Just Pretending Page 13

  She shrugged. “My parents weren’t trying to deprive me. They were just over whelmed themselves a lot of the time, I think. It takes a lot of time and work and money to raise a big family. My help was appreciated. It was welcome, and really, things got easier as the kids got older. I dated plenty once I went away to college.”

  “I’m sure you made up for lost time,” he agreed, giving her the simple answer he figured she wanted to hear. He wasn’t really sure he should have gone down this road in the first place. Now that he’d started, he figured it wouldn’t be all that smart for him to hear the details of Gretchen’s sexual awakening.

  She must have known what he was thinking. She leveled a long, sexy, assessing glance at him, then raised one delicate brow. “Oh, yes, I made up for lost time. In fact, I was practically an animal, David. My studies suffered. Men were like sinful chocolate for me. I couldn’t get enough.”

  “That bad?” he asked with a lazy smile.

  She laughed and threw a pillow at him. “No, not that bad at all. I was very studious, but I dated some. And no, I’m not going into details.”

  “Probably just as well. I’d hate to have to go out looking for some guy you dated ten years ago with the aim of moving his nose from one side of his face to the other. Might be embarrassing. Maybe you’d better skip the dating years and just tell me about your childhood.”

  She edged nearer to the bed and settled herself against the headboard, looking down at him with an indulgent smile. “All right, then. I’ll tell you. Will it surprise you to learn that I was a bossy child?”

  He chuckled. “It would absolutely astound me.”

  She chuckled back. “And were you always as persuasive as you are now? I can’t believe you talked me into telling you anything at all about my awkward social debut.”

  “Persuasive? Mmm, I suppose so. I talked my third grade teacher into letting me lead the investigation of who was stealing the lunches from everyone’s lockers.”

  “Impressive. Did you solve the crime?”

  “The case is still on the elementary school’s books.” His smile didn’t tell her anything, at least not too much.

  “You solved it, but you didn’t turn the culprit in,” she guessed.

  He shrugged. “Extenuating circumstances. He needed the food. I merely made a deal. I brought an extra lunch for him for a while and he swept floors at the Big Sky until he made enough money to slip some pennies back into the lockers of the kids he’d stolen from. Not exactly the usual way of doing things, but a lot more rewarding and fun.”

  She nodded her agreement. “Too bad more crimes can’t be atoned for that way.”

  He frowned. “Yes, it is too bad. No way we can bring back Raven Hunter. Storm’s lost his brother. Summer’s lost her father. And the killer may well be a dead man.”

  “But at least Storm and Summer will have some sort of closure.”

  His laugh was harsh. “When she was growing up, Summer wanted a father, not closure. But yes, I know you’re right. Closure is the best we can hope for in this case. For Storm and Summer. For Celeste. For all of us. Not quite as satisfying as taking some drug-runners out of commission, but I guess it’ll have to do.”

  “And we’ll do it,” she promised him. “Celeste and Summer and Storm will at least have knowledge, David.”

  “Mmm. They’ll have that. And so will I. About you. Now tell me again, how bossy were you when you were a child?”

  Gretchen grinned. “You’ll meet my younger brother, Vince, tomorrow. I’ll let him tell you how I ordered him around mercilessly when he was eight years old. He absolutely insisted that baths were dangerous to his social standing, but the threat of never seeing dessert in this lifetime convinced him that he could somehow survive a touch of soap and water.”

  David twisted his lips up in a bemused smile. “You withheld dessert from a boy of eight? Gutsy woman.”

  “Yes. Vince had lungs of steel and real staying power when he howled. I’m prepared to wade into treacherous waters when I have to.”

  David raised one brow.

  “But I’m not stupid, David,” she added quickly. “I don’t take unnecessary risks.”

  “I’ll remember that, Gretchen,” he said as he stood and moved toward the door, obviously on his way back to his room. “When you and I meet on a bed next time, I’ll make sure that any risks we take are very necessary ones.”

