Kitabı oku: «Just One Night»

“Sexual attraction is raw and immediate …”

“It’s about a man and a woman,” Rob said, tracing his fingers along the line of Hailey’s jaw. “The feel of her skin, the way she smells.” His voice dropped to a near whisper. “The way she tastes.”

And he closed the short distance between them and put his mouth on hers.

Nothing could have prepared Hailey for the lust that punched through her system. A light, teasing kiss turned hungry and hot in a nanosecond. She made a little moaning sound in the back of her throat as she reached for him, wanting to feel the solid outline of his chest. His tongue teased and tormented her. She’d never been kissed like this. Never imagined anything close to this.

He kissed her for seven eternities, taking his time, not trying to rip off her clothes or talk her into his bed, but kissing her as though his whole existence depended on nothing but this moment.

Getting involved with Rob wasn’t on her agenda, but she knew that she’d been seriously compromised.

When he pulled slowly away from her, he grinned at her wryly.

“You can’t get that on the internet …”

Dear Reader,

I confess, I love those real estate shows on television. I love the ones where we follow a couple as they try to pick the perfect home, I love the ones where decorators turn disasters into showplaces. I even love looking at real estate listings in cities where I know I will never live.

I suspect I’m not alone, given the popularity of real estate shows on TV, the constant talk about where the market is and where it’s going. I think the fun is in the fantasy that that home could be yours. That couple squabbling over an extra bedroom versus a bigger yard could be you. So I set out to write a book where a Realtor falls in love, not only with the home she’s listed, but most inconveniently, with the guy who is selling it. And in particular with one big, beautiful four-poster bed in the master bedroom.

I hope you enjoy Hailey and Rob’s story, and get a little vicarious pleasure out of the story of how the wrong man in the wrong bed turns out to be exactly the right man in the right bed.

I love hearing from readers. Visit me on the web at www.nancywarren.net.

Happy reading,

Nancy Warren

About the Author

USA TODAY bestselling author NANCY WARREN lives in the Pacific Northwest where her hobbies include skiing, hiking and snowshoeing. She’s an author of more than thirty novels and novellas for Mills & Boon and has won numerous awards. Visit her website at www.nancywarren.net.

Just One Night
Nancy Warren

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Sally, the best stager I know!

1

“SICK LEAVE?” Rob Klassen yelled, unable to believe what he was hearing from the editor of World Week, the international current affairs magazine he’d worked for as a photojournalist for twelve years. “I’m not sick!”

Gary Wallanger pulled off his glasses and tossed them onto his desktop cluttered with Rob’s proof sheets documenting a skirmish in a small town near the Ras Ajdir border between Tunisia and Libya. “What do you suggest I call it? Shot-in-the-ass leave? You damned near got yourself killed. Again.”

Gary didn’t like his people getting too close to the action they were reporting on and his glare was fierce.

Rob put all his weight on his good leg, but even so, the throbbing in his left thigh was hard to ignore. “I was running away as fast as I could.”

“I saw the hospital report. You were running toward the shooter. Bad luck for you. They can tell those things from the entry and exit wounds.” In the uncomfortable silence that followed Rob heard the roar of traffic, honking cabs and sirens on the Manhattan streets far below. He hadn’t counted on Gary finding out the details he’d have rather kept to himself.

“You want to be a war hero,” his editor snapped, “join the forces. We report news. We don’t make it.”

Another beat ticked by.

“There were bullets flying everywhere. I got disoriented.”

“Bull. You were playing hero again, weren’t you?”

Rob could still picture the toddler cowering behind an oil drum. Yeah, his boss would have been happier if he’d left her scared and crying in the line of gunfire. But he was the one who had to wake up every morning and look himself in the mirror. Truth was he hadn’t thought at all. He’d merely dashed over to the girl and hauled her to safety. Getting shot hadn’t been in his plan.

Would he have acted any differently if he’d known what the outcome would be? He sure as hell hoped not.

He knew better than to tell Gary any of that. “You don’t win Pulitzers with a telephoto lens. I needed to get close enough to capture the real story.”

“Close enough to take a bullet in the leg.”

