Flirting with Disaster (22 page)

“He probably could,” she said. “But you don't have to go. I can borrow a truck and take the desk down myself.”

“Like I said, I have people I need to see in Savannah. Cord's been bugging me to get down there. Maybe you and I can stay over, have a great meal, walk along the river. I know a fantastic B&B on the waterfront—or there's one I've stayed at in town that has a room in the carriage house out back. You decide.”

She regarded him suspiciously. “Since when have you spent a lot of time hanging out in fancy B&B's in Savannah?”

“Even a guy like me knows a little something about romancing a lady in style,” he claimed.

“So you've stayed in these places with other women,” Maggie said slowly, fighting the desire to slug him for past sins, as ridiculous as that would be. He might decide to start asking questions about her past and she definitely didn't want to go there.

“Does it matter whether I've stayed there before?” he asked.

“I think it does,” she admitted. “I don't want to stay in some room where you've had a romantic tryst with another woman. I'll find us a place to stay.”

“Fine. Suits me. You probably have better taste than I do. This way I won't have to listen to you complain about my choice.”

Maggie wasn't sure she appreciated the suggestion that she might be too judgmental or picky, but she let the comment pass. “What time do you want to leave?”

“I'll pick you up early, say, around seven. We can stop for breakfast on the way down.”

“If we're going that early, why not come back tomorrow night?” she asked.

“And miss the chance to romance you in some classy place? I don't think so.”

Something didn't feel quite right about this whole excursion, but Maggie couldn't put her finger on it. Josh was saying all the right things, letting her have her own way. How could she argue with any of that?

“I'll be ready at seven,” she said finally.

But between now and then, she was going to do her best to figure out just what Josh was up to.

 

Josh was pretty darn proud of himself. His little scheme had worked like a charm. He'd known from the outset of their conversation that Maggie would never in a million years let him lay a finger on her precious antique desk, no matter how qualified he might be to do the work. He'd seized the opportunity to get her out of town. Now all he had to do was entice her to stay there for more than one night—or at least until Detective Ryan had Brian safely in custody.

He'd had a couple of bad minutes when she'd questioned why they were staying at all. Once he had her in that room, though, he figured he could persuade her that there was no big hurry to get back. He'd stay in touch with Detective Ryan till Brian was behind bars before letting Maggie budge from Savannah.

Unfortunately, so far the police were having a hard time tracking the man down. If he was behind the destruction at the gallery, he'd wisely beat a hasty retreat out of Charleston once he'd accomplished his mission and wrecked the place. The cops had his apartment under surveillance 24/7. They'd assured Josh they would catch the man the minute he came back to town.

Meantime, Josh intended to keep Maggie otherwise occupied. She'd already started getting impatient that Brian wasn't locked up. Any second now Josh expected her to insist on looking for the man herself. The thought of Maggie and Ellie forming their own posse sent a shiver of alarm through him.

Relieved to be postponing such a potential calamity, he arrived at her place promptly at seven with the desk already in the back of the truck, wrapped in several blankets to keep it from sustaining any more damage on the trip to Savannah. He'd tossed his bag in the back of the truck, as well.

When Maggie opened the door, she gave him one of those long, lingering looks that might have raised the temperature of his blood ten degrees if there hadn't been so much suspicion behind it.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“I'm not entirely sure.”

“Did something happen?”

“No, not yet, anyway.”

“Am I supposed to have the faintest idea what you're talking about?”

“You're up to something, Josh. I just can't figure out what it is.”

“Me? I'm driving you to Savannah. What's so mysterious about that?”

Her expression remained puzzled. “I can't quite put my finger on it, but I will.”

He shook his head. “Well, be sure to keep me posted.”

“Oh, you can rest assured I will,” she said.

“You know, Maggie, not everything in life is some big plot or conspiracy.”

“No, not everything,” she agreed. “But with you, I can't be sure.”

He chuckled. “Maybe I just want to be alone with you someplace romantic. How dastardly is that?”

“I wish I believed that's all this trip is about,” she said, crawling into the truck.

“If you're so suspicious of my motives, why are you going?”

“So I can have my way with you, of course,” she said sweetly. “Why should I miss out on that just because I don't trust you entirely?”

“Why indeed?” Josh muttered. The workings of her mind would never cease to amaze him.

He stole a glance at her as he pulled onto the highway. “Tell me again how a woman from Charleston, which is loaded with people who are experts in restoring antiques, wound up using someone in Savannah?”

“Geoffrey Latham used to be in Charleston. Then he met someone and fell in love. Since his family disapproved, they set up shop in Savannah.”

“Are we talking a gay couple here?” Josh asked.

She frowned at the question. “Does it matter?”

“To me? No. I was just wondering why his family objected. Sexual orientation seemed like the most logical reason.”

