Carly Phillips - Hot Stuff

"And a certain someone else seems to be too afraid of abandonment even to try and tell a certain sexy ex-football player how she feels." Micki raised an eyebrow, subtly daring Annabelle to face her deepest fears.

Annabelle had risen to every obstacle life had thrown her way. Micki was right to challenge her now.

Annabelle scooped Boris out of her sister's arms and stood. "We're going back upstate," she told the squirming dog. "And Micki's going to plant-sit while we're gone."

THE MORNING AFTER the fire, the dank smell of smoke still permeated Vaughn's office just as it did in his dreams. The officials pinpointed the source of the fire as a lit cigarette and if not for the previous incidents of sabotage, this would merely be classified as an unfortunate accident. But it was anything but an accident.

Meanwhile nobody was admitting to smoking or seeing anyone light up on the premises. They didn't have to. Detective Ross had just turned to Vaughn and asked one question. Did Laura smoke?

She hadn't when Vaughn had met her. She'd started later on. The detective had immediately set out to find Laura's whereabouts last night and it turned out she didn't have an alibi. Agitated from the credit problems she was having, Laura said she'd taken a sleeping pill and crawled into bed. Alone. All night long. The police continued to follow up leads but Ross was convinced Laura was the culprit.

Vaughn couldn't buy into the theory. Divorce and ugly words were one thing. Outright destroying him was something else and Vaughn just felt sick.

"Earth to Vaughn."

He turned to see Annabelle standing in the office doorway, a breath of fresh air in an otherwise sooty, smelly place. She wore her trademark miniskirt but, thanks to the combination of construction and fire damage, she'd traded her flimsy sneakers for bulky sheepskin boots. In pink to match her bright lipstick and skirt. Enjoying the combination, he let his gaze travel downward. Damn but she had sexy legs no matter what she wore.

And he vividly remembered those long limbs wrapped around him as he drove deep inside her body. He shivered at the memory and a sudden realization struck him. He'd never have enough of her.

Ever.

Though he recognized his obsession with Annabelle had taken him away from the lodge at a crucial time, he couldn't deny he was glad to see her now. So much so that even Laura's potential betrayal didn't affect his trust of or feelings for Annabelle.

"Hi there." He welcomed her with a big grin.

"Mind if I come in?" She didn't smile in return.

He shook his head. "Not at all."

"Where is everyone?" she asked as she stepped inside and glanced around the otherwise empty office.

"Nick's with the insurance guy and Mara's home sick today."

She placed her purse down on Mara's desk. "I dropped Boris off at the house. I didn't want him inhaling the smoke."

"Not a problem."

She seated herself at the desk farthest from him and he suspected she was taking her cues from him. His biggest one being that he'd left her alone in New York City after promising he'd be there for her after her family meeting. He'd gone over that move in his mind and still wasn't sure whom he'd been protecting, but he suspected if he looked deeply enough he wouldn't like what he saw.

"Look, Annie-"

"What's the damage assessment and what do the police say?" she asked, briskly cutting him off.

He cleared his throat. Talking about the lodge hurt badly, the pain slicing through him each time he thought about it. It hurt almost as much as her cool demeanor did now. "The bad news is that the north section is completely destroyed."

"Oh, Vaughn." She reacted instinctively, the sympathy and caring in her gaze and in her tone overwhelming. Touching. Comforting in a way he needed badly. She rose from her seat and he could almost feel her arms around him. Then just as suddenly she sat down, obviously rethinking her decision as she clasped her hands tightly in front of her.

Something inside him froze as he realized he'd caused the change. He'd pushed her away. Leaving her in New York had seemed prudent at the time but he hadn't expected to feel so empty now.

"What's the good news?" she asked, all business.

Thrown by his emotional reaction to her distance, he decided business was best. "As you can see, no damage to the main part of the lodge. We'll have to rebuild what's been destroyed and we'll lose a good number of bookings as a result, but because there are rooms in the main section, too, we can still open on time."

"That's fantastic!" she said, her voice rising, her pleasure obvious.

He was nearly drawn in by her enthusiasm until he realized she'd grabbed a pad and a pen and had begun to take notes and scribble down ideas. Deep in PR mode, she'd found a damn good way of avoiding discussing anything personal between them.

She glanced up. "Any solid leads on who might have started the fire?"

"The police think Laura's the best suspect. She has no alibi."

Annabelle frowned. "I don't know. That sounds like an awfully flimsy tie in to me."

"Yesterday I'd have agreed with you. Today I'll grasp, any lead or possibility if it means this being over." He swept his arm around him.

She nodded in understanding.

"It's like this person is either a genius or so damn lucky it defies description. Either way he-or she- is winning." He slammed his hand against the desk as he'd done too many times before.

"Interesting analogy." She cocked her head to one side. "Do you look at everything in terms of win or lose?"

"Pretty much."

"Do you think the person responsible views things the same way?"

"Meaning?"

She tapped the pen against the desk. "Well, it's similar to Detective Ross's theory. Laura wouldn't want you to win while she's suffering defeat." Annabelle paused in thought. "I just wonder if whoever's doing this thinks maybe you took something away from them and so they're trying to take something from you in return."

He frowned. "If that's the case, Laura or not, I'm definitely being hit where it hurts."

As she listened to Vaughn's reply, she wondered if the lodge wasn't just his most obvious weak spot, but his only one. Certainly nothing else in his life mattered to him as much as the lodge.

Did anyone matter as much? Could anyone?

She licked her glossed lips, trying not to let her emotions show as she performed her job. After all, her reasons for being in Greenlawn revolved around Vaughn's need for PR support. When that need ended, she would return home to New York since any supplemental work could be accomplished from there.

She'd waited until this morning to return because professionally, that was the smartest time to begin work. Though she'd taken Micki's advice and not run from her feelings, the initiation of anything personal between them would have to come from Vaughn. She'd met him halfway by coming here at all.

She reached into her bag. "I've prepared a press release I need you to okay." She handed him the paper with the words she'd come up with while working late into the night. "If you have any changes, let me know."

"I will. Thanks."

She rose from her seat and pulled her keys from her purse.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I assume you've done no food shopping since I've been gone?" The fridge was near empty before she'd left for New York.

"That would be a good assumption."

"I figured as much. So even though it's not in my job description I'm going to see to it you're well fed."

She could also use some breathing space that didn't include the smoky air and Vaughn's imposing presence.

She couldn't be surrounded by the devastation from the fire and not be compelled to take him in her arms and tell him she understood his pain. That she'd be there for him always. Suddenly she understood why Lola had decided to pack up and leave. Except Annabelle refused to devote a lifetime to unrequited love.