Lie, Lie Again(15)
They eased into their respective spots in the carport. His door opened, and a shiny black shoe appeared. She tried to ignore the increasing thump of her heartbeat. It’s only because I don’t like driving in the rain. Even though she willed herself not to look, she couldn’t help but notice he was dressed in a black suit, and his dark hair was slicked back, revealing his impressive jawline. She waited, wondering if he would rush to his apartment without saying hi. But then his hand was waving wildly. It would be rude not to respond, not to mention weird.
She scrambled from her car and scurried to his truck, thankful for the cover of the carport. “Hi, Brandon,” she called over the pelting rain.
“Hey there, Riki. Wild weather, huh?”
“Yes! It was so sudden. You look nice, by the way.” Her smile felt like it had a life of its own, and there was nothing she could do to keep it from taking over her entire face.
“Thanks. I’m coming from an audition.” He tugged on the lapel of his coat and stepped closer. “Not my usual look, is it?”
She placed her hand over her mouth as though assessing him and squeezed the wild smile from her lips. “You look great. What’d you audition for?”
He shoved a hand in his hair, and the thick silver band on his ring finger was a stark contrast to the dark brown. She let her gaze stay on it for an extra moment, seizing the reminder for her foolish heart that he was taken. “Days of Our Lives. It was a callback for a new character they’re adding who’s a mysterious millionaire. No one knows where he came from or how he made all his money.” Flashing a grin, he added, “I don’t even know if he turns out to be a good guy or a bad guy. They wanted me to play it like I was a tortured soul with an edge this time around.” He managed a hurt look before letting his eyes fall into a sneering squint. “How was that?”
“Bravo! You’re hired in my book.” She clapped her hands, her ability to think rationally zapped by his pure magnetism. “You looked like a cross between James Bond and Superman.”
His eyes lingered on hers as a smile tugged the corners of his lips. “Superman? Nah, I’m not as good-lookin’ as that guy.”
Is he flirting? Her mouth was so dry, she couldn’t muster a response. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice.
He nodded to the uncovered area beyond the carport. “Do you have an umbrella, or are you making a run for it?”
“I’m going to make a run for it. I have no idea where my umbrella is,” she said seriously, coaxing her mind to stop lingering on the idea that he might be flirting.
“Same. Are you ready?” He lifted a brow and reached for her hand.
She inhaled sharply as their hands locked.
His eyes gleamed. “On the count of three. One, two, three!”
They tore down the gravel driveway, her heart tripping in her chest. All sense of reason washed away in the rain. She wished they could keep running, past the apartments and into the street, all the way to the ocean, where they could catch a boat headed for a Greek island and live happily ever after. It would be just the two of them.
But instead, he brought them to a stop between their apartments and dropped her hand. Rain dripped from his lashes as he looked at her. “You’re soaked.”
“So are you.” She licked her lips, tasting rain on her tongue.
He laughed and grabbed her hand again, knitting their fingers together before lifting her arm. “Do, do, do, do, do-da-do . . . ,” he sang.
She stood unmoving, mesmerized.
“Twirl, girl! Haven’t you seen Singin’ in the Rain?”
Unable to keep from giggling wildly, she spun as he held her fingers in his. “You’re crazy!”
“You’re the one dancing out here in the rain!” He twirled her again and again before he spun her to face him, his eyes bright with mischief. “I have to say, Riki, this was fun.” He looked down at his wet clothes. “Hopefully not at the cost of my suit and your pretty pink shirt,” he added with a sheepish grin. “I guess we’d better go on in and get dry.”
“Yeah. Say hi to Embry,” she said softly.
He jogged toward his apartment as she staggered to hers, feeling positively drunk. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Guys like him should be banned from the planet. He must know his charm. It had to be obvious that women were rendered speechless around him.
She was supposed to be working on shutting off her feelings for him, and he was not helping. She forced herself to think of Embry. At this very moment, she was probably peeling the wet coat from Brandon’s body and warming him with a tight hug. She’d press her breasts into his chest, and that would be all it’d take. He’d lead her to the shower, where she’d soap him up, tracing a line of bubbles down his naked chest.
On second thought, they couldn’t do that. They had two kids to watch. Their sexy shower would have to wait until the kids were tucked safely in bed. By then they’d both be too tired to do anything but pull up the covers and pass out. As he drifted to sleep, would his subconscious mind toy with him, luring him to dream about the red-haired neighbor whose hand he’d taken in the rain?
She stood just inside the door and eyed the plate of cookies on the kitchen counter. If Embry could read her mind, she would hate her. And the truth was, Riki wouldn’t blame her.
Sylvia capped her lipstick and smiled at her reflection in the large rectangular mirror. In less than an hour, she would be frolicking with Hugh. The light in the office bathroom was cruel, but it couldn’t hide the fact that her teeth were simply perfect. She’d opted for braces six years ago. No one knew she’d once had the snaggletooth smile of a poor kid, and never again would she wear ratty hand-me-downs from that horrid neighbor girl with the slash of a smile that was entirely too large for her face, making her look like she was a descendant of Ernie from Sesame Street. New teeth and new clothes were an easy camouflage for her tattered past. She was the ruler of her queendom now.