Hero by Nature Page 8

  “Webb.” She sighed as she opened her door. “What are you doing here?”

  He grinned in pure enjoyment. “Making trouble.”

  “So what else is new? Go away, Webb.”

  “Nope.” Looking as attractive as always in a fashionably casual shirt and slacks, he strolled past her and dropped onto her couch, draping himself comfortably across the pillows as if he were prepared to stay for a while. Absently patting Babs when she jumped up to greet him, he looked at Autumn. “What time’s Bradford supposed to be here?”

  “How do you know I’ve got a date with Jeff?” Autumn demanded in frustration.

  “Call it a lucky guess. I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “Yes, you were right. Now will you go away? He’s supposed to be here in fifteen minutes.”

  “I thought I’d say hello. I haven’t seen him in a while. Got a beer?”

  Autumn started to tell him exactly what he could do with himself—an anatomical impossibility—but then she paused as a mischievous thought crossed her mind. She’d teach Webb not to play games with her, she decided abruptly. He deserved to find himself waiting at the altar. But not with her. “Sure, I’ve got a beer. I’ll get you one,” she told him, smiling sweetly as she headed for the kitchen.

  Webb straightened on the couch, watching her leave with a frown at her suspicious acquiescence. “What are you planning, Autumn?”

  “I’m not planning anything, Webb,” she assured him over her shoulder. “I just know when to accept the inevitable. You’re not going to disappear until Jeff gets here, are you?”

  “Nope.”

  “So I won’t waste my time pleading with you. Don’t you have a date tonight?” she asked, raising her voice to be heard in the other room as she rummaged in the refrigerator for a beer.

  “Not tonight,” Webb called back. “Thought I’d head over to Charlie’s later and check out the scenery.” Charlie’s was a popular singles’ bar that Webb liked to frequent. Autumn hated the place she always called the “meat market.”

  She picked up the phone and quickly punched in her neighbor’s number. “Emily? Hi, it’s Autumn. Can you come over for a minute? Yeah, right now. Make up an excuse, will you? Webb’s here, and Jeff’s supposed to arrive any minute. If you’re here, too, Webb just might behave himself.” The conversation was brief and low-voiced. Autumn was smiling when she hung up.

  Webb had barely popped the top of his beer when the doorbell rang. He lifted his eyebrows in a devilish expression. “Lover-boy’s here.”

  “Webb, why do you find it so amusing that I’m going out with Jeff?” Autumn asked curiously, knowing who was at the door.

  He lifted one shoulder, grinning unrepentantly. “Maybe it’s because I didn’t think there was anyone who could rattle that tough, cool exterior of yours. I’m pleased to know that Ms Autumn Reed has a few insecurities like the rest of us mere mortals.”

  Shaking her head in exasperation, Autumn opened the door, winking at Emily. “Hello, Emily. Hi, Ryan,” she said clearly, amused as Webb coughed on a sip of beer behind her. “Come in.”

  “Thanks. I brought the sweater you wanted to borrow.” Her blue eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter, Emily held out a thin red oversized sweater that Autumn had once admired.

  Grateful that the sweater just happened to match the outfit she’d chosen to wear, Autumn draped it over her arm. “Thanks, Emily. I’d heard a cold front was supposed to come through later and I didn’t have a thing to wear with this blouse. You remember Webb, don’t you?”

  Autumn hadn’t realized that her neighbor had any talent in the dramatic arts, but Emily’s look of pleased surprise was superb. “Of course I do. Hello, Webb. How nice to see you again.”

  Immediately on his feet, Webb managed a smile, trying very hard to keep his eyes on Emily’s lovely face instead of the creamy cleavage revealed by her scoop-necked ice-blue sweater. He wasn’t entirely successful, Autumn noted with malicious pleasure. “Hello, Emily,” he said faintly.

  From his usual position on his mother’s hip, Ryan smiled happily at Webb and held out his chubby hands, babbling a welcome in his mostly incomprehensible toddler dialect. “I think he remembers you,” Emily remarked, giving Webb one of her guaranteed-to-daze-any-red-blooded-male smiles.

