Slow Hands (13 page)

“The point is, people trade commodities all the time. Money for property. Stocks for liquid assets. Sex for marriage. Look at my mother—off on some yacht in the Mediterranean with her latest. Do you know she’s not even coming home for the wedding?”

Having met Tabitha’s mother more than a few times while growing up, Maddy could muster no surprise. Sympathy, yes. But no surprise.

“Anyway,” Tabitha continued, returning to the subject at hand, far beyond any ability to be hurt by her neglectful mother. “Why not a hot affair for a few bucks?”

She tried to put it in perspective for her sister. “Have you noticed that I’ve never bought a used car?”

“As if you’d need to,” Tabitha replied, not getting the point.

Remaining patient, Maddy bit out, “I don’t particularly care to take another nighttime spin with someone who’s piling on the mileage with other drivers during the day.”

“Ahh, I get it. That is a little, um, distasteful,” Tabitha admitted. Grimacing, she continued. “Imagine if Bitsy Wellington or one of those old collagen-injected, stapled-together wicked witches tracked him down.”

Thank God her sister hadn’t mentioned their stepmother’s name. That mental image was enough to make Maddy nauseous.

“But certainly you’re not naive enough to think men don’t sleep around.” Squinting her nose in disgust, Tabitha added, “You certainly should have learned that much from that bastard Oliver.”

“I did. But it’s not just the physical squeamishness. I actually like Jake. Maybe I like him too much,” Maddy admitted, angry both at herself for voicing the words, and at Tabby for making her.

“Oh.” Her sister’s expression softened. “I see.”

Maddy believed she did.

“It’s not the ick factor. It would be too
emotionally
painful to be with him one day,” Tabitha mused, “knowing he might have been with someone else the night before.”

Exactly. Painful. Uncomfortable. Too much to take.

Maddy was a strong woman, but she was not
that
strong. She had already developed feelings for Jake in the brief time they’d spent together.
Friendly feelings
, she forced herself to remember.
Just
friendly.

Well, and lustful ones, she had to concede.

But with just those—
friendly
feelings—it had still horrified her to think of him leaving her home Wednesday morning to go spend forty-eight hours with another woman due to a previous booking.

How much worse it might be if she continued to see him, she couldn’t imagine. Which was why she was still certain she’d made the right decision in sending him away. Even if, at least physically, she’d been regretting it ever since.

Her mind had been one hundred percent responsible for the plan. But her body was still pretty unhappy about it.

“Maybe he’d give it up for you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why should he? He’s known me for less than ten days.”

Tabitha pursed her lips slightly, then lifted her hand and rubbed her chin. Maddy recognized the look. It was what got her into this mess in the first place. “No.”

“No what?”

“No to whatever scheme you’ve come up with.”

“You wound me.”

“You have dragon scales in place of skin, Tab. You can’t be wounded.”

“I can if I’m struck through the heart.” That should have come across as earnest and sincere, but Maddy knew her sister well enough to hear the note of jaded amusement.

“Well, I don’t have scales or protective armor around
my
heart, either. So I’m not risking it.”
Not now. Not ever again
.

“Think of it logically—what would you be risking if you got involved with him
physically
?”

“Uh, humiliation, jealousy, venereal disease?”

Tabby shuddered lightly. “You
did
use…”

“Of course. And he assured me he’s fine. I imagine anybody with a lot of partners keeps on top of that sort of thing in this day and age.”

“Why do you think I have my gynecologist on speed dial?”

“Too much 4-1-1.”

Tabby thankfully got back to the point. “But those things wouldn’t be an issue if he wasn’t seeing anybody else.”

“We’ve been over this already. I’m not going to ask a man I’ve known for less than two weeks to change his whole life for me.”

Not only because it was too much to ask, but because she already knew he’d say no. Any reasonable person would resist a major life change like that this early in a relationship. Unless they were really—
really
—head over heels in love.

Which didn’t describe her and Jake Wallace.

Legs over shoulders in lust? Absolutely. But nothing more. Not a chance.

