The edges of his mouth quivered with the effort of suppressing a smile. “So you know everything there is to know about my disability.”
“Of course I don’t.”
He ignored her response. “You read a few things on the Internet and you think you know it all.”
“Well…okay, I read a few things.”
His eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
A flush rose in her cheeks. “Mainly, I was interested in how we’ll make love.”
Mark gasped—or perhaps it was a groan, she couldn’t tell which. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”
“Probably,” she admitted. “But that’s what I was most curious about.”
His face somber and apprehensive, he smoothed a wet tendril from her cheek. “I should tell you…I haven’t…since the accident.”
“Then it’s about time.” Barbie couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Even more unbelievable was the fact that she could speak so openly and boldly about lovemaking with a man she barely knew.
Mark held her gaze a long moment. “Where do we go from here?”
“Where do you want to go?”
A smile twitched his lips. “Now, that’s a leading question if I ever heard one.”
She slapped his shoulder. “What I mean is we should probably get to know each other a little better.”
“Must we?” he asked with pretended chagrin.
“Yes!”
“We can’t go to bed first and ask questions later?”
“I’m not that kind of woman.” Although considering the way he kissed, she might think about converting.
“I was afraid of that.”
“You swim every day?”
“Every day,” he assured her. “You too, right?”
“Right.” This schedule change was going to take some adjustment. “Except Monday and Wednesday, when I’ll be in my belly dancing class. Okay, I’ll swim two or three times a week.”
“Right.”
“I could meet you afterward.” Her staff was going to be putting in a lot of extra hours. That wasn’t a problem; Barbie had been planning to give them more hours, anyway.
“You’re sure about this?” Mark didn’t seem convinced.
“I’m positive and if you ask me once more, I’ll—”
“If you want to punish me, all you have to do is press that perfect body of yours against mine.”
“That’s nice to know.” She moved closer and slid her right leg between his thighs. Her breasts brushed his chest as she spread eager kisses along his jaw.
“I suggest you stop now,” he muttered. “There’s a seniors’ class coming in soon.”
“Can’t. I’m thanking you.”
“For what?”
“The flowers you sent.” She wouldn’t have found the courage to confront him this afternoon if he hadn’t made that move.
Mark went very still. “I didn’t send you flowers.”
“But…the card had your name on it.”
He muttered something she couldn’t completely hear; she caught the gist of it, though. Mark’s sister or perhaps his mother was responsible for that bouquet.
“So, you didn’t send the flowers,” she confirmed.
Mark wound his fingers into her hair and dragged her mouth to his. “Let’s just pretend I did.”
Barbie was more than willing to do exactly that.
Chapter 23
Lillie Higgins stared at the phone, then groaned in frustration and turned away. This should be easy. Everyone seemed to think there was nothing to it. But try as she might, Lillie couldn’t make herself call Hector.
In desperation, not knowing how else to manage this, she’d contacted the dealership instead, with a list of imaginary complaints about her car. The receptionist she spoke with made her an appointment for Thursday morning at ten. By the time she arrived at the service department, her stomach was tied up in knots a sailor couldn’t untangle.
A man she didn’t recognize came out to discuss the trouble her car had supposedly been giving her.
“Could you explain again what the problem is?” he asked, studying his clipboard.
Lillie had a panicky moment before she remembered what she’d told the receptionist yesterday when she’d made the appointment. “There seems to be a hesitation….”
“Coming from a full stop?” he asked, glancing up from his note-pad.
“Yes, that’s it. From a full stop.”
“How often has this happened?”
She didn’t want to overplay the situation. “A couple of times.”
He jotted that down. “Just twice.”
“No, more. Four or five times.” Her hands were clammy and her mouth had gone dry and she had the most compelling urge to turn tail and run. If she hadn’t handed her car keys over to the mechanic, she would’ve made an excuse and left before she looked like an even bigger fool.
He wrote something else on the chart.
“This won’t take long, will it?” she asked.
“Not at all,” he assured her.
Inside the waiting area, Lillie got a cup of coffee from the machine and picked up that day’s paper. Although she’d come for the express purpose of seeing Hector again, now she prayed she wouldn’t. How could she possibly explain what she’d done?
Lillie liked to think of herself as mature and sensible. Never in all her life, not even as a teenager, had she indulged in such a ridiculous deception over a man. Her face burned with mortification. She’d lied about her car—told an outright lie in a futile effort to see Hector Silva again.
Fifteen minutes later, the receptionist came to tell her that her vehicle was ready. She immediately went to pay the bill but found there was no charge. Eager to be on her way, Lillie hurried out of the building to the lot, where her car was waiting for her.
She nearly stumbled when she saw Hector standing next to it.
“Lillie,” he said, his smile warm. “I’ve personally checked out the car and I can’t find anything wrong with it. I thought if we took a drive, the problem might reappear and I could analyze it.”
The offer to spend time with him was tempting, but she’d frittered away enough of his morning. “If you say it’s in fine working order, then I’m sure it is. I trust you.”
“I wouldn’t mind, Lillie.”
“Hector.” Her face shone as brightly as a lighthouse beacon. “There’s nothing wrong with my vehicle,” she said, making a spontaneous decision. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have wasted your time.” The most important thing at the moment was getting away with her dignity—or what remained of it—intact.
Hector nodded. “We don’t need to test your car, then?”
“We don’t.”
He opened the driver’s door for her, and she climbed