Nancy hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Um, well…I don’t exactly know when I’ll be coming back. You see, he’s asked me to—”
“Omigod! Nell!” Vivi bawled out. “Get this! Nancy’s shacked up!”
“Stop it, Vivi,” Nancy begged. “Please. Don’t jinx it for me.”
“Okay, you big scaredy-cat. Call me when you get the chance, between the bouts of hot bed-play. And say hello from the two of us!”
Vivi hung up, and Nancy clutched the receiver with a hand that shook. A high-frequency buzz, as if every cell in her body was electrified.
Liam’s hand touched her shoulder. He took the phone, hung up.
“My sisters say hello,” she offered.
“Great. Why do you look so worried about it?”
“Because now they’re having this big, happy freak-out about me being up here with you, and it’s making me nervous,” she snapped.
Liam’s mouth hardened. “Nervous? You mean you think they’ll be crushed to find out that it’s no big deal, then? Just a casual fling?”
Nancy’s throat started to burn. She winked back tears. “You’re the one who said we were going to hit the wall,” she said.
“So I did,” he said heavily.
She laid her hand upon his chest, feeling the steady throb of his heart. “It isn’t casual. It’s a very big deal.”
He covered her hand with his own. “How big?”
“Huge,” she admitted, surprising herself with her own honesty.
They came together into a tight hug. She buried her face in his chest. They clung to each other, silently agreeing to let the dangerous moment pass. An ominous scent some time later made them look up.
“Oh, God. The pancakes,” Liam said, lunging for the griddle.
They feasted on pancakes and bacon. Nancy ate twice as much as usual. They washed up and looked at each other, embarrassed.
“So, ah, what now?” she asked.
His lips twitched. “You tell me, Nancy.”
The gleam in his eye was hard to resist, but reality beckoned sternly. “I really need to get some work done,” she said.
He looked resigned. “I’ll set up an office for you,” he said. “I’d give you the spare room, but if you want a phone line, it’ll have to be in the living room. I’ll go get the stuff from your car.”
When he’d hauled in and set up all of her office equipment at the desk, he kissed her. “I’ll try to stay out of your way,” he said. “If I can.”
She tried not to smile. “Don’t freak if I turn my cell on, okay? I need to charge it up and check my messages.”
“Be my guest,” he said magnanimously. “I’ll be in my workshop.”
Her voice mail was loaded with petulant messages from Peter and Enid, so Peter was her first call.
“It’s about damn time!” Peter scolded, the second he picked up. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for twelve hours!”
“Horrors,” Nancy said mildly. “What’s up?”
“There’s no reason to be snotty.” Peter sounded hurt. “Enid and I did the opening act at the Bottom Line last night for Brigid McKeon and the Beltane Beldames, remember?”
“Of course. I sweated for months to get you that gig.”
“I figured you’d forgotten, since you didn’t bother to come. Well, get this. Brigid liked Enid’s voice so much, she wants her to go on tour with the Beldames!”
“Wow,” Nancy said. “That’s great. Did you tell her to call me?”
“Of course, but you’ve been unreachable, so I expect you’ve missed her call. So, what now? It’s not like Enid can say no at this point in her career to Brigid McKeon!”
“True. She shouldn’t,” Nancy said.
“But she can’t throw away her solo career to be a Beldame, either! Enid belongs in front of the band, not singing backup!”
She lost the thread when she glimpsed Liam in the doorway, listening. He moved around behind her, out of her field of vision.
“Relax, Peter,” she soothed. “I’ll talk to Brigid’s manager and get the dates, and see if I can switch Enid’s concert schedule, or maybe agree to just one tour, and use it as a selling point for her own tour.”
She squeaked, startled, as Liam’s arms slid around her, cupping her breasts. He started to kiss her neck, and she batted his head away.
“You’re up there with some guy, aren’t you?” Peter said suddenly. “The graphics are overdue for my album, it’s a week until FolkWorld Conference, it’s a critical moment in my and Enid’s careers, and all you can think of is your hormones? We’re talking serious money, here!”
“Speaking of money, remember when I advanced you the registration fees for the FolkWorld Conference?”
“But we still haven’t gotten paid for those five gigs upstate!”
She wiggled madly as his hand slid down her belly and into the waistband of her jeans. “Meanwhile, my credit cards are maxed, and you haven’t reimbursed me for the last two mailings.”
“I can’t believe you’re bugging me when we’ve got this huge decision to make. I don’t want to talk to you again until you’re ready to act professional,” he snapped, and hung up on her.
Nancy let the phone drop. “Damn. Now he’s furious.”
“Good.” Liam’s hand delved deeper. “Heard the name Peter,” he murmured. “Couldn’t help myself. Let him stew in his own juices.”
“Easy for you to say!” she snapped.
“What have you got to lose?” he demanded. “The cheap bastard doesn’t even pay you what he owes you, right?”
“Butt out of things that don’t concern you, Liam,” she said tartly. “I appreciate all your help, but please do not interrupt any more of my business calls with inappropriate sexual advances.”
“Inappropriate?” He grinned. “I’ll show you inappropriate.”
“Not today, you won’t.” She stuck out her chin.
“Later, then,” he said.
Nancy swallowed, riveted by the hot promise in his eyes. “Later.”
The day raced by. She spent most of it on the phone rearranging concert dates and dealing with Brigid McKeon’s agency. Liam was unobtrusive, but she was intensely aware of his presence, sneaking hungry glances at the unconscious grace and power of his every movement. More than once he caught her peeking, and his grin made her heart twist joyfully.
Daylight faded. She printed up labels for the next mailing of the new Mandrake promo brochure, exited out of her database, and closed the computer. She hesitated for a moment and turned off her cell. It was the professional kiss of death, but right now, she could give a flying flip. She went to the door that led to his workshop, which was dominated by a large and beautiful dining room table. He’d left the door open.
He was bending over a workbench, sanding some piece too small for her to identify. He looked up, though she was barefoot and had tried to make no sound, and put the piece down.
“You done for the night?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just shut down the computer.”
He held out his arms. “So you’re all mine?”
She wrapped her arms around him and breathed deeply of the fresh smell of wind and rain and fresh-cut wood that clung to him. “All yours,” she promised rashly. “I even turned off the phone.”
Silent laughter vibrated his big frame. “Wow. That’s huge, Nancy.”
“It is, it really is,” she agreed. “Shall we think about dinner?”
“In a bit,” he said. “First, there’s something that I want to try out with you. I’ve been thinking about it all day. And before, too.”
She kissed the triangle of skin at the V of his shirt. “What’s that?”
Without warning, her jeans slipped down around her hips and around her knees. He’d sneakily unbuttoned them. Her panties soon followed, and she stepped out of them, giggling. “Liam—”
“Let me just put you right…here,” he said, hoisting her naked bottom up onto the edge of the table he was making. The varnished surface was cool and smooth against her naked buttocks.
She smothered more giggles, gasping as he pushed her thighs apart. “Um, what exactly do you have in mind?” she asked, breathless.