Summer's Indiscretion (2 page)

* * * *

A few minutes after the song was over and they were all back at the table, Summer watched Grace remove her cell phone from her evening bag. Grace squinted at the display and then smiled widely. Summer observed as she sent back a brief text message.

Taylor continued ignoring her, having never acknowledged her return. Rachel drew Summer into a conversation, but a minute later she felt Grace’s touch at her shoulder. Grace placed her phone in Summer’s hand, pointed at it, and said, “For you.”

Summer looked down and gasped.

“He’s not paying attention to you like he should.”

Summer glanced up at her friend, and Grace whispered, “Trust me. You want to answer him.”

“Who are you?”

“A man who wants to take you away from that prick. I would, but
I’m working.”

With shaking fingers, she typed,
“Where are you?”

“If I were him, I wouldn’t ignore you. I watched as you danced and you’re beautiful. I wanted you.”

Her breath left her in a rush.

“Are you Grace’s friend?”
What a stupid thing for her to ask. Of course he was. How else would he know to contact her?

“Yes. She told me he hurt your feelings. I would never treat you like that.”
Another text message quickly followed on the heels of his last message.
“Would it be too much to ask for your phone number?”

She paused for a second, her heart thudding in her chest, before typing the number.
“Please call me. I have to hear your voice.”

The phone vibrated in her hand. She touched the talk icon and said, “Where are you?”

“I’m sorry, kitten. I’m working, and I have to leave right now.”

Summer looked around the club, but too many people were milling around for her to easily spot someone with a phone to his ear.

“What’s your name?”

 “I’m sorry, kitten. I’ll be in touch.” There was regret in his tone before the line went dead.

Summer stood from her chair and searched the crowd then turned to Grace. “Who was that?” Damn, his voice was like whiskey in her blood. “Where is he?” Taylor never even turned her way.

Grace pointed to two very tall, powerfully built men in suits as they disappeared through the entry. Summer would’ve run after them, but Grace stopped her.

“They’re working. Otherwise he would’ve been over here asking you for a dance. He’s requested the next song for you.”

“He what?”

“Ethan told me he requested a special song for you to be played. He said it’s next.”

Summer felt unsettled. Her heart pounded, and she realized her silk G-string was soaked. Just from the sound of his voice.

Oh, damn. Here I go again.

With tingling cheeks, she looked over at Taylor. Jack was speaking quietly to him and didn’t look very happy as he did it.

Shit, what is Jack saying to him?

She still vacillated with the urge to follow those men into the parking lot. She turned to Grace and said, “There were two of them. Which one was sending the text messages?”

Grace smiled and looked very satisfied with herself. “They both were.”

Summer had to sit down before she fell down.
Holy shit!
They were
both
sending text messages to her? “You mean…”

“Oh, baby, do I
ever
.”

“Who was I talking to? I only talked to one of them.”

“I don’t know.”

“They were both texting me?”

“That’s what he told me before I handed you the phone. Oh! Holy moley! It’s on! The song they requested is on! Listen!”

Summer heard familiar, gentle guitar chords as a love song began to play.

Just then Taylor grabbed her arm. “Come on, Summer. It appears I’ve neglected you. I suppose we ought to dance.”

Grace pressed her lips into a straight line, staring daggers at Taylor. Taylor’s only response was a shrug. Summer was torn as she smiled at Taylor as nicely as she was able. Ugliness would only ruin this surreal moment.

She allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor as she listened to the singer’s rugged voice. She recognized the song as “Steal You Away” by the Randy Rogers Band. Taylor never pulled her close as they danced an awkward two-step, and Summer was quite content to keep it that way. She was caught up in the lyrics and the sudden arousal flooding her body as she listened and remembered the sound of the caller’s deep, velvety voice.

“I could see you standing with him.

He ain’t holding your hand like he should.

He ain’t listening to a word you say.

He doesn’t look at you the way I would.

I should steal you away…”

She was overwhelmed by the clear message the song sent from those two mystery men. Summer looked up at Taylor and knew he was utterly clueless to the irony of the moment. There on the dance floor he ignored her still, dancing with her as if he were relieving himself of an obligation. She longed for those men to return and steal her away in reality.

Yep. Here I go again.

Chapter Two

Ace chuckled when he saw Kemp’s Escalade pull up in the driveway while he was working on his second cup of coffee. Kemp climbed from the SUV and ran for the porch to avoid the rain.

“What?” he asked when Ace looked at him and grinned knowingly. They were doing the security consultation as a favor to Jack and the guys, but Ace and Kemp were looking forward to it for another reason. That reason’s name was Summer Heston.

Ace shrugged and leaned against the porch railing. “You must be ready to get the day started.”

