Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars, #4)(33)

“At least keep it in a sling.”

“And get fired for not doing my job? No, thank you.”

He took a deep breath, as if he were summoning the last ounce of his patience, and spoke in labored tones. “I won’t fire you.”

“Don’t do me any favors!”

“You’re impossible! I try to be a nice guy, and all I get is mouth.”

Maybe it was that word mouth, but the image of the way he’d looked before he put on those jeans flashed through her mind. She realized she was staring at him again, and he was staring back. She licked her dry lips.

His own lips parted as if he were about to say something, but then forgot what it was. He rubbed his thigh with the flat of his hand. She couldn’t stand this sudden, inexplicable tension, and she pushed herself up from the bed, breaking the spell.

“Come on. I’ll show you around.”

“I live here. Why would I want you to show me around?”

“So you can learn something about the history of the house.” And so she could get a look at the other rooms in hopes of finding the chest.

“It’s not Mount Vernon.”

“Come on, Bonner. I’m dying to see the house, and you don’t have anything else to do.”

She waited for him to tell her he could go back to sleep, but he didn’t, and she remembered the remark he’d made earlier when he looked at the clock. “House tours in the middle of the night are good cures for insomnia.”

“How do you know I have insomnia?”


So, she’d guessed right. “I’m psychic.”

She moved toward Dwayne’s walk-in closet, and before Bonner could protest, threw open the door. Her eyes slid across the neatly arranged shelves and half-empty rods. A few men’s suits hung there. Were they Gabe’s or his brother’s? She saw some dark slacks and denim work shirts that definitely belonged to Gabe. Jeans were stacked on one shelf, T-shirts on another. No chest.

Bonner came up behind her, and before he could protest her invasion of his closet, she said, “Dwayne filled this place with designer suits, hundred-dollar silk ties, and more pairs of handmade shoes than anybody could wear in a lifetime. He always dressed up, even when he was lounging around the house. Not that he lounged much. He was a workaholic.”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Rachel, but I don’t give a damn about Dwayne.”

Neither did she. “The tour only gets better.”

She moved toward the hallway, then led him through the guest bedrooms, mentioning the names of famous politicians who’d stayed in each one. Some of what she told him was even true. He followed her, saying nothing, merely regarding her with a calculating look. He obviously knew she was up to something, but he didn’t know what.

There were only two rooms left—her bedroom and the nursery—and she still hadn’t spotted the chest. She approached the door to the nursery, but his hand shot out and covered hers before she could turn the knob.

“The tour’s over.”

“But this was Edward’s nursery. I want to see it.” She wanted to see her old bedroom, too.

“I’ll drive you home.”

“Later.”

“Now.”

“All right.”

He seemed surprised that she gave in so easily. He hesitated, then nodded. “Let me put on some clothes.”

“Take your time.”

He turned away and disappeared into the bedroom. She spun around and began to push open the nursery door.

“I told you the tour was over,” he said from behind her.

“You’re being a total jerk! I have a lot of happy memories of this room, and I want to see it again.”

“I’m so touched I’m getting tears in my eyes,” he drawled. “Come on. You can help me get dressed.” He shut the door before she could see inside and began steering her toward his bedroom.

“Don’t bother. I’ll walk home.”

“Now who’s being a jerk?”

It pained her to admit he was right, but it was frustrating to get so close and not be able to see the rest of the house. He closed the bedroom door after they were inside and headed into the walk-in closet.

She spotted the key lying on the bedside table where he’d left it, quickly slipped it into her pocket, then leaned against the bedpost. “Can I at least take a peek in my old room?”

He reappeared buttoning a denim shirt.”No. My sister-in-law uses it for her office when she stays here, and I don’t think she’d appreciate you mucking around there.”

“Who said anything about mucking around? I just want a peek.”

“You can’t have it.” He picked up a pair of sweat socks from the floor and pushed his feet into them. As he put on his shoes, she glanced toward the far side of the room where the bathroom lay that linked this room with her old one.

“How often do your brother and sister-in-law show up here?”

He stood. “Not too often. Neither of them like the house very much.”

“Why’d they buy it?”

“Privacy. They lived here for three months right after they were married, but they haven’t spent much time here since. Cal was finishing out his contract with the Chicago Stars.”

“What are they doing now?”