“Well, you happen to be right, but there could have been dozens of other reasons.”

“Such as?”

“Class is very important to some people in Charleston,” she began.

“To your family?” he inquired, then held his breath. He'd been getting along with the Forsythes, but he doubted he was their idea of a good candidate for a son-in-law.

“To some degree, I suppose.”

Josh felt a knot form in his gut. “So you figure you're slumming with me? Is this thing with us still about driving your mama crazy?”

“I don't go slumming,” she said indignantly. “I choose my friends and my lovers because I enjoy their company, not because of who they are or how much money they have.”

“But you can't deny that having your mama get all riled up is a nice bonus,” Josh said.

“Okay, yes, sometimes that has been a factor,” she admitted. “I'm not very proud of that.”

“How about this time?” Josh pressed, unable to let the subject drop, even though he was hating every one of her answers.

“If that's what you and I were about, I'd be flaunting you under her nose, not running off to Savannah with you.”

“Come on, sugar, you don't have to flaunt anything. You know she'll get wind of this. It's not like people don't know we're going.”

“How could anyone possibly know? Have you been bragging?”

“No, I have not been bragging,” he said with exasperation. “But there were a lot of people around when we made these plans. I had to tell Cord I was going to be away a couple of days. I'd be willing to bet you told Dinah, to say nothing of Ellie and Vicki, since they must be covering for you at the gallery.”

“Okay, yes, but what does that have to do with my mother finding out?”

“Did you swear them all to secrecy?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then odds are, your mother will find out. She'll call the store looking for you or she'll talk to Dinah. Whoever she speaks to will innocently mention that you and I are away together.” He slanted a look at her. “Will she freak out?”

Maggie hesitated. “I honestly don't know.”

“Maybe that's not even the important question,” Josh said thoughtfully.

“What is, then?”

“Do you care if she flips out?”

“Truthfully, I don't care what she thinks.”

Josh couldn't hide his skepticism. “Really?”

“Really,” she said flatly. “This is not about my mother.”

“Since when?”

“Since I realized a few days ago that there didn't seem to be anything I could do that scared you off,” she said wryly. “Now it's all about me and whether or not understanding that will send me running for the hills.”

That was an unexpected twist. Josh wasn't sure how he felt about it. He met her gaze briefly. “Come to any conclusions about that yet?”

“Nope. The jury's still out.”

“You realize this is dangerous new turf for both of us,” he teased.

“Tell me about it.”

He liked the way her willingness to court danger made him feel. “I'll do what I can to make it worth your while.”

“I'm counting on that,” she said. “Which is why I made a reservation for an early check-in. I thought we might want to get started on that part right away.”

Josh laughed. “Darlin' you surely are full of surprises.”

“Something you should probably keep in mind.”

“Oh, believe me, it's not something I'm likely to forget.”

In fact, he had a hunch Maggie was capable of taking him on more nail-biting roller-coaster rides than any woman he'd ever met.

I
t was two days before they even considered emerging from the hotel room Maggie had reserved for them in Savannah. It was a good thing she'd instinctively chosen a place that had outstanding room service.

Wednesday morning they were lingering over fresh strawberries and Belgian waffles when she sat back with a contented sigh. “As amazing as this has been, we probably should deliver that desk to Geoffrey before he wonders what happened to me. He knows I'm in town and I'm beginning to run out of excuses for not getting it over to his shop.”

“Maybe you should just tell him the truth,” Josh suggested. “That you're having yourself a wild fling.”

Judging from his expression, he spoke only partially in jest.

“As interesting as I'm sure he'd find that,” Maggie said dryly, “I think maybe discretion would be better. He still knows a lot of people in Charleston.”

“You ashamed of what we've been up to?” Josh inquired, his voice edged with tension.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Maggie said emphatically. “Why would I be ashamed of this? It's been fabulous.”

“Fabulous, huh?” He grinned, looking pleased with himself. “I certainly thought so. You do have a way about you, Magnolia.”

“Very amusing,” she replied, fighting a smile. “But it has to end sometime. We can't hide out down here forever, as attractive as that sounds to me right this second. Besides, you should see whoever it is you need to see and then we should get back home.”

“What's the rush?”

“I hardly think we're rushing. We pretty much locked ourselves away in here for two days.” She grinned seductively as she slid her bare foot up his calf. “I'd say we've taken our time getting to know each other a whole lot better, wouldn't you?”

“We've made some progress,” he conceded with a renewed glint of desire in his eyes. “We can always do better.”

“And I'm sure we will,” she agreed crisply. “But now it's time to get back to the real world.”

“I wasn't aware we were on a timetable.”

