Forever After (4 page)

Darcy nodded and Jenna ran to the phone.  She lifted the receiver.  "Hello.  This is Darcy Kearn's house."  After a moment Jenna held out the phone to Darcy.  "It's a lady named Sue from the Recreation Center.  She wants to know about..."  The eight-year-old fought to remember.  "About...the ballroom dancing class."

Darcy went to the phone and took it from Jenna.  "You two keep eating.  This will only take a minute."

Seth pretended interest in the tacos on his plate, but kept one ear on Darcy's conversation.  He wanted to know more about her.

He heard her say, "The class is only four weeks.  How many do you need so it isn't cancelled?...Three more shouldn't be difficult by Wednesday.  There are a few people I can call."

Seth remembered the dance lessons his mother insisted he take.  He supposed that was one thing he could thank her for; there certainly wasn't much else.

Smothering the loneliness he always felt when he thought about his childhood, he smiled at Jenna and snitched a piece of tomato from her plate.  She grinned conspiratorially and snitched one from his.  Kids.  Children.  Used as pawns between parents who despised each other.

He did need this change and time to decide whether his peace of mind was more important than a father's right to his child, or the money and prestige that was part and parcel of groundbreaking cases.

After Darcy hung up and sat back down, she finished the remainder of her taco.  Melted cheese dabbed the dimple beside her mouth.  As carefully as he had with Jenna, Seth caught it with his little finger.  Instead of wiping it on his napkin, he slid the finger into his mouth.

The gesture, seemingly so harmless, took Darcy's breath away.  It shouldn't mean anything.  She shouldn't feel like a lit up Christmas tree when he touched her.  She shouldn't hear the confusion in his voice when he talked about his career or the sadness when he mentioned no plans.  But she did.

His grey eyes darkened to charcoal and a white-hot fire blazed there.  She shivered and dropped her eyes.  No man had ever made her feel like this.

Self-conscious, she picked up her glass and sipped iced tea.  Get a grip, girl.  There are too many good reasons why you should stay away from Seth Hallaran.

Jenna wiped her mouth with her napkin.  "Can I get the cookies now?"

Darcy hopped up, eager to leave the room.  "No, I will.  I don't like you climbing on the counter to get to the top of the refrigerator, remember?  I'll get a step stool one of these days."

As Darcy retreated to the kitchen, she heard Jenna ask Seth, "Do you play Crazy Eights?  Darcy lets me win a lot, but it's more fun if three people play."

When Darcy returned with the cookie jar, Seth was asking Jenna, "Do you spend much time with Darcy?  Does she babysit with you often?"

Suddenly Darcy saw what Seth was doing and why he'd stayed.  Eating tacos when he was probably used to caviar and T-bones.  No plans for the evening.  Sure.  She'd been as gullible as Jenna.  He was assessing the child, watching her carefully, getting as much information as he could to help Brad's case!

Plunking the jar down with a thud, Darcy said, "I think  you'd better leave."

"But he's going to play Crazy Eights with us," Jenna wailed.

"I think Mr. Hallaran has more than Crazy Eights on his mind."

"Are you upset because I asked Jenna a question?  We're getting to know each other."

"That's the problem.  You're soaking up information like a sponge.  It's not a good idea for you to be here when she is."

"I'm not pumping her for information."

"So you say."

"She's going to be disappointed if I don't play at least one game."

One look at Jenna's face told Darcy he was right.  Already he knew how to push her buttons.  She'd do anything to make Jenna happy.

"What if I promise to keep the conversation on the weather and the game?"

Darcy hesitated.

"I do keep my promises."

Was he a man of his word?  She glanced at Jenna who was looking hopeful.  What could one game hurt?  Ten minutes at the most.  Jenna would be satisfied, and he could leave without a fuss.

"One game of Crazy Eights.  Let's clear the table."