“That was unfortunate,” Rob admitted. “I can still handle a camera though. I can still walk.” He made a big show of stalking across the carpeted office, scooting around the obstacle course of stacked back issues, piled newspapers and a leaning tower of reference books. If he concentrated he could manage to stride without a limp or a wince though he could feel sweat begin to break out from the effort.

“No.” The single word stopped him in his tracks.

He turned. “I’m the best you’ve got. You have to send me back out on assignment.”

“I will. As soon as you can run a mile in six.”

“A mile in six minutes? Why so fast?”

Gary’s voice was as dry as the North African desert. “So the next time you have to run for your life you can make it.”

Rob paused for breath and grabbed a chair back for support. He and Gary had been friends for a long time and he knew the guy was making the right decision even if it did piss him off. “It was pure bad luck. If I’d dodged right instead of left …”

“You know most people would be pretty happy to be alive if they were you. And they’d be thrilled to get a paid vacation.” Gary picked up his glasses and settled himself behind his desk.

“They patched me up at the closest military hospital. It was nothing but a flesh wound.”

“The bullet nicked your femur. I do know how to read a hospital report.”

Damn.

“Go home. Rest up. The world will continue to be full of trouble when you get back.” Rob knew Gary was still aggravated by the fact that he didn’t compliment him on his photos, which they both knew to be superb. Instead of getting the praise he deserved, he was being sent home like a kid who’d screwed up.

He scowled.

Home.

He’d been on the road so much in the past few years that home was usually wherever he stashed his backpack.

If he’d ever had a home, it was in Fremont, Washington, a suburb of Seattle that prided itself on celebrating counterculture, considering itself the center of the universe and officially endorsing the right to be peculiar. Fremont seemed a fitting destination for him right now that he was feeling both self-centered and peculiar. Besides, it was the only place he could think of to go even though everything that had made the place home was now gone.

“All right. But I heal fast. I’ll be running six-minute miles in a couple weeks. Tops.”

“You’ll be under a doctor’s care and I’ll be needing the physician’s report before I can reinstate you for any assignments in the field.”

“Oh, come on, Gary. Give me a freakin’ break.”

Once more the glasses came off and he was regarded by tired hazel eyes. “I am giving you a break. I could assign you to a desk right here in New York. That’s your other option.”

He shook his head. No way he was being trapped in a small space. He didn’t like feeling trapped. Not ever. “See you in a couple of weeks.”

Once he was out of Gary’s office and in the hallway Rob gave up the manly act and tried to put as little weight on his injured leg as possible.

“Rob, you should be on crutches,” a female voice called out.

He turned, recognizing the voice and mustering a happy-to-see-you smile. “Romona, hi.”

A print business reporter making the transition to television, Romona had the looks of a South American runway model and the brains of Hillary Clinton. They got together whenever they were both in New York. Neither had any interest in commitment but enjoyed each other’s company and bodies. “I heard you were hurt. How are you doing?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Okay.”

Even though they’d never do anything as obvious as hug in public, the glance she sent him from tilted green eyes steamed around the edges. She dropped her voice. “Why don’t you come over later and I’ll kiss you all better?”

“I’m filthy. Haven’t shaved in days, had a haircut in weeks, my—”

“I like you scruffy. You look like a sunburned pirate.”

He knew he’d hit rock bottom when he realized he had no desire to spend the night with a passionate woman. His leg was burning, he had a vicious case of jet lag and he’d been pulled out of the field. He felt too worn-out tired even to get laid. All he wanted to do was hide out for a while and heal.

He shook his head attempting to appear more disappointed than he was. “Sorry. I have a plane to catch.”

She knew as well as he did that plane tickets could be changed and it was a measure of his exhaustion that this was the best excuse he could come up with.

She didn’t call him on it though, merely patted his arm and said, “Maybe next time.”

That was the great thing about Romona. She was a lot like him. He’d enjoyed any number of women over the years, loved sex, but had no interest in settling down. Career came first. Maybe it was shallow, and maybe there was a part of him that longed for a woman to comfort him, to listen to his stories, share his pain. The only woman who’d ever been like that, though, had been his grandmother. Ruefully, he suspected she’d been the love of his life.

And now she was gone.

He had so many frequent flyer miles that upgrading was no problem when he got to LaGuardia. He even scored an aisle seat so he could stretch his bad leg out a little.

