Best Laid Plans (17 page)

"Mandy, I'm . . . I'm . .
." Lucas' voice sputtered in dumbfounded amazement. "Mandy, you are
too much," came his whispered words of praise. The new living room glowed
under soft lights. He fingered a parchment shade on the hexagonal brass table
lamp, then let his hand stroke the nubby-textured sofa upholstery.
"Mandy?"

"I'm in your room," she
caroled. "How was your flight?"

"Delayed." He headed down
the hallway backward, his eyes still inspecting the luxurious new furnishings.
"I hope you're ready. Kitty's party starts in fifteen minutes, so we're
already late. I just want to change my…"

A low groan escaped Amanda, roller in
hand. She looked down at her paint-spattered, sweaty anatomy.
"Lucas..." Her wide-eyed face greeted him. "I...I forgot. I got
so involved. These darn walls just soaked up this paint, and I wanted the room
finished tonight. I'm sorry."

"Amanda!"

"Okay, don't panic. No
problem." She put down the roller and wiped off her hands. "Just give
me a minute to clean up this mess. I'll grab a shower, use the blow dryer on my
hair. I promise I won't embarrass you."

"You never embarrass me,
Mandy." His hands curled around her paint-spangled forearms, his face
etched with tender regard. "Amaze me, always."

Fifteen minutes later, Lucas ventured
a knock on Amanda's partially open door. "How are you doing?"

"Not bad. Come on in. I'm
putting on my makeup." She peered at her reflection using a cotton swab to
smudge kohl shadow on her eyelids. "Did Kitty say how populated and formal
this gathering is going to be?" His suit-clad image loomed large in the
mirror.

"I think it's going to be
slightly more formal than this fruity colored towel you're wrapped in."
Lucas grinned, and his masculine gaze languorously viewed her scantily clad
curves.

"Well," Amanda paused to
add a coat of mascara to her lashes, "everyone gets to see my 'drop dead'
dress for this year." Her eyebrows arched suggestively, her thumb gestured
toward the closet. "Can you get my low-heeled black dress sandals?"

"Here you go." The grooves
in Lucas' cheeks deepened with amusement as he stared at her feet. "Mandy,
you missed with the soap."

She looked down. Paint covered
toenails wiggled against the wood floor. "Damn, I was in such a rush and
they'll show! Oh, Lucas, I need an extra pair of hands."

"You've got them." He
picked up a bottle of nail polish remover from the dresser. "Where's some
cotton?" He shook the pale green liquid. "You keep working on the top
half, I'll do the bottom." With unaccustomed delicacy, Lucas removed the
final traces of paint, then added poppy red polish to Amanda's splayed toes.
Capping the bottle, he surveyed his artistic endeavor. "Not too shabby.
What do you think, Mandy?" His voice rose over the wail of the hair dryer,
but he added a pat on her ass for emphasis.

She switched off the blower, her
fingers fluffing through disarrayed curls. "You make a perfect lady's maid,
Lucas. You peaked under my towel, didn't you?" Her gray eyes glittered
with rascally delight when his face turned red. "Now scat so I can throw
my dress on and we can make a grand entrance!"

Six

"Is my lipstick crooked?"
Amanda turned her face toward Lucas, letting the mirror in her compact aid in
reflecting the elevator's subdued light.

He dutifully inspected perfectly
coated mauve lips. "You look like you've spent the day at the beauty
shop." Lucas continued to stare, wondering how Amanda had ever made such a
stunning transformation. She looked vibrant and relaxed; there was no hint that
she had been costumed in paint forty minutes ago.

When the deep purple evening shawl
slipped off her shoulders, Lucas' eyebrow lifted at his first glimpse of her
attire. "I think, however," he found his tone quite cool, "that
you missed getting your dress on straight."

She gazed down at the adventurous red
lace-up bodice that was sashed in hot pink, with a tiered skirt in deep purple,
hot pink and red. "No, it's just fine." Amanda pointedly ignored his
comment. Her fingers moved from her collarbone along a creamy expanse of naked
shoulders to the red lace bow that suggestively delineated the valley between
her full breasts.