“So don’t ask him to change a thing.” Tabitha reached for her wineglass and smiled like the proverbial Cheshire chat. “Just hire him full-time.”

Maddy had taken a sip of her own, but Tabby’s comment nearly made her spew it out. “What?” Noting the attention her yelped response had garnered, she leaned over the table and kept her voice low. “Are you insane?”

“Are you telling me you can’t afford it? Come on, you have the money. Call him up, ask him how much he’d charge to be exclusive for, say, one month.”

Exclusive
.

“Then take that month and use it to see what happens. You either get him out of your system, or you find out the two of you really can develop something meaningful.”

“Meaningful enough to…”

Tabby finished the thought. “To see if he’d be willing to make a permanent
career
change.” Her sister reached across the table, covering Maddy’s hand and squeezing it gently, with tenderness that always lurked beneath the surface but was so rarely shown. “And to see if you can finally let yourself believe in love again.”

“Love,” Maddy said with a snort. That wasn’t even part of this whole situation. She’d said she
liked
Jake, not that she was falling in love with him. She wasn’t
ever
going to fall in love with anyone again. Everyone else in her family had that emotion well taken care of.

Lust…well, lust she could handle. And liking. And maybe some more of the fun she sensed she could have with Jake Wallace. As for the rest—him quitting his “career” for her? Crazy. Madness. Absolutely out of the question.

But for some reason, during the drive home and the long night that followed, Maddy could not get her sister’s suggestion out of her mind. And she was still considering it when she woke up the next day.

I
T HAD BEEN THREE FULL DAYS
and Jake still hadn’t quite gotten over his anger—and his confusion—about what had happened with Maddy Wednesday. He’d gone over it again and again. Replayed every moment, every conversation, every look, every touch.

When, he wondered, had she decided he was the kind of man who could be bought?

She had to be jaded beyond belief. Normal people’s minds just didn’t
go
there for no reason. Which should have been enough to make it easy to live with the fact that they’d never see each other again. But instead, it made him pretty damn angry. Angry—and even sad for her at having become so hard because of her unusual family life.

He was trying determinedly to forget about her. Not successfully, but giving it his best shot. Which was why he’d put his all into this morning’s game.

On Saturday mornings, he liked to play baseball with a couple of guys from work. Whoever was off duty met up at a local park—near the station so the on-call guys could join them once in a while.

They’d just finished five innings, with Jake playing third base, before calling it quits because of the already blazing heat of the day and the noon shift change. As he headed toward the benches for his stuff, his cell phone rang. He grabbed it from the side buttoned pocket of his shorts and glanced at the caller ID, but didn’t recognize the number.

“Wallace,” he barked into it. He tilted his head to hold the phone in the crook of his shoulder while he bagged his stuff and waved to a couple of the guys heading back to the station house.

A feminine throat clearing was the only response at first.

And he’d recognize that feminine throat anywhere.

“Maddy?”

“Yes. Did I interrupt you? I can call back.”

“It’s fine,” he said, wishing he didn’t automatically go on full alert at the sound of her voice.

He’d been caught off guard, that was all. He hadn’t expected to ever hear from her again. That—and the strenuous game—explained his thudding heart and shortness of breath. Nothing else.

“I wondered if we could meet.”

The thudding doubled. Then he focused on her words.
Meet
. Not
go out
.

“Why? You made things pretty clear the other day about where we stood.”

“I regret that,” she said coolly, sounding not the least bit contrite. The ice queen at her iciest. “And I do apologize.”

“Sure.”

“I have, however, had a change of heart.” Finally her tone faltered, a chink of uncertainty appearing in her fully armored voice. “I may have been a bit too…hasty when I said I didn’t want to see you again.”

He should tell her to get lost. To take her money, her ice cave disguised as a home and her really twisted assumptions about him and take a hike.

He didn’t. Maybe because of that tiny note of uncertainty. Maybe because of the way her hair had looked spread across her pillow in the dawn’s first light the other morning. Or the way those dimples flashed every time she genuinely smiled.

He could refuse the ice queen.

