His Desire (11 page)

Sarah mocked in that same breathless voice that Kylie couldn’t disguise. She knew she was blushing like a girl in front of her friend’s careful scrutiny.

“From the looks of it I’d say someone had a very good night last night.”

Kylie knew it was pointless to deny it any longer. She was wearing her shirt on backwards after all.

“Yes. It was…amazing.”

She heard Sarah’s knowing laugh. “Careful, someone looks like they’re in love and someone else is ready to tell them ‘I told you so.’”

Kylie’s smile froze in place. She wasn’t in love with Aaron—was she? She couldn’t be? She couldn’t be that foolish.

“Don’t be silly, it’s just…a fling. We both know it won’t last. But I am moving in with him,” she added and turned away before Sarah could see what a liar she was.

“You’re what? He asked you to move in with him. Aaron’s never asked one of the bimbos to move in with him. This is a sign.”

“More like he needs someone to watch the place while he’s gone and I need somewhere cheap to live. It’s a convenience. That’s all. So don’t start reading things into it that aren’t there.”

“Oh.” Sarah sounded at a loss for words for a moment. She’d held out such hope for Kylie. “Well, I still want to hear all about last night. If he can make you late for work as well as make you forget which way your top goes on, then he has to be one amazing lover.”

* * * *

“Hey Aaron—you’re from Austin, right?” Eric Reynolds asked from the doorway of Aaron’s office, ignoring the fact that Aaron was in the middle of scheduling his week with Lois.

“Yeah, what about it Eric? We’re kind of busy here,” he stated without looking up.

“You ever heard of Kylie Monroe or a little place called Your Every Desire Party Planners And Sweet Shop?” Aaron’s glance collided with Lois.

“Why?” he asked, his voice catching slightly as memories from the night before came back to haunt him at this most inappropriate time.

“Because she’s on the cover of the Oklahoma City Post?” Eric held up the paper for him to see. Aaron’s body froze in reaction to the picture of the woman he’d spent the weekend with. Was he losing his mind? Was this conversation even happening? Images of her were starting to appear everywhere. But in the Oklahoma City Post?

“I was just wondering if she’s as hot as this guy thinks?” Eric seemed oblivious to the tension that filled his boss. Aaron untangled his eyes from the photo of Kylie and glanced at Lois. She knew the name from the flowers.

As well as the shop. Lois knew he was involved with Kylie.

“What are you talking about?” Aaron said in a voice that sounded angry. He was. Angry at being caught off guard. Kylie never mentioned anything about an article being done about the shop.

“Some New York food critic did a piece about the shop and it got picked up by AP. It’s in every paper around the country. Apparently they're selling more than cookies at this place.”

Eric tossed the paper on his desk. Aaron ignored his second in command’s smirk and started to read, while Lois stepped beside him and read over his shoulder.

“Oh, God,” he said under his breath.

“So, is it true?” Eric asked again. Aaron glanced at Lois who took that as her cue to get rid of Eric. She shooed him out of the office and closed the door in his face.

“Well, sorry. I was only curious,” Eric muttered through the closed door.

“This is your girlfriend?” Lois said gently, looking down at the photo of Kylie.

“The one that we sent the flowers to?”

“Well, she doesn’t like being called my girlfriend, but yes.” Aaron folded the paper and shoved it into his desk drawer. He’d finish reading it later. Right now, he couldn’t look at the photo and not remember things that weren’t appropriate.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yes,” he said with a smile. The photo didn’t do her justice. It was made to look sexy and tempting. Kylie was those things and more, but she was intelligent. And she was sweet as sin not to mention sensitive. She cried when he made love to her. And he was crazy about her. But the writer had gotten one thing right. She was two very different women all wrapped up in one.

“You want me to get her on the phone for you? You didn’t know about the article I take it.”

“No, this isn’t Kylie. She would never approve something like this. I have a feeling she didn’t know about it either. Can you give me a minute, Lois?”

“Sure, I’ll get started on the schedule for the week. Call me when you’re ready to hit it again.”

Aaron smiled as she closed the door behind herself. Lois was a great assistant. She hadn’t minded one little bit that he’d stolen her from Eric. She was also a good person.