"I thought you would have worn
something...something..." His thoughts failing him, Lucas concentrated on
the toes of his brown leather shoes.

"Something black with a high
neck and covered to the ankles," Amanda's lilting voice filled in the
blanks. "Really, Lucas, I'm sure everyone expects me to provide a little
panache, an ensemble with a little spark, a little zip.

Lucas sucked in his cheeks.
"You've done well. The problem is, the dress provides too little coverage
for your zips!"

She laughed, her elbow nudging his
arm. "Lucas, don't be such a prude."

He grunted and when the elevator
doors opened, long legs stalked down the thickly carpeted corridor to Kitty's
apartment.

"Luke!" A petite blond
bundle catapulted into his arms. "I thought you had stood me up."

Amanda's eyes widened slightly at the
diminutive given Lucas' name. He had once told her he hated the nickname Luke.

"Just running a little
late." Unhooking her hands from around his neck, Lucas readjusted the
collar of his beige shirt and smoothed his brown tie. "Kitty Byrnes, meet
Amanda Wyatt."

Kitty's blue eyes had already looked
beyond his shoulder, femininely sizing up an unknown quantity. She extended her
hand. "Luke makes you sound so perfect I almost dreaded meeting you."

Amanda smiled. "He speaks the same
way about you. I'm glad we're able to get together."

Kitty stood to one side as they
entered the small foyer. "One of the first things I noticed about Luke was
his clothes." Her hand possessively settled on Lucas' sleeve, fingers
luxuriating against the expensive brown tick-weave. "I can thank you for
that.

"I think that old adage is true
that clothes make the man or the woman." Kitty's slim jeweled fingers
picked an infinitesimal thread from the strapless royal purple bodice of her
dress, then moved down to straighten her marigold bubble knee-length skirt. She
felt a desperate need to show off the Vera Wang designer label. "But I
guess that's the first thing you notice being in the fashion industry. You must
continually size up people by their clothing."

"Actually, I've always looked
first in a person's eyes." Amanda's tone was warm and friendly. "Eyes
are the mirrors of the soul." She looked at Lucas, and a soft smile curved
her lips. "Lucas' hazel eyes were very kind and patient. I'm afraid I've
taken advantage of him over the years."

He caught her wrist, the wide gold
bracelet cool beneath his hand. "I've had numerous fringe benefits,"
came his grinning quip.

Kitty looked from one to the other,
still puzzled and uncertain about this relationship. "Come on, Amanda, let
me introduce you. Luke, I think you know just about everyone. Why don't you get
some drinks."

The cocktail party had reached its
peak, conversations were shrill, gestures had broadened expansively, the music
was a shade too loud. Amanda put an "I'm so thrilled to meet you"
smile on and made appropriate small talk to all those who were presented. Kitty
was an attentive hostess, leaving her side only when another guest gave an
emergency bellow.

Lucas, Amanda observed, had been
cornered by a man introduced as another lawyer and appeared deep in
conversation. She took her brief respite from inane chitchat to appreciate
Kitty's apartment. The living-dining room was spacious and sumptuously
decorated in a plum and silver color scheme that complemented the sophisticated
furnishings. She wondered why Lucas hadn't asked Kitty for input into his
house.

Amanda's attention was focused on one
of the many abstract paintings that accessorized the contemporary theme, trying
to interpret whether a series of three-dimensional purple and silver hexagonal
cubes were being thrust inward (pessimist) or outward (optimist) when an
unfamiliar male voice spoke in her ear.

"I've been trying to decide if
you're white wine or brandy."

Her head tilted sideways. "And
what have you decided?"

"That it's a shame a drink can't
be invented to accommodate them both." His attractive, weathered face held
an engaging smile. "I think you're crisp and assertive as well as mellow
and potent. Tonight, however, you're quite intoxicating and that's why. .
." He gifted her with a balloon snifter. When their fingers touched, he
added, "I'm Wade Lloyd. I apologize for missing your introduction."

