Shaken (10 page)

Except Robin got pregnant and, rather than ’fess up her infidelity, she’d looped the noose around Tony’s neck. Good, reliable Tony. He could hate her for that except that noose included Lindsey, and his heart had no room for hate when it came to his little girl.

“You think she started all this because she found out you had money.” Sad, but Robin hated his limited budget and the overtime he put in. She wanted an easier life. A life he wanted to give her. But medical bills, bad insurance, and a business plan to open his own bar meant tight purse strings for a long time.

Time she apparently didn’t want to give anyone.

Nolan waved off the waitress and took a deliberate bite of his sandwich. Tony wasn’t hungry. He wanted answers.

“I know she did.” Nolan wiped his mouth and picked up his glass of fruity water. “I had her investigated. She’s overextended most of her credit cards, and the only reason she hasn’t done the same to yours is that you two never got married. She’s in debt to her eyeballs, and there are creditors clamoring to foreclose on that house you put in her name.”

Another critical
lapse
in his judgment. The thought actually made him smile faintly. They hadn’t gotten married, but he’d wanted to make sure everything with Robin and Lindsey was fine if anything happened to him. He had thought transferring the deed to Robin would do that.

“I write her a check for the mortgage every month.” That hadn’t changed, even after she kicked him out, filed for a restraining order, and blocked his access to Lindsey.

“I know that, too. But she’s using it to flesh out her wardrobe, getting access to parties I attend…. I’m not telling you this to try and sabotage her with you. I get the feeling the two of you are finished, no matter what happens. I want to set up a trust for your little girl.”

That’s it.
Tony set his fork down and leaned forward. “You keep calling her my little girl. Are you denying you’re her father?”

“Biologically? Not at all. Realistically, yes. My parents turned marriage into a blood sport. My mother’s on her fourth; my dad’s on his sixth. I’ve seen step-siblings and half-siblings come and go through the years. My mother and father are the greatest parents in the world when they’re around. But they aren’t around, and, when relationships go south, they throw money at them and pretend they never happened. I don’t want that for my kid or yours, and I’m sure as hell not ready to be a real parent now. I’m still learning how to be a real man.”

Tony’s mouth fell open, and he stared at the entitled prick—no, Nolan wasn’t behaving like that. He was just a guy seemingly trying to make the best of a really bad situation. Tony hadn’t known what he expected from the meeting, but decency sure as hell wasn’t it.

“Yeah, I have a soul, Tony. I’ve seen pictures of you with your daughter, and my detective tells me you’re a great guy. You’re dedicated, you’re a hard worker, and you’ve got a hell of a family. Your best friend even took your case pro bono. Robin’s a bitch, but you don’t deserve any of this, and your kid needs everyone she can get in her corner.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want?”

“Exactly what I said—I want to set up a trust for Lindsey. I want her to stay your child, and I want you to administer it. Robin won’t be able to touch a dime. You’ll also have all the financial support and underwriting you need to accomplish your goals and be the father you want to be.”

That sounded suspiciously too good to be true. “Until what? You decide you’re ready to be a dad?”

“No. Someday, I want her to know the truth, if you want to tell her. But that truth has to include you’re her father—I’m just going to be her favorite uncle.” Nolan grinned. “I make a hell of an uncle.”

Is this guy for real?

Not for the first time since Friday, hope flared in his chest. He had to talk to Zip.

****

Seven p.m. Monday

The train had been two minutes late to her stop, and Zip was tired. She’d hiked the three blocks toward her place with cold winds and fat snowflakes chasing her up the street. A winter storm had rolled in sometime Sunday, and the falling snow promised to leave the city draped in an icy, white shimmer. She jogged the last hundred feet when she caught sight of Tony standing on her porch.

His furrowed brow relaxed when he caught sight of her, and he set two giant white bags next to the door before hurrying to meet her. He grabbed her backpack in one hand and her waist in the other. The touch of his lips on hers erased her exhaustion.

“Evening to you, too.” She chuckled, and he shuttled her into his side and kept her close as they wandered inside.

“I missed you, and I got Chinese.”

