Courting Justice

He chuckled. If only she knew that was the last thing he intended to do. He would go home, shower, retire early and lie in bed savoring her phone call. “I won’t and I hope you have a good day in court tomorrow.”

“Hey, thanks. I’m going to need it. Next time I see you I hope you’re willing to share your secrets. You’ve won so many cases this year and I’d like to know how you do it.”

The answer to that question was easy. By staying focused and understanding what I really want out of life, he thought to himself. “Yes, next time we see each other I’ll be more than happy to share my secrets with you.”

He could hear her laughter and the sound was more sensuous than anything he’d heard in a while. Goose bumps pricked his skin and stoked his libido in a way that only she could do. She didn’t have a clue just how sexy he thought she was.

“Good night, Angelo.”

“Same to you, Peyton.”

After disconnecting the call, he was exhilarated yet felt a sense of longing. As the breeze blowing through the window floated across his face, he decided it was time to finally put his plan into action. There had to be some reason why he was so attracted to her, why he sought her out whenever they attended parties or family functions together and why he got jealous of any man who dared try and talk to her.

It was time for him to discover what it was about Peyton that had him fighting feelings he wasn’t accustomed to. When he got home, he would call his sister Samari, who had voiced her suspicions that he had a thing for her best friend. She’d known it and no telling how many others did as well—except for the lady herself.

Tonight he was going to enlist his sister Sam’s help in orchestrating his plan. His sister had been the first one to notice the attraction. And of course he had denied it, mostly because at the time he hadn’t been sure just what his feelings were. All he knew was that he was intensely attracted to Peyton.

As he drove along the expressway toward home, he couldn’t help but smile. There was a feeling of peace and tranquility that flowed through him. His friends and family had nicknamed him “Smooth Operator.” And because of his courtroom success, the media had dubbed him the “Italian Hellion.”

Right now, the only thing he wanted to be successful at, the only thing he wanted to be known as, was the man who conquered Peyton Mahoney.

Two weeks later…

Peyton stared across the table at the two women who had been her best friends since law school—Samari and Mackenzie Madaris. She looked down again at the early birthday gift they’d given her—a gift certificate for two weeks at Dunwoody Cove, the exclusive five-star, singles-only resort on a private island in the Bahamas.

Knowing the cost of a stay at the posh resort, her eyes widened. She glanced up and a smile touched her lips. “Have I been so much of a bitch lately that the two of you felt you needed to get rid of me?”

Of course it was Sam who smiled sweetly and said, “Your being a bitch we can handle. But a horny bitch is a little too much for anyone to have to deal with, Pey.”

Mackenzie gave Samari a playful punch on the shoulder. “Hey, Sam, did you have to go for the jugular?”

Peyton ignored the jab as she stuffed the tissue paper back into the gift bag and grinned. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but—”

“But that’s exactly what you need, Peyton—bones,” Sam interjected. “You need some fine man’s bones to jump. Then maybe that’ll get you out of this funk you’ve been in lately.”

Peyton didn’t say anything, because Sam was right. They knew the source of her bad attitude lately. It was just weeks before her thirtieth birthday, and she was still single with no love life to speak of. Her two best friends, however—Sam and Mac—were not only married to drop-dead gorgeous men who happened to be cousins, but both were mothers to two beautiful babies. Mac had a three-month-old son named after her husband, Luke, and Sam had a beautiful little girl named Blair, who would be celebrating her first birthday in a few months.

“You’re going to the resort for two weeks, aren’t you?”

Peyton glanced at Mac. Her friends, who were genuinely concerned, didn’t know the half of it. Although the part about her being horny was up for discussion, she was never one to constantly need male companionship. But what she did need was a break from Oklahoma and from her caseload.

She’d won her last case a few days before, but it hadn’t been easy. Opposing counsel had tried to play hardball, but she’d shown them that when pushed, she could take things to a whole new level. She had proven when provoked, she could go toe-to-toe with anyone in the courtroom.

She was glad the case was over and wasn’t ready to take on another one. She just needed some time away from work, and it would be nice to go somewhere other than Chicago. Although she liked going home, since her grandmother who’d raised her had died a few years ago, the South Side hadn’t been the same.

She met Mac and Sam’s expectant gazes. “Yes, I’m definitely going,” she said, inhaling deeply.

“Hallelujah!”

Peyton knew that what she really needed to do was figure out the reason why she’d recently begun thinking about things she’d never considered before—like settling down, getting married and making some babies. She could very easily attribute it to Mac and Sam. Lately, they’d been all smiley-faced.

Sam had a huge smile on her face now. “That means we get to go shopping,” she said.

“For what?” Peyton said.

“For some lingerie.”

“I’m going to the resort to rest, Sam, not necessarily to get laid. Besides, I have lingerie.”

“It’s a singles resort, kiddo. Of course you’re going there to get laid,” Sam said, giving her a pointed look as Mac leaned back in her chair and grinned.

“And we’re talking about sexy lingerie, Peyton. There’s no way you’re going to the Dunwoody taking that granny-panties underwear you have,” Sam added.