  The man was turning her into a feverish woman, Gretchen admitted as she slipped into the body-hugging pale sea-green dress and tugged the jacket over her shoulders late the next afternoon. One minute she was sauna-hot, the next slush-cold as she realized just how close she was getting to the edge with David.

  “If it was just the sex thing, I’d be okay,” she muttered. “Or even the fact that he respects me professionally.” But when those two aspects of their relationship were combined with the way he seemed to almost sense her needs and her fears, and responded with caring and more restraint than any man she knew… Well, darn it, the man just scared her more than a bank robber with a wildly waving gun.

  He treated her like a person who needed caring for in ways she didn’t even know she needed caring for. And that affected her much too much, even though she knew it was just his way, with everyone, with every woman. Still, it touched her, made her want him in ways she didn’t understand or welcome. She couldn’t get away from these longings he called forth in her. The fact that he’d held back because she wanted him to, when he knew he could make her ignite with the slightest touch, confused her. He made her hurt to be with him even though she knew the danger of getting too entangled. And by danger, she was not talking about her professional standing. She just didn’t want to start letting this man get too close. She never wanted to long for any man so much that she would give up all the things that mattered the most to her, the way her mother had done over and over.

  “And there’s no need to worry about that, is there?” she whispered. “He wants you. You want him, but he’s been reasonable. There’s no reason to think he won’t play fair the rest of the time.” She would get to call the shots, and she’d already made her stance clear.

  Gretchen tried out a smile in the mirror and found that she looked relatively calm.

  Good. She could enjoy herself as much as she wanted today without having to worry about anything else.

  Gretchen’s dress looked tissue-thin, her elegant shoulders were bare. When she turned and her blond hair brushed her naked flesh, David couldn’t help imagining his own fingers doing the same. And right now, smiling though he might be, he was ready to arrest the next guy who looked at Gretchen as if he knew what was beneath that scrap of silk she was wearing.

  The fact that he himself didn’t know and might never know in spite of the comment he’d made to her upon leaving her room last night, left him raw and aching. The truth was, he wasn’t going to force anything on her that she didn’t feel right about. He might want to seduce her badly, he might even know that she was ready to tumble with just the slightest push, but he also knew that she was hoping against hope that she wouldn’t have to deal with the complications of a physical relationship with him. Knowing that, he couldn’t press her. She was right about this situation being a bit delicate and she had every right to back away if she wanted to.

  That didn’t mean he had to feel good about it. It only meant he had to endure. And if that was the case, he might as well endure with grace. Might as well enjoy as much of the lady’s company as the situation allowed.

  “You look stunningly beautiful,” he whispered, brushing back her hair with his thumb and dropping a kiss on the pulse point just beneath her ear. It was early evening. For the past two hours he’d watched Gretchen walk down the aisle, stand patiently for photo after photo, assist the bride. She’d glowed and smiled, making David ache to touch her. Now he was passing through the receiving line at the reception and he’d had to watch man after man kiss Gretchen. On her cool, soft cheek. On her warm red lips. Meaningless kisses if
you didn’t know how men operated. David happened to know a lot about how men operated.

  She smiled up at him. “The wedding went well, didn’t it? Pamela was lovely.”

  “I’m sure she was. I didn’t notice.”

  Staring into her eyes, his meaning was obvious. Gretchen dragged in a deep breath and continued to just stand there looking lovely. A full-bodied, chortling laugh sounded nearby.

  “Looks like my big sister has finally found a man who knows how to stun her into silence.”

  The voice broke the spell she appeared to be under. She smiled up at David and turned to the man standing at his shoulder. “David, this is my baby brother, Vince. He’s the only Neal other than me who could make it in today. Vince, this is David Hannon, my fiancé,” she managed to say quite smoothly.

  David turned to a handsome young man not much younger than himself. “You must be the brother Gretchen told me about. The one she threatened to withhold dessert from when he was eight?”

  Vince grinned. “She’s a tyrant, Hannon. I hope you can handle her. Gretch very seldom listens to anyone else’s side of things.”