Once airborne, he recalled that the family attorney had tried to talk to him about the Fremont house. What with getting shot and all, he hadn’t got around to calling back. He’d call him as soon as he got into Seattle.

It was something to do with Bellamy House, the old family place where he’d spent so much time with his grandmother.

He couldn’t imagine the place without her. As a stab of pain hit, he took out the paperback he’d brought and forced himself to read.

HAILEY FLEMING WAS a woman with an agenda. Two in fact. The electronic one that she relied on so heavily that she’d recently started keeping a backup paper day planner because the thought of somehow losing her electronic schedule made her feel too close to losing her mind for comfort.

She was nothing if not organized.

And both agendas told her that she was exactly on time for the best appointment of the day. An after-work glass of wine with a colleague who’d become a close friend, Julia Atkinson.

As she made her way into the bistro off North Phinney Avenue, a former record store turned trendy bar, she scanned the tables and was not surprised to find she was the first to arrive. She was always early.

And Julia was always late.

She settled at a table and ordered a glass of white wine then spent ten minutes going through tomorrow’s appointments and writing some notes on improvements she wanted to make on her website.

“Am I late?” a breezy, breathless voice said as Julia swished into her chair, a loose black garment that resembled a combination sweater, poncho and cloak settling in around her.

“Of course you are. You’re always late.”

Julia’s red hair was newly cut into a curly bob and her full lips curved in a smile. “I was at the opening of a new furniture gallery which has brought in several fantastic new lines from Milan. I got chatting, and there were these delicious cookies. I left after three. It was the only way I could stop myself. I don’t feel guilty. I bet you did a day’s work while you waited.”

“Half a day’s anyway.”

A waiter arrived and Julia ordered a vodka tonic. Which meant she was on another of her diets. Which meant …

“I think I’ve met someone.” She sounded so excited that Hailey leaned forward.

“Tell me everything.”

Julia unbuttoned the cloak thing and draped it over the back of her chair, revealing a black-and-red dress enlivened by one of the hundreds of chunky, glitzy vintage necklaces she owned.

“He’s an engineer who lives downtown. He was married, but his wife left him and broke his heart.”

“Wow. That was fast. I just saw you last week. Where did you meet him?”

Julia’s drink came and she took a quick sip. “I haven’t actually met him yet.”

“Huh?”

She shrugged, and the slight movement made all the rhinestones in her jewelry glitter under the bar’s chandeliers. “I met him on LoveMatch.com.”

“Oh. Online dating.”

“I’d never tried it before, but lots of women meet great guys online. So I figured, why not? It’s not like you meet men if you’re a home stager.” She thought for a second. “At least not straight men.”

“How do you already know so much about him?”

“We’ve been talking on the phone. He’s away on business in the Philippines, but I’ll be meeting him next Tuesday.” Her eyes were bright with excitement. “Do you want to see a picture?”

“Of course.”

Julia hauled her computer tablet out of her bag and within a few moments passed over the electronic device complete with a grinning blond guy. Not Hailey’s type at all. Too pretty for her tastes, but Julia liked her men pretty. “Wow.”

“My big fear is that he’s too good-looking for me. Oh, and he has the cutest accent. He was born in Manchester, but he’s lived all over the world. An army brat like you.”

Hailey regarded the electronic image once more. He was wearing shorts and a loose cotton shirt. Despite the square jaw, he seemed somehow lacking in character. She’d never say so to her friend. Besides, even she knew that her own taste was notoriously picky.

“He’s not too good-looking for you. You are beautiful.”

“Do you think I can lose ten pounds by Tuesday?”

“Stop it,” Hailey said, trying not to laugh. “He’s seen your photo, right? He obviously liked what he saw.”

Julia nibbled her lower lip. “I used one from after I took that fitness boot camp last year. When I was thinner.”

For a smart, self-confident woman, Julia had body-image issues and Hailey knew there was no point arguing. Instead she went with a reassuring “It will be fine.”

“I guess. I just have such terrible luck with men.” Julia took a last, longing glance at the picture and then put the tablet away. “How are you?”

Hailey let the excitement she’d been feeling all day bubble out. “I have news, too.”

Julia’s eyes bugged out. “You met a guy?”

