Authors: Francis Ray
A few seconds later a man walked up beside her. “Planning to do some cooking?”
She glanced up. He was in his early thirties, clean-shaven, with an expensive watch
and clothes. “Yes,” she answered, picking up several packages of beef franks and hoping
he’d heard the disinterest in her voice and would move on.
“You need any help?”
“No, thank you.” Why were some men so dense? Or was it that they thought they were
irresistible.
He lifted his hand. “Please, I insist.”
“My husband is the only help I need. Isn’t that right, darling?”
The man whirled around and almost bumped into Rio. He backed up and swallowed. “I—I
didn’t see you.”
“You see me now,” Rio said.
“Yes. Good-bye.” The man took off.
Skylar laughed, put the franks in the cart, then picked up six pounds of beef sausages.
“The poor man left his basket. Chuck for the burgers next.”
Rio retrieved their cart. “Does that happen often?”
Skylar shrugged and went to the meat counter. “Forty chuck patties, please.”
“Coming up.” The man tore off a section of butcher paper and placed it on the scale.
“I don’t like asking a question twice.”
She went to stand beside Rio and whispered, “Grocery stores are supposed to be a good
place to pick up a date. So, yes, it happens. Mentioning my husband in the next aisle
looking at whatever usually does the trick. This is the first time there’s actually
been a man with me.” She smothered a grin. “It’s awful of me to laugh, but I thought
he’d faint. Maybe the next time he’ll take the hint and leave the woman alone.”
“Here you go, miss.”
“Thanks.” Rio took the meat and placed it in the cart. “You ready to go?”
“We need drinks, vegetables, condiments, plasticware, dessert, chips,” she rattled
off.
“Then we’re finished.” Rio headed for the front of the store. “We have all that at
the castle.”
“But I wanted to do this on my own,” she said, catching up with him to grab his arm.
“I’ll be fast. There’s an employee. I can ask where everything is and we can be in
line in thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes.” Rio spoke the words as if she’d said
Thirty hours.
“Maybe twenty.” She bit her lower lip, her hazel eyes beseeching him.
“Twenty minutes. Go ask.”
* * *
They made it out of the store forty-five minutes later with a cart of groceries, and
Skylar carrying a tray each of assorted cookies and assorted brownies. Another minute
and he might have grabbed her and left.
“I’m sorry it took so long.”
“Just get in.” He placed the last bag in the back and started to return the cart.
“You finished with it?” a young woman with two small children asked.
“Yes.” Rio held the end while she placed both children inside.
“Thanks.” She hurried toward the store.
Rio got into the Jeep. Two cars heading in the opposite direction were already waiting
to take his spot. Madness, he thought. Just as quickly he realized that someone had
to do the grocery shopping. He was just glad it wasn’t him.
He pulled out in such a way that the driver driving correctly was able to take his
spot. He was more than ready to get back.
“I really am sorry.”
Skylar had apologized several times already. “This had better be the best hot dog
I’ve ever tasted.”
She lifted her arms to hug him. “Driving.”
“Just you wait,” she promised.
* * *
After Skylar fired up the grill near the kitchen, she went to prepare the meat. When
she came back outside, Rio had a large ice chest and was putting soft drinks, lemonade,
and tea inside.
“Thanks for helping.” She placed the patties on the front burner, the franks and Polish
sausage on the back burner, and closed the lid. “I’m going inside to get trays and
bowls for the buns and chips.”
“Not necessary.” Rio closed the lid of the ice chest and began to pull out condiments,
napkins, and plates. “They don’t want fancy. They just want good food and lots of
it.”
“All right. I’ll get something for the meat when it’s cooked and be right back.” She
hurried inside and came back with a roasting pan big enough for a thirty-pound turkey.
Placing it on the table, she opened the tray of brownies, took one, and went to Rio.
He had a bag of chips in each hand. “Open?” she asked with a smile.
He stared at her. “Come on. I don’t want your franks to burn.”
His strong white teeth bit the sweet in half. Skylar popped the other half in her
mouth. “Delicious. Better check the meat.” Humming, she opened the large grill top.
Hickory-scented smoke wafted up. Some of the franks were ready, their skin glistening.