But he couldn’t refuse the Maddy he’d made love to. The one who was no longer breathing into the phone, as if her breath had been trapped in her lungs and she was holding it close, waiting for his answer. Uncertain. Unsure.

Vulnerable.

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’d like to get together. To…talk things over. I might have a solution to our situation.”

“Fine.” She breathed again, audibly. And he smiled a little. “We’ll talk. We definitely have some things to clear up.”

Starting with the whole ridiculous notion she had that he’d slept with her only because she’d put out a whole bunch of money first.

Weren’t hookers—male or female—supposed to actually
keep
the money they earned?

He almost laughed at the thought, but didn’t. Not while Maddy was still trying to carefully set up a meeting without revealing how anxious she truly was.

He
so
did not get the woman. But he would. Very soon.

“Are you free this afternoon?” she asked.

“I am.”

“Wonderful. I, uh…was thinking of taking the boat out. Do you like being on the water?”

The only time he’d been on a boat had been one of those offshore casino ships during a trip to Florida a few years ago. He’d been seasick and had gotten a headache from the constant dings of the slot machines.

“Yeah, love it.”
Stupid. She’s not going to let her guard down if you’re heaving over the side.

But it was too late. He’d already agreed, and quickly made a note of the location of the boat, docked at the DuSable Harbor marina. He had an hour to get there. Then he’d find out exactly what kind of
solution
Ms. Madeline Turner had for their
situation
.

Jake had one, too. A three-pronged one.

Him telling her she was an idiot to think her money had anything to do with his feelings for her. Her shutting up and believing it. And them getting naked.

Sounded like a great solution to him.

M
ADDY HAD ALREADY BEEN
aboard the
Magdalena
when she called Jake on Saturday. The decision to ask him to come with her this afternoon had been an impromptu one. Well, mostly.

She’d intended to call him, having thought all night about her sister’s suggestion. At the very least, she wanted to feel him out about the possibility of working “exclusively” for her.

But she hadn’t intended to take him out on the water. That had been spontaneous. And also a little sneaky.

It wouldn’t be easy for him to laugh in her face and walk away at the very idea if they were a few miles from shore. Not unless he was a really good swimmer.

“My God, I’m turning into my sister,” she whispered, knowing Tabitha would approve of the manipulative tactics.

She’d probably also approve of Maddy’s attire. Though she hadn’t dressed with Jake in mind when she’d made the decision to take the boat out today, she wore a devastatingly skimpy fire-engine red bikini beneath her shorts and tank top.

She usually took the cutter out alone, despite her father’s frequent protests. But she was able to handle herself on the lake. And when out there alone, she liked to sunbathe without wearing even as much as that skimpy little bathing suit.

How much fun would it be to do it with someone else?

She’d readied the sails and finished preparations when she saw him walking up the dock toward her. Waving, she called, “I see you found it okay.”

“Uh-huh.” He gestured toward the side, where
Magdalena
was lovingly painted in large, script letters. “I like the name.”

“My mother’s,” she murmured.

Jake nodded, making no weak, inane, “I’m sorry for your loss” comment like so many people made when they learned she’d lost her mother at such a young age. She liked that about him. One of many things she liked about him.

He looked over the cutter again, from the cabin up to the top of the mast, obviously taken aback by its size. “Do I have to ask for permission to come aboard?”

“You don’t have to. Permission
is
granted.”

Then he was there, beside her, all tan and masculine, wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt, swim trunks and leather flip-flops. He even had beautiful legs and
feet
for a man.

She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing, waiting for some sign from him. Was he angry? Curious? Optimistic?

When he finally did speak, she realized she hadn’t even come close to guessing his mood.

“I’m glad you called,” he murmured, tenderly scraping his lips across her temple. “Really glad.”

And just like that, with his sweet touch and his sweeter words, she knew she couldn’t trick him, couldn’t get him out so far that he’d have no choice but to listen to her offer. Nor could she just seduce him into agreement by stripping off her shorts and top and laying herself out like a curvy appetizer.

She had to come clean.

“Jake, I think you already know me enough to realize how difficult this is for me.”

