LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

too.”

      “I’m here to be fitted for a tux for Carmen’s wedding.”

      He watched as Julia grabbed a towel off a hook hidden discreetly behind a curtain, and began drying her arms and legs. He swallowed, trying not to groan as he watched the hem of her skirt rise, revealing a good amount of toned, shapely thigh. He began lifting his gaze, which didn’t help. She was wearing those clinging T-shirts, the kind with the thin straps. Because the fabric was cotton and wet, very little was left to his imagination. And Luke had an excellent imagination. He’d been thinking about Julia, and what her top was exposing, for half a dozen years. His pump was already primed. He could easily make out the outline of her tiny waist as well as the full swell of her breasts.

      This was not going well. Carmen was right, much to his chagrin. The Weddings Your Way seamstress was Julia Garcia. His Julia. His plan had been to waltz into the shop as the poster child for the fully evolved guy. He’d break the ice by making a joke, then apologize for the whole Vegas thing. Let her take his measurements and be on his way. No harm, no foul. That had been the plan. Too bad it wasn’t working real well. Still, he’d felt like a jackass for allowing himself to get involved with Esterhaus, a guy he hadn’t fully trusted. He’d let a lucrative business deal override his hard-won common sense.

      Now Julia watched him with the carefully blank expression one gave a stranger. An unwelcome stranger at that. She smacked her sodden purse into his midsection. “Hold this while I dry off the worst of it.”

      Luke obediently held her purse, wishing he was the towel she was stroking across her damp, tawny skin. Once she was no longer dripping, Julia slipped off her shoes, grabbed her purse and padded barefoot toward an elaborate marble staircase anchoring the center of the first floor. “My workroom is upstairs. Come on.”

      Here, boy. She was treating him like the dog he was, he thought as he followed her. Nodding to the rest of the staff was considerably better than turning his attention to Julia’s butt as she climbed the stairs ahead of him.

      Apparently fully evolved wasn’t working at all.

      Nope, by the time Julia had reached the third step, he was pretty much a walking heap of needy testosterone. Not much had changed in the six years since he’d gotten them both tangled in the drug-trafficking Esterhaus mess.

      He tried not to notice the gentle sway of her hips. Tried to ignore the faint scent of her tuberose perfume lingering in the air between them. Tried, but failed.

      Miserably.

      “Nice place,” he commented. Croaked, actually, making him really glad that her back was to him. As glad as he could be given that his eyes were now fixed on the tiny tattoo just above her left shoulder blade. He’d lived in Miami long enough to recognize the Cuban flag on sight.

      “It is,” she agreed as she neared the top of the stairs. “My office is back this way.”

      Luke realized the second floor was neatly sectioned into all things wedding. Thanks to Carmen, he was becoming an expert on the subject. She wasn’t just getting married, she was having an event. He was happy for her and all, but man, it took about the same amount of planning as a shuttle launch. He couldn’t believe he and Julia had pulled off their almost wedding in less than a week, drug dealers not withstanding. Their wedding would have been efficient, expedient and just as binding as the one his crazy sister was planning. Hell of a lot cheaper, too.

      Passing through the area devoted to invitations and calligraphy, they reached an etched glass door with the word private stenciled in gold.

      Leaving the door ajar, Julia rounded a cluttered desk and sat down to face him—moving rather stiffly, Luke decided. He took one of the two chairs opposite hers, gripping the armrests as he leaned back against the cushion.

      Almost every inch of wall space was utilized by fabric samples, bits of ribbon and lace and various drawings. Most were affixed with push pins. Beneath the tacked items, he spied some photographs. “Your work?” he asked, pointing to a glossy magazine cover in a Lucite frame.

      She nodded. “Yes.” Her chair swiveled as she opened one drawer of the credenza behind her desk to retrieve a thick file folder. “Carmen Lopez and Dalton Mitchell, right?”

      “Dalton Mitchell the third,” Luke remarked wryly. “I’m told the numeral is a big deal in the Mitchell family.”

      He watched as her features softened. Not so much so that he could consider it a smile, but she no longer looked as if her face was set in concrete.

      Her head tilted to one side, causing a curly tendril to fall free from the thick mass of damp hair she’d twisted into a knot at the nape of her long, tapered neck. Luke battled the urge to reach across the desk to tuck it behind her ear. Better for both of them if he stuck to business. He shifted in his seat.

      “Carmen said something about a wool tux?” He grimaced. “She was kidding, right? That sure will be comfortable on a hot June day.”

      Pulling a catalog page from inside the folder, Julia slipped it across the desk, then grabbed a pencil from a holder and used the eraser end as a pointer. “It’s luxe wool, very lightweight and breathable. I think you’ll be pleased.”

      He met her eyes and smiled sincerely. “The key is for Carmen to be pleased. She started planning this day in elementary school.”

      His heart skipped a few times when Julia rewarded him with a grudging smile. God, but she was beautiful. Perfect white teeth set against smooth, bronzed skin. And that mouth. Full, pouty lips sheened with a slick gloss that made him want to vault over the desk and kiss her senseless.

      One of her perfectly arched brows rose questioningly. “Why did you keep your sister a secret?”

      He shrugged and sat back, letting out a long breath as he redirected his thoughts. “Technically, I didn’t. Carmen and I aren’t blood relations. We spent several years together in the same foster home.”

      “She adores you.” Julia stiffened slightly. “I never would have guessed that you were the wonderful brother she raves about all the time. Not in a million years.”

      Luke frowned. He’d been hoping for some understanding. “I’m not a schmuck, Julia. That whole Vegas thing was—”

      She held up one hand. The bracelets on her wrist clanked loudly in the sudden silence. “Let’s not go there.”

      “I’d like to explain.”

      “No need,” she assured him, opening a drawer and pulling out a bright yellow, cloth tape measure that she draped around her shoulders. “It was a long time ago, Luke. Let’s just be glad we didn’t go through with what would have been a monumental mistake.”

      It rankled to hear the undiluted certainty in her tone. Not that he didn’t agree, he just didn’t like hearing it. “I didn’t know Esterhaus was a drug dealer.” Annoyed, he raked his fingers through his hair. “Something I would have explained at length if you hadn’t disappeared.”

      She blew out a quick, irritated puff of air. “The DEA agents told me all that. Really, Luke, let’s not rehash our brief past. So…” She paused and stood up. “If you’ll step into the next room, I’ll take your measurements and you can be on your way.”

      He rose and the chair legs scraped loudly against the tiled floor in the process. “I’m trying to apologize, Julia.”

      “No need,” she repeated, though there was still a hint of frost in her voice. “Really.”

      The instant Luke Young touched her arm, Julia felt a zing directly into the center of her being. Six years had done nothing to stifle her primal and instinctual attraction to this man. And what that was all about, she had no clue.

      “Hang on.” Luke gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Hear me out. I really am trying to clear the air.”

      The air I can’t breathe when you’re standing so close? she wondered. Slowly, Julia lifted her eyes, looking directly into

Скачать книгу