Carly Phillips - Hot Item

Sophie blinked, probably as startled by his semi-apology as he was.

“That’s what you call your daughter, Elizabeth?” she said.

He nodded, the old familiar pride welling inside him. Lizzie was Riley’s whole world and he’d do right by her in ways his biological parent had never done by him. He’d be there for her and she’d know her daddy loved her.

“Lizzie’s thirteen going on eighteen. She has attitude up the wazoo and some discipline problems at school, but she’s smart and special and gorgeous. And I’m going to have to buy a shotgun to keep the hormonal idiots away,” he said, awed as always by the young lady his daughter was becoming.

Sophie laughed, a light, airy, more relaxed sound than he’d heard from her since boarding.

“I take it you have some firsthand experience with being one of those hormonal idiots?” she asked.

“You know what they say. Boys’ll be boys.”

She inclined her head. “So what do you suggest we do to make this arrangement work?” she asked, turning the conversation back to them.

He leaned against the counter, thinking about what would help them get along for the duration of the trip. “How about we begin by understanding each other a little more? I’ll start. Atkins is my long-lost father and though I have my reasons for needing to talk to him, I doubt he’ll be happy to see me.” Riley offered the difficult admission as a peace offering.

A flash of understanding flickered in her eyes along with the steely resolve he’d seen before. “I respect your privacy, but you hired me to help you. Besides, before I can bring you to Spencer, I’m going to need to know those reasons. We’re like-”

“Family. I know.” When used along with Spencer Atkins, the word family tasted sour in his mouth.

He paused, wondering how much more detail to reveal now and decided the lavatory wasn’t the place for long-winded explanations. “I’ll fill you in. Just not here.”

She nodded. “Fair enough. I suppose you’re looking for an admission of my own? A quid pro quo toward understanding? Well, fine,” she said before he could reply. “I’m a pro at handling other people’s crises, but not when everything around me is falling apart. If Spencer doesn’t turn up soon, my entire life’s going to crash and burn.” She blinked once, then blinked again.

He thought she was fighting tears, but she covered it so well he couldn’t be certain. He admired that strength.

All Riley knew for sure was that for Sophie routine provided comfort and Atkins’s disappearance had thrown her carefully structured life into disarray.

They had that in common, he thought. He’d been thrown for a loop, too. His sudden inexplicable desire to take care of her threw him. For the first time, other than Lizzie, it wasn’t all about him, and those feelings for Sophie messed with his carefree philosophy on life, and made him very, very nervous.

Still, he couldn’t stop the words that came next. “I’ll try harder not to screw up your schedule,” he said, hoping he could handle answering to someone, even on a short-term basis.

“Thanks.” She offered a smile and something inside him lightened with the knowledge that he’d eased her burden.

“And I’ll try not to be such an uptight pain in the ass,” she said, taking him by surprise.

He hadn’t expected her to know herself so well or to admit as much to him. Drawn by need and a compulsion he couldn’t explain, Riley reached out and pulled at the binding holding her bun in place. She gasped in surprise as strands of honey-colored hair fell around her face in waves, softening her features, making her appear infinitely more touchable.

More human.

More kissable.

She moistened her lips and he sucked in a sharp breath. Right now he was definitely one of those hormonal idiots they’d just discussed. He leaned in so they were almost cheek to cheek and he inhaled her fragrant scent.

Together they generated enough heat in the small space to steam the mirror, set off the smoke alarm and send the flight attendants barging in.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. Please take your seats as soon as possible.” The flight attendant’s voice broke into his thoughts.

He saw in her expression the moment she realized that she’d almost kissed Riley Nash at thirty thousand feet. Her eyes opened wide and she jerked away. Her knees came in contact with the toilet bowl and she sat on the closed seat with a thud.

He chuckled and held out his hand to help her up. “Tell you what. I’ll leave first and you can sneak out after me.”

“You’re a true gentleman, Nash.” Her voice held more than a hint of sarcasm, but her eyes held a wealth of gratitude.

He decided not to remind her that people had probably already seen him follow her into the bathroom or had likely already come to their own conclusions about what the two of them were doing in here. She had enough on her mind and Riley’s presence on this trip probably wasn’t helping her keep things in her life running smoothly.

But he couldn’t change the strength of their attraction nor, he admitted, did he want to.

CINDY THOUGHT she knew what frazzled meant. Coming from a family that consisted of herself and her father and the employees of his California seaside restaurant, she’d grown up harried and working practically from birth. She’d gone to UCLA and hadn’t moved East until her father had passed away last year. It had been tragic. An employee had stolen money from the register after hours and set a fire to cover his tracks. Frank James, “Jimmy” to his friends, had tried to save his restaurant and prized possessions before the firefighters arrived. He’d died of smoke inhalation inside the restaurant he’d adored.

After she’d survived that loss, Cindy thought she could handle anything. But The Hot Zone offices without the Jordan sisters, and Athletes Only without Spencer or Yank, was the equivalent of utter chaos. She and several others had been forced to work on a Saturday just to begin to deal with all that was going on and going wrong.

“And why did I agree to watch this dog?”

She’d just returned from a long walk with Noodle. One made longer by the dog’s desire to sniff, wander and not do business when told. She stepped off the elevator feeling out of sorts and almost out of options.

“Ms. James?”

“Yes?” Cindy turned to the temp who’d been working for the past couple of days.