"Amanda Wyatt." Her mind
registered thick, straight hair that was more silver than black despite the
fact that Wade appeared to be about the same age as Lucas. His height was on a
par with her own. His broad shoulders and well-proportioned body were
emphasized by an expertly tailored gray pinstriped suit.

"I've heard a lot about you from
Kitty." At her silent inquiry Wade smiled and explained. "Kitty works
in my real-estate office. So naturally –" his glass-laden hand made an
expressive gesture, "your name has been mentioned in connection with
Lucas." His eyes scanned the velvet skin exposed by the torso-hugging
bodice. "I find I'm quite envious of Crosse's relationship."

Diamond-bright eyes sparkled with
flirty delight. "And don't you have," Amanda paused to sip the aged
cognac, "an enviable relationship?"

Wade's fingers moved to straighten
the coin-littered gold necklace that caressed her throat. "No
relationships whatsoever." His deep voice issued an obvious but pleasing
invitation.

"That doesn't say much for the
Dallas ladies," she bantered. Amanda was enjoying herself, playing the
man-woman
teasing game. It had been a long time. Suddenly, she felt revitalized.

His glass lifted to his lips.
"Maybe I'll find a Louisiana woman more to my liking." Wade's hand
cupped her elbow, guiding her to an unoccupied plum velvet two-seat modular
grouping at the very edge of the laughing, chattering crowd.

Placing her glass on the round coffee
table, Amanda gave Wade her full attention. The soft light cast deliciously
dangerous shadows. Her sleek, suggestive outfit duplicated the boldness of her
manner. "I'm interested to know what differences you discover."

"I'm positive my investigation
will take more time than tonight." His head nodded toward Lucas, who was
in conversation with Kitty. "Would there be a problem if I call you?"

Her husky laugh sought to dispel any
doubts. "You seem to find it difficult to believe that Lucas and I have a
close and platonic friendship."

Even white teeth flashed.
"Platonic. . .that's what I would have trouble with." His head leaned
toward her. "The two of you, all alone, all night. . ." Wade's voice
trailed off suggestively.

Dark lashes fluttered, mauve lips
formed a childlike pout. "I've been nothing but the soul of
discretion." Amanda gave an exaggerated sigh. "It has been something
of a strain." Her outrageous wink brought forth dual laughter.

"And what has Crosse been doing
to keep you busy?" Wade relaxed into the confines of the chair, his
fingers casually brushing the lush material of her skirt.

Pretense and teasing were put aside,
and Amanda was once again herself. "Lucas invited me for a vacation and to
help him decorate his remodeled house." She smiled. "It's been fun.
I've stuccoed walls, painted and papered, ordered furniture..."

"Hmmm," he captured her
hand, "all that and they're soft as silk."

"An hour ago they were covered in
paint." Kohl-shadowed lids lowered, Amanda shivered slightly as Wade
traced each finger, then zigzagged an erotic pattern against her palm.

"How long is your
vacation?"

"I have no time limit." Her
body leaned forward, eyes flecked with silver fire. She was finding Wade more
attractive and intriguing with each passing minute, and by all indications
those feelings were reciprocated.

He smiled slightly; the creases
deepened in his cheeks. "I seem to remember Kitty telling me that you own
a dress shop in the French Quarter."

"
Rags 'n' Riches
,"
Amanda supplied. "It's more than a
dress shop
." Her tone was
light but there was a subtle bit of censure. "We're well known in this
country and on the Continent for offering the ultimate in fashion."

"I'm afraid I know little about
the world of high fashion," Wade apologized. His blue eyes journeyed over
her eloquent attire. "But I do know what I like, and if that charming
creation is from your boutique. . ."

She nodded. "Not only from my
shop but also from my design board."

He toasted her with his glass.
"A woman of many talents."

Amanda's hand reached out to
straighten the gold initial tack that held his black pin-dotted silk tie.
"And what of your talents, Wade?" She hesitated slightly. "I
understand your real estate business is booming."

"Texas is certainly the place to
sell land," he agreed. "I've been very lucky this year. I hope it
continues."