Carly Phillips - Hot Stuff

She and Micki often hashed out problems and potential solutions. She was bringing her sister up-to-date on what she'd read so far in Vaughn's files so she could figure out a methodical plan.

"I'm here. I'm just thinking. You mentioned there've been missed deliveries on materials. From the same company?" Micki asked.

Annabelle curled her legs beneath her. "No, that's what's so strange. Different companies, different times, nothing consistent here to go on. But it seems beyond the usual construction and work delays. Then there's the occasional subcontractor who suddenly doesn't show up and messes with the schedule. Add the heavy rains in May and June, rumors that make no sense, and things are backlogged and screwed up like crazy."

"Bad PR," Micki murmured.

"If they don't open by Thanksgiving or, the latest, Christmas, they'll lose an entire season's worth of bookings, which are intended to help fund the camp Vaughn is planning. Another thing he never mentioned to me. I read it in the paperwork." She exhaled hard.

"He's a real mystery man, huh?" Micki asked.

"A contradiction is more like it. On the one hand, he's an athlete and you know how they thrive on attention. On the other, he keeps his secrets buried deep." She shook her head. "You'd think he'd be proud of the camp and want to publicize it all over. But who knows what goes on in that thick skull of his."

Micki chuckled.

"Anyway, people already know there are problems and Vaughn's been stalling cancellations with promises he may not be able to keep." Annabelle tapped a pen against the clipboard.

"What's your preliminary plan?" her sister asked.

"Counter the bad publicity with good, of course. Make sure anyone who's booked knows that there are problems due to reasons they can relate to or misunderstandings that will be cleared up. And assure them that the resort will be even better in the end."

"What do you think is really going on up there?" Micki asked.

"Either someone is deliberately sabotaging the lodge or someone's a huge idiot. Either way, we have to make the resort and Vaughn look good."

"I take it that's not an issue?" Micki asked.

"Heck, no. The man always looks good," Annabelle said, laughing. "And to do the same for the lodge, I was thinking of offering premiums to already confirmed customers. If the opening is stalled and they have to be rebooked later in the year, we'd have to give them something tangible in return anyway."

"Maybe you could promise them one free night?"

"Sounds like a possibility." Annabelle smiled and jotted down Micki's suggestion. "More importantly, though, I need to publicize Vaughn's contribution to the community. The camp is one thing that will undoubtedly play well to the public. I need an angle to hook people in and keep them trusting in Vaughn and this project while he works out the kinks. And I'd like to find out why he's doing this. I might be able to use that information in the campaign."

"Sounds like you need to do some digging," Micki murmured.

"Especially since he's been so closemouthed about himself," Annabelle agreed. "I need to see the lodge, meet the workers and get a genuine feeling for the people in town."

"Gauge their reaction to the place being built," Micki said.

"Better yet, I need to gauge their reaction to Vaughn."

"What's your reaction to the man?" her sister asked.

Annabelle had always been closest to Micki, not only because they understood each other so well but because with their parents' deaths, Annabelle had seen it as her duty to always be by her littlest sister's side and make sure she felt loved and cared for. The fact that Annabelle desperately needed those emotions in return always made her feel a bit guilty, as if she were using Micki to fill her own needs. But then what were sisters for? All three sisters had their strengths and weaknesses that made the business and the family work.

She didn't hesitate to confide in Micki now. "He's incredible, Mick. So innately sensual, and sexy as hell."

"He sounds delicious," Micki said, dreamily.

She laughed at her sister's description, a pathetic attempt to cover the all over, tingling warmth that made her feel like Vaughn was in the room with her right now. "Well I've learned my lesson and I'm staying clear of the man. How's your baseball player?" she asked Micki.

"He isn't mine and he's fine. I'm about finished here and ready to come home. Oops," Micki said, obviously catching her slip.

Annabelle laughed. "Like I didn't know you and Sophie were setting me up when you claimed to be too busy to take on Vaughn as your new client?" She piled the folders and papers and moved them to the nightstand. "I'm over Randy, the jerk. And, thanks for the thought, but I don't need a man to help me forget about him, especially another self-absorbed guy who's got a history of bedding jock bunnies. And since I've just described Brandon Vaughn, rest assured I can handle him just fine. From a nice, long distance."

A slow round of applause startled her and she jerked her gaze toward the door. Vaughn stood there with a man she'd seen while she was walking the dog earlier.

A hot, embarrassed flush rose to her cheeks. "Gotta go now. Bye." She snapped her cell phone shut and glared at the two intruders. "Ever hear of knocking to announce your presence?"

Vaughn grinned and began a lazy, deliberate knock-knock-knock on the door.

"Too late." She jumped up from her seat on the bed to meet them on even footing. The dog followed, hopping up and down on his hind legs to get their attention.

"Hey Q-Tip, heel," Vaughn said to the dog.

Annabelle scowled at him, which did nothing to distract her or alter his effect on her. Both men's sheer size, strength, power and masculinity overwhelmed her but only Vaughn's did so in a blatantly sexual way. That damned attraction again.

The other man, a blonde whom many women would find good looking, stepped forward, hand extended. "Nick Gregory," he said. "Vaughn's partner."

"I've been reading up on you. Especially since Vaughn never told me he had a partner in this venture." And she'd wondered why a man with business problems had failed to mention his partner.

Nick laughed, apparently finding the omission amusing. Annabelle didn't. How could she help if Vaughn left out information? She made a mental note to dig deeper into Nick and Vaughn's relationship.

"That's Vaughn's ego for you. Can't ever admit he needs anyone."

"I don't need anyone but myself," Vaughn said.

A warning Annabelle knew she ought to heed. "Now that we've established that, anyone care to tell me what you're both doing here?"

"Just came to say good-night, babe." Nick winked at her.

"I'm nobody's babe." She caught Vaughn's smirk and wondered what the man was thinking.

She glanced at both men as she deliberately shifted her long jersey that covered her shorts, drawing both men's attention to her bare legs. She wasn't surprised when their gazes traveled up to her low-cut vee-neck top.

"Sweet dreams, fellas," she said, hoping they tossed and turned all night long. It would serve them right for eavesdropping.

Especially Vaughn, whom she knew would star in her erotic dreams, all night long.

THE NEXT MORNING, with an hour to spare before they were to leave for the lodge, Annabelle took Boris for a long walk. Summer had already hit the upstate town and the heat and humidity were in full swing. The heaviness in the air did nothing to help her wake up after her sleepless night.

Vaughn's house was on the outskirts of the small town and everything was within walking distance. She paused at the window of Cozy Cups, a quaint storefront decorated with pinups and children's drawings. The aroma of brewed coffee assaulted her senses and her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn't had her daily dose of caffeine. Besides a good PR person never passed up an opportunity to learn the lay of the land and the slant of the people who inhabited it.