  Predictably dazed, Webb lifted Ryan into his arms and grinned besottedly down at the sandy-haired imp. “Yeah, I think he does. How’s it going, buddy?”

  “He’s been active lately,” Emily told him with a smile. “He’s practicing his climbing. He’s made it to the top of the bookcase twice now.”

  Webb laughed, his eyes drifting back to Emily’s face…and the rest of her. “I’ll bet he keeps you busy.”

  “Oh, he does. But I’m not complaining. He’s a sweetheart.”

  “Does, uh, does he see his father very often?” Webb asked hesitantly, his gaze turning back to the child.

  Emily’s smile faded. “No. My ex-husband wasn’t fond of children. Ryan was an accident. After the divorce Earl decided to write both of us off as mistakes. I haven’t seen him or heard from him in a year.”

  Webb frowned. “What a jerk. How could any man walk away from his own son? Or from you?” he added slowly, looking once more at the beautiful young woman in front of him.

  As Emily flushed in pleasure and retrieved her son, Autumn resisted the impulse to laugh out loud. Oh, Webb, my friend, you’re in big trouble, she thought gleefully. That’ll teach you to make fun of me for being rattled by Jeff Bradford. And then her amusement faded as she wondered if she wore the same expression around Jeff that Webb was currently wearing as he looked at Emily.

  Bewitched, she thought again. Maybe we’re both bewitched. A shiver of something very near fear coursed down her spine, and she was suddenly sorry that she’d found such amusement in almost throwing Emily at Webb. Was she to be paid back in kind?

  When the doorbell rang again she jumped, earning herself a delighted grin from Webb, who was obviously not quite as distracted as Autumn had hoped.

  Glaring at him, Autumn took a deep breath and opened the door, then promptly lost the breath in a soft whoosh as she took in the man smiling at her from the doorstep. He was dressed in a pale yellow crewneck sweater and light gray slacks, looking as devastatingly attractive as he had in his expensive suit the week before. Surely it wasn’t possible that he grew more good-looking each time she saw him, she thought despairingly. His hair couldn’t really have grown darker and thicker, his eyes bluer and warmer, his shoulders broader and more muscular. God, he was gorgeous!

  “Hi, Jeff.” Oh, hell. She’d sounded breathless again. Probably because she was.

  “Hi, Autumn.” His own voice was low, caressing, sending hot tremors through every inch of her body.

  Clinging to the door, Autumn invited him in, waiting until he’d passed her to shut the door and lean weakly against it. “Jeff, you know Webb. And this is my neighbor, Emily Hinson, and her son, Ryan. Emily, this is Dr. Jeff Bradford.”

  Nodding a greeting at Webb, Jeff smiled at Emily. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

  “You’re a doctor?” Emily shot a reproving look at her friend. “Autumn didn’t mention that.”

  “Jeff’s a pediatrician,” Autumn explained.

  Emily looked interested. “You are? Where’s your office? Ryan and I just moved here from St. Pete three months ago, and I haven’t found a pediatrician for him in Tampa yet.”

  Jeff named his clinic and gave the address, adding that he had two partners. “Julian’s a very good doctor, and Pam’s a skilled surgeon,” he explained. “We’d be happy to take care of this guy. Not that he doesn’t look perfectly healthy.” He grinned at Ryan, reaching out to ruffle the toddler’s sandy hair. “Hello, Ryan. Aren’t you a fine-looking fellow?”

  Well, he just won Emily over, Autumn thought ruefully. She tried not to acknowledge that she was pleased that Jeff showed no signs of interest in Ryan’s mother, other than polite friendliness. She would not admit that she’d been a
t all worried that Jeff might have exhibited the same weakness for Emily’s delicate blond beauty that Webb had displayed.

  Webb offered a hand to Jeff. “How’s it going, Jeff? Haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “It’s good to see you again, Webb. Now that the clinic’s open late on the same evenings the Jaycees meet, I don’t have much chance to be active in the chapter.”

  “We appreciated your contribution last month to the project for handicapped kids. You were very generous.” Webb waited until Jeff had modestly shrugged off the praise before shooting a mischievous look at Autumn. “So you’re interested in Autumn, are you? Good luck, my friend. You’ve got nerve, I’ll say that for you.”

