Part 20 (1/2)

She shrugged again and added an extra dollop. They were about to find out.

Rick squirmed in his seat. He needed to put the binoculars down. He knew any red-blooded man would be watching, especially when it was part of his job. For a PI like him, being a voyeur was second-nature.

Only in this case it was Olivia, and it felt wrong.

He cursed again. He needed to focus. He was here on business.

Rick swung his binoculars around, adjusting the k.n.o.bs so he could refocus on his subject.

Elaine Adams was slowly walking in circles around Olivia's grandmother's garden like it was some kind of labyrinth. At night, when it was freaking cold out.

Ms. Adams started back toward the house. Rick sighed in relief. If she was going in, he could pack up and go home, and then he wouldn't be tempted to intrude on Olivia's privacy.

But then Ms. Adams veered, heading toward Olivia's window.

A thread of unease unraveled in the pit of his stomach.

Maybe he was overreacting.

He grunted. ”Right.”

Sure enough, Ms. Adams stopped right in front of the brightly lit window. Anyone greeted with the scene of a mostly-naked woman smearing gunk on a mostly-naked man would stop.

In this case, watching wasn't an innocent thing. Rick could almost hear Adams take notes.

”s.h.i.+t.” He was surprised she didn't feel him boring a hole through her skin he was watching her so intensely.

He calculated the chances on this ending up in this week's Enquirer. ”Fair to certain,” he muttered, his hands tightening on his lenses.

What the f.u.c.k was Olivia thinking? Couldn't she have drawn the curtains? Of course not. Olivia was trusting. She'd never expect someone to be spying on her, waiting to sell her out. Especially not someone she'd taken under her wing.

Rick scowled as he watched Elaine Adams reluctantly leave the brightly lit window and go inside the farmhouse. Ms. Adams was going to regret taking on Olivia. He'd make sure of it.

Chapter Twenty-five.

The little burgundy bag on the floor taunted her.

It was now or never.

Lainie dumped out the contents of the Romantic Notions bag on the bed. With a deep breath, she resolutely pulled the white negligee over her head, letting it pool down her body like a whisper.

She turned around and gawked at her image in the mirror. She couldn't go out there in a transparent gown, no matter what Olivia thought. She slipped into the matching robe and looked at her reflection again.

Marginally better, but still awfully translucent. Was that the outline of her nipples?

She blushed, but one thing was certain: if Everett saw her like this, she'd know whether he was interested or not.

What choice did she have? Cower behind her desk for the rest of her life?

Shaking her head, she strode out of her room. She reached the kitchen and sighed when she saw it was empty.

Not bothering with the light, she went to the cupboard, pulled out a gla.s.s, and filled it with water from the tap. She downed it, wis.h.i.+ng it was some of Everett's fine scotch instead. Filling it again, she drank a second gla.s.s, more slowly this time.

She rinsed her gla.s.s out and set it to dry. Well, she'd just have to try to run into him again tomorrow night.

She turned around and gasped.

Everett leaned in the doorway, arms folded. His face was lost in the shadows, but she could imagine his enigmatic look. She could feel the way his eyes took in her clothes, or lack of.

”I didn't hear you come in.” She congratulated herself for the evenness of her voice.

He said nothing but kept watching her. He finally broke the silence. ”You've changed your hair.”

Her hand darted to her freshly styled head. ”Yes.”

He dropped his casual pose and stalked over to her. He stopped in front of her, close enough that she could see the way his pale eyes burned even in the darkness. He touched a strand of her hair, rubbing it between two fingers. ”I've never seen your hair down.”

”No, you haven't.”

His eyes traveled down the length of her body. She s.h.i.+vered at the intensity and felt her nipples tighten almost painfully.

He pulled away. ”If you're cold, you should take care to put something on your feet. Or wear something more substantial.”

She gaped at him incredulously. ”Everett Parker, for a man of your intellect and shrewdness, you are awfully ignorant. If you'd open your eyes and take a look at me maybe you'd see I'm not cold.” She lowered her voice. ”I've never been cold around you.”

Satisfied at the way he was gaping at her, she turned to leave. But what had she accomplished? The loss of her job most likely.

She stopped in her tracks. She was not going to lose her job for nothing. If she was going to be unemployed, it'd be because she grabbed what she wanted most in life.

Him.

She whirled around and marched back to Everett. ”Take me out to dinner.”

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. ”Excuse me?”

”Take me out to dinner,” she repeated through clenched teeth.

”We always go out to dinner,” he said slowly, like he was trying to reason with a five year old.

She pointed a finger at his nose. ”Yes, we always have dinner together. Several nights a week for the past seven years. But for once, I want you to take me to dinner. Just the two of us. Someplace romantic. Tomorrow night.”

He stared at her, his eyes inscrutably blank.