“We're not,” she said impatiently. “But we both have responsibilities.” Until she'd gone into hiding after her aborted wedding, she'd never stayed away from work for more than a couple of days, and now, with so much going on, wasn't the time to start. With Brian still on the loose, it wasn't right to leave Ellie and Vicki on their own to deal with him if he went on another rampage.

“I suppose you're right,” Josh agreed with unmistakable reluctance. He gave her a deliberately enticing grin. “But we could play hooky one more day without our respective worlds falling apart, couldn't we? I don't have any work to do on Amanda's house till Saturday, and I'm sure Ellie has your shop under control.”

On the one hand, Maggie thought, his effort to keep her here away from their cares was flattering. On the other, something was screaming in her head that she shouldn't trust his motives one bit.

“I'm sure Ellie is doing just fine, but the gallery is my responsibility. Are you so anxious to stay because this has been so incredible?” she asked. “Or is there some specific reason you want to stay away from Charleston as long as possible?”

Before he could answer, the truth suddenly dawned on her. “That's it, isn't it? This has all been a ruse to keep me away from Charleston,” she declared, not sure whether she was more furious with him for deceiving her, or herself for being stupid enough to fall for it. To think the trip had all been a calculated ploy was enough to ruin the fabulous time they'd had.

Her accusation didn't seem to faze Josh. His expression remained perfectly bland.

“A ruse? Where do you come up with this stuff? What makes you think I was trying to keep you away from Charleston?” he inquired without rancor. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you were convinced I'd go after Brian myself if the police didn't drag him into custody immediately,” she charged, gathering steam as she mentally filled in the blanks for herself. “This whole trip has been about protecting me, about keeping me from doing something stupid. Well, what about Ellie? Did you ever consider the possibility that she might be the one who needs protecting?”

“Taken care of,” he said calmly.

“How? What do you mean?”

“I mean there's someone looking out for her and the gallery every minute,” he explained.

That was some comfort, she admitted, though only to herself. Still glowering at him, she said, “Which left you to guard me.”

He still refused to confess. “And here I thought the past couple of days were all about you and me having some pretty amazing sex and a few gourmet meals.”

“We could have had sex and great food in Charleston,” she retorted.

“And I suspect we will,” he said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Not if I find out you lied to get me down here,” she said. “If you ever get lucky with me again, it'll only be because I decide not to kill you.”

He held up a hand. “Hold on a second, Maggie. How do you propose to prove whether I lied? You're the one who wanted to bring that desk to Geoffrey. I agreed to bring you. For all I know, you're the one who had ulterior motives. Talk about a ruse! You could have lured me here just to get my pants off.”

Her temper streaked into the stratosphere. “Don't you dare try to turn this around and question my motives,” she said. “I could have had that desk down here and been back in Charleston by midafternoon. You were the one with all the big talk about romance.”

“You weren't objecting that strenuously about an hour ago, or a few hours before that, or day before yesterday,” he reminded her.

“A real gentleman wouldn't throw that back in a lady's face.”

He laughed, then quickly swallowed it. “Sorry.”

“If you say I haven't been behaving like a lady, I will personally dump hot, scalding coffee over your head,” she threatened and meant every word of it.

“Then I certainly won't say that,” he said solemnly.

“Do you have any idea how much you're annoying me right now?”

He nodded. “Even I'm not dense enough to miss your point,” he said.

She frowned at that. “Nobody ever said you were dense.”

“Sorry. I must have misinterpreted. I was beginning to think I was nothing more than some sort of sex slave with devious motives.”

She threw her napkin at him as she flounced into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The man was infuriating. Absolutely, positively infuriating! Sex slave, indeed.

It wasn't until she stepped under the shower that she permitted herself to grin. The whole sex-slave thing was an interesting concept. It was certainly a lot less threatening than what was really going on. The truth was that as infuriating as Josh might be with this whole protective mode he was in, she was beginning to fall just a little bit in love with him because of it.

Not one single man before him had ever thought she needed help or protection or even a shoulder to lean on. Heck, until Josh,
she
hadn't thought she needed any of that. She'd always prided herself on her competence and her ability to handle any crisis.

But she was discovering that sharing life with someone else—the good and the bad—made everything better.

 

“What's the word from Detective Ryan?” Josh asked Cord, keeping his voice low. He'd called as soon as he heard the shower running in the bathroom. Since things were rapidly spinning out of control here, he needed an update on what was going on back in Charleston. He wanted to know what sort of danger Maggie might be in when she got back, since it seemed inevitable that they were leaving here today.

“Brian's still among the missing,” Cord said. “I don't like the fact that there's been no sign of him. Something weird's going on. I can feel it. Can you keep Maggie away for a few more days?”

“I'll be lucky to keep her away a few more hours,” Josh confessed with disgust. “She's onto me. She figured out why we're here and she is not happy.”

“Then you must not have been doing something right,” Cord suggested.

