“You’re Not Going To Marry Him,” Alex Declared. Letter to Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Teaser chapter Copyright

“You’re Not Going To Marry Him,” Alex Declared.

“But I—”

“But what? You love him? You expect me to believe that after the way you came apart in my arms?” He moved in on her, caging her between the desk and himself.

Desiree’s pulse skittered at the fierce emotion emanating from him, at the desire burning hot and dark in those black eyes. Try as she might, she was unable to stop herself from responding to him. “Alex, you don’t understand. If you’d just let me explain, Kevin and I—”

“I won’t let you marry him.”

And before she could say another word, he took possession of her mouth. Her mind. Her heart.

Dear Reader,

Where do you read Silhouette Desire? Sitting in your favonte chair? How about standing in line at the market or swinging in the sunporch hammock? Or do you hold out the entire day, waiting for all your distractions to dissolve around you, only to open a Desire novel once you’re in a relaxing bath or resting against your softest pillow...? Wherever you indulge in Silhouette Desire, we know you do so with anticipation, and that’s why we bring you the absolute best in romance fiction.

This month, look forward to talented Jennifer Greene’s A Baby inHis In-Box, where a sexy tutor gives March’s MAN OF THE MONTH private lessons on sudden fatherhood. And in the second adorable tale of Elizabeth Bevarly’s BLAME IT ON BOB series, Beauty and the Brain, a lady discovers she’s still starry-eyed over her secret high school crush. Next, Susan Crosby takes readers on The Great Wife Search in Bride Candidate #9.

And don’t miss a single kiss delivered by these delectable men: a roguish rancher in Amy J. Fetzer’s The Unlikely Bodyguard; the strong, silent corporate hunk in the latest book in the RIGHT BRIDE, WRONG GROOM series, Switched at the Altar, by Metsy Hingle; and Eileen Wilks’s mouthwatering honorable Texas hero in Just a Little Bit Pregnant.

So, no matter where you read, I know what you’ll be reading—all six of March’s irresistible Silhouette Desire love stories!

Regards,

Melissa Senate

Senior Editor

Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian. P.O. Box 609, Fort Ene, Ont. L2A 5X3

Switched At The Altar

Metsy Hingle

www.millsandboon.co.uk

METSY HINGLE

is a native of New Orleans, who loves the city in which she grew up. She credits the charm of her birthplace, and her own French heritage, with instilling in her the desire to write. Married and the mother of four children, she believes in romance and happy endings. Becoming a Silhouette author is a long-cherished dream come true for Metsy and one happy ending that she continues to celebrate with each new story she writes. She loves hearing from readers. Write to Metsy at P.O. Box 3224, Covington, LA 70433.

For the real “Maggie the Cat”

and her owner, Linda Kay West, a.k.a. Linda Lewis.

One

His brother was a dead man. Or at least he would be dead, Alexander Stone vowed, the moment he got his hands on him. Jerking open the door, he stepped inside Magnolia House. The lazy breeze of a ceiling fan stroked his skin like a woman’s fingers as he moved into the entrance hall and out of the Louisiana heat.

Still cursing his younger sibling for causing him to make the trip from Boston to this backwater town outside of New Orleans, Alex marched over to the reception desk. He scowled at the sight of the unmanned desk before slapping the bell for assistance.

Temper curled like a fist in his gut as he waited and recounted the morning’s discoveries. Not only had Kevin failed to show up for any of his summer law school classes for the past week, but he hadn’t been seen at his apartment for even longer. Learning that his brother’s mail was being forwarded to Magnolia House in care of Ms. Desiree Mason had done nothing to improve his mood. Nor had it eased his rising temper. No wonder he hadn’t been able to reach Kevin by phone for the past three days. The young fool had evidently moved in with the Mason woman.

The newspaper clipping—shoved under his nose by a former lady friend who’d come by to show off her engagement ring—flashed into Alex’s mind’s eye again.

What handsome younger son of one of Boston’s finest families will soon be trading in his law books for a trip down the aisle with none other than a Southern belle of the stage... just as his dear, departed father did several times before him? Need a hint? The young man’s older half-brother is a legal eagle and one of this city’s most eligible bachelors. Still can’t guess? How about this? The family name means hard, rocklike...as in a precious gem or Stone.

Even if he didn’t have a genius IQ, Alex fumed, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to figure out that the scheming Ms. Desiree Mason had gotten her hooks firmly into his kid brother.

Well, he’d see how anxious the little gold digger was to marry Kevin once she found out that he was the one who controlled his trust fund.

