Kate Hoffmann - The Sexy Devil

Max nodded. “Yeah, I know they are. They have their disagreements, but they love spending time together. They golf and play tennis. And I’m pretty sure they still have sex, so that’s a good thing, right?”

“I think so,” she said. “I hope that when I’m older, my husband still wants me.”

“You want to get married, then?” Max asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose if the right man comes along.”

“And the perfect guy. He would be…”

Angela laughed. “You want a list? I don’t know. He’d be honest and kind. Funny. I think humor is important.”

“Rich?”

Angela shook her head. “No. I’d want him to be passionate about his work, but money isn’t a deal breaker. I guess that’s it. Honest, kind and funny. And maybe spontaneous and romantic, too.” She frowned. “It doesn’t seem like much. I really should have found a guy by now, don’t you think?”

“Maybe you’re like that penguin right there,”

Max said, pointing to the tank. “Maybe you’re still searching.”

She slipped her arm around his. And maybe she’d found him already and was just too stubborn to ac knowledge it, Angela mused. “Let’s go get some lunch. And then I have to get back to the office. I’ve been taking too much time off work and leaving everything to Ceci. It’s really not fair.”

“Do you ever take a vacation?” Max asked.

Angela shook her head. “Not really.”

“Then why don’t we go somewhere this weekend, just the two of us.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe next weekend?”

If they were both out of town next weekend, then neither one of them could attend the barbecue. “I’d have more time then.”

He shook his head. “That doesn’t work. I’ve got plans. My parents are throwing a barbecue.” He paused. “You wouldn’t want to come with me, would you?”

“No!” Angela quickly replied. “I mean if I’m in town, I should probably get some work done.”

“It’s probably for the better,” Max said. “There’s this woman they want me to meet. The daughter of one of my mother’s friends. I’ll just go and say hello.”

Angela’s breath caught in her throat. This was where her real life intersected with the life they’d created for themselves. She risked a sideways glance, trying to read his expression. Was it possible that his mother hadn’t mentioned the name of this woman? “So you have a blind date?” she asked. “What’s her name?”

This was it. The truth was about to come out, right here in front of the penguin tank. Angela was glad. She hated all of the secrets between them. She’d make her explanations and if he couldn’t except them, then it would be over.

He paused, then shrugged. “I don’t know. She went to high school with me, but I don’t remember her.”

Relief washed over her. He didn’t know it was her.

Though the urge to tell him was still there, Angela decided to take more time to consider her approach.

She loved the penguin tank and didn’t want one of her favorites spot ruined by a bad memory.

“She can’t possibly be as beautiful as you,” he said.

Angela felt guilt snake through her. Did he know?

Had Max already figured everything out? This was her fault for hiding things from him in the first place.

She should have walked into the bar and admitted her reasons for being there. If she had, she certainly wouldn’t be stuck in this mess now. No, considering his hatred of the press, he probably would have tossed her out on her ear.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Angela said. She’d tell him at lunch. She’d confess everything and then let the chips fall. If he was still in her life at the end of the day, then they might actually have a future together.

“DATE NUMBER THREE,” he said. “Let me see. Penguins at the aquarium, a long swim, take-out pasta for dinner, and early to bed. I think I deserve top scores, don’t you?”

Angela nuzzled her face into his shoulder, her naked body pressed against his. “You’re getting awfully confident. You expect top scores for take-out pasta?”

“It was from a great restaurant. Face it. You like me. You think I’m hot. I’m irresistible. I managed to talk you out of going back to work, didn’t I?”

“You’re not that irresistible,” she said.

She’d been awfully quiet since they’d left the aquarium. Max knew what was on her mind. She was trying to work up the courage to admit that she’d known him all along. His first impulse was to attach some ulterior motive to their meeting at the bar that night. But after he thought about it for a while, Max realized that there might be another reason she didn’t want to admit their common past. She’d been one of those girls that nobody noticed in high school, the girls who watched from the sidelines. The girls that a guy like Max wouldn’t have bothered to talk to.

Max ran his hand along her body, cupping her backside and pulling her up to lie on top of him. All that had changed. And not because she was beautiful, but because he had finally found a reason to see beyond mere physical beauty.

This stolen summer had changed him. He’d grown up, become an adult. And he was finally beginning to realize what life was all about. It wasn’t about money or fame. It was about this-the small, perfect moments that he shared with Angela. The quiet conversations and long silences. The simple kisses and the passion that followed.

“I am irresistible,” Max said, searching for her mouth. His lips brushed against hers and he moved above her, his shaft growing harder between them. “Admit it.”

“No,” she said. “I can resist. Just watch me.”

Her wicked smile was an outright challenge to him. And though they were only teasing, Max suddenly needed her to acknowledge what was happening between them, the power that their attraction generated. Did she want him as much as he wanted her? How deep did her feelings run?

Their conversation at the penguin exhibit had given him a few clues. She wanted a relationship, something that would last, even though she hadn’t come right out and said it. And wasn’t that what was going on here? A relationship?

With all the other women in his life, he saw their time together in finite terms, with a beginning and an end. But he wasn’t able to contemplate ending things with Angela. Though she hadn’t been completely honest with him, her actions certainly weren’t enough to drive him away. In truth, he felt even more attracted to her knowing how vulnerable she felt about her past.

Still, there were two sides to every relationship. What would drive her away? Would it be his celebrity? The long periods apart? Her past? There were plenty of things on his side of the board that she might find unbearable.

Max pulled her into a long, deep kiss, doing his best to seduce her with his lips and tongue. “Say it,” he whispered. “Tell me you need me.”

“I don’t,” she said, still teasing.

Max took her face between his hands and stared into her eyes. “Tell me,” he said.

She paused, clearly confused by the intensity of his request. Then she drew a ragged breath. “I need you,” she murmured.

“Only me,” he said.

“Only you,” she replied. Her smile widened. “Unless you have someone else under the covers. Another man? Oh my, a threesome. I suppose I could spread the need around.”

It was clear she wasn’t about to engage in a serious conversation. And maybe it wasn’t fair of him to press her. After all, they’d only known each other forty-eight hours. What did he expect?

“I have something for you,” Max said. “In the envelope on by the lamp.”

“What is it?”

“Open it,” he said.