Carly Phillips - Hot Item

Sophie stepped forward to stop her.

“Let her go,” Riley said.

“But…”

He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Wouldn’t you warn the person you cared about if you thought someone was out to get them?” The intensity in his eyes was enough to make his question seem infinitely more personal.

Wouldn’t you warn me? he seemed to ask.

Don’t you care that much about me?

She shivered, unable to process the implications and feelings when everything around her was falling apart.

“Listen, I know you need to go down to the police station this afternoon. But once that is done, I think you could use a break from all this.” He swept his hand around the office. “I want to bring Lizzie home to see her grandparents and I’d like you to come with us.”

She knew he’d had something in mind for them this weekend but traveling with his daughter to meet his parents? It was too much for her to take in right now.

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

“You’d rather stick around the city this weekend alone? Worry about stalkers, nut jobs, admirers, cameras in your bathroom and break-ins at your office.”

“I’m not alone,” she said, shivering.

“I overheard your uncle’s secretary making plans this weekend for him to keep Cashman busy. Do you really want to divert his focus the weekend before the draft by having him worry about you?”

“You’re not playing fair.”

“Neither are you, pushing me away. What happened to the brave Sophie who went parasailing with me? Who planned to go to Florida alone to find Spencer without a clue where to start?” He propped one hip against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest, pinning her with a knowing stare.

He was taunting her. Calling her on her fears. Daring her to say yes. She’d grown up with siblings and a dare was something she couldn’t possibly refuse. Apparently, she couldn’t refuse him, either.

Sophie never considered whether she was a brave person or not, but she certainly didn’t want to be known as a coward. “Mississippi?” she asked.

“Brandon, Mississippi.”

She swallowed hard. “I hear it’s nice there this time of year.”

A slow, sexy smile spread over his face. “It sure is.”

“And how’s the mood this time of year with thirteen-year-old girls?”

“Unstable,” he said, laughing.

He was taking her home with him. And that had her more frightened than when she’d found the camera in her ceiling.

YANK WOULD HAVE DANCED if his bum hip allowed it. Before he could get caught eavesdropping, he headed for his office. He couldn’t stop at Spencer’s office to share the news, because his friend had decided to work from home for the rest of the day.

“Work from home, my ass,” Yank muttered. Spencer was just afraid of runnin’ into his son.

After all the years of being aggressive, going after what he wanted and doing things his way, Spencer Atkins was running scared because some pansy politician didn’t want to acknowledge a fruit in his family tree.

Well, screw him, Yank thought. Spencer deserved as much happiness as Yank had in his life, and he was going to do everything he could to make sure his friend got it. And he’d succeed. Things had been going his way of late, after all. First Riley was taking care of Sophie without even having to be told to do it. Why should he stop there?

Lola was going to whip him but good, Yank thought, laughing. But he could handle her. He knew how to keep her happy now, he thought and grinned.

Yep, Yank was going to reunite father and son. Just as soon as he figured out how to bring the two men together without Riley blowing the whole thing by turning and walking away.

CINDY RAN from Athletes Only. She took an elevator to the street, then did something she never did, hailing a cab instead of taking the cheaper subway. She paid for the fare all the way to the Bronx, straight to Miguel’s office, not stopping to check in with the outer receptionist and practically flying past his personal secretary.

All the while, her heart pounded like a sledgehammer in her chest as she silently repeated the mantra, Please don’t let Sophie be right. Please don’t let him be using me.

She entered his inner sanctum without knocking. Sleeping with the man gave her some privileges, she thought. And if she’d been misreading him, if he did have an agenda, well, better she find out now by gauging his reaction to her barging in on whatever he was doing inside.

She entered and came to a stop, breathing heavily. She could only imagine the wild look in her eyes, but she refused to second-guess the impulse that had brought her here. She’d dated the man, despite Sophie’s warnings, and she’d fallen in love with him, despite her own. If he’d betrayed her-

“Cynthia!” Miguel rose from behind his desk, bracing his hands on the edge of the dark wood. “What’s wrong?”

