stepped straight into the tub, then turned on the shower. She was sputtering with indignation when he finally lowered her to her feet.

But then he lathered up his hands with soap and skimmed them across her breasts, and the protests died on her lips. The fifteen-minute timetable they'd been on pretty much went up in flames.

 

Maggie couldn't recall a time in her entire adult life when she'd been more sated…or more exasperated with the man responsible. Josh was sneaky and clever and seemed to know exactly how to make her body respond. He was thickheaded, however, about the way her mind worked. Unfortunately, in his arrogance, he didn't accept that.

She knew what he'd been up to in the shower. Okay, besides that! He'd been stalling. He and Cord had probably devised some new scheme to keep her from reneging on her promise to let the police track down Brian. Josh was no doubt buying time till they could put their plan into action.

She was more convinced of that than ever when he dropped her off at Geoffrey's, then disappeared with some halfhearted promise to be back as soon as he could. She'd been waiting for him for two solid hours and she was just about ready to rent a car and drive back to Charleston on her own. That would serve him right.

“Maggie darling, if you don't mind me saying so, you seem a little agitated,” Geoffrey said, regarding her with amusement. “Did you and that gorgeous man have a little spat before you got here?”

“No, but we're going to have a humdinger of a spat when he finally gets back,” she said grimly.

“Why is that?” Geoffrey asked.

“He's up to something.”

Her old friend looked horrified. “You mean like sneaking off to be with another woman?”

“Good grief, no,” she said.

“Then what else matters?”

“He's trying to keep me away from Charleston. He thinks it's for my own good.”

Geoffrey shook his head in disbelief. “Speaking as someone who is quite happy to be away from Charleston,” he said, “I'm not sure I see the problem, especially given the way you've always fought with your mother over your right to live life on your own terms.”

“For once, this has nothing to do with my mother. It's about Josh trying to save me from myself. He's got this whole macho protective thing going on.”

Geoffrey frowned. “Why would you need protecting?”

“It's a long story,” Maggie said.

Geoffrey poured them both a cup of tea. “Do tell. It seems we have plenty of time.”

Maggie summarized what she'd been through with Brian and his destruction of the gallery. “Josh doesn't want me back there till the guy's in custody.”

“Because he's afraid that next time, this Brian will harm you,” Geoffrey concluded.

“That, or that I'll take the law into my own hands and go after him. Believe me, if I knew where he was, I'd be tempted to do just that.”

“Then I'm on Josh's side. Stay right here, darling. There's no need for you to risk your pretty little neck.”

“The man destroyed things that mean something to me,” Maggie said indignantly. “You saw that desk of Great-Grandmother's. That's just the tip of the iceberg. How can I allow him to get away with that?”

“You don't. You let the police handle it. He'll pay.”

Maggie gave Geoffrey a rueful look. “I'm not sure I'll get the same satisfaction out of that.”

“No, but in the civilized world, we have to make do,” he said. “Now let's forget about that awful man for a minute, and tell me about you and Josh. Are you in love with him? He seems like the type you've always fallen hard for.”

Maggie sighed. “You think so?”

“Well, of course. Sexy, handsome, dangerous. Does he have issues, too?”

“A million of them,” she admitted.

Geoffrey's gaze narrowed. “But there's something different this time, isn't there? I can see it in your eyes.”

She nodded, finally daring to admit aloud what she'd seen in Josh that scared her. “Dinah says he has staying power.”

“She's good at reading people, no question about that,” Geoffrey said. He paused to study her. “So, does that terrify you?”

“It should, shouldn't it?”

He chuckled. “That's not what I asked. Does it?”

“Not so much,” she admitted, still amazed by the sense of peace that stole through her when she thought about the two of them and forever. “I just don't know whether I can trust any of it—what I'm feeling, what he's feeling, the little glimpses I keep getting of the future. I've never gotten that far before.”

“Take it from a man who got hit by a bolt from the blue after about a thousand false starts, Maggie. If Josh is the one, grab on to him and don't let go. It's worth every roller-coaster up and down you'll go through.”

She grinned at his blissful expression. “No regrets for you, then?”

“Not a one.”

“Really?” She regarded him skeptically. “Have you had any contact at all with your family?”

“Martin is my family,” he said determinedly, though there was no mistaking the sorrow shadowing his eyes when he spoke.

“Maybe your folks will come around,” Maggie said. “They only wanted what was best for you.”

“No, they wanted a heterosexual son who'd fill the house with grandchildren in the fine old Latham tradition. They'll never understand my choice, much less accept it.”

“I'm sorry.”

He smiled sadly. “So am I, some of the time. The rest of the time, I'm just grateful that I was brave enough to walk away and live the life I was meant to live.”

The mention of bravery gave Maggie something more to think about. If Geoffrey was brave enough to risk everything for love, maybe she could be, as well. Not that she was in love with Josh just yet, but when the time came.
If
it came, she amended.

Needing a distraction from that line of thought, she asked, “Geoffrey, can I use your phone? My cell-phone battery died. I forgot to charge it.”

“Other things on your mind, I'm sure,” he said with undisguised amusement, then gestured toward his phone. “Help yourself.”

She dialed the number for Images, growing more and more impatient when no one picked up. She disconnected, then dialed again. Same result. No answer. Panic threaded through her just as the bell over the front door rang and Josh called out.