“No. I don’t have time for men. I’m building a business. Once I feel more successful, then maybe in a couple of years …”

“I know. You and your agendas.”

“Lists keep me on track.” She sometimes thought she’d had so much chaos in her life that relying on lists gave her a sense of control and stability that she’d never had growing up. Moving twelve times in thirteen years when she was a kid had given her a need for order. Her poor mother had quit even trying to decorate their homes. What was the point? So home had always been temporary and she’d grown to hate the sight of a moving box.

She didn’t need psychoanalysis to understand why she’d chosen a career in real estate. She loved helping clients buy permanent homes. The kinds of places where you could plant a sapling and know you’d be around to enjoy the shade of the tree.

“Don’t you miss having a man in your life?” Julia lowered her voice. “Don’t you miss sex?”

“I have lots of men in my life. Realtors, clients, friends.”

One of Julia’s eyebrows went up. “And sex?”

“I have sex.” Even to her ears she sounded defensive. “Okay, not a lot of sex. It’s been a while, but sex for me means commitment. I can’t do casual.” She shrugged. “Ever since my engagement ended …” She’d believed Drake, who was a lawyer, was perfect for her. They’d worked together on a few closings. They were both hard-working and ambitious. It wasn’t until they were talking wedding dates that they’d realized how little their agendas meshed. He wanted to move to New York to a bigger firm. She was building a business in Seattle. He wanted children right away. She felt they should wait a couple of years until the marriage had strong roots. A year ago he’d gone to New York without her. Since then she’d thrown herself into work and hadn’t missed Drake as much as she would have imagined.

“He was a moron to pick New York over you.”

“Thank you. I agree!”

“So, your big news?”

“I got an amazing listing today. It’s my big break. Uncle Ned, an old friend of my father’s, called me out of the blue and offered me the Bellamy House.”

Julia’s eyes widened once more. “That beautiful old place on the hill?”

“Yeah. The woman who owned it died a couple of months ago. Uncle Ned is her executor. There’s a grandson and he okayed the sale.”

“That’s terrific.”

“I know.” She turned mock serious. “There’s just one problem.”

Julia grabbed her hand. “It needs staging?”

“Yes! The problem is I need it staged right away. I think I have the perfect buyers. I hate to ask you, but do you think you could stage it tomorrow? I’d love to show them the place Thursday morning.”

“Miracles are what I do.” Julia morphed from love-addicted friend into professional home stager, tapping at her tablet, then nodding. “Do you have the key to the place?”

“Yes.”

“If you can show me the home tonight, I’ll figure out what I need and by tomorrow night, you’ll have your miracle.”

“I can’t wait to show you. This house is going to change everything for us.”

2

ROB’S BACKPACK WEIGHED a thousand tons as he hauled it out of the back of the cab. His eyes were dry and gritty and his leg hurt like a son of a bitch. Fog had grounded the plane in Chicago turning a relatively straightforward eight-hour trip into a two-day ordeal. He’d never yet figured out how to sleep on airplanes. Not a real plus for somebody whose job required constant travel.

But he was finally home. Or as close to a home as anything he’d ever known.

As he stood gazing at the big old house, a pang of sadness hit him that was as vicious and intense as his bullet wound.

His grandmother was gone.

He hadn’t even made it home for her funeral, her death had occurred so quickly. Not that she’d have wanted him there, but he’d have liked to have been for his own sake. They’d seen each other a few months back when he’d come to visit between assignments. Had she seemed more frail?

Worse, had she known her end was near and not told him?

He shook his head. No.

At eighty-eight his grandmother had impressed him as being mentally as sharp as ever. She’d even chided him to hurry up and get married and give her some great-grandbabies before she got to a hundred. Naturally he’d told her the truth. That he’d never settle until he found somebody like her. Hadn’t happened in thirty-five years. He doubted it ever would.

She’d laughed and told him he’d have to set his sights lower. He grinned at the memory. No. His grandmother definitely hadn’t planned on dying.

Damn it. He was going to miss that woman.

There were affairs to settle and likely some papers to sign. Right now though all he could think about was a huge glass of Pacific Northwest water, the kind you could drink straight from the tap, a long, hot shower, and sleep.

Long, uninterrupted sleep in a real bed.