“Oh, believe me, I got that part right. I just couldn't figure out any way to shut off her brain the rest of the time. Somewhere between the waffle and the strawberries and whipped cream, she got to thinking.”

“I suppose that mind of hers would be a terrible thing to waste,” Cord said, not even trying to contain his amusement. “So, you're coming back today?”

“Afraid so.”

“Then we'll just have to make sure one of us is with her at all times to make sure she doesn't go off on her own in search of Brian. Or to make sure he doesn't get to her. Something tells me he's just biding his time.”

“To be honest, I don't think she's going to let me anywhere near her for a while,” Josh admitted. “She considers my motives suspect.”

“Then we'll get a whole crowd of people together and tell them what's going on. We can see to it that she's never alone.”

“We can't pull the people we've got keeping an eye on Ellie,” Josh reminded him. “She's determined to make up for what happened at Images. She can be as impulsive as Maggie. She might get some crazy idea to go after Brian herself. Even with all he's done, I'm not sure she understands how dangerous he really is.”

“I talked to Vicki,” Cord said. “On the surface she seems like a bit of a flake, but I trust her to keep an eye on things. Ellie's not going anywhere alone if Vicki has anything to say about it. And the police have kept their promise to keep a close eye on the gallery in case Brian shows up there. There's been a cop nearby every time I've gone past the place. There's another one patrolling the area around Ellie's loft.”

“Then I guess we've done what we can,” Josh said, though it was small comfort. If only he were half as certain that Maggie wouldn't come up with some outlandish scheme that would put her in danger.

“Of course, there might be one more thing you could do,” Cord said thoughtfully.

“What's that?” Josh asked at once. “I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

“You could arrange for a flood at that motel of yours,” Cord said. “I don't think it would take much to put your room underwater.”

“Which would accomplish what?” Josh asked. “There are other rooms.”

“Insist they're all booked,” Cord said. “Maggie won't check.”

“And my mother's room?”

“Too small for the two of you,” Cord said.

Lord knows that was true enough, Josh thought with a shudder. “Okay, and then what?”

“You throw yourself on Maggie's mercy. She'll take you in. I can almost guarantee it.”

“It's the
almost
that terrifies me,” Josh said. “I could be sleeping on the street with a suitcase filled with soaking-wet clothes.”

“It won't come to that,” Cord said confidently.

“I don't know. Maggie's pretty furious with me right now.”

“Then I suggest you mend fences on the way home so she'll be feeling all sympathetic when she hears about your sad plight later today.”

Josh was filled with doubts. As desperate as he was to stick to her like glue, he didn't want to risk antagonizing her with yet another deception. When this mess was over, he wanted the two of them to have something left.

“You really think she'll fall for this?” he asked Cord.

“I think she'll ask to see the flooded-out room, but yes, I think she'll take you in,” Cord said with certainty. “She has a big heart. Besides, you've been locked away with her in that hotel room for two days. Surely she must see some redeeming qualities in you.”

Josh grinned, despite his skepticism over Cord's plot. “Not to brag on myself, but I think we get along just fine as long as we never leave the bed. It's when Maggie starts stirring around that things get a little dicey.”

“Then I think your mission is obvious. Get her back up here and back into bed.”

“You make it sound like a slam dunk. For a man who's known Maggie as long as you have, shouldn't you know better than that?”

“I have confidence in you,” Cord said. “Keep me posted on how it's going. Meantime, I'll rally the troops.”

“Does that include Dinah?” Josh inquired worriedly.

“Of course. Why?”

“Then you might want to keep a few of the details of your plan to yourself. In my experience, this is the kind of thing women can't wait to share with their best friends. They consider it their duty to stand together against a common enemy—us.”

“You have a point,” Cord conceded. “I'll just give Dinah the bare facts about the importance of keeping Maggie from doing anything foolish. I'll enlist her aid. She knows how Maggie's mind works. She could be a big help.”

“Good idea,” Josh said, relieved. He heard the water cut off in the bathroom. “I'd better go. We'll talk once I'm back in Charleston.”

“Call me if you need any help in making sure those pipes in your motel room suffer a major leak.”

“I don't think that's going to be a problem,” Josh said wryly. “Nadine could make that happen with a couple of straight pins. The only thing left of those pipes is the rust.”

He saw the handle on the bathroom door twist. “Gotta go,” he said, then hung up the phone and feigned sleep.

“Who were you talking to?” Maggie asked as she walked into the bedroom.

“What?” he murmured groggily.

“Oh, stop it. I know you were on the phone. Who were you talking to?”

Josh sighed and sat up. “I was just checking in with Cord.”

She didn't look as if she believed him. “And you didn't want me to know that because?”

“Because I knew you'd jump to the wrong conclusion and assume we were conspiring against you,” he said.