“Back here,” Maggie responded as she lifted the receiver and dialed one more time.

Josh walked into Geoffrey's office and automatically dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You two been catching up?”

She gave him a wry look. “You certainly gave us long enough to do it,” she said as she listened to the phone continue to ring at the gallery.

Josh didn't rise to the bait. “One of the places I went had exactly the kind of crown molding Cord's been looking for. It took a while to make the deal and load up the truck.”

She was taken aback that he'd actually been conducting the business he'd claimed to have. Until that moment, she realized she hadn't trusted that he wasn't sitting in his truck around the corner, on his cell phone with the Charleston police or with Cord.

Slowly she put Geoffrey's phone back in its cradle. “I think we need to go, Josh,” she said, trying to keep the panic from her voice.

He picked up on it, anyway, and frowned. “What's going on?”

“I've been trying to reach Ellie at the gallery, and no one's answering.”

“Maybe she's in the bathroom,” he said, his voice calm as he took out his cell phone and punched in a number.

Maybe she was, Maggie conceded, but she couldn't seem to shake an image of Ellie being locked in there bound and gagged.

“Come on, dammit, pick up,” Josh muttered, which told her he was as worried as she was.

“Are you calling the gallery?” she asked.

“No. I'm calling Cord.”

“You'd probably have better luck with your detective friend,” she said. “Cord and Dinah tend to be hard to reach these days.”

He looked surprised. “Cord always answers his cell phone.”

“Oh, really? Maybe that's the mistake I've been making. I've been trying their home phone.”

Still frowning, Josh hung up and tried again. This time right after he hit the talk button, his expression brightened. “There you are. I was beginning to worry.” He listened, then grinned. “Sorry to interrupt, but we have ourselves a situation.”

He explained about Maggie's attempts to reach anyone at the gallery, then nodded. “We're about to hit the road. Call me back as soon as you know anything, okay?”

“What did he say?” Maggie asked.

“He's calling the police and heading over to the gallery himself. He'll call as soon as he gets there.”

“I don't like this,” Maggie said.

“I'm not crazy about it myself,” Josh admitted. “Let's get going.”

Maggie nodded, then bent down to give Geoffrey a kiss. “I know Great-Grandmother's desk is in good hands.”

“It'll be good as new when I'm finished,” Geoffrey promised. “You'll let me know what's going on up there?”

“As soon as we know,” Maggie agreed.

Geoffrey turned to Josh. “Keep her safe, okay?”

Josh nodded. “That's the plan.”

“No matter how she balks,” Geoffrey added with a pointed look in her direction.

Josh chuckled. “Ah, I see you know her well.”

“Most of her life,” Geoffrey said. “Which means I know she won't make anything easy for you. Don't give up.”

Josh looked vaguely perplexed. “Are we still talking about keeping her safe?”

“Not entirely,” Geoffrey admitted. “Just keep that advice in mind whatever happens to come up between the two of you.”

Maggie gave her old friend a frustrated look. “Stop going over to the enemy. You're supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side, darling. Always.” Geoffrey gave her a stern look. “But you don't always know what's best for you. It's up to those of us who love you to stick together to overcome that stubborn streak.”

“Amen to that,” Josh said, shaking Geoffrey's hand. “If I need any pointers, I'll be sure to give you a call.”

“Always happy to oblige,” Geoffrey said.

Exasperated with the pair of them, Maggie headed for the door. “I'm leaving. You all can continue this lovefest if you want to.”

“Right behind you,” Josh said, amusement threading through his voice.

She scowled at him when they were in the truck. “You enjoyed that, didn't you?”

Josh switched on the ignition. “What?”

“Winning over my friend.”

“It's not about taking sides, sugar,” he said as he pulled away from the curb. “You heard the man. It's about making sure you're safe. When it comes to that, I'll hook up with anyone who can help me get the job done.”

“You're a little obsessed. You know that, don't you?”

“Would you like it better if I just sat back and let you get yourself killed?”

“I am not going to get myself killed,” she said. “That's absurd.”

“A few days ago you told me Brian was all talk,” Josh reminded her. “Can you say the same thing after seeing the damage he caused at Images? Isn't that why you were in such a panic when Ellie didn't answer the phone? You know there could be a dozen different explanations, but the first thing that came to mind was Brian.”

Maggie sat back. “Okay, yes,” she admitted wearily as a vision of the mess and the viciousness behind it reeled through her mind.

“Then let me help,” Josh said. “I know you're strong. I know you're capable. I know you've been fighting your own battles for a long time now. I just want to be around in case you need backup, okay?”

The request was so reasonable when he put it that way, she could hardly deny it. “Okay.”

He seemed stunned by her easy acquiescence. “Will you let me stay at your place for a while?”

She regarded him with a narrowed gaze. This was a twist she hadn't seen coming. “You want to move in?”

He nodded.

“Maybe we should wait till we see what's happened today before making that kind of decision,” she said, feeling even more uneasy now than she had when her calls to the gallery hadn't been answered.

“Come on, Maggie. Until this whole thing is over, I'm not going to feel good about you being alone. I'll sleep on the sofa, if that'll make you happier.”

She frowned. “Why would that make me happier?”