Kemp quirked a brow at him, the most he usually gave in the way of facial expressions. Kemp always looked serious, even when he was joking. “And you’re not?”

“Oh, I am. You’re just here a little early.” Ace gestured to the pressed slacks and button-down shirt Kemp wore. “And more dressed up than you normally are for a job like this.”

“I wanted to impress her. I brought a change of clothes,” he said, gesturing with a thumb to the SUV. “How long before you’re ready to get rolling?”

They went inside, Kemp fixed himself a cup of coffee while Ace got his clothes on, and they were both out the door and in Kemp’s vehicle ten minutes later.

Kemp glanced at him and said, “She won’t mind if we show up a bit early, will she?”

“A bit? More like a half hour early.”

Kemp grunted then changed the subject. “I tried to call Sis this morning.”

Kemp’s parents had been friends with Ace’s parents. When Kemp was a teenager, his entire family had been killed in an automobile accident. Kemp would’ve gone into foster care, but Ace’s parents had intervened and Kemp had joined their family with the blessing of the State of Texas.

Ace asked, “Did you get through this time?”

They’d been looking after their baby sister since his mom and dad had passed away in the last few years. She was younger than both of them and had hit a few bumps in the road before finally getting on her feet. He and Kemp took watching out for her very seriously, the way Mom and Dad would have wanted them to.

Kemp fiddled with the windshield wipers and shook his head. “Nope. Got her voice mail. Again. It seems like she’s always working. They must keep her hopping at that fancy restaurant. Seems like she’s always there.”

Ace said, “I wish she hadn’t made us swear that we wouldn’t look into her employers for her.”

Kemp replied, “I know. I would feel a whole lot better if I knew more about her situation, but I guess we have to respect that she wants to find her own path. She can’t do that if we’re constantly looking over her shoulder.”

Ace snorted. “Pfft. She called me a ‘nagging mother hen’ the last time I had her on the phone.”

Kemp choked on his laughter. “If the beak fits…”

Ace laughed with his brother, knowing they both fit that bill, but he really didn’t mind. Lydia had been like their little shadow from an early age, driving them crazy at times. So it only seemed fair that they return the favor.

Because Ace and Kemp had always been close, the logical thing to do as adults had been to go into business together. Ace was good at dealing with people where Kemp was talented at gathering information and patiently “waiting out” situations. Ace also valued Kemp’s physical strength and unimpeachable ethics. Another thing they both had in common was their zeal for standing up for the “little guy” who didn’t always have the strength to stand up for themselves. To Ace’s knowledge, Kemp had never been able to abide a bully.

Glancing at Kemp, Ace asked, “Excited to finally meet Summer in the flesh?”

Kemp groaned and replied, “Nice word choice, Ace. I just hope I don’t stick my foot in my mouth or make an idiot of myself by clamming up.”

“It’ll be fine,” Ace murmured as he slipped his phone from his pocket and pulled up Summer’s cell phone number.

* * * *

Summer juggled her mug of coffee, handbag, lunch, laptop case, cell phone, and umbrella as she locked up her house. The open, sloshing coffee mug was not a good idea, and she whined when a couple of warm droplets hit her toes as she pulled the key from the deadbolt. She looked down at her open-toed, strappy heels and debated going back inside. Looking at the time on her phone she decided against it. She could clean up with a damp paper towel at work.

She struggled with the umbrella, trying to keep the misty rain off her hair and loaded everything into her car then climbed in. Her cell phone rang, and she looked at the screen, wondering who would call her so early. She normally was just barely making her coffee at this time of the morning. Her heart fluttered with excitement when she recognized the number from last night.

“Hello.” She tried to sound sexy and seductive but was afraid the way her voice cracked gave away her nerves. When was the last time she’d felt this twittery dealing with a man—men?

“Good morning, kitten.”

She hadn’t been able to sleep last night, thinking about the sound of his voice, whoever
he
was. She willed her fingers to stop shaking so she didn’t accidentally drop the phone. “Good morning. How are you—
both
of you?”

The sexy chuckle on the other end made her stomach quiver. “Grace told you?”

“She pointed you out to me right as you were going out the door. When I asked, she told me it was both of you texting me last night.”

There was a small pause on the other end, and then he softly asked, “How did that make you feel? To know that two men were interested in you?”

Summer giggled and replied, “Given
my
luck with men, I would have run screaming from the nightclub. But I trust Grace. She verified that you are gentlemen and not crazy stalkers.”
I might be crazy for entertaining this notion, though.

“Good. I think you’re beautiful.” His simple words sent a rush of heat to her cheeks, and she didn’t know what to say. He said, “Hold on. Someone else wants to say hello.”

