Wild & Hexy (17 page)

‘‘That’s good, because I have zero interest in marrying anyone.’’ She climbed off the bed and located her panties and slacks. ‘‘Been there, done that.’’

He knew she felt that way, yet it still hurt to hear her say so. ‘‘I get that you aren’t interested in anything serious. We just happen to click sexually.’’

‘‘Yes, we do.’’ Her voice softened. ‘‘And I appreciate that more than you know. I just wonder how we’re supposed to play this with your mother.’’

‘‘It won’t be easy. She was very disappointed when Gwen and I broke up. I thought when my sister had a baby that would take some of the pressure off me, but it hasn’t. Now that my mom knows what having a grandkid is like, she wants a bunch more.’’

Annie nodded as she pulled on her slacks. ‘‘My mom doesn’t complain, but I’m sure it’s killing her that Melody’s moving all the way to Honolulu. Even if she and Bruce have kids, they won’t be close by. So I’m her only hope.’’

‘‘So once the word’s out that we’re involved, the campaign will begin.’’ Jeremy didn’t hate the idea, but he could tell Annie did. So he said what he had to. ‘‘We could say we had a big fight, and then stay away from each other for the rest of the week.’’

She fastened her slacks and stood there, topless and tempting. ‘‘It’s a thought, but that could mean bad juju for the wedding. The matron of honor and best man are supposed to be friendly.’’

Jeremy allowed himself a few seconds to admire her, maybe for the last time. ‘‘We’ve certainly fulfilled that requirement.’’

‘‘Mm.’’ Her gaze warmed under his hot appraisal.

He groaned softly. ‘‘I’d better go get your bra and sweater. The longer we stay up here, the worse the implication.’’ Turning away with reluctance, he hurried through the apartment and down the first flight of stairs.

Her black bra and dark blue sweater lay on the landing in mute testament to the frenzy with which he’d pulled them off. He could have finished the job and made love to her right there on the landing, no problem. Correction, that would have caused a huge problem. He’d always been careful about birth control, but in this case he had to be scrupulous.

Then again, he might not have to worry about the issue ever again with Annie. Now that his mother, and likely half the town, would try to pair him up with Annie, she wouldn’t want to have anything more to do with him. Maybe they wouldn’t concoct an actual fight, but the effect would be the same—no more sex.

Grabbing the bra and sweater, he jogged back up the stairs and walked into the bedroom to find her peeking through the blinds.

‘‘They’re gone,’’ she said.

‘‘You’re kidding.’’ He walked over beside her and looked down to the street. No one was standing there. ‘‘That’s amazing. I would have thought Mom wouldn’t be able to resist putting me on the spot.’’

Annie let the slats fall back into place and turned to him. ‘‘Maybe she has something more subtle in mind.’’

‘‘It’s possible.’’ Jeremy picked up his cell phone from the bedside table where he’d laid it before taking off his jeans. Flipping it open, he turned it back on.

Sure enough, there were messages, one from Bruce and two from his mother. He watched Annie hook her bra as he listened. What he wouldn’t give to be allowed to watch her dress every day. Boy, was he a dreamer.

The message from Bruce was about whether Jeremy had arranged for any sexy entertainment for the bachelor party. He had. The belly dancer driving over from Evansville was a surprise that only Jeremy knew about.

As Annie pulled the blue sweater over her head, he listened to the first message from his mother, an earlier call asking where he was. The second one had been made two minutes ago. And it contained a bribe.

Jeremy glanced at Annie, who was running her fingers through her tousled hair. ‘‘I guess you’ve mentioned to a few people that you’d like to interview Clem Loudermilk about his bra invention.’’

‘‘I did. I left a couple of messages on the Loudermilks’ answering machine, but they didn’t call back, so I talked to some other people to see if anyone could intercede for me. It would be a great interview.’’

‘‘Looks like you can have that interview. My mother’s tentatively set it up for Friday morning, if that works.’’

‘‘Oh, it works. That would make a great piece for my last story in the series.’’ The wary look was back in Annie’s eyes. ‘‘What’s the catch?’’

‘‘She wants us to come to dinner Thursday night. I have the distinct impression if we don’t cooperate, the interview might somehow go away.’’

"Here you go. Forty penises." Jeremy kept his voice down as he set a ten-by-twelve manila envelope next to the terminal where Annie was working. There were teenagers all around them surfing the Internet.

