Nerds Like It Hot (Nerds, #6)(35)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

"Oh."

"You’re all right with staying put?"

"Yes. I’ve had enough excitement for now." She gave him the once-over. This would be their last night together, and she planned to enjoy it. "At least, that kind of excitement."

His gaze warmed. "Look, I’m not suggesting we stay here just so we can have sex all night." "You’re not? That’s too bad."

His breathing changed. "Uh . . . then do you want food now… or later?"

"Now. Then we won’t have to be interrupted."’

"Okay." He swallowed. "What would you like?"

She was touched by his eagerness to please her. Leaving him tomorrow would be awful, but she had to. It was for his own good. She paused in the bathroom doorway. "Whatever Dante can get us would be fine. I’m not fussy."

"I’ll call him." Lex picked up the walkie-talkie.

"You know what? While we’re waiting for the food, I’m going to take a shower and change into my nightgown."

"Your . . . your nightgown?"

"Uh-huh. Maybe I’ll wear the white one tonight."

He looked worried. "But Dante will be coming with the food."

"Then how about if I stay in the bathroom until he leaves?" That would give her plenty of planning time.

"Good." Lex’s shoulders relaxed. "Good idea."

Moments later, Gillian was standing under the hot shower spray, which was where she often came up with her best ideas. She had to remember that she was dealing with the Mafia, and the Mafia could be tricky. Lex and Dante weren’t equipped to handle gangsters, but they would try. They could bring a vendetta down on themselves by acting rashly.

If Gillian could be the first one off the boat when they docked in the morning, she could go straight into town and find a telephone. Vista Verde might be on the small side, but surely they’d have a telephone. She’d call the LAPD and tell them that Neil Rucker was on board the Sea Goddess disguised as a woman named Nancy Roth. They could quietly pick Neil/Nancy up when the ship docked again in L.A.

Once Gillian had made her phone call, she could hire someone to drive her far, far away. With luck she’d be miles down the road before anyone else made it off the ship. Lex and Dante couldn’t be blamed by the Mafia for having anything to do with Neil’s capture, because they wouldn’t have the information about Nancy. Therefore, no reprisals.

There was a small chance the LAPD wouldn’t believe her story, but if they’d at least meet the Sea Goddess when it came into port and question Nancy, any decent detective would soon figure out she wasn’t who she seemed to be. Then it was a matter of getting a confession.

That was where Gillian came up against her conscience. If she agreed to go back to L.A. and testify, it wouldn’t matter whether Neil confessed or not. She was an eyewitness to the murder.

Well, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. First the police had to nab Neil. And it couldn’t be connected in any way to Lex or Dante. She wasn’t about to have those guys pay the price.

LEX THOUGHT GILLIAN WAS UP TO SOMETHING, BUT he’d be damned if he knew what. She was being too cooperative, too willing to stay put in the room until tomorrow morning. He’d been around her long enough to suspect that meant she had something up her sleeve.

But she couldn’t leave while he was awake, and he’d decided they’d sleep with the mattress up against the door again tonight. It would keep intruders out, but it would also keep Gillian in. Maybe she had no plans to go wandering around the ship. But she was definitely plotting mischief. He could see it in her big brown eyes.

Dante arrived sooner than he’d expected, and he had to haul the mattress out of the way before he could open the door. At the last minute he ran back and pulled the pink underwear off the lampshade and stuck it under Gillian’s pillow.

Finally he answered the door. "That was quick."

"You, on the other hand, were incredibly slow," Dante said. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No. I had to pull the blockade away from the door. I would have done it sooner, but I thought you’d be a while."

"One thing about cruise ships, there’s always food around somewhere." Dante wheeled a cart covered with a white tablecloth into the room. The cart held two plates covered with metal domes, two salads, two dishes of chocolate mousse with whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top, two wine glasses, a bottle of red wine, two candles in candleholders, and a rose in a bud vase.

Lex closed the door and stared at the display. "How’d you do all this?"

"Cora ordered room service for her and Little Ben in his room." Dante picked up a book of matches and lit the candles. "She told the cruise staff that they were celebrating their engagement."