  “Humph,” she said, crossing her slender arms. “I listened to you whenever that bully next door threatened you.”

  Vince shifted uncomfortably. “Don’t remind me.” He looked at David. “She’s unstoppable when someone she loves is threatened, Hannon. You should know it. I distinctly remember my sister sporting a black eye for my sake that time.”

  Gretchen looked suddenly sad. “I’m sorry, Vince. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I’d forgotten about the black eye. I only remembered that he was twice as tall as you and a total jerk. He stole your bicycle, if I recall.”

  Her brother shifted his head. He turned to David. “What’s a guy to do? She forgot the black eye but remembered that Thad was twice my size. I remember that I had some real growing up to do back then. Fast, if I didn’t want my sister getting beat up for my sake every other week. Having a sister like Gretch, you learned to fight your own battles or she’d get in the thick of things for you.”

  “Hey, he looked worse than I did when it was over,” Gretchen protested.

  David couldn’t help chuck ling at her indignant response. “I’m sure you worked him over and he got his just deserts, love. And don’t worry, Vince,” he told the young man. “I’m watching out for her these days.”

  She gave David a deadly glance.

  Vince laughed. “Careful, Hannon. Her pride bruises easily.”

  David looked down into Gretchen’s spark ling green eyes. “I’m watching out for that, too. You’re lucky to have her for a sister, Vince.”

  “Just as long as you know how lucky you are, as well,” Vince warned.

  “The luckiest,” David agreed. “You won’t mind if I pull her out of here and keep her to myself for a few minutes before the bridal party drags her away from me, will you?”

  “I was wondering if you were being a bit slow, Hannon. You seem like good prospective brother-in-law material. You chose well, Gretch. Be happy, sweet heart.” He gave his sister a kiss on the cheek.

  “I am happy, Vince. Please, don’t worry about me.”

  But as David slipped her arm through his and escorted her away, she looked up at him. “I guess you passed. Vince seemed to relax. He’s always been a little worried where I was concerned. Even though he’s younger than me, he feels like I’m the headstrong one. Can you imagine?”

  David laughed and lifted her up into his arms, kissing her full on the lips for everyone to see before he let her down. “I can’t imagine why anyone would consider you headstrong, Gretchen. A black eye. Imagine that.”

  “The kid deserved it.” Her tone was calm, matter-of-fact.

  “I’m sure he did, but, Gretchen—”

  She looked up, a question in her eyes.

  “I’m sure it’s a bit sexist of me, but if you ever feel like giving someone a black eye for my sake, do you think you could let me try my luck at him first?”

  She smiled and patted his hand. “Of course, David, dear. Male pride. It’s such a delicate thing. I’ll try to be kind.”

  “You do that.”

  “As long as you don’t try to fight my battles for me.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, then decided it would be best to not say anything. The thought of anyone touching Gretchen with the intent of hurting her filled him with such anger that he knew he couldn’t promise any such thing. It wasn’t because he doubted her ability. It wasn’t because he really was a sexist. In fact, he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know why he felt that way and pretty sure that Gretchen wouldn’t want to know, either. Perhaps tonight, they shouldn’t think—at all.

  And so he kept her close at his side as they moved around the room and she introduced him to all the friends he hadn’t yet met. He wondered what fates had linked him to this woman, this wonderful, glorious, infuriatingly self-sufficient woman.

  “God, he’s gorgeous, Gretchen,” Pamela said for perhaps the fourth time that day. “Almost as good-looking as my Raymond. I can’t believe it. Oh, you’ve made me so happy, sweetie. Thinking of you finally bringing home a man and to my wedding, too. It’s the best present ever.”

  Twin tears streaked down the bride’s cheeks as she hugged her friend close.

  “The day’s perfect now. Perfect,” Pamela added. “Isn’t it, Raymond?”