  “Webb…” Autumn murmured threateningly as Jeff grinned at the other man.

  “Can’t say I blame you for trying, of course,” Webb continued bravely. “But be warned, Bradford. She has the devil’s own temper.”

  Autumn was showing signs of that temper as Emily stepped in quickly to defuse the situation. “I guess we’d better be going. It was nice to meet you, Dr. Bradford. See you tomorrow, Autumn.” She turned a shamelessly limpid look at Webb. “Bye, Webb. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”

  Immediately forgetting Autumn and Jeff, Webb seemed to struggle inwardly for about half a minute before blurting out, “Why don’t we take Ryan out for ice cream, Emily? He can eat ice cream, can’t he?”

  “He loves ice cream,” Emily replied happily. “Are you sure you didn’t have any other plans for the evening?”

  Perjuring himself without hesitation, Webb denied any plans for that evening. Autumn swallowed a chuckle as her friend deliberately chose an ice-cream parlor over Tampa’s hottest night spot. She managed not to laugh until Webb had departed with Emily and Ryan, though she had no intention of keeping quiet about his choice next time she saw him.

  “What’s so funny?” Jeff asked quizzically, looking up from where he’d knelt to pat Babs.

  Autumn decided not to enlighten him. Instead, she introduced him to Babs and went to get her purse so they could leave, suddenly conscious that the two of them were alone. The nervousness that had faded in her amusement at Webb’s reluctant interest in Emily returned full force.

  6

  ANY NERVOUSNESS that Autumn may have experienced when the date began was long gone by the time she and Jeff had dined on hamburgers, chuckled through a new comedy film and then spent an hour in an arcade in friendly competition. It was as if Jeff deliberately made the date as unthreatening as possible to put her at ease. If so, his strategy worked. She had a marvelous time, laughing until her sides ached.

  “Okay, lady, you asked for it. I’m breaking through your defenses this time, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” Jeff’s threat was uttered in a growl, blue eyes narrowed with intent.

  Autumn tensed in reaction, her own eyes returning the challenge. “Would you like to make a small wager on that?”

  “I,” he informed her loftily, “never bet on a sure thing. You may as well prepare to surrender.”

  “I,” she returned haughtily, “never surrender. Give it your best shot, Bradford.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he told her softly, then exploded into action. His arm swept in a powerful arc, the paddle in his hand sending the air hockey puck skimming across the table between them, heading straight for Autumn’s goal.

  Skillfully Autumn deflected the puck with a snap of her wrist, turning it back toward Jeff’s goal. Over and over they returned the volley, each intent on scoring the winning point. And then Autumn happened to glance up at Jeff, taking her eyes away from the table to admire him with his face flushed, eyes bright, hair disheveled, dimples flashing—and promptly lost the game.

  “All right!” Jeff leaped straight into the air, one arm waving above his head as he celebrated his victory, one of the few he’d managed since he and Autumn had wandered into the arcade over an hour ago.

  “Don’t gloat, Jeff. It’s not becoming.”

  He grinned and looped an arm around her neck. “Oh, yeah? Who was gloating a few minutes ago after winning three straight games of Galactic Shoot-out? Who pointed out that she destroyed all my spaceships in the first ninety seconds of the first game? Who won the most tickets playing Skee-Ball? Who—”

  “Okay, okay,” Autumn interrupted, laughing. “So I gloated. Now it’s your turn. Go ahead.”

  “I’m much too good a sport to gloat,” Jeff answered with immense dignity, then added in a stage whisper, “Loser.”

  Autumn giggled and punched him in the ribs. Then she swallowed a moan as she realized that she had, indeed, giggled. Oh, God, she thought dolefully. She’d regressed to girlhood. It must be a recurring condition. One that affected her anytime Jeff Bradford was around.

  Holding his free hand to his abused ribs with an exaggerated wince, Jeff kept his other arm around her shoulders as they left the arcade in unspoken consent. “How about some ice cream? I’ve been craving ice cream ever since Webb mentioned it earlier.”