Where the devil is everyone? Five seconds stretched into ten, obliterating what little patience he had left. Annoyed, Alex slapped the bell on the desk again.

Nothing. No one.

“Aw, the hell with it,” he muttered. “I’ll find Kevin myself.” And when he did, he was through being a marshmallow where his younger brother was concerned. He’d been making that mistake from the day a nine-year-old Kevin had been deposited on his doorstep while their respective parents went off with their next set of spouses. In the thirteen years since then, he’d fought any and all objections to send Kevin away to military school, had even suffered their grandfather’s anger for refusing to do so. But he’d been determined, hell-bent, on providing his brother with some semblance of a normal family, to give him a more nurturing childhood than the one he’d known.

And you’ve certainly done a fine job of it, Alex admonished himself silently. Look what a mess Kevin had gotten himself into now. And it was, at least partially, his fault. He should have known something like this would happen. Should have expected it. Kevin was a good-looking, wealthy young man—and far too easily swayed by a pretty face. Just as their father had been, Alex admitted. By giving in to Kevin’s request to attend law school down south, he’d all but thrown Kevin to the wolves. And he’d allowed his brother to become the target of every sweet, magnolia vamp south of the Mason-Dixon line trying to land herself a rich husband.

And evidently Ms. Desiree Mason had scored a bull’s-eye.

Alex gritted his teeth. The woman’s name alone should have set off alarm bells the first time Kevin had mentioned her. His kid brother was no match for some conniving, Southern belle with a honey-voiced accent. Well, Ms. Desiree Mason would have to find herself some other young fool to marry, because he had no intention of letting his brother make the biggest mistake of his life.

As of right now, Kevin was going to be made to toe the line. And he was going to start by going back to law school—in Boston, not New Orleans—and forgetting any foolish thoughts he might have about marrying Desiree Mason. With that idea in mind, Alex started down the hall in search of his brother. He froze mid-stride at the sound of an all-too-familiar tune. It was the one song that he had sworn both of his parents had adopted as their personal favorite, the one song that still made him break out in a cold sweat whenever he heard it.

The wedding march!

Panic sent adrenaline rushing through his body, and Alex sped down the length of the hall toward the sound of the music. The last cords of the tune faded just as he jerked open the massive double doors to a ballroom.

“Dearly beloved...”

Alex bit back an oath at the sight of bridesmaids, groomsmen, a minister holding a bible. His gaze darted to the back of the shapely redhead in the wedding dress and stared at bare shoulders, the color of rich cream, that flirted beneath a whisper of lace. Swallowing hard, Alex dragged his gaze from the bride to the groom standing beside her. His heart stopped and then started again as he looked at the familiar back of the tall, dark-haired man about to be married—his brother, Kevin.

“We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the sacrament of holy matrimony,” the minister continued. “Marriage is a—”

“Stop,” Alex shouted. Heedless of the surprised gasps and curious looks directed at him, he raced down the aisle. “I demand you stop this wedding at once!”

The bride whipped around. Her blue-green eyes widened with shock. Twin spots of color climbed her cheeks. Alex stared at those rose-colored lips rounded in surprise. Crazily, for the space of a heartbeat, he wondered what it would be like to sample that mouth.

“How dare you?” she demanded.

“Quite easily,” Alex shot back, shaking off his strange reaction to the woman. He curled his hands into fists at his sides as he realized that in another two minutes he would have been too late. “There’s no way I’m going to allow you to marry my brother.”

Dismissing the round of gasps that went up and the furious look the bride cast his way, Alex shifted his attention to his brother. He waited, braced for Kevin’s outburst.

“Oh, that was perfect!”

Alex yanked his attention back to the bride at the same time that she launched herself at him. Not stopping to think, he caught her in his arms, holding on to her at the waist. But instead of hitting him as he expected, she proceeded to curl her arms around his neck.

He snagged her wrists, sure she was intent on strangling him. “Listen, lady—”

She cut off his protest with her mouth. Alex sucked in a breath at the feel of those soft lips brushing against his own. Desire—unexpected and unwanted—put fire in his belly, raced to his loins.

Suddenly she was pulling her mouth free and staring at him. Judging by her stunned expression and the confusion in those blue-green eyes of hers, he wasn’t the only one who’d felt as though he’d just been whacked by a thunderbolt. It was insane, Alex told himself. But he couldn’t stop himself from sliding his gaze to that ripe, lush mouth of hers again. Desire, sweet and aching, bit at him once more.

As though sensing his thoughts, she tugged her wrists free and eased back one step, then another. She gave him a lazy smile and followed with a single “Wow!”

