Tease Me Page 8

  And where had it gotten her? In the end, divorced and alone. She didn’t blame the men in her life. Okay, maybe she blamed Charlie a little. But Conrad hadn’t really pretended to be something he wasn’t. She had chosen to be with Conrad, thinking the glimmers of strength she’d seen in him during their courtship could be nurtured, that because he’d stood up to his family by marrying her, he’d stand by her always. She’d been wrong. Marrying her had been his one and only act of strength. He’d caved in immediately afterward and become his mother’s mouth-piece on how she should be the one to change.

  Tucker wasn’t a spineless Conrad or a manipulating Charlie. No, he was even more dangerous. He had all the good traits she was attracted to and, as far as she’d seen so far, none of the bad. He had drive and determination and would do what he had to to get what he wanted. Right now that seemed to be her. The very idea made her pulse pound, but that wasn’t where the danger lurked. He was a temporary man. And even temporary men could break your heart. She wasn’t willing to repair hers again.

  She removed his hands from her shoulders, stifling a small, unexpected sigh over the fact that she’d never feel them kneading her flesh again, smoothing oil into her skin, working the tension from her muscles.… You know, she thought, idly rubbing her thumbs into his palms, she didn’t have to give him up completely. She could still see him professionally. She could … She blinked her eyes open and dropped his hands as if they’d burned her.

  Taking a step back, she looked at him. “I appreciate your honesty, Tucker, really I do. And I’m flattered that you’re interested in me. To be honest, I find you interesting too. But …” She raised a hand to hold off his response. “But I’ve made some unwise decisions in my relationships with men. Actually, they were downright lousy. I’m not suggesting you’re a lousy choice, but you yourself said you were only here temporarily. I’m having a hard enough time figuring out what I want. I do know that I don’t need even a temporary distraction right now. Professional or personal.” She took a breath, then realized there was nothing else to say except maybe “I’m sorry.”

  Tucker stared at her. There was no denying she was dead serious. He was stunned by the crushing sense of disappointment he felt at the prospect of never seeing her again. He had no idea what he’d had in mind as to their future relationship, only that he’d wanted one. But she was right. More right than even she knew. He was only temporary. His whole life was temporary. At least until he decided what his new life was going to be. It certainly wasn’t being a masseur for Lillian, nor was investigating the mystery man of Sunset Shores a lifetime occupation. Hell, he wasn’t even planning on staying in Florida. This was simply a short vacation gone amok.

  Yet the idea of turning around and walking away from Lainey Cooper felt … wrong. Deep-down, once-in-a-lifetime wrong. But what other choice did he have?

  Well, he did have one. It was more in the form of a reprieve than a plan, but he was a desperate man. “I was behind Minerva’s counter today because I was listening to her conversation with Betty Louise.”

  “Tucker, really, I don’t care anymore why—”

  “No,” he said, perhaps more firmly than he’d intended to, judging by her raised eyebrows. All he knew was that letting Lainey walk away was a mistake he’d regret for the rest of his life. Deciding to tell her the whole truth wasn’t a solution, but it was, he hoped, a way to keep her around long enough for him to come up with one. “No, you have to listen to me.”

  “But—”

  “Just walk to the park. They have benches there, right? We’ll sit and I’ll explain everything to you. Then if you want to walk away and never see me again, I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”

  She stared at him as if he’d grown a third eye.

  “What?” he asked, resisting the urge to touch his forehead.

  She shook her head slightly. “Nothing. It’s just that I’ve never seen you so …”

  “Serious?”

  “Yes. Exactly.”

  “Trust me, I can be as serious as a heart attack.”

  “Shh,” she said with a hint of her wry grin. “Those are fighting words in this neck of the woods.”

  Tucker found himself smiling. She delighted him. He wanted to grab her and kiss her, hold her close and beg her to stay with him while he figured out what he was going to do with his life. He wanted to talk it over with her, find out what she wanted in life, see if there was a way they could blend their two plans together.

  “Are you okay?”

  “What?” It was his turn to shake his head. “Fine. I’m fine.” Or I will be as soon as I figure out how to keep you from leaving me. “Listen, will you come to the park, talk with me?”

  She looked at him closely. He’d have given a large sum of money to know what she was thinking. But when she nodded in agreement, he didn’t care. She wasn’t leaving yet. For now, that was enough.

  They completed their walk to the park at something faster than a stroll but not quite a dead run, with Tucker urging her on this time. He didn’t want to take any chances of her changing her mind. Which was also why he kept his hands to himself.

  He ran a quick gaze over the park, the sumptuous landscaping, the winding paths, the large white gazebo positioned in the center, where he imagined evening concerts were held as the sun set over the dazzling expanse of the gulf laid out before them. He zeroed in on the first empty bench he saw and headed in that direction.

  As soon as they were seated, he turned, facing her, locking his gaze with hers. He might as well start at the beginning. “I’m not really a masseur,” he said without preamble.

  Her face paled, leaving bright spots of color blotching her cheeks. “Wha—what?”