Summer heard what must’ve been road noise and then a different, slightly rougher-sounding voice said, “Good morning, Summer. How are you?”

His gravelly voice was deeper, and her body responded instantly to hearing him speak for the first time.
You slutty thing, you!
She wondered what kind of woman responded to two men who she barely knew by getting hot and wet just from the sound of their voices. Summer thought of Grace and knew that she and her men had to start somewhere, too. She decided she might also be a
lucky
woman this time around.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Did you sleep well?” She squirmed in her seat, thinking that voice was playing havoc with her body’s responses.

Honestly, she replied, “No. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night.”

The deep voice chuckled and replied, “We hated to leave like that, but duty called. If we weren’t working, we would’ve asked Grace to introduce us last night. What did you think of the song? Did Grace tell you?”

Even higher rosy color filled her cheeks, and she squirmed again. The conversation was definitely getting to her. “Honestly? I was floored by it.”

“What do you mean, darlin’?”

“It was honest. Between the song and what both of you said in the texts.” She paused and then went on, “I liked that someone was being honest with me for a change. You could see what I looked like and you still wanted me. Then—”

He interrupted her. “We could ‘see what you looked like?’”

“Yes. Full-figured. Plus-sized.
Big
.”

“Darlin’, we could see that you are beautiful, luscious curves and all. You were surrounded by your friends, laughing, and having a good time, despite being ill treated by your date, which showed the strength of your character. I don’t read fashion magazines and I don’t subscribe to the belief that you have to be thin to be considered beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you last night. Don’t believe what that asshole was trying to tell you by ignoring you. We’d never treat you that way. You’re worthy of being noticed. And we weren’t the only men watching you last night.”

She highly doubted that but said, “Really?”

“Yes. Hold on a second, darlin’.”

“Wait, what’s your—”
What’s your name? Dang it.
The sound of road noise increased, and she realized they’d switched to speakerphone.

The other man said, “The song was supposed to communicate how we felt, watching him ignore you. The week before was even worse, when that dickhead kept talking down to you. Neither of us could hear what he was saying, but we could read your body language, despite you trying to act like he didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“Oh. You saw that, huh?”

“Yes. I thought he was your boyfriend. I finally called Grace and asked her.”

“You did?”

“Yes. She said I should feel free to make a move as you were unattached.”

She smiled widely, and a pleasant, warm feeling washed over her. “I wish you had. Wait. Are either of you married?” Her stomach clenched waiting for his answer. The butterflies doing acrobatics in her stomach were getting to her.

He paused for a moment then replied, “No, of course not. Grace offered to set us up on a blind date, but we weren’t so sure about it. It’s rather intimidating for a woman to find out two men are both interested in her, and we didn’t want to scare you off. We decided to reach out to you together instead. Shortly after, we had to leave to follow the one we were watching. So you liked the song?”

Summer smiled and flicked a curl over her shoulder. “Yes, until Taylor ruined it.”

The voice grew serious as he replied, “What did he do?”

Summer curled her lip in distaste. “He asked me to dance to it.
Made me
is more like it. Jack must’ve fussed at him for ignoring me because the next thing I knew he had me by the arm, dragging me to the dance floor. At least he didn’t pull me close.”

“Sorry, kitten. We’ll request it sometime when we’re there with you. When we dance, you’ll know we’re doing more than fulfilling an obligation. I didn’t mean to keep you so long on the phone. I didn’t feel like texting back and forth this morning. I wanted to hear your sexy voice instead.” Summer smiled, thinking she’d definitely identified “Man Number One” as the flirt of the two.

“Sweet talker. Are you headed to work?”

“I sure am, but I wanted to tell you good morning first. Know what I’d do if I was there?”

Her voice caught in her throat, and she croaked, “What?”

“Give you a sweet, long, good-morning kiss.”

Caught up in the fantasy, all she could get out was, “Wha…”

“Talk to you soon, kitten.”

The phone shifted, and the other voice said, “Have a good morning, darlin’.”

“Um, all right. I will,” she replied, still in a bit of a daze. “Wait! What—” She groaned when the line went dead.

Summer wanted to scream because she still didn’t even know their names.

Grace had better be on the money with those two.
This cloak-and-dagger nonsense is going to make me crazy.

She shook her head as she started the car, wondering what would happen next. Would they call again? At some point would she meet them? Grace hadn’t described them to her at all. Were they concerned that she’d find them unattractive and wanted her to have a chance to get to know them first? They certainly didn’t have to do that for her sake. She knew how it felt to be judged for her appearance and wouldn’t have judged them on theirs. Looks were fleeting and only skin deep. True beauty resided in the soul of an individual.

