Rory lifted her gaze in time to beat her to the keys. She slid them off the table and into her handbag. “Actually,” she said with a hint of a smile on her lips, “we’ve only just arrived.”
He didn’t miss the heated glare Mikki shot her sister or how Rory’s smile shifted into a distinct retaliatory smirk.
Lauren suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said quietly, slipping off the red-padded stool. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
He knew how Mikki’s mind worked. No doubt she considered Lauren’s abrupt desertion and Rory’s non-compliance as a betrayal, but one she’d easily forgive. When Mikki loved, she did so with her entire heart, no holds barred. He’d seen it in the way she’d always looked out for her sisters and in the little things she’d once done for him. Like the times she’d wait up for him to come home from whatever crappy job he’d been working to help support them, even though she’d had an early class in the morning. Or the time she’d skipped classes for a week and refused to leave the apartment because he’d been knocked on his rear end by a nasty flu bug.
Tucker took the stool Lauren vacated and caught the attention of a passing waiter.
Mikki snatched her purse from the table. “I have a sudden need for fresh air.”
“Good idea.” Nolan came up behind her, fighting the need to touch her, to skim his hands over the generous dips and swells of her bombshell curves. He fished the white gold key out of his pocket. “I’ll join you.”
She stiffened. “That won’t be necessary,” she said tightly.
He dipped his head to whisper in her ear. “Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I let you wander outside all on your own at night?”
The scent of her cologne teased him, resurrecting another long-forgotten memory. They’d been in law school, a time when he’d rarely had more than a couple of quarters to rub together. He’d taken on a tutoring job to earn extra money to buy her a stupid bottle of expensive perfume for Christmas. He’d be a fool to read too much into the fact that she still wore the scent, but that didn’t prevent the razor-thin slice of satisfaction from knifing through his common sense.
“‘Gentleman’?” She pulled away and pinned him with her gaze. “I wouldn’t use that term where you’re concerned, either.”
Selfish prick, more likely.
“Ouch,” he said, gripping his chest in a mocking gesture.
Facing Tucker, Mikki said, “Good to see you again, Tuck.” She cast a look in Rory’s direction and mouthed something he couldn’t see but that sent Tuck’s eyebrows skyward.
Swiping one of the tall, narrow glasses from the table in front of her, she quickly drained the contents, then exchanged the empty for the full one to carry with her. She bolted toward the back of the bar to the outdoor deck with its inspiring view of the harbor. He admired the brisk swing of the black fabric covering her sweet, rounded ass. How could one woman have that much power? he wondered, feeling as if he were tied in knots he’d never unravel.
He let out a sigh and turned to Rory. “I get the feeling she’s not too happy to see me.” He’d always liked Rory, but he wasn’t about to hazard a guess as to whether she currently returned the sentiment. Rory’s devotion to her sisters was as fierce as Mikki’s protectiveness of them.
“Can’t say I blame her,” she said without an ounce of sympathy.
Neither could he, but after all this time he’d thought Mikki’s temper might have cooled. At least a little. Apparently all that hot blood in her veins ran deeper than he’d anticipated. He only hoped she hadn’t inherited her ancestral desire for vendettas or he’d be a dead man before midnight.
Tucker clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck, pal.”
“Thanks, I’m gonna need it.”
“You’ll need more than that when she finds out you’re back in town for good,” Tucker reminded him. “And why you’re here tonight.”
Tuck had a point. “Know where I can get a deal on a bulletproof vest?”
Now that he thought about it, full body armor sounded like a wise choice. And some riot gear. A few stiff shots of tequila to bolster his courage couldn’t hurt, either.
He left his friend in Rory’s capable hands and took off for the bar, placing an order for a Mexican boiler-maker, a double shot of Cuervo Gold with a beer chaser. As he waited for the bartender to return, a leggy redhead sidled up beside him with a smile that promised ample warmth against the evening chill. Once upon a time he would’ve taken advantage of the blatant come-on, but after Mikki, he just hadn’t been all that interested in other women. Besides, he hadn’t shelled out a sizable donation to Maureen Baxter’s pet cause to ensure he’d be given the key to Mikki’s locket because he’d been in a generous mood. He and Mikki had unfinished business.
“You look like you’d be a perfect fit,” the redhead purred, showing off the locket wedged between her impressive cleavage.
He wasn’t so much as tempted. “Sorry. This key is spoken for.”
She let out a breathy sigh. “Pity.”
He shrugged apologetically, unmoved by her practiced pout or her sleek curves wrapped in glittering electric blue. The redhead sashayed away, her attention already on another prospective key holder.
Drumming his fingers impatiently on the highly polished wood of the bar, he debated the wisdom of showing up at Clementine’s. He’d always been more of an adventurer than a deep thinker, preferring instead to move on with the business of living. There were easier avenues he could’ve taken, and he almost wished he’d given his half-witted plan to catch Mikki off guard more thought. Unfortunately the pressure from the senior partners to tie up a financially hazardous loose end quickly before finalizing the partnership agreement hadn’t left him much time to carefully consider his options. And he did have a responsibility to the firm he couldn’t ignore.
Initially he hadn’t paid much attention to the buzz around the office about the key party until he’d happened to overhear a trio of paralegals mention that Maureen Baxter was the driving force behind the fund-raiser. He’d been fairly certain Mikki would somehow be involved in the cause, so he’d placed a call to Maureen. Not only had she confirmed his suspicions, but he’d impulsively purchased two key-holder tickets along with the promise of a very sizable donation if Maureen guaranteed him the key to Mikki’s locket.
At first Maureen had staunchly refused—and he did appreciate her alliance to Mikki—but when he’d upped the ante, her ethics had taken a back seat to the money he’d promised to add to the coffer. To insure she wouldn’t suffer second thoughts, he’d doubled his original offer and had his assistant show up at Maureen’s office with a check in exchange for the key he wanted. In return, he’d received a pair of keys, one clearly marked for his use; the other he’d planned to give to Tucker.
Fingering the trinket in his palm, he didn’t harbor an ounce of guilt for buying Maureen’s cooperation. He did, however, carry more than a doubt or two about why he’d gone to such extreme. Granted, the news he had to deliver would best be served in person, but it sure didn’t necessitate a donation large enough to cover a respectable percentage of the funds needed for the building of Baxter House. Mikki would be livid when she found out what he’d done and, worse, why he’d done it.
Convincing Tucker to come with him hadn’t been an easy feat, but when Tuck’s sisters and sisters-in-law had ganged up on him, his long-time friend hadn’t stood a chance. The irony of the situation hadn’t been lost on him. As Tuck had gleefully pointed out,