If I Can't Have You by Patti Berg Page B

as he tugged on the bags still in her hands.
    “I have no preference at all in what you wear,” she said, handing him a black bag and a white one with gold letters. The pretty pink bag she kept for herself.
    “If you had no preference, you could have walked into any department store and grabbed the first things you saw.” He peeked inside the bags again. “Looks to me like you went to more trouble than that.”
    “I like nice clothes.”
    “Yes, I can see that,” he said, his gaze raking over her form-fitting dress .
    She drew the pink bag in front of her and whipped around him.
    “Do me a favor,” she said, looking back at the stranger before she rushed through the door. “Take a shower before you get dressed.”
    “You might want to consider washing the sheets and everything else I’ve touched, too. There’s no telling what I’ve contaminated around here.”
    She hadn’t thought of anything but his body—big mistake. “Thanks for the suggestion.”
    “You know, Adriana, if you’ll give me half a chance, you might find I’m not such a bad sort,” he said before she crossed the threshold.
    “ Take a bath. Clean up. I’ll make my judgment then.” She skirted past him, through the living room, the dining room, and into the kitchen. She dumped her bag and purse on the table, dropped her sunglasses there, too, and unwrapped the scarf from her head.
    Without looking back to see if he’d followed or gone to the guest room to clean up, she busied herself by looking into the refrigerator, anything to take her mind off the man who agitated her. But he didn’t leave her thoughts, or her side.
    He leaned against the counter next to the icebox, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ve already looked,” he said, staring down at her as she studied the spare glass shelves. “There’s nothing much to eat in there. I was hoping for bacon and eggs. A steak maybe.” He glanced at her body again , then back at her eyes. “It’s easy to see why you stay so thin.”
    She slammed the refrigerator and backed across the room. “I don’t need to be interrogated on my comings and goings, and my eating habits are no one’s business but my own.”
    He didn’t flinch at her words, just continued to smile, casually studying her as she opened and slammed more cabinets.
    “Don’t you have something better to do than stare at me?” she asked.
    “Better? No, I can’t think of anything.”
    She slammed another cabinet. “Just take a shower, okay?”
    He grinned, obviously delighted by her discomfort and rapidly building anger. “Since I’m going to be staying a while—”
    “You’re not,” she tossed back quickly.
    “O n the off chance you decide to change your mind, perhaps you would consent to purchasing some real food.”
    Adriana turned away from his insufferable grin, and stared out the kitchen window. “I’ll think about it.”
    “Some cigarettes maybe?”
    “Anything else?” Exasperation rang out in her words, and she wished with all her heart that he’d leave the room so her nerves would calm.
    “No. Not right this moment.”
    “Good. Then take a shower.”
    Laughter filled his voice as he spoke. “Your wish is my command, fair lady.”
    In the window she could see his reflection, his courtly bow, and his back as he walked out the door. She took a deep breath, willing some sense of normalcy to return. Instead, the room felt empty, and loneliness overwhelmed her.
    oOo
    Adriana stared out the kitchen window for the longest time, thinking about the intruder’s winks, his grins, his smiles. Why did he have to be so charming?
    She pushed those thoughts aside and remembered the lecture she’d given herself on the drive home from Encino. Don’t let him pull the wool over your eyes. Don’t fall for his smile. Don’t fall for his game. Get him help and get him out of your house. It seemed the only way she could do any of those things was to be rude and disagreeable. Unfortunately, he’d seen