“Wow” was right, Alex thought. Still reeling from the unexpected kiss and its effect on him, he shook his head to clear the sensuous fog that seemed to have ensnared him.

“Hey, that was pretty good,” one of the bridesmaids called out.

Good? Good didn’t even come close to describing that kiss or the strange way it had made him feel. And since when does a bridesmaid critique a kiss delivered to the intended bride by a stranger?

The bride spun around, presenting him with another view of her back and more cream-colored skin where her dress dipped along her shoulders. She headed toward the critiquing bridesmaid. “Didn’t I tell you guys that Bernie would come through for us?” she exclaimed in a voice that was decidedly huskier than it had been a few moments ago.

A voice that reminded him of sultry summer nights and hot sex, Alex decided. He sucked in a breath. What in the hell was wrong with him? Lusting after the little gold digger who’d been about to marry his brother.

His brother! Alex nearly groaned. Oh, Lord, he’d forgotten about Kevin. He jerked his attention back to his brother. But instead of getting ready to charge over and tear into him for interfering, Kevin had one arm draped around his kissing bride and the other one around a bridesmaid and was chatting with them as though nothing had happened. Frowning, Alex started toward him. “Kev—”

The minister blocked his path. “You cut in too soon,” the reverend admonished, pointing an accusing finger in his face. “Why didn’t you wait for me to give you your cue?”

Alex frowned at the portly clergyman. His cue?

“Yeah. You were supposed to wait for your cue,” the best man informed him.

“Hey, they’re right, pal,” the groom added as he came over to join them. “You cut in before I got a chance to deliver my lines.”

Alex sucked in his breath as he stared at the face of the groom. The guy was dark-haired, brown-eyed and just about Kevin’s height and size. He even had an endearing choirboy grin that was similar to his brother’s.

Only he wasn’t his brother.

Relief rushed through Alex like water overflowing a swollen creek. Kevin hadn’t been on the verge of marrying the sexy redhead after all. But on the heels of that revelation came an equally disturbing and surprisingly disappointing one. The woman he’d been lusting after for the past sixty seconds was about to marry someone.

And he’d just interrupted her wedding.

“Are you OK?” the bride asked him as she came back to stand before him. “You look... upset.”

“No. It’s just that I thought... That is, I didn’t realize...” Alex clamped his mouth firmly shut, chagrined to be stumbling over his words like a tongue-tied teenager in the throes of his first crush. After a moment, he tried again. “I’m terribly sorry.”

“Whatever for?” she asked in that soft, honeyed voice. “You were great.”

He was great? “I’m afraid I—”

She smiled at him again, and Alex forgot what he’d been about to say. Cursing himself, he took a deep breath. He had to get out of here. “I’m sorry. I can see now that I made a mistake. Please accept my apologies for the, um, interruption. I’ll just leave you and your...your...”

He flicked a glance at the groom he’d mistaken for his brother. The man appeared to be making time with the bridesmaid. Alex swallowed. “I’ll just get out of your way and let you get back to your wedding.” Without wasting another moment, he turned to leave.

“Wait!” She caught his arm before he’d managed to take the first step. “Listen, I know I said you were great, and you were, but I still think it could use some work. Why don’t we try it again? Just do everything exactly the same way you did a few minutes ago.”

Alex’s jaw dropped. His body tensed. He couldn’t help it. His gaze fell to her lips and he felt that slap of heat again. “You want me to kiss you again?”

“Well, yes. That, too.” She gave him another of those lazy smiles that did strange things to his brain and made it difficult for him to think clearly. “But this time, be sure to wait for your cue.”

Alex blinked. “My cue?”

“Yes. When the reverend asks if there are any objections, that’s where you’re supposed to come in. Otherwise, do everything exactly the way you did it a minute ago,” she instructed him. “Your inflection was perfect, and I loved the ad lib, by the way. It was a nice touch. You can go ahead and leave it in.”

His inflection? The ad lib? What in the hell was she talking about?

“Oh, and be sure to do that steely-eyed thing that you did with your eyes again. For a minute there, you even had me believing you were serious about stopping the wedding.”

“I was serious,” Alex countered, growing more confused by the second. “I thought—” His tongue twisted in his mouth as she curved her lips into another one of those smiles and sent fire singing through his veins. “Damn!”

Her smile slipped. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Alex took a long, measured breath and struggled to regain control of the situation and of himself. “Lady, I don’t have a clue as to what you’re talking about.”

She tipped her head and eyed him curiously. “What is it you don’t understand?”