  “The very best day of my life, love,” her husband answered. “Thank you,” he whispered to Gretchen and David when Pamela went to fix her makeup for the tenth time that day. “She’s been worrying about you for weeks. Now she can relax and not feel guilty about getting married and ‘deserting you,’ as she’s been saying,” he admitted.

  “Oh, Raymond, you should have told me she was worrying so much.”

  He shrugged. “What could you do to make her happy, short of getting engaged? And heaven knows, no one would get engaged for such a frivolous reason.”

  “I see what you mean,” Gretchen said weakly as Pamela returned and her husband spirited her away.

  “Relax, sweet heart,” David whispered. “She’s happy.”

  “She is, isn’t she?” Gretchen agreed, smiling up at him. “And so am I. For the first time in a long time, I’m at a wedding where no one is giving me worried glances or trying to make sure I’m not alone too much. Everyone is able to relax and simply enjoy themselves, and I intend to do the same thing.”

  “You’re a very wise and adaptable woman, Gretchen Neal,” David whispered. “Have I told you that today?”

  “You’ve never told me that,” she said indignantly.

  “Hmm, that can’t be right. I must have. Aren’t you the woman who agreed to put up with a pushy FBI agent who wormed his way onto your case?”

  “I seem to remember something like that. Yes.”

  “And aren’t you the woman who had to patiently remind me repeatedly that I couldn’t play top banana all the time?”

  She shook her head. “You were a fast learner.”

  He looked contrite. “But I’m sure you’re the one who got suckered into a bet and then gamely agreed to go along with the consequences, even though she really didn’t want to.”

  “What could I do? Fair is fair.”

  “And you’re more than fair, Gretchen. Now, go on and do whatever it is that bridesmaids have to do at receptions and then enjoy yourself when the dancing starts. Save a slow one for me.”

  She touched his cheek gently. “Oh, more than one, I think. Many more.” And then, as if she realized that her touch was sapping all his self-control, she blushed the palest of pinks. Her eyelids fluttered down in a way that would most certainly have surprised all those male detectives who were so used to seeing her manage dangerous situations with ease. “That is, I—we’re supposed to be engaged,” she ended feebly. “We would dance, wouldn’t we?”

  “Oh, yes, love, we would definitely dance. And more,” he said, snagging her close and bending her backward over his arm as
he touched his lips to hers in a brief, hard kiss. “Just in case anyone should forget that you’re wearing my ring tonight,” he told her.

  She nodded slightly, her lips parted, her expression slightly dazed.

  “Enjoy the dancing, Gretchen,” he said, releasing her completely.

  And she apparently did. For the next few hours Gretchen twirled. She swayed. She danced with every male that asked her. She glowed with delight, and David delighted in her unfettered enthusiasm. How could he not when the lady was in his own arms every few dances?

  “For appearance’s sake,” she said the first time as he twirled her into the dance and later accepted a glass of wine from him to cool her off.

  “Just in case anyone has any doubts,” he agreed the next time she was in his arms.

  “To keep everyone happy,” she whispered softly the next time he fit his hand to her waist and pulled her close against his heart. Only Gretchen wasn’t sure whose happiness she was worried about this time. As a bridesmaid, she’d felt obligated to dance with the guests, but her eyes had kept returning to David. It was his arms and his hands she wanted around her, his heart she wanted beating against her own. Her head was swirling. She’d probably had more wine than she should, but for now she was with David and she just didn’t care.

  “Let’s walk outside,” she said when the dance was over and she saw another young man headed her way. “I need some air and some rest. It’s so warm in here.”

  David signaled a passing waiter to bring her another glass of wine and then thought better of it, asking the man for water instead. He’d probably had more to drink than he should. The wine had gone down too easily, unheeded as his gaze had followed her around the floor all night.

  “You’ve been very busy,” he said as they walked out into the softly lit gardens and along the length of a long blue pool with a fountain in the center.

  “It’s been fun,” she agreed as she stopped and turned to face him. He held her glass up and she sipped the cool water, her lips brushing his fingers slightly where he grasped the delicate crystal.