"That’s outrageous!"

Dante blew out the match and glanced at him. "Actually, it’s true. But they’re going to make do with snacks in the bar and a couple of really big margaritas instead."

"They’re engaged? Already?" Lex wasn’t sure he approved. "But she barely knows the guy."

"She knows him about as well as you know Gillian, and you’re planning to run off to South America together."

Lex’s jaw dropped. "How’d you know that?"

"I didn’t, for sure, but I had a feeling. Now I know."

Lex’s conscience bashed him over the head. "I should have told you earlier. I was afraid to, because I thought you’d go ballistic, and I…" He paused. "How come you’re not going ballistic?"

Dante shrugged. "What’s the point? You’ve met the woman of your dreams, and she has to leave the country. I can’t expect you to do anything else. In fact, I’m not sure where I’ll be in a few months. BJ’s job is in San Jose, and she really likes where she works. She might be able to transfer, but if she can’t, I’ll have to move up there."

"You’d leave me?"

"Hey, you’re the one leaving me, remember?" "I meant, if I didn’t have this South America deal. You’d just up and go to San Jose and desert me?" "I might."

"But you’ve never let a woman call the shots."

Dante smiled at him. "That’s because I’ve never found the right one." He pointed a finger at Lex. "And you know exactly what I’m talking about, too. Oh, here’s the info for Cora’s lawyer." Dante dug in his pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Lex. "Cora wants Gillian to have it as a contact point."

"Thanks. I’ll give it to her."

"So, are you going to tip your waiter?"

"Yeah." Lex was still blown away by Dante’s dedication to this relationship with BJ. "Yeah, I am. I’m giving you Cora’s fee, and my car, and anything in my apartment you can use or sell."

"Wow." Dante blinked. "Thanks. I wouldn’t have done that for you if I’d gone to San Jose and left you in the lurch."

"South America is a little different proposition."

"I suppose. So I get it all, huh? Even your baseball card collection?"

"How do you know I still have that collection?" It was his guilty little secret. He was too old and too cool to have something like that, but he hadn’t been able to give it up.

"Again, good guess. You’re a nerd at heart, Lex. I guess that’s why I like you. I’ve discovered I have a real fondness for nerds."

"I’m not a nerd."

"Yes you are, and that’s a good thing." Dante rocked back on his heels. "So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?"

"We don’t have one. I’ll have to call you on the walkie-talkie when I know more. The thing is, Gillian doesn’t want me to go with her. She thinks I’m throwing my life away, and then there’s this thing about her roots."

"Her roots?" Dante stared at him. "I don’t get it."

"Me, either. It’s some female hang-up having to do with how she looks. She’s afraid that if she doesn’t keep her hair blond and wear makeup and stuff, I won’t think she’s sexy. Is that stupid or what?"

"It’s stupid, all right, but I know what you’re dealing with. BJ is convinced if she hadn’t had a makeover I wouldn’t have noticed her. Don’t women understand that all we care about is their nak*d bodies?"

"And their intelligent minds," Lex said quickly, in case any of this discussion was filtering through the bathroom door. He tilted his head in that direction, to tip off Dante.

"Oh, well, yeah." Dante choked back a laugh. "Of course I mostly care about BJ’s intelligent mind. That’s it. Her mind." Then he grinned and rolled his eyes. "Good luck convincing her, buddy. Hope the engagement dinner helps."

"I feel sort of guilty, taking it away from Cora and Little Ben."

"Don’t be. Cora’s already said yes." He lowered his voice. "You, on the other hand, still have some work to do." Then he waggled his eyebrows and walked out the door.

Twenty-seven

GILLIAN HAD CAUGHT BITS AND PIECES OF LEX’S Conversation. When she’d heard something about Cora getting engaged, she’d longed to rush out and ask for details, but she’d promised Lex she wouldn’t appear in front of Dante in the white nightgown. And once she’d put it on, she had to agree that was the wise choice.

It was looser than the black stretch lace, but the neckline dipped much lower, so that her br**sts were barely covered by the filmy material. It hung to mid-thigh and had a matching pair of skimpy panties. She decided to put those on, although they didn’t make her feel much more dressed.