“I love Chinese.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Chapter Eight

Tuesday

“So who has room in their schedules?” Phillips, the managing partner at Slemien & Karter, stood at the head of the conference room table. Like that of all the other associates and junior associates in the room, Zip’s schedule was filled to the brim. Even if she didn’t take a day off between now and April fifteenth, she’d still not have any room for more work.

“Sorry, boss.” She spoke up while most of the associates spent their time avoiding eye contact. “I just added Ryan and Davis LLC to my stacks.” She’d learned a long time ago to grab the bull by the horns by taking on some of their most difficult clients—difficult in sheer number of receipts. The Ryan and Davis LLC account she’d landed on her own, and it would be a lucrative deal for her firm.

Phillips studied her for a moment, then tapped his pen on the table. “Agreed, Zip. I want you focused on what you have….” And, with that, he pinned the three associates on either side of her and divvied out the work. Good-natured grumbling followed, but the weekly management meeting broke with her case load exactly where it had been when she’d walked in the room. A distinct improvement over the last three weeks when she’d earned more work each time. She was still smiling when she arrived at her cubicle and found Tony sitting at her desk.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

Swallowing a delighted squeal, she gave him a quick kiss. “Hey, what are you doing here?” They’d already garnered the attention of several other employees who made no attempt to disguise their interest.

“Lunch.” Tony took the stack of files out of her hands, set them on the desk, then retrieved her coat from the hook on the cubby wall. “You can take thirty minutes, run down to the corner with me, and eat.”

She hesitated. Her desk housed a ton of work, and she’d planned to eat a sandwich while working Excel spreadsheets, but it couldn’t compete with Tony’s sexy mouth or the invitation in his eyes.

“Thirty minutes,” he murmured. “Enough time to walk, talk, and eat.”

“Okay.” Not a hard choice. His touch lingered on her shoulders after he helped her into her jacket, and he tugged her hair free without any prompting. The gentle brush of his thumb to the side of her neck went straight to her sex, prompting a far more delicious way to spend a lunch hour.

Too bad she didn’t have an office.

“You know”—Tony kept his voice low—“it really is too bad you’re stuck in a cubicle.” The sensuous echo of her thought sent another delicious shiver through her. She hurried and unlocked the drawer with her purse to grab her gloves and scarf. He threaded his fingers with hers as they walked toward the elevators, and Zip's face warmed at the speculative looks tossed her way.

There would be an inquisition later if she went anywhere near the break room. ’Course, it would be totally worth it. She rested her head on his shoulder. Waiting patiently for the elevator, Zip tensed her thighs together. This was worse than the bar. At least there she didn’t feel so guilty about watching him move, and, right then, all she seemed to be able to manage involved picturing him naked.

The elevator opened—thank God, it was empty—and they stepped inside. The doors closed, and she didn’t know who reached for who first, but Tony’s arms caged her, and his mouth slammed down on hers. Hot, wet, and fast, and it took everything not to pull the emergency button and climb him.

A faint slowing of the car gave them a split second to pull apart before the doors parted to let more passengers aboard. Zip bit her lip, then Tony snickered, and she giggled. By the time they arrived at the ground floor, they were chortling like teenagers caught necking at school.

Not even the cold wind outside could stifle her mirth, though Tony paused long enough to make her put on her gloves, then tucked the length of her scarf around her neck. “No freezing for you.”

A wave of tenderness swept through her at the care he took with her. God, he’s such a great guy…. “Yes, sir. Where are your gloves?”

He grinned, extracted his pair from his pocket, and dangled them teasingly. When he pulled out a hat, he eyed her hair. “Hmm, how much trouble will I be in if I put this on you?”

“The best thing about big hair,” she teased, “is it keeps my ears warm—but I also have these.” Her earmuffs had been stuffed into her pocket, and they wouldn’t crush her curls.

“Good enough—and damn those are sexy.” He winked and dropped his tone to a suggestive murmur. “Maybe you’ll wear them for me again later.”

Her burst of laughter earned them more than one stare, but she ignored them all and threaded her arm through his when he offered it, and down the street they went. “Where are we eating?”

“Well, I thought I’d buy you a pretzel and some coffee. But if you want real food, we might be longer than thirty minutes.”