Jenna found the deck of cards, notepad, and pencil in the dry sink while Darcy cleared the table.  Seth helped and loaded the dishwasher.  Darcy's kitchen wasn't large and they bumped elbows often.  When Seth reached around her to pick up silverware, she held her breath.  She was facing the sink and felt his belt buckle rub the small of her back. 

"Sorry," he mumbled as he stepped away.

He was hot, hard, male and musky.  Her knees threatened to wobble and she strictly took herself in hand.  She would not give in to a hormonal reaction.

She turned to face him.  "Are you?"

"I didn't come to make you feel...uncomfortable."

"Why did you come?" she asked, annoyed with herself because her voice was shaky.

"To find out if Pickering's threat was concrete."

Darcy searched his face.  "And that's all?"

He shrugged and gave her a crooked smile.  "I wanted to see you again."

"And what if I didn't want to see you?"

"Is that the truth?"

She could imagine those grey eyes penetrating a witness' defenses, getting to the truth one way or another.  "No, but I told you..."

"There are reasons why you shouldn't," he finished.  He closed the door to the dishwasher with a snap.  "Let's go play cards."

Darcy hadn't expected him to end the discussion so abruptly.  She thought he might try reasoning, logic, persuasion.  Did she want him to?  She didn't know. 

At the table, Darcy shuffled the cards, dividing them in half, ruffling them and letting them drop into her hand.

Seth's brows quirked up.  "Am I playing with a pro?"

Amusement danced in his eyes but she couldn't read anything else.  "I played poker with Pops and my brothers.  They taught me everything I know."

"Everything?"

The dark light of desire was back.  She shouldn't underestimate this man.  "About poker," she answered as she dealt seven cards to each of them.

Seth picked up his cards one by one and sorted them.  "Did you ever win any money?"

Usually her brothers wiped out her pennies early in the game and she'd had to borrow from her dad.  "Now and then."

Seth propped his right elbow on the table and peered at her over his cards.  "You don't know how to bluff."

His insight was unnerving and she brushed her bangs away from her forehead.  "I can when I have to."

He shook his head emphatically.  "Uh uh.  It's your body language.  It shows what you're thinking."

Darcy closed her hand into a fist and crossed her legs.

Chuckling, he tapped her swinging foot indicating her agitation.  "See what I mean?"

She didn't appreciate Seth's ability to read her so easily.

"What's body language?" Jenna asked as she matched a four of diamonds with a four of spades.

"It's how you sit or stand.  Other people can tell what you're thinking," Seth answered.

"So you can tell what Darcy's thinking?"

"Yep."

Darcy laid the eight of diamonds and changed suits.  "Clubs," she called, uncrossing her leg and sitting very still.

Seth's lips twitched as he matched her eight and switched the suit back to diamonds.  "Hershey's not as large as I expected."

"It's a tight-knit community with a special quality you can't find everywhere."

"Like the smell."  Seth smiled.  "Do you keep candy bars stashed away for when you're tempted by it?"

"We're pretty immune to the chocolate factory.  Actually, I'm more addicted to the shows at the arena."

"Any other addictions?"

He was good.  Very smooth.  "Cashews come in a close second."  She was curious about his addictions and habits but didn't want to show too much interest.

Throughout the game, Darcy tried to keep her expression bland, her comments mundane, her pulse a modified trot.  Even when Seth's fingers brushed hers and his voice lowered a register, she told herself she was cool, calm, and very collected.  But the strain was giving her a headache.

Finally Jenna played a ten of hearts.  "I won.  Can we watch TV now?"

Darcy ruffled Jenna's hair, knowing her charge couldn't sit in one place for very long.  "Sure.  I'll put the cards away."

In a few minutes Jenna was involved in the antics on the Disney channel.

Seth locked his hands behind his head and stretched his long legs out in front of him.  "I like your house.  Did you furnish it yourself?"