As for makeup, she’d put on a little. The nightgown seemed to call for it. But she hadn’t created the red-lipped Marilyn look, instead going for a nude shade of lipstick and very subtle mascara and blush.

She’d never eaten a meal looking this sexy. Maybe they wouldn’t make it through the whole meal, considering how Lex usually responded to visual stimulation. And that was okay. He didn’t know this was their last night together, and because of that, she’d go along with whatever he wanted.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the bathroom door and stepped into a room that was no longer pink. The glow of candles beckoned her, instead. As she walked more fully into the room, she found a room service cart with the leaves up, and as romantic a table setting as she could ever ask for.

Lex had positioned the cart at the end of her bed, so that one of them could sit on the bed and the other could take the desk chair on the far side. He stood waiting in the little aisle between the beds, and when he saw her, he gasped.

She remembered that she’d made that happen the first time they’d met, when she’d worn the silver Marilyn dress. The thrill hadn’t worn off for him, and she would be gone before there was even the remotest chance of that happening.

"You look… amazing."

"Thanks." She gestured toward the table. "This is beautiful."

"I can’t take credit for it. I don’t know if you could hear any of what Dante said, but-—"

"Cora and Little Ben are engaged. I gathered that much." She was almost afraid to breathe in this nightgown. Something important might slip out. Once that happened, the meal would be over, and the food smelled delicious.

On the other hand, Lex looked damned good, too. After another near-death experience, she wouldn’t mind celebrating life by getting it on with her resident bodyguard. Fortunately, she’d decided to leave the choice up to him, and he couldn’t make a bad decision.

"Here’s the card for Cora’s lawyer."

"Thanks." She took it from him. "Where would you like me to sit?" If he told her to lie down, instead, she’d know his choice.

"In the chair." He came over and held it for her.

"Thank you." She placed the business card beside her plate before she sat down.

Lex scooted the chair in. "Just so you know, from this angle I can see just about everything."

The tremble in his voice made her reconsider whether they should start with the meal. "Is that so?"

"I wanted you to know, because I can’t take credit for this meal, but I can take credit for enjoying it with you, all the way through, including the mousse, and not… not attacking you."

She thought about telling him that he could attack at will, but she sensed this was a self-imposed test, and he’d like himself better if he passed it. "Then I’m giving you all kinds of credit."

"I appreciate that. Because right now I want to rip off that white deal you’re wearing and suck on your br**sts." He walked around the table and eased onto the other side with a slight wince. "And I have an erection the size of the Coit Tower." –

She decided to help him out by changing the topic. Placing her napkin in her lap, she glanced at him. "When’s the wedding?"

"Do you want one? I’m sure we could arrange it, although most of South America is Catholic, I think. Are you Catholic? I never thought to ask something like that. There are a lot of things we haven’t discussed, and I’m sure that you—"

"I meant for Cora and Little Ben," she said. But the comments about a wedding involving her and Lex had been telling … and poignant. He was willing to marry her, and yet he’d known her such a short time. With Cora and Little Ben it was more understandable. At their age, they wouldn’t want a long courtship.

But, at least potentially, Lex had decades ahead of him. How could he suggest marrying her when he still hadn’t seen the real Gillian McCormick? She had to believe it was all about sex, and for him, that was a powerful motivator. She had to save him from himself.

"Oh. Right. Cora and Little Ben. I don’t know." He became very busy uncorking the wine and pouring her a glass. "Sorry. I got ahead of myself, I guess." He poured himself a glass, set down the bottle, and picked up his glass. "Here’s to … the future."

"I’ll drink to that." A separate future, but one where each of them flourished. She clinked her glass against his and her nipple almost popped out of her nightgown.

Lex stared at her chest. "This is going to be tough."

"Do you want to just—"

"No." He tossed back a mouthful of wine. "We’re going to have a romantic candlelit dinner, damn it."

She pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t laugh. "Most couples don’t have a dinner together while the woman in question is wearing a nightgown and a bed is in the immediate vicinity."