Blame It On Texas

Lewis turned back to the menu, clearly a man on a mission. “How about a white pizza?” he asked, after a moment. “Crust, olive oil, fresh mozzarella. Nothing there to get your acid reflux going, especially if we ask them to go easy on the basil and garlic.”

Lexie appreciated the way he was taking care of her. No one—except her dad and Jenna—had done that for a very long time. “Sounds good,” she said, surprised by the sudden huskiness of her voice. Aware the backs of her hands were still brushing the hard musculature of his shoulders, she stepped back and cleared her throat. “What is everyone else going to eat?”

“A little of everything,” Lewis said, typing in the appropriate choices on his computer and then sending the delivery order via the Internet.

Doing her best to calm her racing heart, Lexie roamed the spacious office, which did as little to reflect Lewis’s personality as his ridiculously out-of-fashion clothing. Both were things she could fix. In that way, she realized, she’d be taking care of him, too. Lexie paused to study one of the many awards hanging on the wall. “It’s been a long time since I had Mac Callahan’s pizza,” she said in the most casual tone she could manage. “Mac still works there?”

“Along with his daughter, Casey,” Lewis confirmed with a smile. He rose and crossed to her side.

“Funny how some things never change,” Lexie continued awkwardly, acutely aware of how arousing she found Lewis’s formidable size and masculine strength.

Oblivious to the ardent nature of her thoughts, he led the way out of the office and down the hall to a testing laboratory.

“This is where the kids are going to meet?” Lexie asked, wondering if he wanted to kiss her—really kiss her—as much as she wanted to kiss him.

He winked at her. “Since you’re the one who’s got me running behind schedule, make yourself useful.” Lewis handed her a box of computer games with the McCabe logo. “And put one of these at every station, please.”

Glad for the distraction from her thoughts, Lexie complied.

“How did you get involved in this?” she asked after a moment.

“The kids asked me to sponsor a monthly event. I know what a great group it is—I was president of the computer club when I was at Laramie High School—so of course I said yes.”

“That’s really nice of you,” she said sincerely.

Shrugging off the compliment, he moved to the other side of the room, dropping a game CD at every station. “It’s the least I could do,” he told her. “I know how hard it is to be a computer nerd amidst all the athletes and popular kids.”

Lexie hadn’t ever really fit in, either. “And yet look at where you are today.” They met again, in the center of the room.

“Right here.” Lewis wrapped both arms around her waist and drew her against him. Without warning, every secret fantasy she had ever had about him turned real. His voice turned husky. “With you.”

Lexie trembled at the feel of his hard body, pressed up against her. His fingers brushed down her face, stroked along her jaw. Her skin heated and the pulse at the base of her neck fluttered wildly. Determined to keep some connection with reality, she batted her eyelids and teased, “Why, Lewis McCabe.” She affected her best Texas belle drawl. “Are you hitting on me?”

Sifting both his hands through her hair, he lowered his head and tilted his face slightly to the right. He moved in even closer, all sexy, determined male. His eyes darkened to a smoky blue-gray. “What if I am?”

Lexie moaned as his lips captured hers and he invaded her mouth with his tongue. If the caress the night before had been full of promise and yet restrained, this one was so deliberately sensual it took her breath away. No one had ever kissed her like this, as if he had waited his entire life for her. No one had ever made her feel like this, she realized—so warm and wanted and feminine. His lips made a slow, mesmerizing exploration of hers. Swept up in the embrace, Lexie forgot she was supposed to be forging a strictly professional relationship with him. He kissed her until she moaned softly and clung to him, until every inch of her was tingling with need. Lexie hadn’t meant for anything like this to happen but she was powerless to resist. Lewis’s seduction left her vulnerable, and aching for more. It left her wanting to see where this would lead. Had it not been for the sudden, jarring sound of a phone ringing on the wall just behind them, and the collection of youthful voices coming ever closer, who knew what would have happened next.

The awareness they were no longer alone forced them to draw apart. To her surprise—and yes, pleasure—Lewis looked as completely affected as she felt, even as the guilt that she shouldn’t be getting involved with a “client” filtered through her. She had done that to disastrous results once before. Did she really want to do it again? Mold a man into every woman’s fantasy only to have him leave her behind, once he had gotten what he wanted…?