As Rob hefted his pack and limped up the path he noted that somebody had swept the front steps recently and even planted blooming bushes in the brick planters.

For early September the night was cool, but to a man who’d spent the past few weeks in the African desert, almost everywhere seemed cool.

He couldn’t imagine who would have planted bushes, or why. His brain was way too tired to puzzle out such minor mysteries. Tomorrow. He’d think tomorrow.

AS A REALTOR, HAILEY liked to think of herself as a matchmaker putting the right house together with the right buyer. As of today she had a new unattached single waiting for the right person to fall in love with it—a loft condo downtown that she’d listed this morning, thanks to a referral from a satisfied client. She was new enough to the business that every referral, every listing and especially every sale filled her with pride.

Now she was ready to make another match.

She had a gut instinct that the Bellamy House she was about to show Samantha and Luke MacDonald was going to be a fit. A real-estate marriage made not in heaven but in the offices of Dalbello and Company, where she worked fiendish hours to make her mark in a competitive business.

Like any good matchmaker, she’d prepped carefully, hiring Julia to stage the faded but solid turn-of-the-century Craftsman and bringing in cleaners and a window washer. Hailey had planted cheerfully blooming winter kale and pansies at the entranceway in an effort to keep the buyers’ eyes from going immediately to the neglected garden. She wished she had the time and resources to do more, but this was an estate sale.

Everything was as perfect as she could make it. The sun shining on the gleaming diamond-paned windows showed the gracious contours of the home that must have been a real showpiece in its day.

The young couple scheduled to see the place arrived at eleven as scheduled. “I think you’re really going to like this one,” Hailey said, passing them a feature sheet. “It’s just come on the market and I immediately thought of you.”

She unlocked the shiny black front door and light spilled into the foyer bringing out the gleam on the newly waxed oak floors. It was amazing what a good cleaning could do to a house. Not that the previous owner hadn’t been a good housekeeper; Hailey could tell from the order in the home that she had. Still, in the months since Agnes Neeson had died, the house had been shut up and grown dusty. Today the air smelled not of must as it had the first time she’d viewed it, but of the lilies and roses that Julia had placed in a glass vase on the entranceway table.

Her heels clacked on the original hardwood floors as she pointed out the spacious dimensions of the dining and living areas, the original heritage features such as the hand-carved fireplace mantel and the built-in glass-fronted cabinets. Julia had indeed worked a miracle, hauling clutter and the dated furniture to a storage facility and replacing it all with modern pieces and splashes of designer color in cushions and throws.

She could tell Samantha and Luke were excited and she shared a little of the thrill. Who wouldn’t want a great house like this? It was barely in their price range but she knew they could do it. She glanced over at the couple, arguing good-naturedly about where they’d put his wine fridge and how hard it would be to baby-proof the place.

“You could put in a new kitchen, the space is here,” she said as she walked them through it. Personally she liked the big old cupboards and the cheerful yellow walls. She suspected though that the MacDonalds would probably prefer stainless appliances and granite countertops. When Samantha reminded her husband that they’d have to build renovation costs into their budget she knew she’d guessed right. He groaned theatrically, but his grin indicated he was excited about the home, too.

Hailey loved being single in the city. All the same there were times, like now, when she got a glimpse of another life. A man at her side, a baby on the way—and a home.

She loved the way Julia had artfully tossed a purple woolen throw over a gray couch to give the impression that someone with great taste and no clutter lived here.

“Four bedrooms?” Samantha asked.

“That’s right. One’s ideal for the baby’s room, there’s a nice-sized room for a guest bedroom, a home office, and the master is a treat. Come on, I’ll show you.”

They reached the top landing. She first showed them the two smaller rooms and the main bathroom, fine but nothing special. Then she opened the door to the master. “This is my favorite room in the house. There’s a vintage four-poster that you might be able to buy with the house if you’re interested. It’s a large room with wonderful dimensions, a window seat, a fireplace and a full en suite.” She flipped on the overhead light. She knew the room by heart but wanted to watch their faces when they saw the blissful space.

Hailey ushered them into the room. “What do you think?”

She was so ready for squeals of delight that Sam’s reaction was puzzling. The woman’s eyes opened wide. She blinked, looking over at her equally stupefied husband.