“Mmm, hmm.” And he wasn’t making it any easier, simply waiting for her to continue.

“The thing is,” she murmured, smoothing her hands nervously over her white sailor shorts, telling herself she was
not
leaving sweaty palm prints there. “I really would like to spend more time with you.”

“Ditto. I’d like to spend more time with you, too.”

She smiled, but didn’t relax yet. “Only, I
don’t
want you spending time with…anyone else.”

He tilted a head, confusion evident on his face. “What do you mean?”

Well, in for a penny, as they said. Taking a deep breath, Maddy rushed into it, prepared to lay out her well-thought-out reasons for her outrageous suggestion. “This is probably going to sound strange and demanding, but the truth is, I’d like to hire you, full-time. I know you’re a professional, and you’re
very
good at what you do.”
Oh, so very good.
“And judging by the number of women fighting over you at the auction, you probably stay just as busy as you want and never lack for…clients.”

His eyes widened. That was all. So she hurried on, logically explaining her needs, her inhibitions, her conditions, her desires. She spoke quickly, not looking at him, keeping her attention somewhere over his right shoulder, at the horizon, her voice almost tripping over itself as she rushed to get it all out before she lost her nerve.

“So you see,” she said, finally reaching the conclusion of what she hoped was a persuasive, reasonable speech. “It really makes sense for both of us. You’ll make your usual fee—whatever that is, I’m sure I can afford it. And I’ll have a companion without any messy, silly feelings or jealousies coming into play. We’ll enjoy each other for a month and walk away satisfied.”

Or…maybe not. Maybe neither one of them would want to walk away. Maybe they’d actually decide they liked one another enough to continue seeing one another—sleeping together—without her having to
buy
more time. And with him
choosing
not to see anyone else.

Not falling in love, never that, but at least falling into a relationship built on mutual attraction and genuine desire. Rather than mutual attraction and genuine greed.

But she didn’t say that, not wanting to scare the man off before he’d even had a chance to consider her offer.

He was obviously thinking about it now. Thinking carefully. Jake’s brown eyes were narrowed in concentration, his mouth grimly set, his jaw tight, but not flexing with anger. That was something at least. He merely appeared intense, as if looking at this situation from every angle, the way she had.

“Let me make sure I understand,” he said, his voice gravelly and thick. “You would like to pay me a large sum of money to have sex with you for the next thirty days.”

“With
only
me,” she clarified.

“Right. Sex with
only
you. A
lot
of sex. All
kinds
of crazy sex.”

She couldn’t be blushing. She hadn’t blushed since she was a twelve-year-old whose budding figure had attracted the very verbal notice of the boys in her class. It was merely the heat of the summer day hitting her cheeks. God,
please
let her not be blushing, not now that she’d come this far.

“Well, not just sex.”
But mostly sex
. She thought quickly, scrambling for other duties he could fulfill, to make the whole thing worth his while and to convince him that she wasn’t just asking out of the selfish, helpless want that had filled her from the moment they’d met.

She lit upon the perfect thing. “My sister’s wedding! It’s in two weeks, and I desperately need an escort. You can be my date. That’s within your purview, isn’t it?”

He tsked-tsked lightly. “Buying another date with me, hmm?”

“Well, you are a paid escort, right? Isn’t that your usual job title? You’d actually be
escorting
me, rather than, well, you know, just…”

“Screwing you.”

That was very crude. It was also very exciting, almost dangerous. She’d never had a man treat her with anything but gentlemanly restraint, but she sensed that, if she wanted to let him, Jake could be much more aggressive—
wildly
so.

“But I suppose I could live with being arm candy for a society wedding.”

He’d be a perfect escort, tall and strong and utterly magnificent in a tux, she knew.

She would
not
think about Tabby laughing her ass off over this, or about Deborah choking on her chateaubriand. There was too much at stake right now. Even more than Maddy had suspected, given the way she could barely breathe.

“So, what do you say? You’d be doing me an enormous favor,” she insisted, hoping she wasn’t babbling. “You already know as well as I do that I have no use for the typical games—romance and love and such. I’m a businesswoman and this is a business proposal I’m making.”

