Rescuing Diana (7 page)

“But you were in bed with me!”

She instantly regretted the words that had accidentally slipped from her lips. She was acting like an idiot again. Surely she would have known if they had … if something had happened. Besides, they were both still fully dressed.

“Diana, calm down—”

“I’m calm,” she interrupted, trying to pull herself together. There had to be a sophisticated way to keep the situation from becoming even more awkward. She only wished she knew what it was. She smiled, hoping her smile didn’t look as shaky as it felt. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

As he raised a brow, she had the feeling she wasn’t fooling him in the least. She tried again. “I was just surprised you were still here.”

“I wasn’t about to leave you asleep all alone out here without your alarm reset. Your nearest neighbor must be at least a mile away.”

“Oh, well, thank you for keeping me company, Adam.” She wondered if she should thank him for the massage, then decided it wouldn’t be wise for her nerves.

He began to chuckle. “Diana, if you get any more formal, you’re liable to say something truly outrageous. Actually, I hadn’t planned to fall asleep. It just happened. Okay?”

She hesitated, then decided it was much better to accept Adam’s smoothing over of the situation than to stand there and babble.

“Okay,” she agreed, while thinking it would take more than words to smooth her thudding heart and jangled nerves. Attempting to turn the conversation
in another direction, she added, “You were supposed to go to Richmond today, weren’t you?”

He smiled. “I can go tomorrow. Besides, it was just an excuse to see you.”

She opened her mouth, then abruptly shut it as a wild notion shot through her mind. She peered at the man standing on the other side of the bed. Sleeping with a person, no matter how innocently, was an intimate act. One person didn’t do intimate things unless he was attracted to the other person. From the beginning she’d been attracted to Adam, but was it possible that he really was attracted to her too?

She drew in her breath sharply at the thought.

“Diana, do I have to get down on my knees and beg forgiveness?”

His voice penetrated her numbed brain. Nervously pushing her hair off her face, she swallowed and said, “No, of course not, Adam. I was just think—ah, I guess I’m only half-awake.”

He grinned at her. “I’ll go get some coffee started. Or do I need a password for the machine?”

She shook her head.

“Good. I’d hate to set off an atom bomb this time.”

As she watched him leave the bedroom, Diana considered her own “Adam” bomb. She knew she wasn’t the type to attract men in droves. She hadn’t been on a date in years! Of course, she hadn’t been interested in having one, either. She’d been too busy, and she hadn’t met anyone she’d been irresistibly attracted to. Until Adam.

Slowly walking around the bed to get her glasses, she wondered if she could be wrong about Adam
finding her attractive. Although she hadn’t seen anything in the video tape to further her original suspicions about his reasons for helping her, she knew she shouldn’t just dismiss them either.

Her own judgment was no longer reliable, she thought as she put on her glasses. But surely Adam wouldn’t waste much more time if he intended to make an offer from Starlight Software. Or he’d never make one. Groaning, she admitted she’d been safely locked away in her ivory tower for too long. A more sophisticated woman would know what to do about her dilemma.

She turned her head and stared at the empty bedroom doorway. A more sophisticated woman, she mused. So far she’d only been trying to show Adam that she was a mature, savvy businesswoman, who couldn’t be suckered into a bad deal. But a sophisticated woman would be bold and daring. A sophisticated woman would play Adam’s game until she discovered the truth, one way or another. And strategy games were her business, so she ought to be a good player. Or, at least, a quick learner. Maybe it was time she stopped being Rapunzel and acquired a little sophistication. It couldn’t be too hard.

On that thought, she headed for the bathroom to shower and change.

Later, dressed in a white mohair sweater and fresh jeans, she went downstairs, determined to be as sophisticated as she possibly could. When she reached the kitchen, she spotted Adam gazing out the open window at the boundaries of the verdant Tilden Regional Park. He turned and smiled at her.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” she said in a cracking voice. She cleared her throat.

The strong, clean aroma of brewing coffee reached her nose, and in relief she headed for the coffee maker.

“Smells great,” she said, smiling at him. She poured them both a cup, managing not to spill any in spite of her suddenly awkward hands.

He walked over and picked up a cup. “Thanks.”

Summoning all her courage she asked, “Can you stay for dinner?”

“I was hoping you’d ask,” he said.

As she turned away, she smiled to herself. Issuing a dinner invitation was easy enough. She was positive that sophisticated women did it all the time.

Now all she had to do was figure out what came next.

“How did you get started in computers, Diana?” Adam asked in between bites of salmon grilled in herb butter. “By the way, you’re a terrific cook.”

Seated across the glass-topped dining table from Adam, Diana immediately realized she’d been staring almost trancelike at the corded muscles of his arms. She told herself that sophisticated women probably kept a firm hold on an attraction to a man. She smiled politely at his compliment. “Thank you. To answer your question, I had a math teacher in junior high who thought I’d be good with computers and let me use the one at school.”

“Obviously you were good with them,” he said, grinning.

She nodded. “I’m just grateful I can make a living doing something I enjoy.”

“Some of us are lucky. Now, what about men?”

“Men?” she squeaked, completely losing her slender grip on her poise. Instantly she berated herself
for her lack of sophistication. She attempted a cool smile. “If you are asking me to tell you what men are, then I’m very surprised the question comes from you.”

She congratulated herself on her calm answer until she saw his smile of satisfaction.

“Men do occasionally like to hear that women know what they are,” he drawled. “Actually, I was asking you about any past loves.”

Completely thrown by the question, she gazed at him in bewilderment. “Past loves?”

“And that answers that. Now let’s go on to fantasies, hopes, and aspirations.”

