The Danforths: Reid, Kimberly and Jake: The Cinderella Scandal / Man Beneath the Uniform / Sin City Wedding

‘‘Of course.’’

She moved to the bevelled-glass back door of the building and inserted the key into the lock. He watched her visibly square her shoulders and draw in a breath as she turned the knob.

The smell of fresh paint filled the cool and damp air inside the wide hallway they stepped into; Reid realized that the layout was very similar to the bakery’s. The afternoon sun spilled in through the back door and glowed golden off the recently refinished hardwood floors. ‘‘The back half is split into two offices, a bath and a kitchen.’’ Tina moved stiffly down the hallway. ‘‘The front half is one large room.’’

As they stepped into the front area of the building, Reid saw the longing in Tina’s eyes as she glanced around the room. A sense of possessiveness, he thought. It suddenly dawned on him why she was upset.

‘‘You wanted this space, didn’t you?’’ he asked quietly. ‘‘For yourself.’’

She stilled at his words, then lifted her chin. ‘‘What I wanted is unimportant at this point.’’ She held the key out to him. ‘‘The space is yours for one year. Congratulations.’’

‘‘I’m sorry.’’ He closed his hand around hers as he took the key. Her skin was soft and warm against his. ‘‘I didn’t know.’’

‘‘Would it have mattered to you if you had?’’

‘‘I wouldn’t have changed my mind, if that’s what you mean.’’ They both knew he’d be lying if he said anything different. ‘‘What were you going to do with it?’’

‘‘Nothing that won’t keep.’’ Determination shone in her eyes as she glanced around the room. ‘‘For another year, anyway. Good luck to you and your father, Mr. Danforth.’’

When she tried to pull her hand from his, he held tight. Arching one brow, she leveled a questioning gaze at him.

‘‘We are going to be neighbors, Tina,’’ he said. ‘‘How ’bout you call me Reid?’’

She cocked her head and studied him, and though he wouldn’t exactly call it a smile, her mouth wasn’t quite so firm, her eyes so cool.

‘‘Good luck, Reid,’’ she said with a nod, then added, ‘‘I’ll be counting the days.’’

‘‘So will I, Tina.’’ He grinned at her, then released her hand. ‘‘So will I.’’

From the second-story window of her aunt’s apartment, Tina watched the moving van—Miller’s Home and Office Rental—pull out of the busy, early-evening traffic and slide into a parking space on the street directly below. A burly, bald-headed man carrying a clipboard and wearing lead-gray overalls stepped out of the van’s cab, then disappeared into the first floor.

‘‘Grass certainly doesn’t grow under Reid Danforth’s feet, does it, Delilah?’’ Tina said to the long-haired tabby currently winding its sleek, lithe body around her bare legs. ‘‘It’s hardly been five hours since I handed him a key, and here he is, bringing in furniture.’’

Damn him.

Logically, Tina knew she shouldn’t blame Reid. It was, after all, her parents’ decision. But the fact was, she wasn’t feeling especially reasonable—or forgiving—at the moment. Besides, it was much easier to be angry with a stranger than her mother and father.

Tina had made one last-ditch appeal to her mother to reconsider leasing out the space to the Danforths, but her effort had proven futile. Convinced that Abraham Danforth’s campaign headquarters would be a hotbed of handsome, wealthy bachelors, Mariska was practically doing handstands.

And speaking of handsome, wealthy bachelors, Tina’s pulse jumped when Reid stepped out onto the sidewalk with the burly man.

He’d stripped off the denim jacket he’d been wearing earlier, and looking at his wide shoulders and thick-muscled arms under the T-shirt he wore, she might have thought him one of the movers. When he dropped one large hand on a lean, denim-clad hip and gestured toward the doorway, her eyes traveled downward over his tall, well-sculpted body, then back up again.

She told herself the flutter in her stomach was hunger, not lust.

‘‘Most mothers would warn their daughters about a man like Reid Danforth,’’ Tina huffed, then knelt down and picked Delilah up in her arms. ‘‘My mother is already planning a wedding.’’

Bored, Delilah twitched her whiskers.

Though she knew she shouldn’t be peeping out the blinds, Tina watched Reid walk to the back of the van with the movers. In spite of herself, she couldn’t help but admire the confidence that radiated from the man. His stance, his walk, the tilt of his head. Even now, in her mind, she could hear the steady, deep tone of his voice, could feel the firm grasp of his hand over hers.

And that smile, she thought. That smile should be banned from public display.

‘‘All the more reason to stay away from the man,’’ she said emphatically to Delilah. ‘‘He knows perfectly well the effect he has on women. I, for one, have no intention of encouraging his already inflated ego.’’

Still, Tina watched Reid glance at his wristwatch, she could look, couldn’t she? As long as he didn’t know she was looking, what was the harm?

That’s when he glanced up.

With a gasp she jumped back, praying he hadn’t been able to see her through the half-open blinds.

Darn it, darn it.

‘‘That’s what I get for being nosy,’’ she told Delilah. ‘‘And you know what they say about curiosity.’’

As if annoyed by the comment, Delilah jumped from Tina’s arms and strode away with a flick of her pretty tail.

‘‘It’s just an expression,’’ Tina called after the cat. ‘‘No need to be waspish about it.’’

Resisting the urge to creep back to the window again, Tina headed for the bathroom, stripped off her work clothes and stepped into the shower. It felt good to let the hot water pound on her shoulders and neck. Slowly, her tension from the day eased.

A year, she told herself. Surely she could manage twelve short months. Fifty-two weeks. She smiled, remembering the look on Reid’s face when she’d told him she’d be counting the days. When he’d looked her in the eye and told her he’d be counting them, too, she’d almost felt as if it were a challenge.

God help her, she couldn’t resist a challenge.

Yes, you will resist, her mind yelled at her. Determined that she’d spent enough brain space on the man, Tina stuck her head under the spray of water. The time would pass quickly enough. Before she knew it, the man would be out, and she would be in.

The thought lightened her mood immensely.

After she toweled off and passed a blow dryer over her hair, she slipped into a pair of jeans, a pink cotton T-shirt and, because she was going out this evening, a bra. Dinner and a movie with Rachel would take her mind off Reid, Tina told herself.

She found a black leather ankle boot under the end table beside the sofa and was searching for its mate when she heard the sound of muffled voices drifting up from a floor vent. She could almost make out what the men were saying. Was that Reid’s voice, too? she wondered, then got down on her hands and knees and listened. They were saying something about turning the desk at an angle.

It was utterly rude to be eavesdropping, of course, and she started to move away until she heard a deep voice say something about the blond babe at the bakery. They were talking about Sophia, Tina knew, but when the man made a crude comment and the rest of the men laughed, Tina gasped.

How dare they talk about her sister like that!

‘‘Hey—’’ she shouted into the vent ‘‘—you down there. That’s right, I’m talking to you.’’

She waited a beat to get their attention, but before she could say anything else, she heard Rachel’s voice behind her.

‘‘Tina, what on earth are you doing?’’

Startled, she slammed the top of her head on the end table and swore. Rubbing her head, she crawled out backward. ‘‘Rachel, for heaven’s sake,’’ Tina said, glancing over her shoulder, ‘‘you could at least—’’

She froze.

Standing next to Rachel, his brow lifted and a smirk on his face, was Reid Danforth.