Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger (27 page)

Read Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger Online

Authors: Lori Copeland

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Contemporary, #Westerns, #test

BOOK: Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger
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Page 12
bringing the cage in line with the lobby floor. With a loud clang of metal he threw open the door and three slightly inebriated gentlemen staggered out.
''Well-l-l-l, Merry Christmas, little lady!" cheerily greeted one heavy-set man carrying a champagne glass in one hand and clutching a bottle under one of his chubby arms. "Would you mind holding my drink for me, sweetie? We're just going around the corner to get some more of the bubbly." He leered at her drunkenly.
Before Chandra could stop him one fat hand had thrust an overflowing glass of the sparkling liquid into her hand. She glanced down at the glass with surprise, then back to the retreating figure of her benefactor, weaving on out into the lobby with his two friends.
Now what in the world am I going to do with this,
she thought irritably. Two couples entered the lobby and came forward hurriedly to board the waiting elevator. The two women stepped around her in disdain as they viewed the glass of champagne in her hand. Chandra gripped the glass more tightly and quickly stepped into the small cage, fearing she would miss the ride if she waited any longer. The operator stood up and started to close the metal doors, his movements slow and laborious.
The lobby door opened once again and a tall, well-dressed man emerged with a gust of cold night air. He strode swiftly across the lobby, motioning for the elevator to wait. He stepped into the lift and Chandra caught a whiff of a very masculine aftershave and the clean smell of soap as he stood close to her in the crowded cage. The heavy door closed as the operator seated himself on a small stool and set the car in motion. Trying to be as discreet as possible she examined the handsome newcomer out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing an expensively tailored gray suit with a shirt that almost perfectly matched the color of his eyesa beautiful, clear blue. He had on a coordinating gray and blue striped tie with a gold tie tack in the shape of a tiny airplane secured neatly in the middle. The large hand that casually straightened the leather overcoat on his arm had strong manly features, the nails immaculately clean and clipped short.
 
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His thick brown hair was just a tiny bit unruly from the fierce evening wind, a hint of natural curliness against the deep tan of his neck. Her eyes cautiously worked their way down his lean, masculine, athletic form, ending on his perfectly styled, gray suede dress shoes.
''What floor, people?" the old man asked tiredly as the car ground upward.
"Third," grunted one of the men from the party behind her, shuffling around uncomfortably in the close quarters. His arm bumped Chandra's slightly, causing a bit of the champagne to slosh out of the glass onto the elevator floor. The man standing beside her turned aloof blue eyes on her as he stepped back hurriedly to avoid the splashing liquid.
Chandra dropped her embarrassed gaze from his, shifting the glass into her other hand. "Fourth, please," she replied tensely. She could feel her face flushing a bright pink as the man coolly turned his attention away from her to stare straight ahead. She could well imagine what he was thinking! His haughty attitude told her that he thought he was standing next to a lush who couldn't wait until she got to a party to begin drinking!
The elevator rose agonizingly slowly, passing the second floor without stopping. Chandra stood uneasily next to the tall, handsome man, her mind going back over the sketchy set of instructions Darrell had given her in a short phone conversation early that morning. He had called before leaving on an unexpected charter flight to tell her Cecil would be standing next to the punch bowl that evening at exactly seven o'clock. She was to look for a tall, dark-haired man around six feet tall. After giving her the address he had hung up abruptly, leaving her no time to ask questions.
Why didn't I just let Cecil pick me up at the house,
she berated herself angrily. Darrell had offered to arrange it, but Chandra had quickly declined his offer. At the time she hadn't wanted to involve herself any more in this farce than was totally necessary, but now she could see the folly of being so independent!
The elevator jerked suddenly to a halt as they reached the
 
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third floor, throwing all the occupants forward awkwardly. Chandra quickly cupped the glass of champagne with her other hand to keep it from splashing out onto the floor again. The tall man beside her made another slight move away from her, watching warily from the corner of his eye. The door squeaked open and Chandra felt herself being jostled as the four passengers in back tried to get around her. She fought to keep the glass from spilling but was shoved up against the man next to her and a tiny bit of the liquid spilled out onto his perfectly tailored gray slacks.
His blue glare dropped to the darkening wet stain in distress as the other four occupants exited roughly and the door swung shut again.
''Sorry," Chandra muttered uncomfortably under her breath as the cage continued its climb.
"That's perfectly all right," the man clipped out curtly, his blue eyes fairly sizzling now as he stared stonily ahead of him. "I'd suggest you drink that damn thing," he added in a tense afterthought.
"Oh . . ." Chandra glanced back down at the glass in her hand. She didn't even like champagne! Giving him a small, guilty smile, she took a long drink out of the glass, nearly gagging at its sour, vinegary taste. She took a deep breath as tears sprang momentarily to her eyes, then exhaled loudly. "That's good," she said defiantly to the man beside her. With a cold gaze of dismissal he turned back to stare at the closed doors.
Conceited snob!
she thought heatedly, balancing the glass with both hands. She wished she didn't have to be standing here next to him. It didn't really matter, though, she consoled herself, she would be getting off on the next floor. The first thing she was going to do was pitch this glass as far as she could!
"Fourth floor," the old man announced blandly, jerking the cage to a halt once again. He stood up and tiredly swung the doors open, muttering softly under his breath as he saw the fourth floor was some three inches above the floor of the elevator. "Wait a minute," he said resignedly, his hand reaching for the lever that operated the car. They shot up past the floor, missing
 