Annie was typing frantically to make up for lost time, but she couldn’t resist taking a minute to tease him. ‘‘Couldn’t fit them in a five-by-seven?’’

‘‘I thought the ladies should get a thrill.’’

‘‘Or a laugh.’’

‘‘Don’t mock the help.’’

She grinned and glanced up at him. ‘‘I really appreciate this, Jeremy.’’

‘‘My pleasure.’’ His gaze lingered, and the longer he looked at her, the hotter the fire in those gray eyes. He lowered his voice and braced a hand on the desk so he could lean closer. ‘‘Thanks for accepting my mom’s dinner invitation. It was blatant manipulation on her part.’’

‘‘It was, but that’s okay. If I were a mom, I’d want to find out the intentions of a woman who tempted my son into closing his business in the middle of the day.’’

Jeremy looked rueful. ‘‘Sometimes small-town living sucks.’’

‘‘So move.’’ She tossed it out lightly, like a joke, but it wasn’t really a joke. She wondered if he’d ever considered it. That could make a huge difference in how their relationship turned out.

He held her gaze, as if he understood exactly what she was asking. ‘‘This will probably sound dopey, but living here just feels right to me. When I was at Purdue getting my degree, I couldn’t wait to get back to this crazy little town with all its faults. It’s my home.’’

She nodded. ‘‘I respect that, Jeremy.’’ She hesitated, then finally decided it needed to be said. ‘‘Your folks do understand that I’m going back to Chicago on Sunday, right?’’

‘‘I’ll make sure they do. And as for that dinner, don’t worry about it. I promise they won’t get out the shotgun.’’

Annie laughed. Then she lowered her voice. ‘‘And you’ll go back out to the lake with me afterward so we can try and catch another glimpse of the monster, right?’’

‘‘Sure. There’s no monster, but I’ll go with you.’’

‘‘Good. And no wine. I don’t want to take a chance on missing it, so no hanky-panky, either.’’

‘‘If you say so.’’

‘‘I do.’’ She wasn’t planning to make out with him this time. Never mind that at this very moment his body heat and the scent of his aftershave made her squirm in her chair.

Tomorrow night she’d be strong. She had a potential story that could make her career and she couldn’t take a chance she’d be canoodling with Jeremy when the lake monster appeared.

Of course, the whole town would think she’d gone to the lake with Jeremy so they could make out. That wasn’t a bad cover for her investigation, come to think of it.

‘‘By the way,’’ Jeremy said, ‘‘I’ve sent one of the kids over to the deli for six feet of butcher paper. And no, he doesn’t know what the project is I’m working on. But even if he did, he wouldn’t be shocked. Kids know a lot more than we did at that age.’’

‘‘I’m sure.’’

He straightened. ‘‘I’ll bring you coffee and a cookie.’’

‘‘
Yes
on the coffee.
No
on the cookie.’’

Jeremy frowned. ‘‘Annie, you are not f—’’

‘‘I’m not skinny, either. I would love for my dress to hang on me by Saturday.’’

With a little growl of frustration, Jeremy left to get her coffee. She couldn’t expect him to understand. For whatever reason, he found her sexy the way she was.

That was gratifying for the time being, but she wanted to get back to her fighting weight, needed to be able to look at herself in the mirror without wincing. Back in Chicago she had an entire wardrobe that taunted her with her former measurements. She would wear those clothes again or know the reason why.

Five hours later Annie was blindfolded, dizzy and holding a nine-inch penis.

‘‘To the left!’’ Gwen shouted.

‘‘More to the left!’’ called Heather Tufts, a well-endowed former classmate who clerked at the Big Knob Hardware store now.

‘‘Go straight ahead,’’ said Maggie. She’d taken charge of the pin-the-penis-on-the-man game.

Definitely feeling her two cups of vodka punch, Annie lunged forward and stuck the taped end of the penis somewhere on the butcher paper. As everyone whistled and clapped, she lifted the blindfold and discovered she’d been dead on.

‘‘When you’re getting it regular, you know exactly where it goes,’’ said Isabel Moore, the newcomer from San Francisco. Dorcas Lowell had brought Isabel to the party and seemed to be keeping an eye on her.

From the moment Annie had met Isabel at Mayor Abe’s house, she’d felt as if she should know her. Something about Isabel tickled Annie’s memory, but she couldn’t come up with what it was.

