Under Her Skin. Susan Mallery

smiled. “It’s not illegal.”

      “Then what?”

      “Then I’m not going to tell you. You’re my friend and I love you, but no. Not this time. Cruz and I are engaged. That’s enough.”

      “It’s not even close to enough.” Dana leaned toward her. “Are you in trouble? Any kind of trouble?”

      Lexi appreciated the support. “No. Not even a little.” Thanks to Cruz. “Danger maybe, but not trouble.”

      Dana’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

      “Have you ever seen Cruz Rodriguez?”

      “No.”

      “He’s the walking, breathing definition of temptation.”

      “Which shouldn’t be a problem if you’re engaged.”

      Good point. “Let’s just say I don’t want him to know that he has that much control. Can I borrow your truck? I’ll need it to move my stuff into Cruz’s place.”

      “You’re going to be living with him?”

      Lexi believed the exact words had been something like, “In my house and in my bed.” Which made her want to fan herself. “Uh-huh,” she said.

      “That doesn’t sound like you. Besides, won’t your shiny new fiancé be helping?”

      She had no idea. “He’s, uh, going to be out of town. I want to surprise him.”

      “You’re not a good liar. What will you be moving?”

      “Just clothes and personal stuff.”

      “No furniture?”

      “Not right away.” Actually she had no idea what to take, but clothes seemed like a good place to start. “He can help with any big pieces I decide to keep,” she said, knowing it wasn’t an issue. She would hold on to her condo so she would have a place to go when the six months were over.

      Dana looked as if she wanted to argue but instead she said, “I’ll help you move and I’ll be the one driving my truck.”

      “Because you don’t trust me with your baby?”

      “Damned straight.”

      “But it’s just a truck.”

      Dana winced. “That’s why you can use it but you can’t borrow it.”

      WHEN DANA LEFT, Lexi hurried to her purse, where she dug out Cruz’s business card. He’d scrawled his cell number on the back. She punched it in and waited impatiently until he answered.

      “Rodriguez.”

      “What were you thinking? That’s some stunt you pulled. It’s bad enough that you did it, but you didn’t even warn me. I hadn’t told my sisters yet. You hurt Skye. I can forgive a lot of things, but not that.” Izzy wouldn’t care one way or the other, but Skye was sensitive.

      “What if I hadn’t told my father?” she continued, her voice rising slightly. “Trust me, you don’t want to deal with Jed Titan when he’s at the business end of a gun.”

      “You about finished?” Cruz asked.

      “I’m just getting started.”

      “Good. I’ll be there in ten minutes. You can yell at me in person.”

      He disconnected the call before she could tell him that didn’t work for her.

      She slammed down the phone, then marched to her private bathroom where she ran cold water on her wrists and double-checked her makeup. She hated that she cared about how she looked to him and called herself names as she put on more lip gloss.

      Why her? Why had he picked her? She didn’t have Skye’s gorgeous curves and feminine features or Izzy’s zest for life and adventure. She was a classic, cool blond. Or as Andrew had so eloquently put it, an ice queen. Cruz was all fire and passion. So why her?

      Did it matter? She’d gotten what she’d wanted—a bail-out. She still had a shot at winning Titan World and her father’s affections. In six months, she would be free of Cruz. Until then, she would endure. She was good at that.

      Her assistant buzzed that he’d arrived. Lexi ignored the sudden clenching of her stomach, the weakness that invaded her knees, and made her way to the front of her spa.

      As always, just walking through her place of business made her happy. The high ceilings and dark wood moldings gave the space an elegant air. She greeted staff members as she passed them in the hall. Jeannie, on her way to give a facial, seemed ready to collapse under the weight of a couple dozen towels.

      “You all right?” Lexi asked, grabbing an armful.

      Jeannie straightened. “Thanks. Mrs. Miller is coming in and she has this thing about wanting extra towels in the room. She doesn’t use them—she just wants them where she can see them.”

      Mrs. Miller was a regular. Weekly manicures, bi-weekly pedicures and facials, massages. Fake tan in the summer.

      “Better extra towels than a yappy dog that pees everywhere,” Lexi told her with a grin.

      “Oh, but then at least the towels would get used.” Jeannie laughed then ducked into one of the treatment rooms.

      Lexi continued toward the main entrance, passing through the relaxation room. Three sofas and several overstuffed chairs filled the area. Women in thick robes sat with mugs of herbal tea as they either waited for their treatments or enjoyed a little quiet time after they were done. Soothing music played in the background while a junior staff member offered magazines and cut fruit.

      Lexi paused to glance back at the long corridor. Nearly all the treatment room doors were closed, with discreet “occupied” signs hanging next to them. It was midweek and they were nearly at capacity. If nothing else, at least her business life was going well.

      Cruz stood by the check-in desk. He should have looked out of place. Instead he lounged by a glass case filled with cosmetics and appeared completely comfortable, in a sexy, masculine way. Every female eyed him with a curiosity that did more than undress him. It served him up for breakfast and demanded they do it again.

      Lexi found herself feeling oddly possessive, which was crazy. She should only want to yell at him for what he’d done with the announcement.

      He looked up and saw her, then smiled with such pleasure that her entire nervous system tingled.

      “Lexi,” he said as he approached, taking both her hands in his and lightly kissing her. He pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “If you keep looking at me like you want to see me as roadkill, no one is going to believe we’re engaged.”

      “Well then, they really won’t believe it after I take you to the woodshed and beat some sense into you,” she said back, keeping her voice low.

      He straightened and grinned. “I look forward to you trying.” He released one hand and tugged on the other. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

      She allowed him to lead her outside.

      The sun was bright and high in the big, blue sky. She had to shade her eyes to see the parking lot. At first she didn’t notice anything different. There were the usual assortment of guest cars, most of which were expensive imports that…

      Her gaze settled on a silver-blue Mercedes. She recognized the car and the color because both had been special-ordered for her birthday, and her father had been very unhappy when she’d explained the vehicle had been lost. In truth, Jed had been more angry that she hadn’t won the race than that she’d virtually given away an expensive car. He’d reminded her that if she was going to be stupid, she needed to learn to be tough.

      Her anger at Cruz faded as she approached the car. It couldn’t be the same one. Not after ten years. Could it? Had he