Aaron called the shop and listened to the rings while taking the paper out again.

“Your Every Desire,” Sarah all but yelled into the phone.

“That bad?” Aaron asked with a little laugh.

“You have no idea. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing all morning. She’s here. Hang on.” Sarah didn’t give him the chance to answer. She punched the hold button and he waited, scanning through the article.

“Hi.” Kylie’s voice came on the line sounding hesitant as always with him.

She didn’t know what to say after last night.

“Hey there. You’re quite the celebrity,” he told her quietly, shoving the paper back into the drawer. He couldn’t look at it—at her and hear her voice and not want to fly back to Austin this very minute.

“Oh no. I guess you’ve seen it then?” Aaron laughed at her embarrassment.

“Oh yeah. One of my employees pointed it out to me. It was quite a shock.

Seeing my girl on the cover of the paper. Especially looking so sexy.”

“I can imagine it was a shock. Apparently, it’s in every paper in every city.

The phone’s going crazy. And there’s a line outside around the block.

Everyone wants the cookie. We’re sold out. In fact, we’re almost sold out of everything. I think we’re going to close up early and try to regroup.

Everyone keeps asking us when we’re going online. I don’t know a thing about setting up a website but it looks like I’m going to have to learn fast.

Sarah says that I owe this all to you. If you hadn’t recommended our catering firm for the job at your company, none of this would have come about. I guess I owe you a lot.”

“Hum, I kind of like that. And I’m sure we can find some way for you to repay me.” He heard her soft laugh and closed his eyes. This long distance thing was going to be harder than he’d imagined. A year right now seemed like an eternity and had him wondering if he really cared anymore about the experience. Aaron tried not to think about that now.

“Sounds like this is going to be great for business though. And it just so happens, I’m a whiz at designing websites. I could get one started for you tonight?” he asked her, trying to sound supportive. As an advertising person Aaron knew this was the best type of publicity to get a business like hers going, but the thought of every red-blooded male within a hundred miles seeing her as a sex object didn’t exactly leave him feeling very supportive.

“Oh Aaron, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I know you’ve very busy with the new position. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“Baby, you didn’t ask. I volunteered. Give me a run down of what you’d like it to feature and I’ll put something together tonight and get it to you. It will give me something to do to keep my mind off all those other guys looking at that very sexy picture of you in the paper and imagining what I’ll be imagining.”

“Aaron…” He could almost picture her face blushing in that pretty pink shade that he’d seen that night. In the background, he heard a loud sound like something banging.

“What was that?”

“That was me shutting the door on Sarah who is hanging on your every word. Hang up the phone, Sarah,” she yelled in his ear and Aaron chuckled, holding the receiver away.

“Okay, you’re clearly going crazy there, so give me the highlights of what you want on the site and I’ll put something together for you to look at tonight. We can talk about changes once you’ve looked it over.”

“Are you sure?” she asked in that sweet little voice of hers that did terrible things to him.

“I’m positive.” Kylie in her usual to the point manner hit the major points for him to focus on. Aaron jotted notes while she talked; his creative mind going into action.

“Please, no more pictures like what’s on the cover.” Aaron chuckled.

“Oh, I agree. Why don’t you email me something with you and Sarah that’s PG, okay?”

“Aaron, I feel like I’m taking advantage of your talents. I can’t pay your exorbitant fee,” she teased.

“Baby, stop worrying. We’ll figure out a payment plan that works for both of us.” He knew he should hang up. Let her go. He needed to get started on his own crazy day, but he didn’t want to for some reason. He enjoyed listening to the sound of her voice. “Did you find the key okay?”

She hesitated. She was uncertain again. She had no idea how sexy her uncertainty was to him. “Yes.”

“I meant what I said about the help. If you need him, Sam will be more than happy to help. He’ll probably tease you to hell and back but that’s just Sam.

You know he’s crazy about you.”

“Thank you, Aaron. But I really don’t have all that much to move. And I have time. I’ll do it a little at a time.”

“I meant what I said about leaving you as well, you know,” he added quietly.

“I know.”

“We should talk.”

“I know. But not yet.”