Melody held up her paper penis. She’d had at least three cups of punch and Melody never could hold her liquor. ‘‘I want to know, since Annie made these, if it’s a representation of just what she’s been getting. If so, I’m trading Bruce for Jeremy.’’

‘‘How can it be a representation?’’ Annie said. ‘‘It may be long, but boy, is it flat.’’ She’d given up protesting that nothing was going on between her and Jeremy. Everyone at the party seemed to know they’d been together at the lake last night and alone in his apartment this afternoon.

‘‘That’s right,’’ Isabel said with a flip of her long beaded earrings. ‘‘Length isn’t everything. Girth is important, too. Still, I find it interesting that Annie’s brought us a stack of nine-inchers. If you get tired of Jeremy, honey-bunch, let ol’ Isabel know, ’kay?’’

‘‘Jeremy’s not—’’ Annie caught herself before she blurted out that Jeremy’s penis was not nine inches long. Eight, tops. Better not say that, either. Better lay off the punch, or no telling what might come tumbling out.

‘‘Not your boyfriend?’’ Isabel flashed her perfect teeth. ‘‘Then the field’s wide open, isn’t it?’’

‘‘Oh, who cares?’’ Melody made a face. ‘‘This is my party, not Annie’s. So who’s next?’’

For once Annie was grateful for Melody’s jealousy. ‘‘How about Dorcas?’’ She handed the blindfold to the woman Jeremy had said was a matchmaker. Dorcas didn’t fit Annie’s concept of a matchmaker, someone plump and gray haired with a sweet smile. Instead, Dorcas looked as if she could be running a Fortune 500 company.

Annie vowed to interview her before the week was over, because she sensed a story was connected to Dorcas and Ambrose. In the meantime, she wanted to find out what was going on with Isabel Moore.

She wanted to place her, but that wasn’t the only issue. The bottom line was that she didn’t like thinking of Isabel, with her short skirts, big tits and flashy style, getting her manicured fingers on Jeremy. Once Annie left, he might be a guy on the rebound. He could be vulnerable to the wiles of a woman like Isabel.

Grabbing another cup of punch, Annie walked over to where Isabel leaned against the mahogany railing of the stairway leading to the second floor. Before the party Maggie had given Annie a tour of the place, and the old Victorian was turning into a beauty thanks to Sean’s carpentry skills. The staircase had been refinished and recently polished with lemon oil, judging from the way it gleamed.

But Annie wasn’t concerned about architectural details at the moment. She wanted to find out whether she had to worry about Isabel Moore moving in on Jeremy come Monday morning. She put on her reporter’s hat. ‘‘So how do you like San Francisco?’’

‘‘Love it. Great city.’’ Isabel had to be at least five-ten, and the stiletto heels on her boots brought her to well over six feet.

Annie was determined not to be intimidated, even if she had to look up. ‘‘I hope to see it someday. Have you ever been to Chicago?’’

‘‘Not recently. Why?’’

‘‘I have the feeling we’ve met somewhere before.’’

‘‘Afraid not.’’

‘‘Hm.’’ Annie sipped her punch. ‘‘I assume you flew here.’’

‘‘You assume right.’’ Isabel looked amused, as if she found a discussion of transportation silly.

Annie managed a smile. The punch helped with that. ‘‘So what brought you from a bustling city like San Francisco to a quiet little town like Big Knob?’’

Isabel glanced away, but not before her green eyes revealed that she was hiding something from Annie. ‘‘I have a thing about phallic symbols.’’ She took a sip of her punch. ‘‘This is terrible stuff. Wish I had a mudslide instead. It would make this party a lot more exciting.’’

Annie could believe that Isabel loved phallic symbols, mudslides, and wild parties, but that wasn’t the whole story. There was more to Isabel than she was revealing. Maybe if they went somewhere more private, Annie could find out what it was.

‘‘Have you seen Big Knob in the moonlight?’’ she asked. ‘‘The moon will be full tomorrow night, but it’s almost there now. You get a great view from the back porch.’’

‘‘So let’s go, girlfriend.’’ Isabel gulped the rest of her punch and set the cup on a table as she headed for the hall leading to the kitchen.

Annie located Maggie in the midst of the game in progress. ‘‘Isabel and I are going out to look at the moon,’’ she called out. ‘‘We’ll be right back.’’

‘‘Don’t be long,’’ Maggie said. ‘‘We’re playing truth or dare next.’’

‘‘Hold me back,’’ Isabel muttered.