Come Toy with Me

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dino glanced around the room, absorbing the details. The wall behind him was made of glass and offered a view of the waiting area—a oneway view that allowed Colonel McGuire to see anyone who stepped into the lobby. He wondered how long the colonel had been studying him while he’d been cooling his heels in the lobby.

Through the wall-to-wall window behind McGuire, Dino could see a wintry view of Central Park. The trees were bare of leaves, the ground a dismal brownish-gray, and a serious snowstorm was promised tomorrow. Over a foot of snow was being predicted and Manhattanites were looking forward to a white Christmas. Now that it was almost certain that he was going to be in the Big Apple for the holiday season, Dino was looking forward to it, too. San Francisco had never offered much in the way of white Christmases.

Bookshelves lined the wall to his right, and a large portrait of a woman graced the wall to his left. The brass plaque beneath the painting read: Lucia Merceri. Admiral Maxwell had mentioned her, describing her as the grand matriarch of the Merceri family, a woman with a will of iron. Though she lived in a villa outside of Rome, Lucia kept close track of her family members in New York. In the painting, she wore a black suit, her white hair was pulled up into a ballerina’s knot, and she carried a walking cane in her right hand. But it was the dark, piercing eyes that captured Dino’s attention. This was a woman who took no prisoners.

“Cat, darling, I need to see you today. How about lunch?”

At the abrupt change in the colonel’s tone, Dino shifted his gaze back to him and was struck by how much his stern expression had softened.

“I know how busy you are. A toy store at Christmas—it must be total chaos. But don’t you need a break? I thought I might lure you out to that place on Forty-fifth Street you like so much. You have to eat.”

Dino knew that Cat McGuire was the colonel’s only child by a first marriage. According to Admiral Maxwell, Nancy McGuire had died of MS when Cat was ten, and during the next eight years until Cat had entered college, the colonel had made sure that his daughter had been with him on every assignment barring those that took him directly into combat zones. Even then, McGuire had tried to station his daughter in a place where he could visit her as frequently as possible.

“A delivery?” Disappointment laced the colonel’s tone. “I know there are only five shopping days left until Christmas—yes, right, four and a half. But can’t one of your employees sign for it?”

The almost wheedling note in the colonel’s voice surprised Dino. This man was a sharp right turn from the one who’d fired orders at him a few minutes ago. McGuire chose that moment to glance at him and wave him into a chair. It was only then that Dino realized he’d been standing at attention ever since he’d stopped in front of the desk.

But Cat McGuire evidently didn’t take orders from her father. In fact, she seemed to be doing most of the talking.

Intrigued, Dino settled himself in a comfortable leather chair and stretched out his legs. His admiral’s close relationship with McGuire could be traced back to the fact that they’d grown up together in Toledo, Ohio, and graduated from the same high school. Though one had gone to Annapolis and the other to West Point, their friendship had never faded. Maxwell was even Cat’s godfather.

The admiral had shown him a framed photo of his goddaughter. The moment he’d glanced at it, Dino had experienced a heightening of his senses and he’d known the same way he supposed his mother knew things that the Fates were offering him something he shouldn’t walk away from.

It had been the same when he’d been working special ops under Admiral Maxwell. He’d always sensed which ones to volunteer for. The danger that had lain in wait for him on his last mission had come to him in a vision. On the rare occasions that he experienced one, the image always flashed into his mind like the negative of a black-and-white photo. His preknowledge had probably saved his life.

When he’d been looking at Cat’s picture, he’d also experienced a very strong attraction. He’d tried to rationalize it. After all, it had been a long time since he’d had a woman in his life. The kind of work he’d been doing for the past two years hadn’t left time for anything personal. And she was definitely pretty with long red-blond hair and fair skin. The hint of cheekbones suggested strength and the set of her chin spoke of stubbornness.

But it was her eyes that he’d stared at the longest. They were oval-shaped and in the photo they were a glorious mix of gold and green. Cat’s eyes. A man could get lost in them.

Warning bells had sounded in his mind. He was starting a new phase of his life. He wanted more contact with his family, and he needed to find out if the skills he’d been honing in the navy could be translated into a career in the private sector. That was a lot for a man to have on his plate.

It was the wrong time to become involved with a woman—especially one who pulled him the way Cat McGuire did.

Colonel McGuire picked up the cigar again and tapped it on the desk. “If lunch is out, let’s meet for drinks once you close up shop…eight o’clock? I thought you closed at seven.”

There was a pause, then the colonel continued, “Eight it is. Howabout meeting me midtown at the bar in the Algonquin?”

The cigar tapped in a faster rhythm. “All right, Patty’s Pub it is—right across from your store. Eight o’clock.”

When he hung up the phone, McGuire sank into his chair and sent Dino an exasperated look. “Ninety percent of the people I negotiate with are easier to manage than she is. I swear she lives and breathes that store.”

“The Cheshire Cat.”