Hailey turned around and saw that the white bedcover she’d so carefully smoothed to rid it of any wrinkles was marred, not by a wrinkle, but by a big unshaven man in a blue-and-green checked work shirt, worn jeans and socks that didn’t match.

He was sound asleep.

Two grubby sneakers sat on the Aubusson rug where he’d obviously kicked them off prior to napping.

Silence reigned for a moment.

“Does he come with the place?” Samantha asked.

Sleepy blue eyes blinked at them out of a lean, weathered, stubbly face. The stranger’s overgrown brown hair was more tangle than style. He regarded them, seeming to consider the question, and cracked a smile. “Everything’s negotiable.” His voice was low, a little husky from sleep.

Sam giggled, thank heaven, though Hailey didn’t find anything amusing about finding a homeless guy with a whacked sense of humor snoozing in the house she was trying to sell.

His gaze then focused only on her and she felt the strangest sense of connection with this utter stranger. For a second their gazes held, her heart sped up and she felt as though something that had been out of place suddenly had clicked back in. She closed her eyes against the strange sensation.

She tried to ask “Who are you?” and “What are you doing here?” but in the rush to get it all out her brain short-circuited and instead she asked, “Who are you doing here?”

The twinkle in his blue eyes deepened and when he smiled she noted he had Bradley Cooper–white teeth. No homeless guy she’d ever seen had teeth that gleaming. “I’m not doing anybody here.”

Sam giggled again as if they were at an impromptu comedy club.

“I meant what are you doing here?”

He yawned and settled himself onto his back. “Until you showed up I was sleeping.”

You didn’t get to be a top Realtor—okay, an up-and-coming Realtor—without a lot of tact, so she didn’t take off her shoe and throw it at his head, as much as she was tempted. “Okay, let’s try the other question. Who are you?” she asked, in a calm, clear voice.

“Robert Klassen. And you are?”

“My name is Hailey Fleming. I’m a Realtor and this house is for sale.”

He put up two hands with nails that could use a scrub and rubbed his eyes. “Is that why the place looks like a furniture store? I barely recognized it. My grandmother sure never had such modern taste. The only thing I recognize is this bed.” He glanced at the MacDonalds. “She died in it.”

Sam made a startled sound, and took a step back, glancing around as though a ghost might be hovering in the room.

Hailey’s sale fell through in that moment. She knew it as well as she knew that if she had her way that bed would see another casualty very soon.

“She didn’t die here in the house,” Hailey said through gritted teeth. “She passed away peacefully in hospital.” She doubted the MacDonalds would believe her. For some reason they believed this guy. Was he really Mrs. Neeson’s grandson? If he was, she had to tread carefully.

The house bore no signs of a break-in and the scruffy backpack leaning against the wall shouted Drifter. However, a pretty fancy camera bag leaned beside it. Hadn’t she heard the grandson was some kind of photographer?

Her unwanted visitor didn’t leap off the bed and race for the door, rather he simply grabbed hold of the two green silk accent pillows behind him and propped himself up. Even wearing mismatched socks, he was imposing, undeniably gorgeous in that annoying unkempt way that only certain men can pull off.

She had absolutely no idea how to proceed. Not that she had years of experience under her belt, but she doubted a scenario like this happened very often to any agent, no matter how experienced. And she really, really needed to keep this listing. It was her biggest break yet in an industry that was tough to crack. The estate lawyer was an old family friend giving her a chance. For some shaggy backpacker to come in here and take it away from her was too much.

However, until she got this mess sorted out there wasn’t much she could do, so she pulled herself together and turned to the MacDonalds. “I am so sorry. There is obviously some kind of a mix-up that I will have to sort out before we go any further.”

“We understand,” said Luke. He stepped back out into the hall. “It’s too bad though. It’s a great house. Perfect for our needs.”

“I know.” At least she had the satisfaction of knowing she’d been correct about the match. Thanks to tall, dark and shaggy, it wouldn’t fatten her bank account, but at least she knew she was on the right track. “I promise to get things figured out, and when I do, you’ll be the first people I call. In the meantime I’ll put together some more houses that will work for you.”

As they went down the stairs, Sam glanced back over her shoulder. “Did the previous owner really die in this house?”