A Win-Win Proposition (Case Brothers 2)

ntioned the things she was planning once the baby came, he calculated how old his own son or daughter would have been if Chandra had actually been pregnant when he married her as she’d claimed. Or if she’d gotten pregnant at any time during their two-year marriage. “I think my mother’s hoping for a girl. She complains all the time about how she missed out on the fun girly things by having all boys.”

“I know all about that,” Alicia said. “I have two boys of my own who love to hunt, fish, golf and do all the same things their father enjoys.” She smiled up at her husband to take the sting out of her words. “But they are my pride and joy. I just wish they’d get married and start giving me some granddaughters.”

Sebastian’s attention wandered in Missy’s direction once more. She’d cornered Lucas Smythe. From the expression on the old man’s face, Sebastian guessed Missy was feeding him the same improbable tale she’d told his mother. Why couldn’t she just do as he’d asked and leave the matter alone?

He excused himself from the Darbys, but was intercepted by the president of the chemical division. By the time he extricated himself from that conversation, Missy had disappeared. Nor did she return to the party. As the wait staff cleaned up and then left, he half hoped that with the guests gone she’d reappear and they could continue…

What? Fighting? Making love?

Sebastian tugged his tie askew with a growl.

Wearing her favorite pair of pajamas, with her hair scraped back into a ponytail and her black framed glasses perched on her nose, Missy stared at the door connecting to Sebastian’s suite and wondered if she could ignore her boss’s summons.

“Missy, open the door. I need to speak to you.”

With Sebastian, it was always about him. What about what she needed?

She kicked her legs free of the covers and stalked across the room. “What about?” She called through the door. He’d been a jerk all evening and she wasn’t exactly dressed to receive visitors.

“You left the party early. Are you all right?”

The steel in her spine bowed a little. “I’m fine. Just tired.” She rested her cheek against the door. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

She didn’t mean to make the remark flirtatious, yet a cascade of sparks trickled along her nerves.

“Please open the door.” Less demanding, more like a request.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m in my pajamas.”

The silence on the other side of the door lasted so long Missy wondered if he’d left. Disappointment stormed her defenses. How was she supposed to act as if the night before meant nothing to her when she hung on his every word and look?

“Show me.”

At first she thought she’d misheard him. “What?”

“Show me.”

What was his game? “You don’t believe I’m dressed for bed?”

“I believe you. I’m just curious what you wear.”

She was hot and bothered before he uttered his last syllable. Damn him. She hadn’t done any flirting since high school. Her relationship with Tim had been straightforward and uneventful. He’d never given her heart palpitations or made her wet with a single glance.

Missy unbolted and threw open the door. “Here I am.”

Sebastian slouched, his shoulder against the wall. With his tie pulled off center and his dark hair falling forward to obscure his eyes, he looked as tired as she felt. Her caretaker gene kicked in. He had a full week ahead of him and should be in bed instead of standing outside her door. But she quashed the urge to tell him to go get some sleep. She was not his girlfriend or his mother.

“Somehow I knew you’d be wearing red.” His weary tone was at odds with the simmer in his gray eyes as he trailed his gaze from her chin to her toes. “Are those palm trees?”

“And surf boards. My brother brought them back from Hawaii.”

Despite the conservative nature of her sleepwear, Missy felt edgy and vulnerable. She had no doubts that if he touched her she was a goner. But why would he? Sebastian had emphasized that he was done with her. So, why was he standing at her door so late?

“Is there something else?” she prompted, eager for him to leave. Her muscles shivered with restrained impulses. The longer he stayed, the harder to resist the urge to grab his tie and haul him to her bed. “Because I’m really, really tired.”