Overriding his sister's sarcastic words, Lucky said, "Give me an hour… Promise. I'll be there in an hour." Thoughtfully he replaced the receiver and continued to stare at it until Sage spoke.
"Well? What was that all about?"
"None of your business. Will you kindly haul yourself off my bed, so I can get up and get dressed?"
"How juvenile. I've seen you in skivvies before."
"For your information, Miss Sophistication, I came to bed straight from the shower, and am buck naked beneath this sheet. Now, unless you want to be educated, get the hell out of here. I told Susan I'd be at her house in an hour."
"Really!" said Sage, taking umbrage. "Do you think I've lived under a rock? Male nudity doesn't shock or offend me. I know what all the parts look like and how they work."
Lucky frowned as he took in her skimpy attire. "Listen here, young lady, I expect you to behave yourself in a manner becoming a lady when it comes to the opposite sex," he said sternly.
"Ha! You're a fine one to talk. Do you behave yourself like a gentleman?"
"Do you run around the wild young studs dressed like that?" he demanded, nodding down at her bikini.
"You gawk at women in bikinis."
"So? Male prerogative."
"Like hell!" Sage exclaimed. "That's a double standard."
A mental image of Devon emerging from the swimming pool, peeling back her wet hair with both hands; buttocks and mound covered by triangles of bronze, metallic fabric; breasts bare, heavy, gleaming, beaded with sparkling drops of water.
Sage was right. He had gawked, and it was a double standard. But that didn't keep his body from reacting to the alluring mental picture.
"You gotta leave now," he said in a voice so low it sounded like a growl.
"Here lately, you're such a grouch." She left the bed and flounced toward the door. However, she pulled up short and turned back, her expression no longer irritable, but sympathetic.
"Chase came by at lunch to check on you. Mother and I told him you were sleeping. He said not to wake you up, that you needed the rest. He, uh, he told us about the Haines woman, Lucky. I'm sorry."
Despite his foul mood, he winked at her. "Thanks, brat. I appreciate your concern."
Once Sage had closed the door, he flung back the sheet and went to his bureau. It took him a long time to dress because he often found himself standing motionless staring into space, or forgetting what he'd gone to the closet for, or wondering why he was searching through a particular drawer. His mind kept straying back to Devon. Damn, he still wanted to see her.
Instead, he had to go see Susan. After avoiding her and her preposterous marriage proposal for more than a week, he acknowledged that he couldn't delay dealing with it any longer.
"Jeez, I dread this," he muttered to himself as he finally left his bedroom and loped down the stairs.
He didn't realize until later just how much his dread had been warranted.
* * *
Chapter 11
It was almost as though she had expected him.
Devon didn't react with as much surprise as he had anticipated. Her car rolled to a halt beside his where he was parked at the curb in front of her condo. She gazed at him for a moment, her expression revealing little, before she pulled into the driveway.
Lucky stepped out of his Mustang and moved toward the garage door that had opened automatically for Devon's car. They met in the driveway. Obviously she had just come from work. She was dressed in a suit, although she was carrying, not wearing, the jacket. Sunglasses held her hair away from her face. Her other hand held a large, flat pizza box.
"Hi," he said, his expression solemn.
"Hello."
"I, uh…" He shuffled and glanced up at the storm clouds darkening the sky. "Is your husband at home?"