"Some of the pieces were my mom and dad's.  I picked up others I liked along the way."  Darcy stood, hoping he would do the same.  Stretching a rubber band around the deck of cards, she placed them in the drawer and shut it.

Seth stood and stepped close to her.  His fingers brushed her neck as he played with a wisp of hair that had escaped confinement.  When his palm touched her cheek, she backed into the dry sink, shaken and wary.  She wasn't immune to him no matter how hard she tried to be and he knew it.

In a husky voice, he requested, "Walk me outside."

Darcy looked over at Jenna.  She was curled in the corner of the loveseat, her head resting on the arm, her eyes drifting closed.  "Okay."  Away from little ears, she'd say good-bye to him once and for all.

She preceded Seth outside.  The damp pavement was cool on her bare feet as she walked to the edge of the porch and gazed into the yard.  The grass glistened with crystal drops.  She inhaled deeply.  "I like summer--newly mown lawns, fresh vegetables, lightning bugs."

"Longer days, freedom," Seth added.

"Freedom?" she asked, too aware of his bulk beside her, the elemental energy emanating from him.

"Sure.  You don't have to worry about being snowed in or jammed up traffic because of ice.  You're not restricted by heavy clothing."

His words took on a sensual, personal note and she sensed he was studying her.  "I think my favorite season's fall.  I like the smell of wood burning and hot cider and the leaves changing colors."

"Is there any season you don't like?" he teased.

She laughed.  "I guess not.  They all have an appeal."

"Like you."

It was time to say good night and good bye.  Now.  Tilting her head back, Darcy gazed up the half foot or more to his face.  "Thanks for checking about Pickering, but it wasn't necessary.  And Jenna enjoyed playing cards with you.  Sometimes she gets bored with me."

"Not possible."

His definitive step closer should have warned her.  But the men she usually dealt with weren't so persistent.  Seth's large hands gently closed around her forearms.  They were strong, long fingered, not completely smooth.  The drift of his cologne as well as his closeness made her dizzy.

That must have been why she took a step toward him and put her hands on his arms.  Strong arms, muscled, lightly coated with hair.  Tentatively she moved her fingers, letting the hair tickle the tips--only the tips.

His hands were now at her waist, holding her steady.  She couldn't look into his eyes.  She knew what would happen if she did.  He had sensual lips, the bottom one slightly fuller than the upper.  She'd noticed that the first time she saw him standing in her garage.  Since then she'd wondered how firm they'd be, how warm, how persuasive.  She'd never known finesse.  Would his kiss be as perfect as she suspected it might be?

Tightening his fingers on her waist, he drew her closer still until her hands slid to his shoulders.  He made her feel so fragile in his hold, so womanly.  Her breasts tingled and her nipples felt hard.  A deep fire smoldered in her womb, and she had the feeling it wouldn't take much for it to blaze into an unchecked need with this man.

He bent toward her slowly, so slowly she was mesmerized.  His body heat surrounded her, wrapping her in a blanket of intimacy.  She was waiting, ready...

His lips never touched hers.  He still held her but he lifted his head.  "You're not sure you want this, are you?"

His voice was raspy and deep and took a moment to penetrate her haze.  When it did, she stepped back.  "I don't want it.  I don't know what happened..."

"Yes, you do.

She was frightened by sensations she'd never felt before, frightened that this high-powered Philadelphia lawyer might be playing with her.  Angry at herself for responding, but angrier at him because he stirred hopes and dreams and desires she'd left behind, she flung back, "I'm not one of those classy women who probably fall at your feet.  I'll bet none of them ever had grease under their nails.  If you want someone to meet your needs while you're in Hershey, you'll have to look somewhere else."

"You forgot about Winston and your loyalty to Marsha."

"Yes, I did.  I could never be sure you weren't using me to get information."

"No, I guess you couldn't.  You'd have to trust me.  I have to admit I'm not looking for a long-term relationship.  I've never had the time or the inclination.  But we could have something special.  I feel it and I know you feel it."