Even if Raine, their normal receptionist, returned from her serious bout of the flu, the office could still use the manpower Nicki Fielding provided. Cindy had no doubt Sophie would agree.

“You have messages.” Nicki held out a stack of pink papers.

Cindy pushed the notes into her suit jacket pocket.

“Ms. Jordan called from Florida. I told her everything here was fine, which is true. Sort of. I mean the reporters are still hanging around,” Nicki whispered, gesturing to the group who’d perched themselves on the sofa, hoping for an interview from anyone here. “I just keep telling them ‘No Comment,’” she said, looking to Cindy for approval.

“You’re doing great.” She smiled at the young girl.

“I’m trying.” Her brown eyes were huge. “I don’t think Ms. Jordan thinks I’m that qualified.”

Cindy shook her head. “It’s just crisis time around here. We’ll all come through this fine. You’re being a huge help, I promise.”

The dog pulled on the leash and she groaned. “Go, you little pain in the-” Cindy leaned down, released the catch and the dog bolted, likely for the safety of Yank’s office, where Sophie said she could find the pooch if she went missing.

“If you need me, I’ll be in my office returning calls.” Cindy patted the papers in her bulging pocket and walked past the reporters, head held high, looking straight ahead before they could begin to toss out questions.

Cindy shut her door behind her, leaned against it and sighed. She couldn’t wait to hand this place back to Sophie. When she opened her eyes, she stared in shock. The most beautiful red roses sat on her desk.

“What the…?” She bent close and sniffed the glorious petals, breathing in their floral scent. As she pulled out the card, she realized the vase wasn’t a typical glass holder from a florist but etched Baccarat crystal.

“Red beauties for a redheaded beauty. Have dinner with me. Miguel.” Cindy read the card and shivered.

She’d been living in New York for a little over six months and although she’d made friends, she hadn’t dated anyone special. She hadn’t met anyone who seriously interested her. Until she’d laid eyes on Miguel Cambias. His dark eyes and naturally dark skin, so different from many of the surfers and actors she’d met in California, caused goose bumps to prickle up and down her arms.

But his business card had burned a hole in her pocket and she’d left it untouched in her desk drawer ever since. Loyalty was important to her. She’d learned it from her small band of “family” back home, a group related by love not blood.

She worked for The Hot Zone. She enjoyed her job and she appreciated all three Jordan sisters and the family like atmosphere they brought to the firm. For Cindy, this place was similar to her father’s tiny restaurant and she didn’t want to lose the inroads she’d made.

She slowly opened her desk drawer and stared at the business card tucked safely away. She also didn’t want to make a mistake and spend forever wondering what if. Fingering the business card, she turned it over and over in her hand. Sophie hadn’t asked her not to see Miguel. She’d just suggested Cindy be careful.

With those words in mind, Cindy picked up the phone. After all, what harm could come from one little dinner? she wondered.

INDIGNITY SURROUNDED Sophie. When she’d headed out of the lavatory a short while after Riley, the people seated in the immediate area had applauded. Now as they waited for their luggage to arrive on the conveyor belt, she stood next to Riley and was forced to accept another very uncomfortable situation. Her panties were damp with desire and he was the cause.

So much for not doing athletes. So much for not doing this athlete. Much to her dismay, her fears had just been realized. If not for the plane’s descent and the pilot’s order to return to their seats, she’d have probably been initiated into the mile-high club and enjoyed every minute.

She rubbed her aching temples at the thought. Because in all probability, Riley could have just as easily substituted one of the flight attendants for her. The thought stung and stayed with her, hanging over her shoulders like a bag of rocks.

Sophie had a business to save and her uncle’s partner to find. She needed to focus and she needed a plan. Instead, she’d been distracted by the athlete who thought with his-

“Which one’s yours?” Riley asked.

She glanced at the luggage slowly coming around on the belt and pointed to the black bag with the hot pink string that identified the suitcase as hers.

Riley hefted the bag as if it weighed nothing, then grabbed an older-looking duffel before turning her way. “We’re good to go?”

She nodded. “I arranged for a rental car. All we have to do is check in over there.” She pointed to a large green neon sign. “A bus will take us to the lot with the car and we can be on our way.”

“Sounds good. Any idea where we’re going?”

“I printed out directions from MapQuest on the Internet. We should be all set.”

Half an hour later, they were settled in the rental car on their way to Spencer’s sisters’ in Fort Lauderdale. Sophie shifted restlessly in her seat, the air-conditioning doing nothing to cool off the heat surging through her body. The tingling awareness reminded her of what had transpired between them in the bathroom of the airplane.

Still she tried for normal conversation. “So what do you know about Spencer’s Florida family?” Sophie wanted to enter the situation as prepared as possible.

“Not a damn thing.” A muscle ticked in Riley’s jaw.

Obviously she’d hit a nerve.

“What about you? You’re the one who said he’s like family. What do you know about his sisters?”

“About as much as you.”

“In my experience, in Atkins’s world, family loyalty runs one way only.”

Sophie didn’t reply, because she wondered if Riley didn’t have a point. For all the years she and her sisters had known Spencer Atkins and for all the holidays he’d spent with her family, Sophie now understood they didn’t know the man at all.

She heard the anger in Riley’s voice and saw the rigid way he held his body as he drove. She studied his strong profile and could only imagine the tension brewing inside him.