“Hmm, a pretzel sounds fantastic, and I’d rather spend the time with you than in a diner.” She pointed to the opposite corner. “Great stand that way, about one block.”

Lunch turned out to be pure fun. They drank their coffee, ate pretzels, and talked about nothing. She tingled every time their gazes locked, and Tony’s open affection was a huge boost to her ego. All too soon, their thirty minutes were up. “I don’t want to go back to work.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “But you have to and get all wound up, so I can unwind you tonight.”

“Hmmm, I like the sound of that.” Boy did she ever. Who was she kidding? He could probably run his hand across her, and she’d come. Her whole body tensed with anticipation, and she sighed. What a thought.

“Please God, tell me what just went through your head.” He nudged her out of the path of the foot traffic on the street and up to the side of the building. It cut the breeze, but she was so hot on the inside, she barely noticed the chill.

“I’m wound up right now.” She stood on her tiptoes and embraced a brazenness that felt almost foreign and yet delicious at the same time. “In fact, I’m pretty sure”—she whispered in his ear—“if you were to touch me, I’d pull a Meg-Ryan-screaming orgasm right here on the street.”

Tony closed his eyes and groaned. “You are a cruel woman.” But his lips quirked upward, and he rested his fingers lightly on her hips. “Where exactly would I have to touch you?”

Settling her gloved palms on his chest, she licked her lips—vibrantly aware of his attention on her mouth. “My breasts feel a little swollen, and my nipples are very tight. The bra is almost pure torture right now.”

“Red lace?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She pressed a kiss to his jaw and then behind his earlobe. “But the real problem is my red lace panties—they’re soaked.”

He flexed his fingers, dragging her closer to the spearing erection straining against his pants. “So would you prefer that one touch to set you off be lips, tongue, or fingers?”

Starbursts of pleasure lit up behind her closed eyes, and she let out a throaty mewl. “Can I pick D for all of the above?”

“Absolutely,” he whispered, brushing a thumb under the fur of her earmuff and nudging it aside, to graze her earlobe with his teeth. “I’d start by stripping you naked—I’d want to see every swollen pink part of you. Then I’d nibble on your nipples, suck them until you screamed, and only then would I slide down—”

She clapped a hand over his mouth and blew out a breath. If it were possible to come from the stroke of his words, she’d be a liquid pool of wanton need on the ground. “Hold that thought.” Talking proved difficult, but harder still was breathing. She trembled from head to toe.

She felt the pressure of his kiss to her gloved palm. “Tonight.” His eyes held all kinds of forbidden promises.

“Tonight.” She groaned. “And now I have to go spread the sheets….”

He lifted his brows. “I can help you spread—”

Zip laughed. “Yeah, because our minds are on numbers.”

“Only number I need is yours.” He winked and swooped in for a long, very satisfying, unsatisfying kiss that left her hungry for more. “I’ll meet you at your place.”

“If I haven’t died from wanting you by then, I’ll be there.” Who knew flirting could be so fun? And in the middle of the day, on a busy street, right outside her office? She might never look at work the same way again.

Despite the sexual tension eating away at her, she practically floated the last half-block to her office, and Tony walked with her all the way. At the doors, he gave her another gentle kiss. “I’ll see—”

“Zipporah Anne Collins!” Her mother’s voice crashed right through her euphoric haze.

Tony shifted his attention to a spot over her shoulder and Zip wanted to die. “My mother is standing right there, isn’t she?”

“I’m thinking yes, since she looks just like you.” He nodded and kept her close when she turned, then offered his free hand to her mother. “Tony Giordano, Mrs. Collins.”

With utter politeness, Anne Collins accepted the handshake. “Were you on your way out or in, Zipporah?”

“Back to work.” She hadn’t felt that busted since high school. Stealing a sideways glance at Tony, she tried to convey an apology with her eyes.

He gave her a gentle squeeze and raised his brows in silent question. Did she want him to stay? “I’ll let you catch up with your mom.”

Hell, no, she didn’t want him to leave, but it would be a bad idea for him to stay. So she smiled and declined the silent offer. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”