“I don’t understand anything you’ve said. I don’t know a thing about any cues or ad libs or steely-eyed looks. If I was convincing when I came in here and demanded you stop the wedding it’s because I thought I was stopping a wedding.”

“You thought this was a real wedding?”

“Yes.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And just whose wedding did you think you were stopping?”

“My brother’s.” He squeezed his eyes shut a moment, mortified to have made such a mistake. For a smart man who was considered to be great when it came to assessing businesses, he had just scored a big, fat zero in assessing this situation. If he’d been the least bit astute, he would have noted earlier what he saw now—a stage at the far end of the room, drapes drawn across that stage and a sign tacked to one curtain that read Wet Paint.

“I see,” she said, sighing. “Then I guess Bernie didn’t send you after all.”

Exasperated, Alex dragged a hand through his hair. “I don’t even know anyone named Bernie.”

“I was afraid of that. I don’t suppose there’s any chance that you’re an unemployed actor looking for work, is there?” she asked hopefully.

Alex almost laughed at the notion, and he would have if he weren’t feeling as though he’d wandered into the Twilight Zone. “Hardly. I’m an attorney. My name’s Alex Stone.”

Desiree nearly choked. This was Alexander Stone? This giant of a man with the eyes of a warrior and the face of a dark angel? This man whose kiss had made her blood spin? He was Kevin’s uptight, stuffy, older brother?

Desiree caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she studied him more closely. Of course, she could see his resemblance to Kevin now. And if she hadn’t been so wrapped up in the play and her reaction to him, maybe she would have spotted the similarities sooner. After all, the two men did share those same dark, good looks. But where Kevin’s hair curled a bit and brushed his collar, Alex’s was stick straight and shorter, making that sharp jaw of his appear even sharper—and for some reason more appealing to her. And where Kevin’s eyes were a warm brown that had roused an immediate sisterly affection in her, Alex’s eyes were hard and as black as a moonless sky. And when he’d looked at her, when those midnight eyes of his had snapped to life with desire, she had in no way been inclined with feelings that were sisterly.

Nope, Alexander Stone didn’t make her feel the least bit sisterly, Desiree admitted as she continued to study him. In fact, she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to really be kissed by him.

Like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, she told herself. Not only would it be stupid, but she didn’t have the time or the inclination to let her hormones get in the way. At least not now. Not when she had a dinner theater set to open in less than a month, and not when one of her players was still missing.

“And you are...?”

Desiree dragged her attention to Alex’s outstretched hand. As she placed her fingers in his palm, a shiver of awareness shimmied down her spine. Well, what do you know, she thought, a bit excited by her reaction to him. Ever since her sister Lorelei’s kidnapping and wedding a few months before to the man who’d been her first love, she’d found herself daydreaming and wishing she would meet someone special. And now here was Alexander Stone. “Desiree. My name’s Desiree.”

Alex’s fingers tightened around hers. “Desiree? You’re Desiree Mason?”

“Yes,” she said, surprised that he knew her full name, as well as by his quick release of her hand. “Did Kevin happen to mention me to you?”

“Oh, yes. He’s mentioned you all right.”

And judging by Alex’s chilled tone and the way his jaw had clenched, whatever Kevin had told his big brother about her hadn’t been to Alex’s liking.

“You’re the actress.”

He made the term actress sound as though it ranked right up there with the word thief. “Yes, I am.”

“I see,” he said coolly.

Talk about rotten karma. “It figures,” Desiree muttered. It was just her luck that the first man she’d been attracted to in ages would be a stick-in-the-mud Adonis in a custom-tailored suit with a chip the size of a boulder on his linebacker shoulders.

“What figures?”

“That you were just too good to be true.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Desiree doubted that Alexander Stone ever had to beg for anything—especially not from a woman. She shrugged. No way would she admit her foolish romantic thoughts to him or anyone else. “I was just thinking you’re a good actor,” she replied instead. “Too good for me to have mistaken you for a green drama student.”

“Thank you. I think.”

“If you ever decide to change professions, you should keep acting in mind. You’d be great on the stage.”

“I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening.”

Desiree grinned at his clipped reply. He looked as though even the thought of doing such a thing would be about as pleasant as a toothache. “One never knows. There are an awful lot of lawyers out there.”

“And according to statistics, there are just about as many would-be actors.”

“Probably because there are so many out-of-work lawyers. But I guess it’s to be expected.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen of the legal system, there’s not a lot of difference between acting and lawyering. One uses a stage and the other uses a courtroom.”

“So what gives, Des?” Charlie, the play’s minister, called out. “We gonna rehearse anymore or not?”

