CHAPTER 3

          Mackenzie frowned. The woman looked ready to have a stroke and seemed determined enough to keep at it until Mackenzie joined in.

“Okay, Judi,” she replied, raising her arms and swaying. “Just for a minute.”

          She glanced around again to ensure no one saw.

“Move those hips!”

          Judi’s hips pivoted in exaggerated circles. Mackenzie chewed her lip in concentration. After a few moments, her muscles warmed and she smiled. The music flowed over her. Her body moved in tune with the sax’s sultry strains.

“There! I think I’ve got it, Judi.”

“Oh, you’ve got it all right,” a deep masculine voice sounded from behind her. “The question is, are you giving any of it away?”

          Embarrassment flooded Mackenzie as she swung around to face a tall stranger. He stood a few feet inside the shop’s door. The light breeze ruffled his dark blond hair. His eyes, as green as the summer sky, shone with undisguised admiration. His gaze ran lazily over her hips, then up, pausing a long moment at her breasts, before rising to meet her eyes. A shiver ran through her.

          Men had noticed her before, more often than she’d cared for, but their attentions normally had little effect on her. This man’s gaze sent butterflies flurrying in her stomach. His indolent smile showed he hadn’t been fooled by her simple cotton dress.

“See, honey? It worked like a charm. You caught one.”

          Judi nodded in the newcomer’s direction.

“Not bad for your first time out.”

          The man chuckled and headed toward them. Heat spread up Mackenzie’s neck and across her cheeks. She’d never been more mortified. He moved with the grace and precision of a panther.

          Sleek… Sensual…

          His gray suit draped him as if it were tailor-made, his broad shoulders and tapered hips filling its precise lines.

“So… are you?”

          His voice rumbled through her. Another shiver struck her, this one in the pit of her stomach. The dancing must have made her dizzy.

“Excuse me?”

“You go on!” Judi swatted his arm. “Mackenzie doesn’t give a thing away.”

          She eyed Mackenzie.

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Judi added.

          Mackenzie stared at the old woman. Words refused to form on her tongue. The man in turn stopped short. He drew up straight.

“Mackenzie?”

          He stared at her with disbelieving eyes.

“Yes.”

          She offered her hand, grateful to have found her voice, though it held a strange, breathless quality.

“I’m Mackenzie Swanson. Was there something I could help you find?”

“Well, actually…”

          He squeezed her hand between his big palms.

“I’m here for you.”

“Me?”

          Mackenzie blinked. Her heart started beating faster, as the warmth of his hands melted into hers. A little tremor ran from her fingers up her arm. She fought the alarming urge to lean into him... to take his scent in…

          What could a gorgeous man like this want with her?

“That’s right.”

          Releasing her, he spread his arms wide.

“I’m Wyatt Carlyle. I work with your brother.”

          Bewilderment swirled through her.

“Wyatt? Oh… This is quite a surprise. Ben has told me so much about you.”

          Like how she should run the other way if she ever chanced to meet him. Wyatt’s eyes shone.

“I can just imagine. Probably only half of it was true.”

“I don’t know. I have a feeling he wasn’t too far off the mark.”

          She’d always doubted Benjamin’s stories about his college roommate’s sexual prowess… Until now. Benjamin had been right to warn her. Wyatt emanated danger… and pure sex.

          Mackenzie stepped back and nearly knocked over Judi.

“Goodness, I’m sorry. Where are my manners? This is Judi Voight, my most beloved customer. Judi, this is Wyatt Carlyle aka ‘Mr. Playboy’.”

          Wyatt put a hand on his chest.

“You killed me!”

          He took Judi’s offered hand and kissed it.

“I always leave a woman smiling and very much alive, I promise.”

“I’ll bet you do.”

          Judi snatched back her hand.

“You’re a charmer, dear, but I’m afraid I’m spoken for. My Jackson will be here any minute and he’s the jealous type.”

          Mackenzie’s heart gave another squeeze. Wyatt darted a look over his shoulder as if he were afraid of encountering the elderly woman’s lover.

“Jackson?”

“Jackson Daniel Kingman, a real man’s man… My man.”

          With shaky fingers, Judi extracted a golden locket from between her breasts. She flipped it open and held it toward him. Despite herself, Mackenzie crowded beside him to catch a glimpse of the infamous Jackson.

          Two tiny portraits, one of a young woman with flaming red hair and a familiar smile, the other a wavy-haired man, handsome, but serious, stared back at her. She sighed. They must have been terribly in love.

          Wyatt straightened, releasing the locket and brushing against her.

“One lucky devil, your Jackson.”

“Damn right, young man!”

          Judi dropped the locket back into her cleavage. Mackenzie swallowed and tried to calm the hundreds of butterflies that had stormed her stomach at Wyatt’s accidental touch.

          She had to get a grip. He was just a man.

          An available man…

          Mackenzie drew in a breath and let her gaze drift over his broad shoulders, trim waist, then lower. That fluttery feeling spread.

          He cleared his throat. Her gaze flew to his. Though he stood ramrod straight, the heat in his eyes pierced her. So, this was desire.

“Listen, I’m going to get out of your way and let you two get acquainted.”

          Judi patted Mackenzie’s arm.

“Live a little, sweet girl!”

          She winked, then wandered off after Jimmy.

