Naughty in November (Spring River Valley Book 11) (5 page)

Hopelessly conflicted, she sighed and strode through the door into the music store,
determined to figure out, by the end of the evening, just exactly what words to say to make it clear that their relationship needed to remain casual.

The moment she walked in, Claudia and Owen, who
had been standing by the back counter, joined at the lips, broke apart like guilty teenagers.

“Hey,” Claudia said with forced casualness. The pretty brunette smoothed her shiny hair and quickly tucked the
hem of her T-shirt into her jeans. “Cold out there, huh?”

Dani had to wonder how much less dressed Claudia would have been if she’d arrived any later. “Yeah, good thing it’s hot in here.”

Blushing, Owen excused himself to tend to something in the back.

Dani took her coat off and leaned on the edge of the counter, perusing the racks of sheet music that lined one wall of the store. “Taylor’s not here yet, I guess.”

Claudia checked her watch. “Must be traffic. Hey, do you want Chinese takeout? Owen and I haven’t eaten, and we thought once Taylor got here we could order something from Jade Palace.”

“Sounds great.” Dani eyed Claudia sidelong. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips plump and pink. She longed to suggest they just skip rehearsal tonight so the two couples could go their separate ways. She didn’t think Claudia would really object
, considering the way she kept glancing longingly at the door through which Owen had exited.

“That’s Taylor’s shirt, isn’t it?”
Claudia asked suddenly. Apparently she’d been eying Dani at the same time Dani had been eying her.

“Um…yes.” Dani restrained herself from asking how it was Claudia’s business. Taylor had told her the three had been friends for a long time. Now she wondered if before there was Claudia and Owen there might have been Claudia and Taylor.

A slow grin tilted Claudia’s lips. “Good for you. It’s about time he found someone who can make him happy again.”

Dani glanced at the door
, relieved Taylor wasn’t strolling in at that moment. “He hasn’t been happy?”

“Since Joyce left him he’s been…lost. He’s tried to date, but it’s never been serious. A few blind dates, but nothing’s come of them. I’m glad to see him involved in something meaningful.”

Why was it that all the women in Spring River Valley seemed not only to know Taylor’s romantic history, but what was best for his future as well? Dani glanced away. “Ah.”

“What?” Concern changed the normally melodic pitch of Claudia’s voice. “Did
I get it wrong? I mean, you’re wearing the shirt he was wearing two nights ago. That looks serious to me.”

“Well…yeah
. I like Taylor a lot, but I wouldn’t call what we’re doing serious in any way. We’re just having a good time. That’s all.”

Claudia nodded, seeming to digest that information. “Taylor needs to have a good time, but…well. I don’t want to butt in, but I know he’s looking for something more. He’s not the short-term, no-strings type. That’s why losing Joyce was so hard for him. He was in that relationship for the long haul, so—”

Clearly Bailey wasn’t the only one who thought Taylor needed a wife. Dani held up a hand. “I don’t want to mislead him at all. I’m going to make it clear that
I’m
the commitmentphobe here. If he’s not okay with that, I understand, but—”

“But you’re already wearing his shirt.”

Dani sighed. “I know. It’s already complicated. Maybe too complicated.”

“One thing should be simple. Taylor doesn’t deserve to have his heart broken again.”

“That’s the last thing I want to do.”

With a pointed look at the pilfered shirt, Claudia said, “It might already be too late.”

The horrible part was, Dani had a feeling Claudia was right. She’d ignored her instincts about Taylor and let her desires plow right over her common sense. She shouldn’t have slept with him, and she hadn’t regretted it until now.

Owen came out of the back room then, cell phone in hand, disrupting any further conversation on the subject of complicated relationships. “Okay, ladies. It’s up to you what you want to do. Taylor can’t make it. Do you want to cancel or rehearse anyway?”

“Why?” Panic tightened Dani’s throat. Was Taylor avoiding her because she’d blown him off last night?

Owen shrugged. “Something at work. He said he’d probably be all night. What do you want to do?”

Claudia looked at Dani expectantly, and Dani got the idea that Claudia would have preferred to cancel—hoping for more alone time with Owen. That was fine, but rather than be the one to voice what she figured they were all thinking, she copped out. “Whatever you two want to do. I don’t have any other plans.”

Owen and Claudia shared a meaningful look. “We could schedule a quick rehearsal for tomorrow before we go to Colette’s,” Claudia said.

“Sounds good to me.” Dani reached for her coat. She sensed relief from Owen and figured the two would be following her out the door to pursue their own private interests. Owen headed for the back to shut off the lights, and Claudia favored Dani with an inscrutable look as she pulled on her own coat.

“I won’t hurt him,” Dani said quietly when she was sure Owen was out of earshot. It was a
bold promise, but one she planned to do everything in her power to keep.

* * * *

The chime of a text message came just as Taylor’s eyes drifted closed. He’d been fighting sleep for the past hour while three newborn puppies dozed next to the warmth of their exhausted mother.

Cocker spaniels via c-section had left him w
orn out and wishing he could just load the furry little family into his SUV and take them home for the night, but the female couldn’t be moved post-surgery and someone had to make sure the preemie puppies nursed properly.

Taylor scooped up his phone and squinted bleary eyes at the glowing text.
I heard you’re swamped. Could you use some dinner?

It was from Danielle.

He had just enough strength left to tell the ping of excitement he felt was from seeing her name on the Caller ID and not a hunger pang. He definitely could use some dinner, but she’d probably be disappointed to discover he’d be useless for much else.

Sure, but I can’t leave work yet
, he replied.

I’m in your parking lot with deli and cold drinks.

Who could turn that down? His stomach grumbled something about him not moving fast enough, and he hauled himself up from the floor and headed for the front door.