Pleased, she grabbed the pan, placed them inside, and went to the table to prepare
Rio a plate. “Mustard, ketchup, relish?”
“Where’s your plate?”
“I thought we’d share.” She glanced at the grill. “I’ll be running back and forth
until the meat is ready. It just makes sense.”
Rio took the plate. “What do you want?”
“Besides you?”
His expression didn’t change. “Mustard, ketchup, relish?”
“Ketchup, lots of relish, potato chips, sugar cookie, Pepsi. Since I can’t have my
original request.” She went to the grill, checked the meat, then took a seat on a
cushioned bench and patted the place next to her. “I won’t bite—at least not until
later.”
Rio sat and slid the plate in front of her. “Eat while you have a chance. And I can
feed myself.”
Skylar quickly said grace and picked up the hot dog. It was just the way she liked
it. She took a bite. “Good.” She held it out to him. “Humor me. We went through a
lot today for this moment.”
He picked up his own hot dog and took a bite. She grunted and slid the plate over
with the other hot dogs. “Suit yourself, but I bet mine tastes better.” She took a
sizable bite and went to check the meat. Satisfied that the food was cooking well,
she prepared Rio a hamburger, wishing she had thought to get cheese.
She took a seat beside him and placed the burger on his plate. He was on his second
hot dog. He probably hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“Thanks.”
She picked up her cookie, glad to see that Rio was eating. “How did you, Blade, and
Shane meet?”
He was silent so long she didn’t think he’d answer. “Army.”
“And?”
“We became friends.” He popped the top of a Pepsi for both of them.
“I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”
“Not really.” Rio polished off his hamburger. “Sometimes you meet a person and just
know they’re going to be an important part of your life.”
“That we agree on.” She stood. “The last of the meat should be ready. You can call
your men. Do you mind taking food to the quarters for the ones on duty?”
“Why are you doing this?” he asked, coming to stand by her.
“Because they’re your men. I see the respect you have for each other. Sierra said
they helped move the things out of the room we’re using for the auction. All of this
activity must make your and their job more difficult but, unlike the rude delivery
driver the first day, they’ve never shown it.” She lifted the last burger from the
grill. “My situation isn’t helping. I just want to thank them.”
He turned her to him and palmed her face. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
Her hands tried to circle his strong wrists. “I know. Now, call your men so they can
rave about my cooking.”
* * *
Rio thought his men were like a polite pack of hungry wolves. The food disappeared
with alarming speed. They raved about the meal and thanked Skylar profusely. Conner
offered to take food to the command center and to their quarters for the men on duty.
By the time he left thirty minutes later, all the food was gone, the area clean, and
two kitchen bags held refuse and recyclables.
“I’d say that went very well.” Skylar turned to Rio with a smile.
“You didn’t finish your hot dog.” Although he told her it wasn’t necessary, she’d
played the perfect hostess, getting the men seconds or condiments.
With a gleam in her eyes, she opened the warming drawer of the grill and pulled out
a foiled-wrapped plate. “Guess what I have?”
Rio stepped beside her and opened the drawer beneath, lifting out a plate with an
assortment of cookies and brownies. “Since I saw you stash the hot dogs and hamburger,
I thought I should get the dessert.”
“Like minds.” She placed the plate on the table. “I’ll get the drinks.”
“Sit.” He pointed to the cushioned love seat. “You’ve run around enough.” He grabbed
two soft drinks and sat down beside her.
She leaned her shoulder against his and looked up at the clear sky. “The night is
so quiet here and so peaceful. The moon looks close enough to touch.”
“You need to eat.”
She straightened. “Some romantic you are. What if I said I was too tired to even lift
my hands?”
He stared at her, picked up the hot dog. She’d worked hard; it wouldn’t hurt this
one time to humor her.
Her white teeth bit into the hot dog, her eyes on his, her tongue flicking out for
the errant dot of mustard at the curve of her sensual mouth.
Rio shifted. His blood headed south. She grabbed his wrist, leaning forward for another
bite, her full breast brushing against his arm. He almost shot out of his seat. He
put the hot dog on the plate. “I think you’d better feed yourself.”