Peyton rolled her eyes knowing not to take offense at Sam’s comment and feel insulted. Been there, done that. And with Sam it was only a waste of time. Sam was Sam and there was no changing her. In law school, they had gotten off to a bad start, mainly because they’d come from two totally different backgrounds. She’d seen Sam as a spoiled little rich kid and Sam had seen her as the tough South Side of Chicago girl who still had a chip on her shoulder because she came from the wrong side of the tracks. It was one of the reasons Peyton still believed in defending the little guy.

Thanks to Mac, who’d always been the peacemaker, the three of them had come to an understanding and their friendship had survived the test of time, including some of Sam’s exorbitant shopping sprees. The woman could spend money like she had her own personal mint, while Peyton still watched her pennies, something she’d always done. She had grown up not knowing where her next meal was coming from or when it would get there. Besides, both Sam and Mac knew that when it came to sharing her bed, she was as picky as hell.

“So what time do you want to meet us at Sylvia’s tomorrow?”

Peyton immediately held up her hand. “Whoa! Back up! I will not go shopping for anything at that place again.”

The last time Sam had talked her into going to Sylvia’s to shop, what she’d spent on a nightgown could have fed the entire block of the housing project where she grew up. She enjoyed nice things like anyone else, but the prices at Sylvia’s were utterly ridiculous. Personally, she didn’t think the lingerie looked any better than what she’d bought at Victoria’s Secret.

“Okay, we’ll go to Diana’s Boutique then.”

Peyton rolled her eyes. The prices at Diana’s were just as bad, but she decided that now was not the time to argue with Sam or things could get ugly. And she didn’t want that. Especially after the wonderful gift they’d given her. She was not particularly outgoing, so it would be hard at first for her to socialize with a bunch of strangers at a resort. But she would try.

Although she, Mac and Sam still did things together, it wasn’t the same. Now they set their watches to get home to their hubbies and babies in time. She couldn’t much blame them and was happy for them, really. But she still remembered those times when they would work hard during the day and head over to Cello’s for dinner and to party. Now those days were long gone.

“Okay, so it’s all set. Tomorrow we’ll meet in town at noon at Diana’s.”

Peyton opened her mouth to argue then closed it. She glanced over at Mac who gave her a playful wink, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. She didn’t have a fighting chance against these two. Somehow she would get through this or she would end up killing Sam.

Chapter 2

Angelo entered the huge ballroom and glanced around. It was “Getting to Know You” night and the place was filled wall-to-wall with people, mostly women. All of them appeared ready, willing and available. After all, this was a singles resort. There was a time when a scene like this would have excited every sexual bone in Angelo’s body. And the Di Meglio nose—which could detect a woman a mile away—would be sniffing like crazy, zeroing in on his next conquest.

It had been three weeks since he’d won the Russ case, and women were still throwing themselves at him. He’d told them that his playboy days were over, but they still didn’t believe him. Some thought that tempting him with sexual favors would do the trick. And he was still shaking his head at the number of brazen propositions that had recently come his way.

As he perused his way around the ballroom, he was very much aware of the eyes that turned to follow him. But while they were watching him, he was scanning the room for someone else. Tonight his focus was on finding one particular woman. Thursday was her birthday, and he intended to help her celebrate. In fact, whether she knew it or not, he intended to spend all of his time with her, if that’s what it took. He was determined that by the time they left Dunwoody Cove their relationship would have moved to a whole new level—sexual, that is. She would no longer see him as the brother of one of her closest friends. Instead, he planned on being a whole lot more.

He suddenly heard that throaty laughter of hers and his head spun around in that direction. Even in dim light his gaze focused on Peyton sitting on a stool at the bar with several men standing around her. Already she’d acquired a fan club. She had been at the resort two days before he’d arrived and that might have been two days too many, he thought. But he would remedy that very soon.

Now that he’d arrived he wouldn’t waste any time staking his claim…but subtly. He wouldn’t rush her, but he intended to be thorough in his pursuit. Two weeks would just be the start of things—the groundbreaking for their relationship, so to speak. He had decided that the best approach was to get her away from her life in Oklahoma—here, unsuspecting, alone and with him.

First he had to gain her trust, though there was no reason for her not to trust him. After all, he was Samari Di Meglio Madaris’s brother. She had known him close to seven years and seemed comfortable with the friendship they’d forged. He wanted her to see him not just as a friend, but as something more. He wanted her to take the blinders off and finally see what others had been seeing for years. It went deeper than just the physical attraction, but he was willing to stoke the sexual chemistry first.

Peyton being here at Dunwoody Cove was his idea. Getting Mac and Sam to go along with his plan hadn’t been easy. After all, Peyton was their best friend and they knew of his reputation when it came to women. Convincing them he wanted more out of a relationship with her had been difficult, and they had questioned his motives. Nevertheless, he took it in stride since he’d made up his mind to go after Peyton with or without their help. And once he made up his mind about something, there was no stopping him. But there was a nagging question: why was he so determined to have her?