She never took her eyes from his face, watching every nuance she could capture. So far, all she viewed was surprise and concern that she’d shown up unexpectedly. Still, the man was a master at masking his emotions.

He knew how to wine and dine her. His ability to treat a woman well and make her feel like the rarest diamond was unmatched in Cindy’s experience. But as much as he did and said all the right things when they were together, and as often as he called when they were apart, he’d been hurt badly by his first love. A woman who’d remained in his home country after promising she’d join him in the United States. Instead she’d stayed and married his best friend, who owned a small fleet of boats on the island, betraying Miguel in a way that had broken his heart and caused him to put up walls.

He claimed she was the first woman he’d let in ever since. He said that the other women in his life had been ways to pass time, but she was his único y verdadero amor, which meant his “one true love.” She prayed he was telling the truth.

“Cindy?” That he used her nickname told her he was worried.

Well, she was worried, too, but now that she stood in front of him, fear overwhelmed her and the words didn’t come as easily as she thought they would.

“Nicholas, let’s call it a day. I have an emergency,” he said to a man Cindy hadn’t even realized was there.

“Not a problem,” the other man said. He rose, gathered his suit jacket, nodded at Cindy and left the room.

Miguel wrapped his hand around her waist and led her to the leather sofa. “Sit and tell me what brings you by.”

She couldn’t relax enough to sit. “How badly do you want to sign John Cashman?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I do not understand.”

“It’s a simple question,” she said, stepping out of his warm, comforting grasp. She couldn’t think when he touched her like that. “How badly do you want to sign John Cashman?” she asked again.

“As much as I want to sign any young athlete with years of potential ahead of them. What are you really asking me?”

She tried to swallow, but the inside of her mouth was too dry. “We all know Cashman’s father is pulling strings, manipulating his son. He wants the best deal and he’s unsure of who can get it for him.”

Miguel inclined his head. “Your point?”

“You’re doing your best to convince him that you can do a better job for him than Spencer Atkins or Yank Morgan.”

He nodded, not denying the obvious truth. “And they are doing their best to convince him they can negotiate a better deal than I can. That is the nature of the business. You knew we were business rivals before we started seeing one another. I do not understand why you have a problem now.” His voice held a frustrated edge.

She understood but she didn’t yet have the answers she sought or the settled feeling she needed. “Did you sabotage the computers at Athletes Only? Did one of your e-mails to me contain the virus that disabled the system?”

He stared at her in shock, not replying immediately.

At his silence, she continued to ask the questions pounding at her brain. “Did you hire someone to break in? Put a hidden camera lens in Sophie Jordan’s bathroom?” Tears filled her eyes as she questioned him and she wiped away the moisture that prevented her from seeing him clearly.

This time he stepped away. “I am insulted you would even ask if I did such terrible things.”

“I can’t help it. There’ve been a lot of unsettling incidents. Scary things are going on over there. I need to know you aren’t behind them.”

He ran a hand through his neatly combed hair. “I love you, Cynthia. I’ve trusted you not only with what has hurt me in the past, but with my heart now. I have never given that to another woman. Not since Lisette. If you cannot trust as I have, there is nothing I can say that will convince you.” He turned and started back for his desk, not facing her again until he was behind the large piece of furniture. Far away from her, physically and emotionally.

She trembled, but inside she heard Sophie’s voice, questioning Miguel’s motives and actions. And she felt swamped by guilt over the possibility that she’d willingly accepted his love without question. She hadn’t thought about her employers, only about herself.

“You’ve swiped talent from other agents before,” she whispered.

He stiffened. “I have never resorted to illegal behavior. Your boss and your coworkers can have their suspicions, but either you believe in me or you do not. I refuse to dignify these accusations with more answers.” He straightened papers on his desk, waiting while she thought things through.

If she believed in him and he’d betrayed her, she in turn would have betrayed her employers and friends in favor of a man. If she didn’t have faith in him, she could lose him forever. All she had to go on was experience-she and her father had trusted someone with the keys to their restaurant and in the end it had cost her father his life.