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their target by a good three inches in the other direction. Chandra grabbed for the railing with one free hand, the drink sloshing around dangerously in the other.
''Nope, hold on," he ordered gruffly, grimly determined to hit his mark. He eyed his goal critically, then shot the elevator like a speeding bullet to within an inch and a half of his intended spot.
This time Chandra had been totally unprepared for their rapid descent and came sailing across the car, nearly knocking down the man standing irritably beside her. The remaining contents of the glass dumped out sickeningly all over his suede shoes.
"Oh, hell!" he shouted disgustedly, watching the dark stain spread rapidly across the suede.
"Ohhhh. . . . I am sorry!" Chandra choked out in embarrassment. He had looked so perfectly groomed when he'd stepped on the elevator five minutes ago. Now he had a wet stain on his slacks and one shoe looked like he'd tried to stomp a mud hole dry.
"You should register that glass as a lethal weapon, lady!" he said hotly as he stepped up out of the elevator, trying to shake the excess liquid off his shoe.
Chandra swallowed hard and followed in his steps, the elderly man reaching out to push her upward. "Thank you," she murmured politely, watching the long strides of the handsome man disappearing down the hall. She immediately sat the empty glass down on a table in the hall and tried to wipe the sticky liquid off her hands. She really felt bad about spilling it all over that poor guy, but he was so . . . so uppity! It served him right.
Thank goodness Phillip isn't like that,
she thought gratefully as she started down the carpeted hall. Maybe he and Chandra didn't share as much in common as she hoped they would, but at least he was a perfect gentleman at all times. He would never have made a lady feel as . . . small as that man had just done. No, Phillip was going to make a perfect husband and a perfect father to her children. If they had boys he would be more than perfect. His obsession with sportsall sportsnearly drove her to dis-
 
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traction at times, but she was sure any boy would be thrilled to have such an athletic father. She was thrilled and proud to have him as her fiancé . . . wasn't she? She shook her head stubbornly.
Now, don't start thinking in that vein again, Chandra,
she scolded.
You just have a bad case of marital jitters, that's all
. Her eyes were carefully. scanning the numbers written on the doors, searching for Apartment 4. Pausing for a moment in the dim hallway, she rummaged around in her small handbag and extracted a white scrap of paper. Apartment 4, 14789 Yearling Street. Yes, this was it. Chandra suddenly developed a case of weak knees and began to tremble inwardly. She would gladly give someone all she owned to get out of this mess right now!
She nervously straightened the simple, black crocheted dress she was wearing and touched her hair lightly to make sure no strands had come loose in her harried elevator ride. Satisfied that she looked fairly presentable she licked. her lips nervously, took a deep breath, and pushed the doorbell. It was answered immediately by a butler who looked as if he were suffering from a terminal case of hemorrhoids.
''Good evening, Madam," he said stiffly.
"Good evening," Chandra returned pleasantly.
"Your coat, Madam."
Chandra handed him her short white fur jacket. He took it ceremoniously and motioned for her to follow him.
The tinkle of glasses and low murmurs of laughter reached her ears as she was ushered into a large room lit almost entirely by tiny, flickering candles. The room was done tastefully in shades of blues and white and the entire apartment reeked of money. Chandra's feet sank into the thick, white carpeting as she made her way lightly across the crowded room, following the butler.
"Your host and hostess should be with you shortly," he said, politely handing her another glass of champagne. "Please make yourself comfortable."
"Thank you. I'm supposed to be meeting someone here," she replied, her eyes searching for the punch bowl.
 
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''Very good, Madam." He bowed slightly and turned to glide back across the room.
At the moment there was no one standing anywhere near the punch bowl, so she walked over to a small settee and sat down where she would have a clear view of the meeting area. She glanced at her thin gold watch and saw that it was still a few minutes before seven. Her gaze caught the glass of champagne in her hand, and her face reddened again as the picture of the tall, blue-eyed man in the elevator skipped lightly through her mind. Although it didn't mattershe would never see him againit still made her uncomfortable to realize what an absolute fool he thought she was! She sat quietly watching the guests mill around the room, her mind going over the million little things she needed to do before the wedding. The last thing she needed to be doing was sitting at this party waiting for some stranger! There were invitations to mail out, she needed to talk to the caterer again, she still had the bridesmaids' gifts to buy . . . not to mention all the work that awaited her after her marriage. Chandra had just moved into a new apartment last week, leaving her roommate of the last three years by herself. She and Phillip had decided to live in an apartment until they bought a home, and now there were boxes to unpack and a hundred last-minute details to attend to. Since she worked in Phillip's law office as one of the legal secretaries she never seemed to have enough time for anything anymore, coming home too tired at night to do anything but fix a light meal and collapse when she didn't have a date with Phillip. The nights they were together were sometimes a little disappointing to her. It seemed they always ended up at some basketball game or hockey event.
The sound of sultry feminine laughter caught her ear, and Chandra's gaze was drawn to a stunning woman dressed in a tight, shimmering, red satin dress. Her figure was flawless and the low cut of her gown hid nothing from a man's roving eye. Chandra's eyes widened suddenly, her pulse pounding rapidly in her throat as she noticed the tall, brown-haired man standing next to her at the appointed punch bowl. Good heavens! It was

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