  “Sounds good,” Autumn agreed, matching her steps to his as they walked down the sidewalk. She wondered briefly how Webb’s evening with Emily and Ryan had gone, then dismissed them from her mind. She was enjoying her own date with Jeff too much to concentrate on anyone else just then. She allowed her arm to slide around his waist, linking them as they strolled. Sometimes it was nice to feel like a schoolgirl, she reflected wryly.

  “Chocolate mint for the lady,” Jeff told the teenager behind the Christmas-decorated counter of the icecream store, smiling into Autumn’s eyes as he spoke.

  She returned the smile. “And cherry vanilla for the gentleman,” she murmured, remembering their conversation from the restaurant the previous Saturday.

  Grinning at the total self-absorption of the couple, the teenager obligingly scooped generous helpings of the ice cream into waffle cones. Jeff paid for the ice cream, then winked at the kid, who laughed and gave Jeff a thumbs-up gesture of approval.

  “What was that all about?” Autumn demanded curiously as they left the store.

  “Male bonding,” Jeff answered flippantly, taking her hand to lead her off the sidewalk and onto the nearly deserted beach that stretched before them.

  “You’re all hopeless.” Autumn sighed, curling her fingers around his as she licked her ice cream. She’d pulled Emily’s red sweater over her head just before they’d gone into the ice-cream store, and now she was grateful for its light protection as a cool breeze blew moistly off the bay, catching strands of hair loosened from her banana clip and wafting them around her face. The predicted cold front had arrived, dropping the temperature to a cool—for Tampa—fifty degrees. The moon shone brightly in the clear early-December sky above them, and the waters of the bay glittered in its light. She couldn’t remember ever seeing a more beautiful night—but then, she’d never spent a night like this with Jeff. Something told her that it wouldn’t have seemed quite so perfect without him.

  “Beautiful night,” Jeff murmured, seeming to read her thoughts.

  “Mmm. A lot different from Arkansas at this time of year.”

  “Is that right?” Jeff asked gravely, swiping his tongue over his ice cream.

  Watching him, Autumn shivered, but the tremor had little to do with the weather. Swallowing hard, she nibbled at her ice cream and nodded. “I’ll, uh, I’ll have to pack warm clothing when I go home for Christmas in a couple of weeks. I’ve gotten spoiled by Florida winters, even though I’ve only been through one so far.”

  Jeff was watching her as she chattered, his eyes warmly amused. A dribble of cherry vanilla ice cream slid down one side of his cone, and he slowly licked it clean.

  Autumn felt a moan forming in her chest and hastily repressed it. When had this happened? she wondered frantically. How had this happened? One minute they’d been laughing and playing, as comfortable together as kids, and in the next she found herself wanting to pull him to the damp sand and have her wicked way with him. Bewitched.


  “How’s your ice cream?” Jeff inquired, his voice a low rumble meant for her ears alone.

  “It’s…it’s fine. How’s yours?”

  “Very good. Want a taste?”

  “Um, no, thanks.”

  “Mind if I taste yours?”

  “Go ahead.” She held her cone out to him.

  Ignoring it, he turned and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her for the first time that evening. Autumn closed her eyes and clung to him with her free hand, feeling as if she were melting faster than the ice cream still clutched in her other hand. Chocolate mint and cherry vanilla combined in the most exotically erotic taste she’d ever experienced as Jeff deepened the kiss. “Mmm,” he murmured when he finally released her mouth. “Delicious.”

  It took her a full minute to catch her breath. By that time Jeff had already turned her in the crook of his arm and begun to walk again. Spotting a trash can, Autumn tossed the remains of her ice-cream cone into it. It seemed to have lost its flavor. Without a word Jeff followed her example. She looked up to find him staring down at her. Her head tilted back, her eyelids closed, and he was kissing her again, thoroughly, hungrily, as if he’d been wanting to do so for hours, for days, for a week.

  Jeff tightened his arms around her, his body hardening, his mind beginning to whirl. He’d long since accepted that kissing her had these effects on him; each time was more wondrous, more necessary than the last. He dimly realized that he’d held off kissing her earlier because he’d known he wouldn’t want to stop when he did. The past week had been hell, wanting to be with her, wanting to hold her. The past few hours had been heaven, touching her, laughing with her.