Just a Memory (12 page)

Mac walked around to the front of the desk and casually perched on the corner with his leg hanging close to Carolyn's knee. She felt the warmth of his leg so near her own. The feeling was so distracting that she leaned her knees away from his and lifted her purse to clutch it protectively against her breasts. She tried to focus on something on his desk so she wouldn't be tempted to look at his thighs any longer. "I came to–"

"You don't mind if I do?" Mac rose and walked behind her to fill his mug.

Carolyn released the breath she had stored up to deliver the sentence she'd started. Then she dragged in another breath. "No, of course not. I won't–"

"Tell me. Did you feel you needed one?"

Startled, Carolyn looked up with a frown as he rounded her chair and sat on the corner of the desk again, coffee mug in hand.

Dear heaven, he's closer than before
. His strong thighs encased in the dark blue trousers and…and… Well, if she looked in that direction…

She used all her willpower to keep her eyes on his face. What was he asking her about? "Needed one what?"

"An appointment. Did you feel you needed to call for an appointment to see me after work?"

She felt her face grow warm and lowered her head. This visit was a mistake. She should have just asked him over the phone so she didn't have to be so close to him. "I suppose I–"

"Maybe it's the uniform. I can take it off."

Her head jerked up. "Take it off?" she squeaked.

He stood and unbuttoned the brass buttons on his blue jacket. "Eliminating wearing this jacket all the time I'm on duty is one of the changes I would make if I had this job permanently. It's a nuisance. The former Chief had a thing for full uniforms and the Council insisted we keep his policy for everyone. Including me."

Carolyn's eyes were wide, but she couldn't turn away from watching his hands move deliberately from button to button. He took off the dark jacket and hooked it on the coat rack before he sat down again in the same spot as before. This time she actually felt the fabric of his trousers against her knee. He rolled up his shirtsleeves to reveal strong arms dusted with dark hair. She watched the muscles move as he twisted the fabric up to his elbows.

She shut her eyes and swallowed hard. Opening them again, she allowed her gaze to follow his hand as it tugged his tie loose and undid the top button of his shirt. Tiny black curls popped free. She couldn't admit wanting to feel them, but she gripped her purse tighter to keep her fingers where they were.

By this time Carolyn felt very warm and totally regretted ever having come. She wet her lips and tried to speak. She got her mouth open, but no sound came out. She tried swallowing again. Needing to regain her composure, she kept her eyes on her purse, but her eyes wandered to the well-muscled dark-blue-clad leg just inches away from fingers tingling to touch it, to feel its hardness–

"There. That better?" he asked as he slapped his hand down on the thigh she'd been examining.

Her gaze flew to his smiling face. He seemed to be enjoying himself at her expense. He knew…he had to know everything he did only flustered her more. "No. Yes. Oh, I don't know. Mac, please!"

"
Ahh
. You've said the magic word." Mac smiled and set his cup down on the desk behind him.

"Magic word?" She plopped her purse on the edge of the desk and leaned forward, holding the arms of the chair. "What word? Please?" she asked incredulously. "You were waiting for me to say
please?
" Her anger rose and with it her confidence.

Mac leaned toward her, propping his hands next to hers on the chair armrests. He was very close. "No, Carolyn," he said softly. "I was waiting for you to call me Mac. I thought we were friends."

Abruptly he sat up straight again and continued in a businesslike voice. "Now, what did you want to see me about that couldn't wait until dinner tomorrow?"

The nerve of the man! "I don't want–" she began, only to be interrupted for the umpteenth time.

"Don't want to go out to dinner? Was eating pizza with me that terrible?"

Enough was enough. "That does it!" She shot to her feet to face him on a more even level and spoke with determination, all the while trying to ignore how close they were to each other. She had trouble tamping down the tingly sensations when the front of her thigh brushed against his knee. The contact short-circuited half her senses.

Glowering at him, she moved away from his leg. "Will you let me get a word in edgewise here? I came over here on behalf of the Merchants Association to ask you if you could speak to our members at the monthly dinner meeting next Thursday. They want you to talk about what they can do to protect their stores and offices from break-ins like the one I had." She spoke fast to get it all in before Mac interrupted her again but had to stop to take a big breath. It was a long enough pause for Mac to break in.

"Do you
want
me?" Mac said softly as he stood slowly and looked down at her, just inches away. She saw him gaze at her breasts, straining against her blouse with each rapid breath. She closed her eyes when she felt the nipples harden and press more firmly against the fabric.

Someone answered in a whisper, "Yes, I want you." Carolyn opened her eyes, realizing instantly she had spoken. What's more, she knew the dinner speech was not at all what she had in mind.

How had this…this magnificent man been able to affect her so deeply in such a short time? She tried to step away, but her calves came in contact with the chair immediately behind her. "I mean, it would be great if you could spare the time to speak to the group."

"Carolyn?" Mac waited for her to look back at him. He held her gaze and said, "If
you
want me, then I'm willing."