As she drove the short distance to the shop, she debated once again about moving into the apartment upstairs. The fact that Discretion had been vandalized several times in recent weeks was the only reason she hesitated. Her older sister and business partner, Margot, had already agreed that they would put in a security system, and there was the added bonus that it would save her the cost of her rental every month.

When they’d had a dream of starting a business, there were few people in their family who had approved. Summer and Margot had never quite fit into the straitlaced expectations their parents had for them. That was nothing new.

The Victorian house Discretion was located in was left to them by a favorite great-aunt, who Summer knew would’ve loved the little shop she and her sister co-owned if she’d known about it.

Once they’d secured funding and Discretion had opened its doors they’d had only themselves to rely on. It had been rather lonely until Grace and Teresa had walked in one day a couple of years before. Their interest and subsequent investment in the shop had begun a new chapter in Summer and Margot’s lives, and they’d made several great friends along the way.

Their friends had stood by them in the last few months as the shop had drawn unfavorable attention from anonymous and downright hostile sources, the latest being the attempted arson on the shop a few weeks before.

A carpenter was already contracted to do the repair work. He’d given them an estimate to just fix the damage then had also given a price for completely refurbishing it. Summer and Margot loved the back porch area and rose garden, so they had decided to fund the project and paid the difference to have the extra work done. The contractor was supposed to start early the following day.

Grace had told Summer she knew of someone who could install the best in security systems at a very reasonable price. Summer had an appointment with them that morning, which was the reason she needed to get to the store early—to get her work done before they got there.

She parked in her spot and climbed from the car, juggling all her belongings. Once inside she laid everything on the oak-topped lingerie cabinet they used as a sales counter. She was particularly fond of that huge oak display case. She’d found it at an estate sale, recognizing it for what it actually was. She and Margot had repaired and sanded it down, then refinished it themselves. After the glass in the numerous small panels on the front was replaced it looked like it had when it had graced a ritzy 1920s department store.

She checked the stack of messages Margot had left for her on the counter and carried her belongings back to the office opposite the kitchen. Once a formal dining room, the office housed Summer and Margot’s desks, which were back-to-back, and Juliana’s desk and hutch in one corner. The office was in the rear of the house and had very large windows which were draped with sheer white lace to let in as much light as possible. Summer loved this room. One window looked out over a rolling hayfield on the property next door. When the sun hit the grass just right and the wind rippled through it, it was magical. The other window looked out over rosebushes in the shaded backyard.

She looked out the windows now and smiled at the overcast, pearl-gray sky. The rain was still falling but was supposed to clear up by midmorning. She sipped her coffee and giggled at the antics of a squirrel climbing down a tree trunk in the backyard. The house was completely silent except for the occasional settling creak. After checking the time, she set to work.

A while later, Summer stood in the dimly lit kitchen stirring sweetener into her second cup of coffee when she heard a thump outside the back door. Thinking it was Mr. Abbott, the carpenter, she peeked out through one of the closed shutters. Perhaps he was dropping off supplies for the big job starting tomorrow.

She focused on the individual dressed in dark clothing. He had his back to her and was bent over something. He moved and she could see he was leaning over a small toolbox, and she gasped when he turned. Carpenters didn’t wear ski masks in the summertime. She silently closed the shutters, grateful she’d left the bright overhead light off, and snuck across the hall on trembling legs.

She snatched her cell phone from her desk, dialed 9-1-1, and slid her other hand around the handle of the aluminum baseball bat Margot had brought up to work after the fire.

Summer’s heart lurched in her chest as the masked intruder tampered with the back door. She nearly jumped out her skin when she heard a loud thump. She could hear swearing on the other side of the door as she peeked from the office. The burglar was making so much racket, he evidently assumed no one was there.

She pulled her phone from her ear and looked at it. No bars. “Damn it.” Cell service was spotty at best this far out in the country. Sometimes they had it, and sometimes they didn’t.

Suddenly righteously pissed off, Summer made a decision that might get her into trouble later. Once they got in, whoever that was on the other side of the door was in for a surprise. She turned off her desk lamp and tiptoed back across the hall and switched off the light over the stove in the kitchen, casting the back of the house in darkness. She was tired of “phoning it in” to the sheriff and tired of being a victim, constantly checking her rearview mirror as she drove to and from work. She was sick and tired of assholes like this one in general.

Adrenaline pumped through her system as the knob jostled in the door like it was coming loose. In a matter of seconds the door would be open. Where were her keys? In her pocket. She breathed a prayer of thanks for that bit of luck. They could be another weapon. She could use the remote to set off her car alarm and perhaps scare him away, but she perversely wanted to catch him in the act, inside her house. He thought no one was there yet. Otherwise he would have been much quieter.