                                                                ****

          Wyatt shifted beside Mackenzie. Her brother had to be wrong. No way was she a virgin, not with the way she moved, or the way she looked at him with those gorgeous, hungry green eyes. Her body had called to his with her siren’s dance and her throaty voice alone was enough to do a man in.

“Ben has kept you such a mystery, he’d gotten my curiosity up. I’ve been trying to figure out how to meet you.”

          His gaze swept the crowded rows of books. Somehow, he couldn’t look at her and tell his half-truth.

“I was grilling Tiffany, at the office, about what to get him and Estelle for a wedding gift and she mentioned that I should ask you.”

          He glanced up and was again caught in her green gaze.

“So… here I am for some advice, and to check out the mystery woman, of course.”

          She cocked her head.

“Does my brother know you’re here?”

“Uhm, no. I didn’t announce where I was going.”

          She smiled and her eyes lit with pleasure.

“Well… I won’t tell him if you won’t.”

“My lips are sealed.”

          Her hair shone in the sunlight slanting through the open door. Wyatt knotted his fists to keep from reaching out to touch the lock draped over her shoulder.

“You don’t look like your brother… except for your hair color.”

          His traitorous hand rose. His fingers threaded through her dark strands. Satin and silk… Wyatt leaned forward and caught a whiff of wildflowers. His pulse kicked up a notch.

“Um… Wedding gift…”

          Mackenzie’s voice floated to him, soft and hesitant. Wyatt met her wide gaze. Clear and bright, her eyes pulled him in until he felt he was drowning in them. They held a purity he’d never known.

          With a mental shake, Wyatt dropped his hand and straightened. It was true. She was a virgin. Innocence radiated from her. A confirmed bachelor who didn’t believe in fairy tales or ‘happily-ever-after’ had no right going near that precious creature.

“Yeah…”

          He cleared his throat and attempted to clear the haze from his mind.

“I know they’ve got a registry going, but I was thinking I’d like to get them something not from a list.”

“Well,” Mackenzie parroted, as her eyebrows drew together in concentration. “Let’s see.”

          She tapped her fingers against her chin, then suddenly brightened.

“I know. There’s a new gallery Estelle likes. They exhibit only contemporary art. The owner knows her. She can help you pick something.”

          Her mouth twisted in a wry curve.

“As long as you please Estelle, Ben will be happy too.”

“I see… Great… Contemporary art.”

          Wyatt nodded. That done, his palms moistened. He had to ask her out for Friday night, but his usual confidence and finesse had strangely fled. He stood like a schoolboy ready to ask out his first crush.

          What if she said no?

          What if she was seeing someone?

          He grimaced. He’d never before concerned himself with details.

“So, I’m glad you stopped by. It’s interesting to compare the legend to the reality.”

          Mackenzie’s eyes sparkled. Wyatt fisted his hands. For some inexplicable reason, he hated that she knew of his exploits.

“Funny how reality can sprout into such tall tales.”

          His voice ground out rougher than he’d meant, but Mackenzie smiled, nodding thoughtfully. A moment of silence fell. She glanced over her shoulder as a new customer entered.

“Clients… I’d better get back to work.”

          Wyatt gritted his teeth. His tongue felt too thick for his mouth. When had he ever had trouble asking a woman out? Mackenzie turned toward the counter, stopped, then faced him again. His gut tightened. Her cheeks flushed.

“Maybe we could get together sometime,” she said.

“Friday night…”

          He shook his head, then tried again.

“Could I take you to dinner… Uhm, Friday… This Friday night?”

          His heart pounded.

“I mean, I just thought that since you’re Ben’s sister and all, and with the upcoming wedding, it wouldn’t hurt for us to get to know each other…”

          Wyatt snapped his mouth shut.

          Why in the hell was he babbling?

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

          His heart lifted and he wanted to smack himself for the relief flowing through him.

“Yes.”

          Mackenzie raised her chin. Her eyes gleamed.

“I’ll go out with you Friday night.”

“Great. See you at 7?”

“Perfect. I’ll give you my address.”

          She moved to the counter, scribbled something on a piece of paper, then handed it to him.

“My phone number, too, in case you need it to let me know you’re not coming.”

“I won’t miss it.”

“Okay…”

          A spark lit her eyes.

“I’ll be looking forward to Friday, then.”

          Her voice held a sultry tone. Wyatt grabbed the paper from her fingers. He swallowed hard and crammed the paper and his fist into his pocket. With a huge effort, he kept from turning his tail and running.

          What was wrong with him?

          With a mumbled farewell, he stepped back, then strode toward the door. Wyatt forced himself not to look back, but the weight of her intense gaze followed him to the sidewalk.

          Once out of sight, he stopped to wipe the sweat from his eyebrow. He hadn’t had much exposure to virgins. It made sense that he’d suffer some adverse reaction. That sense of ‘happily-ever-after’ and white picket fences that seemed to hover around them just didn’t sit well with him.

          He was allergic, that was all.

          Wyatt blew out a breath and relaxed. Surely, in the three days to come, he’d regain his composure.

          One evening... A few short hours.

          He could manage that long with Benjamin’s sister. Once he got her to the party, he’d be done with her. Then he’d claim his prize: Kimberly. He smiled, forcing Kimberly’s image to replace Mackenzie’s in his mind.

          Dinner with Mackenzie would be a walk in the park. He just had to remember to avoid her eyes and not touch her. A dark cloud passed over the sun. He frowned and hurried to his car.