Lovescenes

One dark eyebrow arched upward. ‘You’re the second person who’s used that line today, and I didn’t believe it then, either.’

‘Look, I was out walking...’

‘Walking? Here? Nobody walks here after dark unless they have a Rottweiler with them.’ She peered past him and her eyebrow arched upward again. ‘And I don’t see any four-footed friend by your side.’

‘OK, I confess,’ he said, putting his hand to his chest. ‘I was just sitting around my hotel room, bored to tears, and I decided it was time for some exercise, so I said to myself, Morgan, 1 said, where in this city can you work up your pulse rate just by outrunning the muggers.? And then tone up your muscles by jogging a dozen flights of stairs...’

‘It’s only five...’

‘And end up standing in a doorway, verging on cardiac collapse, desperate for a drink of the wine you’ve brought—a vintage year, madame, not that you care, apparently—while a beautiful woman wearing Mickey Mouse on her feet tells you she’d rather you were a de­livery boy named Marco.’

A smile pulled at the corners of Shannon’s mouth. ‘Mario,’ she said. ‘His name is Mario. And you’re not verging on anything. You’re not even breathing hard.’

Cade’s eyes flickered over her and he grinned. ‘I can’t imagine why not,’ he said. ‘That sexy outfit you’re wearing is enough to drive a man insane with lust.’

She chuckled softly. ‘Mario likes it,’ she said, and then she opened the door and stepped back. ‘OK, you can come in for a minute. How can I turn away a man with such discriminating taste? I just hope none of my neighbors saw you. They’ll beat my door down.’

Cade shook his head as the door closed behind him. ‘Nobody saw me, except for the group of kids sitting on the stoop downstairs. They were so busy looking at my bike that they didn’t pay much attention to me.’

‘Your bike? But they’ll...’

‘They’ll guard it with their lives,’ he laughed, un­zipping his jacket. ‘I paid them ten bucks to watch over it and I promised them another ten if it’s still in one piece later.’

There was a moment’s silence and then Cade’s eyes swept over her again, lingering on the curve of her hip and the swell of her breast, clearly outlined beneath the somewhat damp robe. ‘Did I get you out of the bath or something?’

‘No, no, I...’ She swallowed hard, suddenly aware of the fact that she was naked under the robe. ‘I was just going to get dressed,’ she lied, backing towards the bedroom. ‘Why don’t you open that wine while I... ’

A slow smile spread over his face. ‘Yeah,’ he said, turning away from her. ‘That’s a good idea. Do you have a corkscrew anywhere?’

‘There should be one on the kitchen counter,’ she called from behind the bedroom door.

Her heart was tripping into overdrive. Well, anybody’s would, she told herself, stripping off her robe with trembling hands. After all, the man had taken her by surprise.

She pulled open the wardrobe door and stared at the clothing in it, but her mind was blank. Jeans, she thought finally, and a sweatshirt and my sneakers. At least, that didn’t take any planning. OK, she thought, OK, that’s it...

Not quite, she thought with a groan, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was a disaster. She yanked out the clips that held it up and it tumbled around her shoulders. Quickly, she combed through the tangles and fluffed the dark curls around her face. The ends were damp, but it would do.

Do for what? she thought, but the question was more than she wanted to deal with just then. Right, Padgett, she thought, taking a last deep breath. You’re on.

Cade was standing at the window, gazing down at the street. He turned towards her and smiled.

‘I should have asked you to keep the slippers on,’ he said, holding a glass out to her. ‘Mickey is one of my favorite people.’

Cade Morgan, famous musician, she thought, drinking what is probably a very expensive wine out of my very best jelly glass. She bit back a nervous laugh and smiled at him.

‘Thanks. I’d offer you some cheese and crackers, but I’m afraid the cupboard is bare.’

‘Look, you don’t have to mince words, Shannon. You must be wondering what I’m doing here.’

‘Well, yes, you could say that.’

He flashed her a quick, boyish grin. ‘I don’t suppose I could convince you that you’d forgotten you invited me for supper... No, I didn’t think so,’ he said. ‘But it was worth a shot. Would you believe me if I said I’m not exactly sure, myself? I really was just out for a ride— well, worrying and riding. I was going over that damned scene we rehearsed today and...’

‘The scene we didn’t rehearse, you mean,’ she said, sinking down in an ancient upholstered armchair. ‘Look, I’m really sorry about that. I told Jerry I’d get it right tomorrow.’

‘What a hell of a day it was,’ he said, sinking down on the couch opposite her.. ‘The rehearsals, the taping, the make-up, the cos­tumes ... Is it always like that?’

Shannon smiled. ‘Sometimes it’s worse. It’s not easy to do a one-hour show, five days a week, and juggle so many storylines and characters.’ She tucked her legs up beneath her. ‘But daytime drama must be easier than doing concerts. At least we stay in one place.’