  She started to rise and he reached out to stop her. “Lainey, wait, let me ex—”

  She yanked her arm out of his reach and stood, eyes blazing as she looked down at him. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me this back in front of the café? You could have saved us both some time.” She stepped back and raised her palm when he began to rise. “I was wrong. You are another lousy decision.” She rolled her eyes and let out a short, humorless laugh. “Boy, can I pick ’em or what?” She looked back at him. “You know, I could have you arrested for impersonating a … a …”

  “Service professional?”

  Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Don’t you dare condescend to me. I could sue your nice tight butt all the way to kingdom come and back. How dare you massage me like that!”

  “It wasn’t very difficult at all, actually.” He caught her hand as she swung it at him. “Lainey, let me finish.” He had to work harder to hold on to her than he’d expected. She was going to hurt him or herself, so he settled it the only way he knew how. He tugged hard, yanking her off balance. She fell hard against him, landing in a sprawl in his lap. She tried to scramble off him, but he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

  Tucker knew he shouldn’t be enjoying this. In fact, he could kick his own “tight butt” to kingdom come for handling the situation so badly. But he’d be lying to himself if he said he was upset about where his poor judgment had landed him. Or, more to the point, where it had landed Lainey.

  “Let me go,” she said, struggling against him. “I’ll scream and bring park security down on you so fast—”

  “There’s no need for that. Stop. If you’ll just let me—Ow!” She landed a toe to his shin. “Now cut that out before one of us gets hurt.” He held her more tightly. She squirmed harder. Don’t think about those soft curves pressed against you. It was a lost cause. His throbbing shin took a distant second place to the throbbing he was beginning to feel elsewhere.

  She all but bared her teeth at him, but she eventually stilled. “Let me go,” she said, speaking each word slowly and distinctly. “And I’ll forget the whole sordid affair.”

  He smiled. Bad idea, he realized immediately, and clamped her closer to him. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Too
late for that.” She twisted around so that she could look straight at him. Her eyes were vivid green—and deadly serious. “Now let me go and I’ll promise not to hurt you, either.” She nudged her knee, which had somehow made its way up tight between his legs.

  “Threat understood,” he said. “And believed,” he added quickly when she exerted a little pressure. He talked fast. “But if I let you go now, you’ll leave without hearing me out. I handled this badly and I owe you an apology, but there is more to the story and it has to do with your aunt Minerva and several of Lillian’s clients. You can sue me or punch me or do whatever you think you have to, but first hear me out.” She didn’t say anything. “Please?”

  He wasn’t sure whose heart was pounding harder. He deserved the knee in his crotch, and part of him was even proud of Lainey for not surrendering easily. She was more sensible than she gave herself credit for. But there was something in her expression—or maybe he simply wished there was—that told him she wanted to listen to him. He hoped she’d give in to her impulses at least one more time.

  “Let me go first.”

  “But—”

  “You want me to trust you? Then you have to trust me.”

  He eyed her warily.

  “Sorry, but it’s the best I can do.”

  “Your best is pretty damn good, Lainey Cooper. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” He loosened his hold, half bracing himself for a lung-sucking blow between his legs, but she slid easily, if not gracefully, from his grasp and wobbled to a stand.

  She folded her arms. “Okay, what’s going on?”

  “It’s not a short story. You might want to sit down.”

  “I’ll sit when I want to. Start at the beginning.”

  He hid a smile behind his hand—her feet were still well within kicking distance—then rubbed his chin. No matter what anyone said, Lainey Cooper wasn’t anybody’s fool. “I started at the beginning a few minutes ago. Promise to let me finish this time?”

  She merely glared at him.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll go back a little further. I’m an old friend of Lillian’s. In fact, I’ve known her all my life. She was my mom’s best friend. She helped raise me after my mother died.”

  Lainey instantly sat down next to him, her face wreathed with concern. “Oh, Tucker.”

  Tucker wanted to shake his head. She was nobody’s fool, but she was also a softy. It was hard to believe those caring green eyes had only moments earlier been spitting fire. It was no wonder she got herself into trouble. For all her sensibility and intelligence, she had a heart as big as the moon. He wanted to tell her not to fall for every sad story she heard; he wanted to rail at her to do a better job of protecting that warm, wonderful heart of hers.

  He wanted to be the one to protect that heart.

  “How old were you?” she asked.

  His attention jerked to his knee, where she’d laid her hand over his. “Eight,” he answered automatically. Her hand looked small on top of his, yet he felt cared for, protected in a way, by her real and honest concern. Perhaps size had nothing to do with the ability to provide security. Perhaps her heart wasn’t the only one that needed protection.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I lost my folks when I was twenty-five. I can’t imagine enduring that kind of loss so young. You still had your father though, right? Did you have any brothers and sisters?”

  “No siblings, just me. And, yes, my dad did the best he could for me, but we had a fairly tough time of it. I spent my summers with Lillian until I graduated from high school. My father died of a heart attack a few years after I graduated from college. So Lillian is basically the only family I have.”

  Lainey sat silently for several moments, then said, “I haven’t known Lillian that long, but Minerva has spoken fondly of her since she moved to Sunset Shores about, what, six or seven years ago now?”

  “Seven.”