Her emotions in turmoil, she turned away from Lewis and spotted a group of high school kids coming down the hall, then filtering into the computer testing lab. It seemed to be about half guys and half girls, Lexie noted. All were dressed in jeans and gaming T-shirts. Name tags were plastered to their chests. Most of the kids, like Lewis, were somewhat challenged in the personal style department. But all were very happy to see him. He was obviously a hero to them, and Lexie could see why. Not many men as successful as Lewis would take the time to mentor a group of high school kids.

“What game are we trying out tonight?” Percy McNamara asked eagerly.

Lewis moved to the center of the group. “It’s called ‘The Deal Maker.’ It’s a game that puts the player in mythical business situations. The goal is to win each task without losing your moral compass or compromising your ethics.”

A young girl with frizzy hair and glasses teased, “Are you trying to educate us, Mr. McCabe?”

Lewis winked. “Or teach you all how to become self-made millionaires without landing in jail.”

Guffaws all around. The room reverberated with excitement. Lexie enjoyed seeing Lewis in his element. It gave her a sense of what kind of father he would be one day. “You’ve got ninety minutes until the pizza arrives,” Lewis said, directing the eager group to their stations. He returned to Lexie’s side and eased her toward a gaming station, too.

“THANKS FOR HOSTING this event, as always,” the club sponsor, Josephine Holdsworth, told Lewis as the three of them walked toward the lobby. The computer science teacher at LHS was pretty and single and—if Lexie’s instincts were correct—as romantically interested in the school organization’s most famous benefactor as she was.

“My pleasure,” Lewis replied, showing no evidence that he knew the pert redhead had a giant-sized crush on him.

“And thank you for attending our meeting, too,” Josephine continued, regarding Lexie warmly. Josephine paused to shrug on her coat, before stepping out into the brisk autumn air. “I don’t think the students know what you do for a living, but I certainly do. The spread they did on your clients in In-Fashion Magazine last year was downright amazing.”

“Thanks,” Lexie said.

“I’d heard from some of the other faculty who grew up here, too, that you were from this area.” Josephine’s expression faltered slightly. She swallowed and completed her fact-finding mission. “But I had no idea you were dating Lewis.”

Lexie blushed, aware that if she let this misconception stand it would be all over Laramie in no time. “No. We’re not. I would never…” she stammered, wishing she had never agreed to let him employ her as his stylist. Then this wouldn’t be such a dilemma. She could let the rumors fly and just see where their obvious attraction to one another led. But she had a professional reputation to protect. Lexie gulped and forced herself to continue, “Lewis is a cl—”

“Friend,” Lewis interrupted, before she could finish the word. He stepped slightly in front of her. “Lexie and I are friends, Josephine.”

Josephine beamed. “Oh.” She fished in her handbag for her car keys. “Well, in that case, perhaps Lexie would consider making an appearance at the LHS Career Night on Tuesday evening, too? The students would love to hear about your profession.”

Lexie smiled. “I’d be glad to participate.”

“Great! We’ll see you both then,” she announced cheerfully.

Lewis watched as Josephine exited, then turned back to Lexie. “Sorry I had to cut you off like that.”

Lexie studied the guilty expression on his handsome face. She planted her boots firmly on the marble lobby floor. “Why did you?”

He moved toward her, not stopping until they stood toe to toe. “I didn’t want word getting out that I had hired you to help me.”

She propped her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. “Don’t you think they’re going to figure it out when you start looking a whole lot different after spending concentrated time with me?”

Lewis’s probing glance made a leisurely tour of her body before returning to her eyes. “Well, maybe not so much if people thought we were dating,” he offered in an offhand tone.

“Right,” Lexie said dryly, savvy enough to realize when someone was embarrassed by what she did for a living. “Then they would just think you were whipped. That’d be sooo much better.”

Lewis caught her by the arms and turned her to face him. “If word got out we were dating, would that be so bad?”

She ignored the warmth of his fingers that penetrated the layers of her clothing. “Yes. You’re a client,” she reminded him, delicately extricating herself from his grip.

“But people here don’t know that,” he insisted.

“But I do,” Lexie retorted stubbornly. “And I don’t date clients, Lewis.”

He paused to come up with a new strategy. “Then we’ll just have to tell people we’re spending time together because we’re friends.”

“You’d rather do that than let word get out you hired a stylist to help you change your image?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes.” Lewis’s jaw was set.

Her heart pounding, Lexie fell silent as she studied the half-hidden apology in his eyes. “You’re that ashamed of what I’m trying to do for you?” she asked, even as she struggled to ignore her reaction to his nearness.