Hers for the Weekend

“What?” She sounded perplexed. “You know me pretty well already.”

“Well, yeah, but is there something more personal, like you have a birthmark the shape of the state of Louisiana?”

“I do not have any weird birthmarks.”

No doubt her skin was as creamy and flawless as her curves were intoxicating. “Okay, then some other obscure detail. Your favorite brand of bubble bath?”

“I’m more the hot shower type.”

Her words erased the image he’d been conjuring up of thin, foamy bubbles barely covering her. But the shower comment only made him think of two people intertwined in a steamy tile stall—two very specific people who had no business being naked and wet together.

“Is there any reason you’re trying to make me sound like a Playboy centerfold?” she challenged teasingly.

“Centerfold?” Cursing his exemplary visualization skills, he battled back an image of Piper scantily clad and provocatively posed.

“You know, those ridiculous interview bios.” She adopted a higher-than-normal airheaded tone. “My name’s Piper, and I enjoy champagne and bubble baths.”

“Maybe my examples stunk. All I meant was, are there little things people might expect me to know about you? Things a lover would know?”

Her gaze shot from the road to Josh, and the word lover hung between them like an unfulfilled promise. Or a warning.

After a second, she shook her head. “Convincing my family we’re involved is one thing, but trying to convince them we’re having a scorching affair would be more complicated, not to mention a little creepy. These are my parents, after all. Besides, people may think I’m dating, but I never hinted that the relationship was serious. We just need to take small steps to make it look real. You might have to, um, hold my hand or put your arm around me or something.”

“I can do that.” Despite all the times he’d deliberately avoided those exact, seemingly simple, things.

“And…” She swallowed. “It might not hurt if they see you kiss me once.”

“Kiss you.” Her summery citrus scent teased him, and for the second time in as many days he wondered what she’d taste like. Oranges? Sweet? Tangy?

“Just a quick peck or something,” she said. “No need for a major kiss.”

Showed what she knew about him. If he was going to do it, he would do it right.

“We got off track here,” she said a bit breathlessly.

He’d have to take her word for it. His thoughts had strayed so far afield that he didn’t even remember the original conversation.

“You were worried about personal trivia,” she reminded him. “But no one’s gonna quiz you about me. They’ll want to know all about you.”

His least favorite topic. “Hope I don’t disappoint them. I’m not a very interesting guy.”

She shot him such a knowing look, he added, “But if there’s anything you think you should know to make this more believable, feel free to ask. I don’t mind.” He ignored her snort of disbelief.

Relief pooled inside him when she didn’t call his bluff.

Instead, they lapsed into silence, the kind he would feel obligated to fill with any other woman. But Piper didn’t expect him to be witty or charming. She didn’t mind when he was obnoxious and cranky, and she could be obnoxious in return. Gradually relaxing, he leaned his seat back and closed his eyes, letting Piper’s humming and the motion of the car lull his nerves.

He didn’t wake up until he heard the sirens behind them.

PIPER’S GAZE FLEW to her rearview mirror, and her heart sank. Ignoring Josh’s muffled laughter at her colorful language, she pulled the car over.

She’d been stopped twice in one week! “My insurance company is going to send a guy to break my kneecaps.” She rolled down her window, looking up to meet the steel-gray eyes of a very tall patrolwoman.

With her platinum-blond hair and high supermodel cheekbones, the officer was probably a Nordic goddess when she smiled. At the moment, though, she was scowling. “License and proof of insurance, please. Do you know how fast you were going?”

Piper didn’t think it would look very good if she admitted she had no idea. Before she could say anything at all, Josh leaned across her, addressing the officer.

“Afternoon, ma’am,” he said, exaggerating his normal Texas drawl. “I just wanted to apologize. I’m the one who’s got to be somewhere, and my sister was hurrying for me. I shouldn’t have encouraged her to drive so fast.” He flashed a full-voltage smile. “You should give me the ticket.”

Piper mentally rolled her eyes. He was only going to irritate her. And what was he going to say when she asked where they had to be in such a hurry?

But the woman didn’t ask. Instead, her cold gaze turned smoky, and she smiled. “I don’t think there’s a need for anyone to get a ticket today. Your sister just needs to slow down.”

Josh’s voice was pure honey. “Thanks so much, Officer—?”

“Blake. Julie Blake.”

“I suppose it would be too forward to ask if you’re in the Houston phone book, Julie Blake?”

Unbelievable! The previously stone-faced officer actually blushed.

If they’d been in Josh’s car instead of hers, Piper would have tossed her cookies right there on the dashboard.

After Officer Julie assured them she had a listed number, wished them a good day and sashayed back to her own vehicle, Piper let Josh have it. “What is wrong with you? Are you just one giant gland?”

“Hey, I appreciate the gratitude, but don’t get all mushy or anything.”

“Gratitude?” She forced herself to drive away slowly. “For what—the lesson in flirting? Thanks, but I’ve caught the Josh Weber seminar plenty of times.”

“I wasn’t fl—Okay, I was, but only to try and help save your kneecaps.”

“What if your charm hadn’t worked? What if you’d just made her mad?”

Josh stared at her. “Have you ever seen my charm fail?”

The question would have smacked of arrogance were it not for one thing: she never had seen his charm fail. Women adored him. Even she, who should know better, had been forced to admit lately that she wasn’t completely impervious to his flirtations.

“I think you’re jealous,” he said, a smirk in his voice.

Exasperated, she almost threw her hands in the air, but decided not to, in the interests of steering. “Jealous? Of the Scandinavian patrolwoman?”

“I don’t think ‘Blake’ is Scandinavian.”

“I couldn’t care less who you throw yourself at. You and Miss Swedish Cheekbones could—”

“I meant,” Josh interjected, “jealous because I’m so much better with the opposite sex than you are. Face it, you’re no expert on catching men.”

“You make guys sound like fish. Or, more appropriately, a disease. For your information, and my mother’s, my sister’s and the entire population of Rebecca, Texas, I don’t even want a man! So why would I work toward catching one?” Gee, don’t hold back, Piper.