"Liar."
"How dare—"
"You want it as much as I do."
Her eyes flashed like summer lightning, the kind of hot white lightning that brings no rain. She slipped around him and made a beeline for the door leading back into the corridor. Before she could pull it open, he reached beyond her shoulder and flattened his hand against it.
She executed a stiff military about-face. "I don't know what you hoped to gain by finding me, Mr. Tyler, but you're in for a disappointment. What happened last week was a fluke."
"You'll have to be more specific. Are you talking about the barroom brawl or our night together?"
"Our … our night together," she repeated, all but choking on the words. "I want to forget it ever happened."
"Sorry. No can do, Dovey."
"Stop calling me Dovey! Now that you know it isn't my real name, it sounds ridiculous."
"Right. I can't believe I ever took you for a woman named something as whimsical as Dovey."
"If you persist in bothering me, I'll have to call—"
"Security? Great, call them. I'm sure they'd love to hear all about my business with you." The ruse worked. He watched as she obviously considered several options and hastily discarded them all. Finally, crossing her arms over her middle, she looked up at him and demanded, "Well, what do you want?"
"If you're still in doubt, hug me real tight." Her eyes skittered down the front of his body, then hastily came back up to meet his.
"Besides the obvious," she said ungraciously, "what do you want?"
"To talk to you. But not here. Is there someplace we can go?"
"There's a sandwich shop across the street."
"Good. I haven't eaten lunch. Lead the way."
* * *
"What'll you have?" Lucky asked, consulting her from across the diner's turquoise tile table.
"Nothing."
To the waitress, he said, "One cheeseburger, cooked medium." He glanced down at Devon, looked pointedly at her mouth, and added, "Cut the onions. French fries, chocolate shake." Politely addressing Devon again, he asked, "Sure you don't want something?"
"I'm sure."
Handing the menus back to the waitress, he said, "Bring us two coffees, too."
"You don't take no for an answer, do you?" Devon asked, after the waitress had withdrawn.
"Rarely from a woman," he admitted.
"I thought as much."
"What makes you think so?"
"You're the overbearing, macho type."
To her irritation, he smiled. "That's me. Caveman Tyler."
Lucky was having the time of his life just looking at her. She was wearing a loose, soft blouse that buttoned down the back. It was primly styled and had full long sleeves, cuffed at her wrists. Beneath the sheer ivory fabric, he could see the outline of quality lingerie. She was wearing the blouse with a plain straight black skirt. For all its practicality and austerity, the outfit was as sexy as hell.