“I like it better when you do it.”
Skylar was sexy, sophisticated, and stubborn. An intriguing combination if he hadn’t
been trying to keep things more or less on a professional level. He’d crossed the
line a time or two, but he was trying not to make that mistake again. Skylar was trying
just as hard to get him to forget the line entirely. “The problem is, we both like
it.”
She put her arms around his neck, her lips inches from his. “Wanna see what else we
both like?”
He already knew the answer to that. He picked up a sugar cookie. “You didn’t get to
finish yours.”
“If I was sure one of your men wouldn’t pop back around that corner, you’d have your
hands full and it wouldn’t be with food.” She took the cookie and munched.
Rio was thinking another strategic retreat might be in order. He was fighting his
body
and
Skylar.
“Why don’t we go watch a movie?” Skylar was already standing with both plates. “It’s
an action movie so it won’t make your teeth ache. Grab the soft drinks. I can leave
this in the kitchen.”
Being alone in the house wasn’t wise, but there didn’t seem much choice. They couldn’t
stay out here all night. Rio picked up the drinks to follow, well aware that Skylar
wasn’t through tempting him.
Chapter 8
In the seating area of the great room, Skylar picked up the controls and activated
the fifty-seven-inch TV lift in the cabinet. She put the movie in the Blu-ray DVD
player and took a seat on the leather sofa. Rio sat as far away from her as possible.
Skylar didn’t watch the opening of
Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol
; she watched Rio. His feet flat on the floor, his posture erect, he watched the screen.
“You have a choice.” Skylar stopped the movie. “I can sit in your lap and we watch
the movie, or you can slide over here next to me.”
His head slowly turned to her. His eyes were devoid of emotion.
“I know I wouldn’t get within a foot of you if you didn’t want me to, but we both
know you won’t hurt me and I won’t make it easy for you,” she told him.
He didn’t move. She wrinkled her nose. “Good thing I have patience and I sort of like
you.” Getting up, she sat as close to him as possible. She felt the heat of his muscular
thighs seep through his jeans. “We’ll call this a draw since you let me get the food
and helped, but I wouldn’t mind an arm around my shoulder.” Their shoulders touching,
she punched the control to dim the lights and started the movie.
“You know this isn’t wise,” his deep voice rumbled.
She looked up at him. “This is the wisest, bravest thing I’ve ever done. Two years
is a long time to look at a man who’s just out of reach, a man who looks through you
instead of at you.” She ran her fingertips across his lower lip. “For the time being,
you’re looking back. At least sometimes. I’d begun to think it wouldn’t happen. I
told you, regardless of what happens afterward, I would have the remembered pleasure
of your smile, your lips on mine, your hands—”
“Skylar.” His voice was rough, thick. “Watch the movie.”
“I’d enjoy it better if your arm was around me,” she said, her breath fanning his
lips.
His black eyes narrowed. He put his arm around her shoulders. “You like having your
way.”
She snuggled closer. “But we both know, you never do anything you don’t want to. I’m
just offering suggestions.”
Rio grunted.
Skylar lifted to kiss his chin and settled back against him. Instead of watching Ethan
Hunt save the world again, she was trying to decide how Rio would react if she straddled
his lap for a long, hot kiss. All she had to do was throw … Her phone rang. Perhaps
it was a sign that what she’d been thinking wasn’t a good idea.
She leaned against Rio and pulled her cell phone out of the pocket of her jeans. “Hello,
Mrs. Grayson. How are you?
Rio took the control and muted the sound.
“Fine,” Mrs. Grayson answered. “I wanted to invite you to church with me in the morning,
if you have no other plans.”
“One moment.” Skylar looked at Rio. “Mrs. Grayson has invited me to church with her.
I’d like to go. You can send one of your men with me.”
“What time does she want you to meet her?”
She’d hoped he’d go with her, but she hid her disappointment and spoke into the phone.
“Thank you, Mrs. Grayson. I’d very much like to go. What time shall I meet you?”
“Eleven o’clock, and afterward you can come home with me for dinner,” she said.
Rio hadn’t said anything about spending the day with her. Perhaps being away would
help him miss her. “That sounds wonderful.”