been?”
“Managing.”
“Did you miss me?”
“No,” she lied. “As a matter of fact, I’ve barely given you a thought.”
“Liar,” he said, smiling.
His voice was warm and husky, and Diana felt her palms grow moist.
“Trust me, I know. You’ve spent every waking minute thinking about me, unable to concentrate on anything all week.”
Diana felt her blush deepen and turned away to hide it under the guise of collecting Hannah’s things. “You’re wrong.”
“Ah, but you’re blushing. Humor me, Diana. Tell me part of it was true?”
Diana gave him a sidelong glance. Devlan did appear hopeful, almost pathetically so, and his wistful look caused her to laugh in response.
His face softened as he took in her humor. One hand reached forward and ever so lightly touched her cheek. “You’re so beautiful when you laugh, Diana. It’s good to see you happy again.”
Wow , she thought.
A knock on the door captured their attention and the medical team hired to transport Hannah strode in before she could answer. She accepted the interruption thankfully and allowed Devlan to pull her from the room and down the hall to the elevator.
“I have a jet here that we’ll take. Hannah will then go directly to the unit. I’ll bring you there from Malibu.”
“Wait a minute,” Diana said. She stopped short and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t just get up and leave now.”
“Why not? Everything’s taken care of.”
“But I haven’t packed anything. I just got the news a few hours ago.” Her arms went akimbo. “You’re moving way too fast.”
“Nonsense,” he returned. “We can pack up your little place in a matter of minutes. Why, I’ll even help. Let’s go, we don’t want to keep Hannah waiting too long.”
“You’ll help?” she asked. “So you do manual labor?”
He chuckled. “You’ve tasted my cooking. Doesn’t that answer your question?”
“It wasn’t cooking I was talking about,” she said wryly.
He leaned down and whispered near her ear, so close that her hair tickled her cheek. “If you let me pack up your underwear drawer, I’ll show you exactly what kind of manual labor I can do.”
The memory of his fresh kiss warmed her and prompted her to use more caution. Oh, she had no doubt that he would, and even less doubt that she would be able to fight her desire for him. However, he was still far more experienced, and she was undoubtedly playing with a fire that could only burn her.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she murmured.
The elevator doors opened and she ducked in quickly, waiting in the back for Devlan and Mike to fit their bulk in with the other passengers. None of them spoke while they made their way out of the hospital into the bright sunlight of the windy November afternoon.
“Car’s this way,” Mike said, leading the way.
Ahead idled a long stretch limo parked against the curb. As Diana climbed in, she wondered what her neighbors would think, but when Devlan slipped into the seat across from hers all thoughts fled. Diana glanced around quickly.
“Where’s Mike?”
“Why are you always wondering where Mike is? Is there something I should know about?”
“I was just wondering,” she stammered.
“Well, he rides up front. That’s what I pay him to do,” Devlan answered coolly. A laptop suddenly appeared on Devlan’s lap and he began to type furiously. She was dismissed.
“Oh,” she answered. Up front was more her league too.
Devlan lifted his head a few times during the ride to fill her in on what he had accomplished while he was gone. In preparation for her temporary move to L.A., he had seen to it that she was released from her lease and a moving company scheduled to transfer her furniture into short-term storage. He had also spoken to her company and collected the paperwork for a leave of absence with a job guarantee.
All that was left was to pack up her remaining belongings. Luckily she did not have much for Allan and Mindy to
“Managing.”
“Did you miss me?”
“No,” she lied. “As a matter of fact, I’ve barely given you a thought.”
“Liar,” he said, smiling.
His voice was warm and husky, and Diana felt her palms grow moist.
“Trust me, I know. You’ve spent every waking minute thinking about me, unable to concentrate on anything all week.”
Diana felt her blush deepen and turned away to hide it under the guise of collecting Hannah’s things. “You’re wrong.”
“Ah, but you’re blushing. Humor me, Diana. Tell me part of it was true?”
Diana gave him a sidelong glance. Devlan did appear hopeful, almost pathetically so, and his wistful look caused her to laugh in response.
His face softened as he took in her humor. One hand reached forward and ever so lightly touched her cheek. “You’re so beautiful when you laugh, Diana. It’s good to see you happy again.”
Wow , she thought.
A knock on the door captured their attention and the medical team hired to transport Hannah strode in before she could answer. She accepted the interruption thankfully and allowed Devlan to pull her from the room and down the hall to the elevator.
“I have a jet here that we’ll take. Hannah will then go directly to the unit. I’ll bring you there from Malibu.”
“Wait a minute,” Diana said. She stopped short and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t just get up and leave now.”
“Why not? Everything’s taken care of.”
“But I haven’t packed anything. I just got the news a few hours ago.” Her arms went akimbo. “You’re moving way too fast.”
“Nonsense,” he returned. “We can pack up your little place in a matter of minutes. Why, I’ll even help. Let’s go, we don’t want to keep Hannah waiting too long.”
“You’ll help?” she asked. “So you do manual labor?”
He chuckled. “You’ve tasted my cooking. Doesn’t that answer your question?”
“It wasn’t cooking I was talking about,” she said wryly.
He leaned down and whispered near her ear, so close that her hair tickled her cheek. “If you let me pack up your underwear drawer, I’ll show you exactly what kind of manual labor I can do.”
The memory of his fresh kiss warmed her and prompted her to use more caution. Oh, she had no doubt that he would, and even less doubt that she would be able to fight her desire for him. However, he was still far more experienced, and she was undoubtedly playing with a fire that could only burn her.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she murmured.
The elevator doors opened and she ducked in quickly, waiting in the back for Devlan and Mike to fit their bulk in with the other passengers. None of them spoke while they made their way out of the hospital into the bright sunlight of the windy November afternoon.
“Car’s this way,” Mike said, leading the way.
Ahead idled a long stretch limo parked against the curb. As Diana climbed in, she wondered what her neighbors would think, but when Devlan slipped into the seat across from hers all thoughts fled. Diana glanced around quickly.
“Where’s Mike?”
“Why are you always wondering where Mike is? Is there something I should know about?”
“I was just wondering,” she stammered.
“Well, he rides up front. That’s what I pay him to do,” Devlan answered coolly. A laptop suddenly appeared on Devlan’s lap and he began to type furiously. She was dismissed.
“Oh,” she answered. Up front was more her league too.
Devlan lifted his head a few times during the ride to fill her in on what he had accomplished while he was gone. In preparation for her temporary move to L.A., he had seen to it that she was released from her lease and a moving company scheduled to transfer her furniture into short-term storage. He had also spoken to her company and collected the paperwork for a leave of absence with a job guarantee.
All that was left was to pack up her remaining belongings. Luckily she did not have much for Allan and Mindy to
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