She was there with
snowflakes glistening in her hair and plastic sacks from Hamm’s Deli dangling from her fingertips. Her hopeful smile widened when he moved aside to let her in.

“Sorry about rehearsal. I guess Owen cancelled it?”

She quirked her lips. “He was thrilled. He and Claudia need to go somewhere warm for a week or two and run around naked together,” she said, bustling past him with the bagged feast. “I hope you like roast beef on rye and barbecue potato chips.”

“I do.” He followed her to the front counter where she began unpacking her offerings. The smell of Hamm’s famous roast beef made his mouth water, and the sight of Dani still wearing his shirt made other parts of his tired body sit up and pay attention. “To what do I owe this much
-appreciated visit?”

She shed her coat and eyed him from under her
sparkling lashes. “I wanted to apologize for last night.”

“What about last night?”

“I got the impression you thought I might be mad at you or something because I wasn’t available.”

“I don’t expect you to be at my beck and call because we spent one night together.”

“I know, but I just wanted you to know that I like being with you. A lot.” She slid into his arms, and for a brief second, every doubt he’d had evaporated. She pressed her lips to his jaw, then worked her way up to the corner of his mouth. His pulse jumped, reminding him that he had hidden reserves of energy if needed for certain activities.

“How much work do you have left?”
she whispered, running a hand through the fine hairs at the back of his neck.

He groaned. “Well, it’s not…work
…exactly.” Reluctantly, he disengaged her searching hand from his waist and led her into the post-op exam room. “I can’t leave until Samantha gets here to take over for me. I can’t leave Bella alone.” He pointed to the box in which the spaniel mom and her babies now slept. “It was a rough day for her.”

“Oh…my
God!” Dani dropped to her knees beside the box, her fingers fluttering in excitement. “They’re amazing! They’re so small!”

“Too small to pet them right now, unfortunately, and too fragile. Someone has to help Bella take care of them for a few days.”

She looked up at him with the eyes of an excited little girl. “Can I help? I’ll do anything!”

He laughed. “Well, that’s tempting, but I’m dead on my feet. One of my assistants and her boyfriend are on their way over. They’ll be spending the night so I can get some sleep. I’m afraid I won’t be great company tonight. I was going to go home and crash.”

Dani rose, tearing her gaze away from the puppies. “Aside from spending the night sitting right next this box, there’s no place I’d rather be than with you, if that’s okay.”

Taylor wrapped his arms around her and brushed his lips gently over hers.
“That’s perfect.”

“I have to confess, I didn’t expect the place to be so neat,” Dani admitted after a quick tour of Taylor’s two-bedroom house on Wilshire Avenue. There was no denying the place belonged to a bachelor, but it was clear from little touches here and there that a couple had decorated the home.

“I have a cleaning lady, and today just happened to be her day. If you’d come yesterday, it would have been a little different. Or actually a lot different.”

“I guess you spend a lot of time at the clinic.”

“Yeah, it keeps me busy.”

She decided that was code for “keeps my mind off of being alone.”

Seeing the tidy, cozy little house he’d bought for the woman he’d expected would become his wife and the mother of his children caused a pang in Dani’s chest. “I have a cleaning lady, too.” The words slipped out, a self-conscious whisper.
She didn’t want to pretend she had a domestic side, but she didn’t want him to think… What exactly didn’t she want him to think? That she might one day make a good wife? That she wasn’t the type of girl a guy dumped as soon as he found a woman who could whip up Sunday dinner while making costumes for the school play?

Was that what Taylor really wanted?
Did she want to become more to him than someone to warm his bed on a cold night?

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, fine.  You said you were dying for a hot shower.”

“I am. You’re welcome to join me.” His suggestive grin dissolved into an unplanned yawn, and Dani couldn’t help but laugh.

“If I don’t, will I have to worry about you falling asleep and drowning?”

“I’m sorry. I—”

She put a finger against his lips. “Don’t apologize. You go take a shower. I’m going to put the leftover food away, and I’ll make some hot cocoa, then I’ll tuck you in.”

“If you keep making promises like that, I’ll never be able to sleep.” He growled playfully, planted a kiss on the bridge of her nose
and…yawned again. “I’m sorry.”

“Go. Hot shower, now. We need to get you into bed, mister, before you pass out.”
She physically turned him around so he faced the direction of the bathroom then whispered in his ear. “You do have hot cocoa mix, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s in the—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find it. Go.”

As Taylor lumbered off to take his solo shower, Dani set her sights on the kitchen. The place was fairly well-organized, and she figured maybe the cleaning lady had something to do with that. In a cupboard over the sink she found a couple of large mugs and in the tall pantry cabinet beside the stove she located a canister of cocoa mix.

Within a few minutes, she had a pan of milk heating. She might not be a gourmet cook, but she could heat up a mean cup of cocoa.

While she watched the milk begin to bubble and froth, she thought of the series of kitchen disasters that had convinced her she would never make the kind of wife
Kyle had wanted. He’d pretended not to care when she burned a roast or when she mistook heads of garlic for cloves of garlic in a sauce recipe, but she’d seen his disappointment. He’d proposed anyway, claiming she could learn all the skills she’d need to be a good wife. She’d bought that for a short time and actually made an effort to become more domestic, but they’d broken up after she finally decided she didn’t want to change for him. And now, here she stood, keeping vigil over warm milk in order to prove to the guy she’d been on one date with that she was competent in the kitchen. What was wrong with her?

The shower water shut off just as she dumped heaping spoonfuls of cocoa mix into the mugs
, and she let her mind wander to the image of Taylor wrapped in nothing but a towel. Why wasn’t she in there with him? Right, the cocoa. “Oh!” With an explosive sizzle, the milk boiled over, oozing down the sides of the saucepan. The blue flame of the burner flared orange, crackling as the liquid hit it.