A Weekend of Misbehaving - Carmen Falcone Page 0,10

of town, but I’ll be back in a heartbeat for you.”

Cara smiled. “I know, Daddy.”

The serenity that swirled around Cara faded as they said good-bye.

“She seems like she’s having a great time,” Alice said, unable to keep up with the stride of Lorenzo’s long legs as they walked to the car. Or maybe she was too busy glancing at his nice ass to worry about her pace. Those tight, firm buttocks had the power to bring female soldiers home from war.

“Alice.” His curt voice abruptly pulled her from her dirty musings.

Her tongue stuck to the roof of her dry mouth, and she swallowed hard. “Yes, Mr. B?”

“Lorenzo. From now on, I’m Lorenzo to you.” He came to a halt and turned to face her.

Lorenzo. Oh, the many ways she could pronounce his name. Scream it. Whimper it. Her sex hummed in full agreement. Get it together, Alice. Find a celebrity to crush on—not a man she had to work for every day. “Okay. Lorenzo, it is. Wait. Maybe I could come up with a cute nickname?”

“No,” he growled. “Let’s not get carried away.”

Idiot. How did a man with zero charisma melt her panties?

He pulled out his phone and sent a text message. “By the way, the janitor told me a man was talking to you in front of the building yesterday.”

Who knew the janitor was a gossip? If she had, she could have engaged in some interesting conversations with him about the lady from 34A who spent lots of quality time with the chiseled pool boy. And Mrs. Trevor didn’t even own a pool. “And?”

“Who was he?”

The limo pulled up, and before Gordon got out and opened the door for them, Lorenzo beat him to the punch. He gestured for her to enter the car, and she slid inside. A strange awareness poured over her, which was downright weird. Why was she so nervous? He wasn’t even paying any attention to her—he never had. Better that way.

“A friend. Why?” she said, shifting in the seat to get as far from him as possible.

Lorenzo sat across from her, stretching his long legs. “He wasn’t selling you drugs, was he?”

Drugs? “Excuse me, but do you consider me that much of a loser that if a man talks to me on the street he has the sole intent of selling me drugs? Maybe he’s been into me for a while. Maybe he’s an ex.” The words escaped before she could double check her attitude-o-meter. A cold sweat sheened her palms, and she twisted her hands together. Telling him the nature of her relationship with Buck could risk her job. What if her stickler boss discovered a man threatening to hurt her and those around her, including his lovely daughter, if she didn’t pay him the money her crazy sister owed him? Gosh.

“I won’t tolerate it if he’s a dealer of any kind,” he said, his eyes flashing with an unspoken promise.

“Good. I promise you won’t have to,” she said casually, then picked up a magazine from the side rack and opened it. If only she felt as confident.

“Champagne, Mr. Baldi?” The flight attendant carried a smile on her lips and a bunch of filled flutes on her silver tray.

“No, thanks.” He pointed at his glass of water.

“I’ll have some,” Alice said, and although it wasn’t necessary, she leaned into him to get the flute from the flight attendant.

Shifting in the chair, he edged to the other side as if the brief contact had burned him. Reaching for the water glass, he took a big gulp and closed his eyes. Since last night, since seeing her naked in his pool, he’d been carrying a trunk in his chest. And, truth be told, a latent erection in his pants.

Which was ridiculous. During the year she’d worked for him, he made sure they kept their relationship strictly business. His strategy was to be cordial, to listen to concerns and stories about her daughter, but he tried not to engage in personal, touchy-feely topics with Alice. There was no point. Building a Berlin wall between them, for Cara’s sake, was the smart thing to do. Alice was extremely reliable and seemed to care a great deal about Cara, which was the most important thing. She’d been the best nanny he’d had and, especially now, with the move to New York City, he couldn’t risk that for anything. His workload would increase, and he needed someone he trusted to be with his little girl when he couldn’t.

Besides, his