He did laugh then. “I gather that’s a no?”
“Aiden isn’t afraid of anyone, least of all me. He isn’t really hiding from me,” she admitted. “He is driving me crazy, though. It seems that every time I turn around, there he is, and yet, he doesn’t have time to even schedule a meeting. He keeps hiring more guards too. I’m bumping into them.”
“He’s worried about you, and that’s why there are so many security guards around. Did you ever talk to him about having your car towed away?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
“What about Walker? Is he going to gang up on you too?”
“No. He’s pretty self-absorbed these days, and I’m glad of it. I can handle two, but three against one is more difficult.”
They’d taken the exit and were slowing to a stop at a red light. The country club was a little over two miles away.
“You’re tougher than you look.”
She smiled. “I hope that’s a compliment.”
“It is,” he said. “Families can be complicated. Trust me. I know.”
“From some of the stories you’ve told me, you were pretty wild.”
“I had my share of wild times.”
With women? she wanted to ask.
“How come you’re not married?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have anything against marriage. My brothers Nick and Theo love being married. I just haven’t had time for any kind of meaningful relationship.”
“Women are like potato chips.”
“I’m sorry?” He couldn’t believe he’d heard her correctly. “Women are what?”
“Like potato chips,” she repeated. “That’s what a guy in college once told me.”
“A boyfriend?”
She shook her head. “No, he was dating a friend of mine, and sleeping around on her.”
“Did he tell you why he thought women were like potato chips?”
“Yes. He said he couldn’t eat just one.”
He thought that was hilarious. He’d heard a lot of lame reasons men gave women when they got caught cheating, but this one had to be the worst yet.
“It’s not that funny,” she said.
“Yeah, it is.”
He turned the corner. The rain was coming down in torrents now. They followed a limo through the iron gates. There were gaslights outlining the half mile drive that curved through the palatial grounds to the clubhouse. Whoever had designed the club had wanted to impress, and he had certainly achieved that goal. The opulence of the three-story structure at the top of the rise was close to being an embarrassment of excess. Soft lights shone down on massive white pillars. The brick building reminded Alec of a southern plantation run amuck.
Chapter Thirty-one
The rain didn’t let up. Alec handed his car keys to the valet and followed Regan up the stairs. He was one step behind her, and it occurred to her that he was making himself a target in order to protect her.
“Do you belong to this club?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s not my kind of place.”
The comment surprised him. “Not my kind of place either. It’s too…”
“Pretentious?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Two men in red tailcoats opened the massive double doors as they approached. As Regan and Alec were walking inside, he took her arm and said, “I don’t want you to go anywhere without me. Not even the ladies’ room.”
She turned to him. “Are you going to go in there with me?”
“No, but I’m making sure it’s empty.”
He took her coat, removed his own, and handed both to the coat check woman. His frown told Regan that he didn’t approve of what she was wearing. She almost said something and then changed her mind. She draped the silk shawl around her shoulders and knotted it, and as soon as she did that, his frown eased.
He looked so dashing all dressed up in his tux. His bow tie was crooked, though, and a lock of his hair had fallen down on his forehead. Without a thought as to what she was doing, she stepped closer, adjusted his tie, and brushed his hair back in place.
She made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They wrinkled at the corners, and she knew he wanted to laugh at her. She could have stared at him all night. Time to get hold of yourself, she thought.
She stepped back. “I didn’t mean to… you know.”
“No, I don’t know. You didn’t mean to what?”
“To touch you,” she whispered.
He grinned. “I like you touching me.”
“I still shouldn’t have…”
She was saved from having to continue the awkward conversation when she heard someone call her name. She whirled around, lost her balance, and fell back against Alec. He grabbed her around the waist and held her until she stopped wobbling. She shouldn’t have worn such impossible high heels, she told herself.
He had to think she was a complete klutz. Fortunately, she didn’t have to dwell on that depressing thought long. Cordie caught her attention. Regan smiled as her friend came rushing forward. As usual, she looked lovely. The sapphire blue dress had a long full skirt and a fitted bodice that showed off her perfect figure.
“Have you been waiting long?” Regan asked. She might as well have added, “Yo, I’m down here.” Her friend was staring at Alec and having trouble keeping her mouth closed. Regan couldn’t fault her.
“Stop staring,” she whispered.
“I’m not staring.”
She was, and she didn’t seem inclined to stop. Regan nudged her. “I asked you if you had been waiting long. For heaven’s sake, Cordie, look at me.”
“What? Oh, no, I just got here.”
Regan remembered her manners. She stepped to Alec’s side and introduced the two. Cordie smiled as she shook his hand. “You don’t look like a detective, at least not in that tuxedo.” She glanced down at his waist and asked, “Are you carrying?”
“Carrying what?” Regan asked.
“A gun,” she explained. “You know… packing.”
Alec smiled. “You watch a lot of television, don’t you?”
“Sorry to say I do,” she said. “At least I do when I’m not grading papers. I lead a very boring life.”
“No, you don’t,” Regan said. “Cordie’s a woman of many talents. Do you know, she totally rebuilt the engine in her car?”
Alec thought she was joking. Cordelia was extremely feminine-very like Regan-and it was easier for him to picture her getting her nails painted at one of those fancy salons somewhere than changing the points and plugs in a car. Then the name clicked inside his head. Cordelia Kane as in Kane Automotive. “Your family owns a couple of auto repair shops around town, don’t they?”
“More than a couple,” Regan said. “They’re nationwide.”
She suddenly remembered she hadn’t told Cordie the latest about her brother. “Aiden had my car towed away.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Get it back,” she said.