"Willing?" she squeaked.

"The speech. I'll talk to the merchants. Isn't that what we're talking about?" he asked with an innocent-looking smile.

She nodded. It had to be relief that made her feel suddenly dizzy. She closed her eyes and swayed a little. Mac reached for her upper arms to steady her.

Funny, this time he had to clear his throat, too, before he spoke. "That will be a good opportunity to meet them all, too."

"Meet them?"

"The merchants of this town."

What was happening? She had come on business, but it wasn't business filling her thoughts now. She was totally out of her realm of experience.

Suddenly Terri and Ellie laughed loudly in the next room. The intense moment ended. Carolyn saw her only option to find safety was a quick exit away from Mac. She turned, pulling herself from his grasp, and reached for her purse. She made certain she was several safe steps away from the desk before turning back to him.

"Thank you. You'll be our guest for dinner, of course. It's Thursday at the Lake Inn coffee shop at six. Most members come right from work. The meetings don't last too long. I mean, you don't have to make a long speech. About twenty minutes or so would be perfect. Is that all right?"

"Yes, that's fine." He leaned over to his desk calendar and wrote it down. "There. Meet Carolyn at Lake Inn. I won't forget."

"Good, then I won't keep you any longer." She turned toward the door, but before taking a single step she gasped and whirled around. "
No!
What if someone else reads that on your calendar? What would they
think?
" She strode to his desk. "You didn't really write it that way on your calendar…did you?"

He shook his head. His laugh was warm and she realized he was teasing her again. He held up the calendar so she could read it. That wasn't what it said at all. It just mentioned the speech, time, and place.

She smiled with relief, but she still wanted nothing more than to make a quick exit. "Thanks again. We'll count on you for next Thursday." She got out her car keys, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to leave. "Ah, I was wondering... At our merchants meeting this morning, we were talking about the break-in. Nothing of value was missing from my shop. Isn't that weird?"

"Vandalism. Willful or ignorant damaging or destroying of property belonging to another or to the public," he said as if quoting from a book to clarify the term for her.

"This was certainly willful. Why would anyone do that to my shop?"

"We may not know that until we catch whoever did it. And that may not happen. Most of the time this kind of case is reported to the police only for insurance purposes. It's no use taking fingerprints because there would be dozens from the customers. We couldn't tell which ones were the vandal's. No instrument was found that was used to break in the door. The perp didn't…sorry, the perpetrator didn't leave any calling card, nothing dropped by accident that could identify him. I say
him
because it took strength to smash the wooden door open. And he had to do it right the first time so no one would be alerted by the repeated pounding."

"It's scary, knowing someone is out there who would want to hurt me that way." She hugged herself. "And for no reason that I can think of."

"We're working on finding him. Carolyn, I don't see any reason to expect something like this would happen again."

"You don't think there's someone out there waiting to get me, huh?" She figured she was being silly thinking someone was watching her, but Mac's smile was reassuring.

"I've been in
that
position plenty of times. I don't think that's what this is. Just be careful and pay attention to strangers."

He rose to face her and put his hands at the sides of her waist. "Honest, you don't need to worry about being at the shop now. As you told me, you've got the new door with the new lock to keep you safe."

"Right. Thanks." She turned and stepped away, instantly missing the warmth of his hands. "Mac? Are you…are we still on for dinner? I felt like Terri was insisting we go out and I don't want you to feel obligated."

"No, that's fine," he said easily. "Um, would Terri like to go with us?"

"She'd probably love it, but I think she'll be fine with a sitter. If you're not used to kids, eating with one in a restaurant can be traumatic."

Mac nodded. "Then I'll get a reservation for two for tomorrow night. That okay?"

"Wednesday?"

"Sure. Or don't you eat dinner on Wednesdays?"

She smiled. "Tomorrow would be nice."

"How about the place on the highway? I'll call you with the time."

"Fine. Anything seven or later would work."

Having run out of things to say, Carolyn wished him a good evening.

"Carolyn," he said to stop her at the door. "I really don't think you have to worry. It's probably just a fluke. Like you said, nothing like this ever happens in Lakehaven."

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

Carolyn stepped out of his office reassured about the vandalism, but thinking she probably shouldn't have mentioned their dinner. He didn't look too happy about it, but he'd said he wanted them to be friends.

Maybe he thought she was taking advantage of that friendship already by asking him to speak at one of the programs. He probably hated public speaking. She would make certain she didn't impose on him again. She renewed her determination not to get too personally involved; she wanted them to be friends, too, and that was
all
she wanted their relationship to be.

It wouldn't be wise to think about more with a man who would be in Lakehaven for only a matter of months.

She wasn't that kind of woman anyway. No matter how good-looking he was. Or how many times Terri hinted each week she wanted a dad. Or how few men of his caliber lived in Lakehaven. Or even how long it had been since she'd been on a real dinner date.