“Yes. Alice in Wonderland was her favorite book when she was little.” Setting down his unlit and unsmoked cigar, he narrowed his eyes on Dino. “Did my friend Maxwell fill you in on the name of the store?”

“No. I looked it up myself.” He’d been curious about it, as well as its owner, so he’d paid it a visit early that morning. Merely as a little reconnaissance mission, he’d told himself. The more you knew before you took on a job, the better.

The Cheshire Cat hadn’t opened yet, but he’d checked out the display windows and found himself charmed by the thematic way the toys were arranged in each one. One told a story of pirates, and the other featured a battle between a dragon and a valiant knight.

Then beyond the artfully arranged toys his attention had been caught by Cat McGuire hurrying down a wrought iron spiral staircase in the center of the store. Once she reached the bottom, she’d flown to the door and pulled it open.

Dino had experienced an even greater heightening of his senses than he’d felt when he’d looked at her photo. And no wonder. She’d been pretty enough in the picture, but in person, she was stunning. And tall. In the boots she was wearing, she had to be nearly five ten.

Though Dino had known he was staring, he couldn’t seem to stop. She’d fastened her hair back from her face with some feminine bit of magic, and red-gold curls had tumbled to her shoulders. He’d wondered if they would feel warm to the touch. Silver hoops had hung from her ears, and the dark blue sweater she’d worn belted over a long flowing skirt had him thinking fancifully of gypsies dancing in the firelight.

As customers filed into the Cheshire Cat, her gaze had met his—for just an instant. He’d felt the impact like a swift, hard punch in the gut. Then his mind had emptied and all he’d been aware of was her eyes. He’d read the same startled response in them that he was feeling—a reckless, nearly overpowering desire. Then the green had darkened to the color of the Mediterranean Sea at twilight, completely alluring. What color would those eyes turn when a man made love to her? When he was inside of her?

Before he could get a handle on his thoughts, an image had flashed into his mind—he and Cat standing against a wall. Except for a few wispy pieces of lace she was naked, her bare legs wrapped around him. And he was thrusting into her, pulling out, thrusting in again.

Recalling it now, his whole body hardened, his blood heated.

“I checked you out, too,” McGuire was saying.

Dino ruthlessly reined in his thoughts. But he had less luck controlling his body’s reaction to the image fading from his mind.

“I don’t mind telling you that I specifically asked Bobby to find me an army man.”

Dino met McGuire’s eyes steadily. “Admiral Maxwell told me to tell you that with a navy man you’re trading up.”

McGuire grinned, then broke into a full belly laugh. The sound filled the room, and Dino felt the corners of his mouth curve.

“That sounds like Bobby,” McGuire said. Then his expression sobered. “I trust Bobby to have chosen the right man, and that means I trust you with my daughter’s safety.”

Dino once more felt that heightening of his senses. Hadn’t he known from the beginning that the job would be about the daughter? Wasn’t that precisely why he’d gone to the store to check her out? And considering his intense reaction to Cat as a woman, he was going to have to be very careful.

“Why don’t you tell me exactly what it is that you want me to do?”

The colonel met Dino’s eyes directly. “You already know that my daughter Cat owns and runs a toy store in Tribeca. She’s been doing it for a year and a half now. Before that, she was in the toy department at Macy’s and worked her way up to head buyer.”

McGuire picked up his cigar yet again, but still made no move to light it. “The fact that Cat’s in retail is a problem for my wife’s family, especially for my mother-in-law, Lucia Merceri.”

McGuire gestured to the portrait that Dino had studied earlier. “That woman is a true matriarch. She runs her family with the verve and determination of a five-star general. When Cat met her at Gianna’s and my wedding, she likened her to the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland.”

Dinowas beginning towonder where McGuirewas headed.

“Ever since we married, Lucia has been pressuring my wife, Gianna, to find a suitable husband for Cat so that she can take her rightful place in New York City society. Lucia believes that women have a duty to produce a family, to contribute to the community, and that they should leave the business world to men. Unfortunately, she’s influenced my wife’s thinking in that direction, too.”

“I take it Cat disagrees.”

“That’s putting it mildly. But between us, we can usually handle Gianna.”

Dino frowned. “Does this job have something to do with running interference between your wife and your daughter? Because if—”

“No.” McGuire raised a hand, palm outward. “I can handle that part myself. I’m getting to be quite good at it although at times it’s a little like moving through a minefield. The trouble my daughter is in has to do with that shop of hers.”

Dino merely raised his brows.

“The Cheshire Cat imports and sells unique toys. There’s nothing in the place that you would find in one of the big chain stores or even in the more upscale department stores. Almost everything is one of a kind. About a year ago when Cat was still doing a lot of traveling, she discovered a town in Mexico, Paxco, where doll- and toy-making are highly revered and a local cottage industry. She signed a contract with the craftsmen, and in the past year, has imported a number of products from Paxco.