  She had been staring at their hands but shifted her gaze to his face. “Are you still close? I mean, have you visited Lillian in the last seven years? Because I’m fairly certain Minerva doesn’t know anything about you, or she’d have told me when I was talking about you yesterday.”

  He smiled. “You mean when you were telling her how wonderful my … technique was?”

  Her skin colored a bit, but then her brow furrowed and any color staining her cheeks at that point was due to anger. “I guess I’d better explain that part next, huh?”

  “Do you have any idea how humiliating this is for me? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to make an appointment, much less see it through once I got a look at you and realized—” She snapped her mouth shut and glanced away.

  “Looked at me and what?” Probing was probably not a smart thing to do, but, hell, he hadn’t handled anything else real intelligently with her. And besides, he was curious. “Realized what?” He waited, but she didn’t look at him. He was at least smart enough to know that touching her could likely cost him the use of a body part or two. “You realized that you were attracted to me and that I was going to be rubbing your body?” he ventured. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Hell, I was wondering how in the hell I was going to get through the session without embarrassing myself like a teenager. Why do you think I was so relieved when you decided to call the thing off?”

  She looked at him then. “Really? I didn’t know. In fact, it was your obvious relief that you didn’t have to deal with me that made me decide to stay.” She looked down and muttered something under her breath that sounded like “stupid impulses.”

  Tucker had to curl his fingers into his palms to keep from reaching out and touching her. His resolve lasted about two seconds, but before he could reach for her, she lifted her head and met his gaze.

  “Why did you do it? Does Lillian know you’re not a licensed masseur?”

  “Of course she does. She’s the one who asked me to do it.”

  Obviously confused, Lainey straightened. “Lillian is far too smart a businesswoman to risk a lawsuit or anything else. Why on earth would she ask you to pretend to be a masseur?”

  “Because she’s worried that your aunt Minerva and two clients of hers, Betty Louise Strickmeyer and a woman named Bernice, are in trouble. Lillian’s worried about you, too, Lainey,” he said, studying her closely. He was disappointed when she quickly masked her surprise. Her expression grew more shuttered by the second. “She saw Minerva, Bernice, and Betty Louise talking to a strange man in the alley behind the café. She also saw you talking to the same man.”

  “Tucker, listen—”

  “Who is he, Lainey? What’s going on?”

  SIX

  Lainey hadn’t expected the tables to be turned on her, much less so swiftly. She needed time to think. Tucker was obviously not happy. Actually, a peek at his face showed he was downright upset.

  Information and revelations were swirling inside her head, and she struggled to put them into some semblance of rational order. First and foremost was the fact that Lillian had seen her talking to Damian. Lillian knew that Damian was involved with Minerva, Betty Louise, and Bernice. And Lillian had hired an old friend to play masseur at her salon.

  In the face of Tucker’s glare, her own eyes narrowed. “Lillian hired you as a spy, didn’t she.” It wasn’t a question. She didn’t wait for an answer. She stood, took two steps, then rounded on him. “How dare she! I can’t believe she’d stoop so low as to—”

  Tucker shot to his feet. “Now hold on there. Lillian does as she damn well pleases, but she didn’t stoop to anything other than trying to protect her friends.”

  As he stormed at her, it occurred to her that Tucker was even more magnificent when he was being fiercely protective. She spent a second being tempted to tell him that but decided she was too angry at the moment to get any real satisfaction from his reaction. “She has an odd way of showing it,” Lainey shot back instead. “Minerva is her closest friend. If she was so worried about what she found out while snooping around the alley, then why didn�
�t she come out and ask her?”

  “She was not snooping.” Tucker stopped and took a visible breath. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, but there was no mistaking the banked temper behind his suddenly remote eyes. “Lillian would hate being defended this way, and she’d be hurt to think she had to be defended to you at all, but since you’re being so hard-headed about this, I’ll explain.”

  Lainey folded her arms and ignored the sting of his well-aimed barb. “Please do,” she said coolly. He wasn’t the only one who could contain his anger behind icy reserve.

  “As I understand it—and I have no reason to question the facts as she told them to me—Lillian went into the alley behind her salon to dump some delivery boxes in the trash and saw Minerva, Bernice, and Betty Louise talking to a man she’d never seen before.”

  “And from this she created a grand conspiracy?”

  “I’m going to ignore that because you’re angry with me and because you’re scared.”

  “Scared?” she all but sputtered. But he was way too close to the truth—and she knew she’d only prove it if she argued the point. After a slow, calming breath, she said, “You have no idea what I am feeling at the moment. Finish your story.”

  He stared at her for another long second, then complied.

  “She waited for Minerva to mention something about it, but that didn’t happen. Lillian figured it was probably someone who was lost and asking for directions. But that didn’t explain what Bernice and Betty Louise were doing in the alley with Minerva or why the conversation they were having with the stranger looked more intense than giving directions would necessitate.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand. She recrossed her arms and shifted her weight to the other foot, using one raised eyebrow to indicate that he should continue.

  “She tried to find out with a few casually asked questions, but still nothing. It bothered her; her intuition was telling her something wasn’t right, but she didn’t see what else she could do.”