Vicki Thompson - Notorious

With his hat pulled low to shade his eyes, he could study her more closely without being caught at it. Yep, sure reminded him of Keely. The blue flowers decorating her dress looked sweet and innocent, but the dress itself, filmy and cut to midthigh, was anything but. The skirt flounced around her smooth legs with every step she took.

It was a mouthwatering dress, clingy enough to allow every curve to make itself known when she moved. It laced up over her breasts, and although the neckline didn’t show much cleavage, the dress revealed a hell of a lot of leg. Bare, brightly painted toes peeked out of a pair of high-heeled sandals. Keely could wear high-heeled sandals like nobody else.

Of course, this wasn’t Keely. But this woman could be her twin. Same full, pouty mouth; same determined chin; same “I Gotta Be Me” stride.

She wore sunglasses, so he couldn’t see her eyes. The eyes would be the clincher. No other woman in the world had Keely’s eyes. Some people said green was a soothing, cool color. Not on Keely. She could scorch a man’s heart with one glance. A few thought the devil himself stoked that blaze, and it could well be. Looking into her eyes, a man might consider selling his soul.

The Keely look-alike paused outside the dance club and Noah paused, too. Of course she wasn’t Keely, but now he had to be absolutely positive before he could walk on past.

She dug in her shoulder purse for something and came out with a small leather notebook. Flipping it open, she shoved her sunglasses to the top of her head while she studied whatever was written there. Snapping the notebook shut, she thrust it back into her purse and stepped toward the entrance.

“Excuse me.” He moved toward her and came up with the first line he could think of. “Could you tell me what time it is?” Damn, she even smelled like Keely. She’d been partial to raspberry-scented body lotion.

Without looking at him, she glanced at her watch. Then she raised her head and gazed in his direction. “It’s two-fif—” She stopped abruptly and stared at him.

He gasped and his heart began to hammer the way it always did in reaction to her. Those eyes. God, they were more potent than ever.

“Noah?” Her mouth gaped open. “Noah Garfield, is that you?”

“It’s me.” The shock of seeing her made his head buzz.

“Wow.” She let out a breathless little laugh. “I can’t believe this.”

“You can’t believe it? I can’t believe it. I was just thinking about you and then bam, you showed up.” Whoops. He shouldn’t have said that.

“Really?” Her kiss-me-now mouth curved in a smile. Her lipstick was the color of a ripe peach, and she must have recently put it on, because it still had a gloss that made her mouth look wet. “After all these years? How flattering.”

“Well, I—uh…” Damn it all, now he was blushing.

Her smile widened. “Couldn’t be the sign flashing over our heads that reminded you of me, now, could it?”

As usual, she knew right where to press to make him squirm. “Now, Keely, that’s the sort of thing best forgotten, don’t you think?”

“It’s obvious you haven’t forgotten it.” She reached out and patted his arm. “That’s okay. It’s not every day that the girl you used to chase around the stock tank decides to bare her all in a centerfold. Folks in Saguaro Junction aren’t used to that kind of thing. I guess it would tend to stick in your mind.”

“I think most people have forgotten about it.” Not true. Mention Keely Branscom anywhere in town and eyebrows still rose. He struggled to get some purchase on the conversation. “So how’ve you been?” Now there was an original question.

“Fine.”

“That’s good.” Another brilliant comment. He had to admit she looked fine. Saucy as all get-out, the way she’d always been. Judging from the way the dress fit, she hadn’t put on an extra ounce in ten years.

“How about you?” she asked.

“I’m good.” He wondered how she made her lipstick look like that, as if she’d just licked her lips. He shouldn’t be looking at her mouth, but her eyes weren’t any safer a place to rest his glance. Well, he could look lower, at her breasts rising and falling under the thin, flowery material. That wasn’t such a good idea. Better concentrate on her mouth, even if it did remind him of the one time she’d kissed him.

“What brings you to Vegas?” she asked.

He had to stop and think. Oh, yeah, Brandon. “A friend of mine’s getting married.”

“Really? Anybody I know?”

“I don’t think so. He’s from Wyoming. We met up on the rodeo circuit a few years back. I don’t think he ever made it to the ranch, but we’ve kept in touch.”

“That’s nice.” For a split second she sounded a little wistful. Then that cocky tone of hers took over again. “So what’s up with you, Noah? Found yourself a salt-of-the-earth ranching woman yet?”

“Nope.” Once again she’d managed to hit a subject he was touchy about. “Been a little busy.” He hesitated, not sure how much he wanted to reveal. After all, she’d been the one who’d decided to break off contact with everyone in Saguaro Junction, including her father and sister. But finally he decided to tell her some of the news. Couldn’t hurt. “My dad died a couple of years ago.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry.” She gazed up at him, her green eyes filled with sadness. “He was a nice man.”

“Thanks. He was.” He couldn’t ever remember seeing sympathy in her eyes before. Defiance plenty of times, devilment nearly as often and, once, on a very memorable night, desire. Never this soft, endearing sympathy.

He’d always thought of her as being so tough, but maybe she wasn’t. Ten years ago he hadn’t allowed himself to see past her cheeky bravado. Life had been safer that way. But he was older now, and he wondered if he’d missed a few things about Keely. He should have tracked her down, just to make sure she was okay.

“So you and Jonas are running things?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He could say that now. Six months ago he couldn’t have, back when Jonas spent more time chasing women than chasing cows. But B.J. had settled Jonas down considerably. “That’s another thing that’s happened,” he said. “Jonas will be getting married soon.”

“Get outta here!” She grinned. “Shotgun?”

“Nope. He’s marrying your sister.”

Disbelief flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced with a touching vulnerability. She glanced away. “Well.” Her throat moved in a hard swallow before she looked up, her gaze guarded. “She always was sweet on him, but she’s making a huge mistake.”

“A few months ago I would have agreed with you, but you’d be surprised at how Jonas has changed. He’s getting more responsible by the day.”

“What a shame.”

The old irritation that had always been a part of his conversations with Keely pricked him now. If everybody had Keely’s carefree attitude toward life, the work would never get done. “I happen to be glad for him.”

She gave him that saucy smile, the one that always warned him that a smart-ass remark was coming. “You would be,” she said. “You were born old.”

His jaw clenched. Keely had a real talent for getting under his skin. She always had—in every department. “Everybody has to grow up sometime. Even you.”

“Not if I can help it. And as for B.J. and Jonas, they should have years ahead of them before they have to settle into some boring routine. But no, they’re shackling themselves to each other and that blessed ranch. I hate to see it.”

“Nobody asked you to.” Now, that was a low blow and he hadn’t meant to deliver it. But he couldn’t take it back, and he didn’t know how to smooth over what he’d just said.