Her mouth dried. He definitely knew how to use those lips. The question was how did she get him to use them again. On her. With each encounter, her desire to be held against that broad hair-spattered chest grew and her ambivalence over this crazy scheme faded, but she didn’t appear to be getting any closer to her goal, so her uncertainty was a moot point. What was she going to do to tempt him next, and how far could she go with the girls in the house?
She tiptoed to the girls’ door and found them sleeping peacefully. Her heart twinged a little. She’d never expected to enjoy caring for them so much. They were sweet and funny and obviously adored their uncle. Unfortunately, Juliana was getting a bit too fond of their uncle as well. The idea of one month of naughty thrills and then a quick goodbye didn’t sound nearly as attractive as it once had. In fact, she wondered if one month would be enough.
She wanted to know more about Rex Tanner than her online searches had revealed. Like what put those shadows in his dark eyes? And what had driven a man at the top of his career to self-destruct? Unfortunately, the girls couldn’t tell her and Rex wouldn’t.
Rex slept through her examination, but that was understandable since he’d only come upstairs four hours ago. Juliana eased through his apartment door—the one leading to the exterior stairs instead of through Renegade—aiming for the coffee shop she’d spotted down the street yesterday. The early morning humidity clung to her skin on the short walk. She purchased her caffeine fix and a newspaper and headed back to Rex’s, where she settled at the picnic table on his upstairs deck overlooking the Cape Fear River.
The sun had risen high enough at 6:30 for her to read the newsprint, but not high enough to bake her skin. She wasn’t one of those women who tanned well. She turned an unbecoming shade of boiled-shrimp pink, but she’d forgotten to pack her sunscreen. She’d have to retreat inside in a few minutes—back to the space dominated by Rex. And she didn’t think she could handle him without a full load of caffeine in her system.
With her back to the house, she flipped straight to the Lifestyles section, found Octavia’s byline and winced at the title of the article: Love at Any Price? She quickly scanned over the introductory info. Her eyes skidded to a halt when she found her name, and then she backtracked and began the paragraph again.
Bachelor nine. Rex Tanner and Juliana Alden each claim to have pure motives for participating in the auction. The former Nashville headliner says all he wants is publicity for Renegade, his new waterfront bar and grill. Ms. Alden declares her interests lie in the motorcycle lessons. But this reporter believes the relationship will yield more than improved revenues and riding skills. The sparks between the dashing biker and the proper banker nearly set the room ablaze.
Appalled, Juliana dropped the paper on the table and pressed cold hands to her hot cheeks. Was she so obvious? Everyone in Wilmington would know she was pursuing Rex. Everyone including her mother and Wally. The fallout from that would not be pleasant. Her mouth dried and panic made her heart palpitate erratically. She’d wanted a month of breaking rules, not a month of public embarrassment.
She dug her cell phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial. “H’lo,” Andrea answered in a groggy voice.
“Andrea, I’m sorry if I woke you, but I’ve just read Octavia Jenkins’s article. It’s awful.”
A groan carried over the phone line. “You didn’t wake me. I’ve seen it. Oh my God. ‘This romance is ready to be rekindled. Is Ms. Montgomery carrying the matches?’ I am so not trying to win Clay back. I’m going to ask Octavia to print a retraction.”
Juliana grimaced. She’d been so concerned with her own predicament she hadn’t even read about Andrea or Holly. She scanned down the page and read the section Andrea had quoted. “I don’t think you’ll get a retraction. She hasn’t really crossed the line.”
“Says you.”
“Did you see what she wrote about Rex and me? Now everyone knows what I’m doing. And if that’s not humiliating enough, guess what? It’s not working. You said he was such a womanizer that all I’d have to do was show up and keep breathing and he’d do the rest. Well, he’s not doing it.”
“What are you talking about?”
Juliana shot a quick, cautious glance over her shoulder and then whispered, “Getting Rex to seduce me.”
“He’s not interested?”
“He’s interested…at least I think he is, but I…I wanted someone who would sweep me off my feet and overcome my doubts about this whole crazy scheme. He’s not sweeping.”
“Men are so obtuse. You’re going to have to nudge him in the right direction. Let’s meet for breakfast and plot our way out of this mess. I’ll call Holly and tell her to meet us at Magnolia’s Diner.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m babysitting Rex’s nieces today.”
“Babysitting? No, no, no. Juliana, kids and sex don’t mix. I’m coming over. We need to talk.”
She took a fortifying gulp of coffee. “You can’t come over because I’m not at home.”
“Where are you?”
She hesitated and then confessed. “Staying at Rex’s apartment above Renegade.”
Silent seconds ticked past. “I’m sure there’s a good explanation why you’re living with him and not getting any? Besides the children, I mean.”
Tapping drew Juliana’s gaze to the girls’ bedroom window. Two angelic faces grinned out at her. She smiled back and waved, and then pressed her finger to her lips in the universal Be quiet sign. “It’s complicated, but I can’t explain now. I have to go.”
“You can’t leave me hanging like that,” Andrea squawked.
“Sorry. Have to. Bye.” She disconnected over Andrea’s protests, gathered her paper, coffee and keys and let herself inside.
“Man, you’re driving me crazy, and your prowling is scaring off customers. Go away.”
Rex frowned at Danny. “I thought I was the boss.”
“Rex, I can handle this crowd. Go check on the girls or the chick or whoever’s got your nuts in a knot.”
Rex had never been more conscious of the empty apartment over his head. Dammit, it was supposed to be empty. He liked living alone. But he’d been out of sorts since yesterday morning when he’d awoken to silence. How had Juliana sneaked the girls out without waking him? Probably because sleep was next to impossible knowing he had a sexy and willing banker in his bed, and when he’d finally drifted off he’d dreamed of the bedroom door opening and Juliana beckoning him to join her. In his dreams, he hadn’t refused her invitation. Heat pulsed through him.
He’d found a note from Juliana in the kitchen saying she’d taken the girls to her place, and that she’d like for them to spend Saturday night with her so they wouldn’t disturb him. He was supposed to call her cell phone if he didn’t like the idea. He hadn’t liked the idea, but he couldn’t explain why, so he hadn’t called. One day less exposure to Juliana was one day he didn’t have to fight the pull between them. No doubt the girls would love a sleepover. He should be grateful. But he wasn’t.
The newspaper Juliana had left on his kitchen table hadn’t improved his mood. Sure, the auction article had generated additional business as he’d hoped. They’d had the best weekend crowd yet, but too many customers had asked him about his romance with Juliana. They wanted a freaking fairy-tale ending and that wasn’t going to happen. She might be a banking princess, but he’d proven he wasn’t prince material.
He finished wiping down the bar and pitched his rag into the bucket of cleaning solution. “I didn’t expect her to keep Becky and Liza at her place all weekend.”
“What are you complaining about?