Aaron expected that answer. It was typical Kylie. “Okay, baby. I know you’re busy so I’ll let you go for now. I’ll call you when I’ve put the site together and we’ll go over it tonight. Will you be at the apartment or the house tonight?”

“The house. I like your house,” she said quietly and he smiled.

“Good. Because I like having you at my house.”

* * * *

Kylie stared at the message Sarah had left on her desk. Mariah was back in town to pick up the last of her things and turn in the keys to the apartment as Kylie had done last week. She wanted to meet for dinner. Kylie was torn.

She hadn’t seen Mariah since, well since before she had slept with Aaron the first time. The first time? Every time she thought about her relationship in terms of how it had begun, Kylie felt like the girl on the cover of the American Statesman.

But she’d been avoiding Mariah for weeks now. It was time to put an end to that.

Kylie called Mariah’s cell phone.

“I was beginning to think you were embarrassed to see me again.”

Just like Mariah to cut through to the heart of the matter. “Hi. How’ve you been?”

“Good. And you?”

“Good.” Kylie tried to suppress a smile. They sounded like strangers. Not two girls who’d crammed rolls into their purses at a ritzy party together.

“Okay, so now that we’ve got that awkward stuff out of the way, tell me what you’ve really been up to?” When Kylie hesitated, wondering what she knew, Mariah added, “All I ever hear about is your little store. You are really doing well apparently.”

“Yeah, we’re going crazy. I’ve had to hire a couple of girls to help with the catering and to help fill orders from the website. That frees me and Sarah up to be creative. Not to mention do PR work.”

“I’m thrilled for you, honey. You’ve worked your tail off for it. Enjoy. So, tell me about the new place?”

What did she know? From the few messages, they’d exchanged in coordinating their separate moves, Kylie had never mentioned where she was moving to. Did Mariah know?

“Honey, he told me a long time ago,” Mariah supplied for her.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t know you two were still keeping in touch.” Aaron had told her that he’d spoken to Mariah. So why did it feel as if she’d just been betrayed.

Because she still wasn’t sure what her relationship with Aaron truly was.

They were more than friends. They’d slept together after all. But she couldn’t accept that she was his girlfriend. She didn’t like the sound of it.

She was almost dreading Aaron’s visit this coming weekend. It would be the first since she moved in.

“It’s nice. Aaron needed someone to watch the house while he’s away.”

“Oh honey, this is me you’re talking to. Don’t worry, I’m not judging. I’d have done the same. Look, that’s my other line. It’s Jean Claude. I’d love to get together though?”

Kylie believed she really meant that. “Me too. What about tonight?”

“Perfect. How about our favorite place at nine?”

Kylie smiled. Texas Traditions was where the elite in Austin’s young and upcoming went to party. The place was strictly A-list. In the beginning, she and Mariah couldn’t even get in the door without sneaking in. They’d gotten found out and thrown out on several occasions before finally making the list thanks to Mariah’s lingerie ads. “Sounds good. Maybe the waiter that threw us out is still there.”

“Wouldn’t that be a hoot? Can you imagine the look on his face when he realizes he almost threw out the hottest thing in sweets around? Sounds great, doll. I’ll see you there.”

Texas Traditions was part restaurant and part club. But on this particular Friday night, it was overflowing with people. Kylie was grateful that Mariah had thought ahead and reserved a table for them, otherwise the wait could be hours. Located in the downtown district, just off Rio Grande, Texas Traditions had in a past life been an old cotton gin. The original restorer had kept many of the old fixtures, which gave the place a nostalgic feel.

Kylie spotted Mariah’s blond head talking to a group of young boys that barely looked like they were out of high school.

“That’s jail bait,” Kylie whispered into Mariah’s ear and was rewarded with one of Mariah’s seductive grins. “She’d eat you alive, boys,” she said with a wink to the three kids that were hanging on Mariah’s every word.

“Yes, but what fun, huh? Run along boys. My date is here.” The young men in question exchanged uncertain looks, smiled and walked away laughing and whispering to themselves.

“Well, that will keep them in fantasies for a while. You’re going to be responsible for corrupting three innocent lives, you know?”

“Please, did you see those hard bodies? There’s nothing innocent about those boys and if I weren’t smitten with Jean Claude, I’d take them all on,”