Hot Item (Hot Zone 3)

“You’re sick,” Riley muttered to himself. Love-sick? a little voice in his head asked.

Sophie’s light laughter captured his attention. “No dinner, no date, no, thank you,” she said, then hung up the phone as Riley stepped into the doorway and drank in the sight of her.

She was every inch the woman he couldn’t get out of his mind, and more. From the top of her perfectly styled hair to the tailored suit that molded to curves he’d held in his hands, to the tips of her high-heeled pumps, she was his hot item and he’d be damned if another man or his flowers would get anywhere near her ever again.

CHAPTER TEN

SINCE UNCLE YANK’S television interview three days ago, Sophie had been inundated with phone calls from persistent men asking her on dates. She’d been pointed to on the street and inundated with flowers. All because Dateline NBC had picked up on the interview and included it in a special broadcast entitled “Matchmaking Relatives: Are they a meddling nuisance or a prime way to hook up in an uncertain world?” Sophie, herself, had been avoiding calls from the producer to do a follow-up interview. Talk about unwanted publicity. She really couldn’t take much more harassment.

Sophie hung up on her most persistent caller of the day, her sister Micki’s best friend, John Roper. He was looking for a replacement confidante while her sister was away, and he’d turned to Sophie. If she were to date a ballplayer, she had to admit Roper had potential. He was more refined than most, a metrosexual type who enjoyed the finer things in life. Though trouble followed Roper like a magnet, he was definitely fun to be around.

Fun or not, Roper was still a ballplayer with a thick head and a stubborn personality. Oh wait. That was Riley, she thought, laughing at her own joke.

“Hey, babe.”

Speak of the devil. Sophie glanced up, startled at the sound of Riley’s voice. It was as if she’d conjured him. Her attention flitted over him and she hated to admit he was still a feast for the senses. His faded jeans molded to his strong thighs and his unshaven face and light tan looked sexy paired with a pale blue collared tee.

“Well, well, well. What brings you to this side of the world?” Forcing herself to remain behind her desk—the only protection she could find at the moment—she aimed for a casual and unaffected air.

He walked inside as if Florida had never happened and settled himself on the corner of her desk. “I wanted to see how you were handling your fifteen minutes of fame.”

He treated her to a grin that had once melted her defenses, but now she knew better. She’d let them down once before and lived to regret it.

Riley glanced at the flowers surrounding her, a definite frown marring his handsome face. “Your allergies must be bothering you with these things taking up so much air space,” he said, his tone sarcastic.

“Not a bit,” she said, and tried not to smile. If she didn’t know better she’d think he was jealous of her newfound attention. She checked her watch, eager to have him gone before she did something she’d regret. Like throw herself into his arms just one more time. “I’m busy so…”

“Want to get a bite to eat?” he blurted out.

She raised her eyes. A nervous muscle actually twitched in his jaw. She immediately rejected the thought. No way was Riley anxious about seeing her again. Nothing about women rattled Riley.

As for his question, she would not go out with him. Been there done that, she thought, quelling temptation. “Thanks anyway but I have plans.”

“With one of your suitors?” he asked with definite distaste. “You can’t be serious.”

She tried not to laugh, but with his use of the antiquated term, now she was certain. Riley was squirming. And she was female enough to enjoy his discomfort.

“I didn’t realize our relationship dictated I had to explain or answer to you.” She focused on her freshly done nails. “Oh, that’s right. We don’t have a relationship.”

He rose and rounded the desk. Looming over her, he gripped the sides of her chair and leaned close. She inhaled, taking in his fresh scent and trying to ignore the sexual desire galloping through her. Apparently her body didn’t understand what her mind and heart already did.

“I thought when two people slept together, they had something,” he said, his eyes flashing with equal parts desire and determination.

She didn’t know where this change of heart had come from, and emotionally, she couldn’t afford to find out. Around Riley, self-protection would be a smart tactic.

“And I thought when the last words exchanged after sex were ‘I’m going to pack,’ that something equaled nothing.”

“I don’t call what’s happening between us right now nothing.” His lips hovered over hers, teasing. Tantalizing.

She fisted her hands, digging her nails into her skin to avoid acting on that something and kissing him senseless.

“Riley?” she said on a husky purr, one she couldn’t control.

“Hmm?”

“We had fun and all, but I am not going there again.” She couldn’t get a handle on his varying mood swings. She didn’t know how to deal with a man like him, nor did she have the inclination to try.

He’d already proved how easily he could turn on her. Since she couldn’t control Riley—or her feelings for him—she had to send him away now. Before she let herself care even more. It was the only means of preservation she could think of, because he was a man sure to leave again. At some point, it would be for good.