“Strictly business. That’s the only way you want it.”

Gulping, she nodded. It wasn’t exactly a lie.

If she and Jake decided at the end of their thirty days that there was more to this than lust, maybe she’d find her way clear to at least consider dipping her toes in romance waters again. Maybe.

Really, when she thought about it, this was the perfect way to build up to that—with no risk. No embarrassment. No scenes or breakups. It was like getting to test-drive a sporty little Mercedes for a month without getting her heart set on the pretty pink color. Without expecting it to possibly look as good to her in thirty days as it did the day she’d first set eyes on it.

And without letting anybody else behind the wheel until she’d figured out if she could afford it.

“So, constant wild sex and a date to a wedding for…how much?”

Constant wild sex…
think, damn it
. She quickly named a figure off the top of her head, figuring he had to make at
least
what a top executive at the bank would make. But she suddenly remembered that before she had stepped into the fray at the auction, the bid had been over five thousand dollars for one
date
with the man. Thinking of that, and how incredibly he’d made love to her, she worried she’d offered far too little.

He didn’t respond by so much as the quirk of a muscle.

“If that’s not enough…”

“It’s enough,” he snapped. “Let me ask you something, Maddy. Why do you think…” He cleared his throat, started again. “How is it that you
know
so much about me? I mean, about who I am and what I
do
?”

“My sister told me.”

“Gotta love that sister of yours. How’d
she
know?”

“One of the auction sponsors told her about the infamous male escort, and Tabby found out in advance what number you’d be. And, of course, the bio in the program fit.” Smiling ruefully, she added, “I’m afraid it wouldn’t take much for the rich women of this town to ferret you out.”

“The bio,” he murmured, rubbing his hand against his jaw. “What did it say again?”

“I don’t remember exactly. Just something about you being a world traveler, someone who appreciates fine wine and beautiful women. It also claimed that you were European. But I’ve decided that must just be part of your character—the role you play. Because if you’re anything but a beer-drinking all-American boy, I’m Mary Poppins.”

“Busted, Mary,” he muttered, “I guess you’re too smart for me.” He crossed his arms over his big chest, still leaving her hanging, not responding to her offer. She wondered if he liked to torture bunnies in his spare time, too.

“One more question. If you were set on buying my
services
, why did you run out on me the night of the auction without even telling me your name? Did you get cold feet?” He sounded almost hopeful, for some reason, as if this answer was more important than anything else. “Did you have a change of heart about doing something so…reckless?”

She shook her head, not sure how much to admit. Especially since he might be meeting her family members—her father and his wife—at Tabitha’s wedding.

That, however, was the real problem. She couldn’t let him walk into such a situation unprepared and unaware. “I wasn’t buying you for myself.”

He closed his eyes slowly, his lips moving as he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?”

“I was counting to ten.”

“Why?”

“Never mind.” His tone weary, he asked, “Who were you
buying
me for?”

Maddy twisted her hands, leaning against the back of the captain’s chair and gazed around. Her father used to love this boat—but his new wife didn’t like to sail. And Deborah had made it clear that she also didn’t like her husband going out on the water in a vessel named for another woman, even one who had died years and years ago.

“Let me guess. It was your sister’s idea.”

“How did you know that?”

“Intuition. So how come she didn’t do it herself?”

“She didn’t want to cheat on her fiancé.”

The eyes closed again. The mouth moved. She’d swear she could make out the words
eleven
and
twelve
before he looked at her once more. “How noble of her.”

She was going about this all wrong, nervousness making her skip around the point instead of getting right to it. So she bit the bullet. She told him—just enough to make him understand how important this was, important enough to make her take chances she’d never have chosen to take.

When she’d finished telling him about her father, his new wife, as well as Bitsy Wellington and her crowd, she concluded, “So there was no intention by either me, or by Tabby, to do anything other than make sure your services were not engaged by our father’s wife.” A bit grudgingly, she added, “Only Tabby didn’t trust herself not to remain entirely
selfless
about the whole thing. And I did.”