He wanted to know more about her, she thought, and wondered if his reason for doing so was because he was truly interested—or to find a vulnerable spot. She decided a sophisticated woman never let her vulnerability show. “My fantasy is to have Hulk Hogan carry me away to a desert island. My hope is that I have a computer with me at the time. And I aspire to live to the age of one hundred without ever catching another cold. I hate trying to breathe through a nose that feels like a squashed straw.”

She grinned as Adam burst into laughter.

“Why Hulk Hogan?” he finally asked.

“Because he could move a computer without flinching. Even the portables get heavy after a while.”

“Come on, now, tell the truth.”

She shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell, really. I’ve achieved my dream. I’m my own boss, and I hope it always stays that way.”

She didn’t say anything about her aspirations.
Right now she didn’t have any, except to show Adam she wasn’t a pushover.

“Don’t you ever get lonely, living here by yourself?” he asked, gazing at her with an undechipherable expression.

She hesitated before answering. She didn’t think she was lonely. At least she couldn’t remember a time when she’d been desperate for companionship. And she wasn’t a total hermit; she had her friends. “Basically I’m content.”

He was silent for a moment, then said, “Most people think they’re content until they have to come out of the castle. Have you come out of the castle, Diana?”

“I was never in one!” she exclaimed indignantly.

He just smiled and took another bite of salmon. “Great dinner. By the way, what’s next for Sir Morbid?”

Knowing she’d been on the verge of losing her poise again, Diana was grateful for the change of subject. “Actually, Adam, your work is done as far as Sir Morbid is concerned. I told you it wouldn’t take long.”

“So when do I get to see this game?”

Shocked by the question, she nearly gasped aloud. Her work was top secret. Anyone’s was, unless a programmer wanted it stolen. Either Adam was totally innocent about business security or he considered
her
to be totally naïve about it! Still, a sophisticated woman probably wouldn’t even be surprised that he’d ask such a question. Most likely she would have been prepared for it.

Forcing a smile onto her lips, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Adam. I make it a policy not to
show my games to anyone before they’re released to the public.”

He smiled. To her disgust, it was a smile that told her nothing. How was she supposed to figure him out if he didn’t give anything away?

“I understand,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s probably a sensible security measure. Not quite as exotic as barking dogs and screaming computers, though.”

His voice was so bland, Diana couldn’t help giggling. She was sure he’d never forget her burglar alarm.

“I’ll tell you what I can do,” she said as she pushed around the last of her salad with her fork. “Once I get the pictures done, I’ll put them on a disk for you. What DOS are you using?”

His face went completely blank. “DOS?”

“The disk operating system on your computer. What disk operation system are you using?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what my DOS is. Actually, I didn’t even know I had a DOS.”

Astonished, she stared at him. Surely he knew what DOS was. Everybody involved with computers did. As the language a disk drive used to talk to a computer, DOS was nearly as basic as BASIC. And with a brother in the business, how could he not know? She decided Adam Roberts must be one heck of a spy, when he was unaware of an important part of the hardware.

“If you’ve got a computer, you’ve got a DOS,” she finally said. “What’s your computer?”

“BMI, but I forget which model we use,” he said, shrugging.

She groaned and shook her head. “Different BMIs use different operating systems. Well, when
you know what your DOS is, just give me a call and I’ll take care of it.”

He laughed. “That sounds nice and kinky.”

She felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “What I meant was—”

He put up a hand to stop her words. “Don’t. You’ll spoil the image.”

Realizing that any explanation would only make things worse, Diana stuffed a piece of grilled salmon in her mouth and chewed. She had to admit, though, that Adam had scored a point on the side of innocence. She just couldn’t imagine a person not knowing about the tools of his business, no matter how devious his business might be.

Sophistication certainly had its pitfalls, she decided. She’d been positive she had figured out the jigsaw puzzle that was Adam Roberts. But now she was getting pieces that just didn’t fit.

“It’s a beautiful night. Let’s sit out on the deck,” Adam suggested after dinner.

A vague alarm bell rang inside Diana, but she dismissed it. What could be wrong with sitting outside on a beautiful night? And in the relaxed atmosphere she might be able to get Adam to talk even more. Maybe he’d slip up, or maybe he’d finally make the damned offer.

Or maybe she had simply gone bonkers. She had to stop using an internal scoreboard on Adam, Diana thought. Either he was guilty of acting for Starlight Software or he wasn’t. The sooner she found out the answer to the puzzle, though, the better she’d feel. A little conversation out on the
deck really was an excellent idea—for more than one reason.

It wasn’t until after they were seated together on the old wicker settee that Diana realized her mistake. Adam was much too close. She swallowed hard, feeling her control slipping as he casually draped his arm behind her. He hadn’t even touched her, yet all of her senses were spinning crazily. His jeans outlined his hard thighs, and his short-sleeved pullover was almost molded to his chest and shoulders. She could easily distinguish the scents of cologne and male in the cool night air. Her body was unnaturally tense, and her blood was beginning to throb.

She wondered what sophisticated women did in this situation, then decided they probably acted as normally as possible.

“Adam.” She forced a cough to cover the croaking frog that had invaded her voice.

He turned his head. “Yes?”

Not able to think of a thing to say, she groaned silently. She was back to square one in the sophistication department. She had been better off
inside
the house.

That last thought gave her an idea, and she said, “It’s a little chilly out here. Let’s go back—”

“No need,” he said, and brought his arm off the back of the settee to encircle her shoulders.

Before she could open her mouth to protest, he drew her against his side. She nearly moaned aloud as the heat of his body penetrated her hip and thigh. Bewilderment and anticipation swirled through her.