“Not,” she told him. Lifting the train of her wedding dress, she brushed past Alex and stepped to the center of the room. She clapped her hands. “All right, everybody. Listen up. That’s it for today. But I want everyone here tomorrow morning at eight o’clock sharp.”

“Eight o’clock?”

“That’s right. Eight o’clock,” Desiree said, ignoring the groans. “And I don’t want anyone to be late.”

“What about breakfast?” O’Reilly, her groom, asked.

Desiree grinned. The only thing that O’Reilly loved more than the ladies was food. “I’ll see what Harry can scrape up for you guys. Just make sure you’re here on time.”

The old ballroom hummed with the sound of voices and shuffling feet as the cast began to file out. Try as she might to ignore him, Desiree was all too conscious of Alex standing right where she’d left him. She could feel his gaze fastened on her as she saw the others out, studying her relentlessly as though she were some strange new species of bug under a microscope.

She cut a glance to him and watched those dark eyes of his slide over her, then ease back up to linger on her mouth. Her traitorous pulse jumped as she remembered their kiss. Suddenly it was there again. That breathstealing awareness between them. Quickly she turned away and drew in a steadying breath. She must have taken leave of her senses. No way did she want to get involved with Alex Stone. The two of them would be like oil and water. For starters, from everything Kevin had told her, his brother liked the females and they liked him, but the man was definitely antimarriage. While she...she wanted to get married someday and find the “happily ever after” her parents and her sister had discovered. She started toward the mock church railing to retrieve the silk bridal bouquet she’d left there.

With a speed that surprised her, Alex was moving in front of her, blocking her path. “Aren’t you the least bit interested as to why I’m here, Ms. Mason? Or why I thought you were marrying my brother?”

At five feet eight inches Desiree didn’t have to look up to find herself on eye level with most men—especially not when she was wearing three-inch heels as she was now. But with Alex, she found herself tipping her head back. “I assumed you were looking for Kevin.”

“That’s right.”

“And as you can see, he isn’t here. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to let him know you came by.” Reaching past him, she scooped up the bouquet with one hand, then picked up the skirts of her wedding gown with the other. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change.”

Alex caught her arm before she could take a step. “Not so fast, Ms. Mason. I do believe you and I need to have a little chat.”

Desiree blew at the wisp of hair that drifted across one eye. “I don’t think there’s anything for us to discuss. That is, not unless you’re interested in auditioning for the play.”

“Afraid I’ll have to pass.”

She shrugged. “Your decision. And since I don’t have the time or the inclination to discuss the merits of acting with you, I’d appreciate it if you’d let go of my arm.” She looked down at the large hand circling her forearm and back up at him. “That is, unless you’d like to have me demonstrate some of the new moves I’ve learned in my karate class.”

Alex released her, but continued to block her path.

Exasperated, she said, “Mr. Stone, I’m a busy woman. And I’ve got a dinner theater to run. I strongly suggest you get out of my way.” Before she gave in to the impulse to kick him in the shins, she added silently.

“And I’m a busy man with a law firm and a major corporation back in Boston to run, but I—”

“Then I’d suggest you start for the airport,” she said. “You’ve got about an hour’s drive ahead of you.”

“As I started to say, I’m not leaving here until we have a little discussion about you and my brother and I get some answers.”

“Answers to what?”

“To questions like whose idea was it for Kevin to drop out of law school?”

Desiree hesitated, chewing on that bit of news. “I wasn’t aware that Kevin had dropped out.” In fact, Kevin hadn’t said a word about doing any such thing when he’d told her he was going to Chicago to visit his sweetheart and audition for a new show. He’d only asked if he could have his mail forwarded to her while he was gone.

“Weren’t you?”

She didn’t miss the accusation in his tone. “No, I wasn’t.” But thanks to Kevin, she was all too aware of Alex’s displeasure at his brother’s interest in theater. It was the excuse Kevin had given her for not telling Alex the truth—that he wanted to be an actor, not an attorney. As the youngest of three girls, she knew all about putting up with older siblings who thought they knew what was best for you and ended up trying to run your life. “But if Kevin has decided to leave law school, I’d say that’s his decision and not yours.”

“Or yours?” Alex countered.

“No,” she returned, frowning. “Why on earth would you think it was my decision?”

“Why indeed. Come off it, Ms. Mason,” he said, his voice as sharp as the look he gave her. “Kevin told me when he was home during the holidays what close friends the two of you had become. I just hadn’t realized how close that relationship was. I’m sure your opinion on the subject of his attending law school would have had a great deal to do with his decision.”

Desiree pursed her lips. Evidently dear Kevin had also failed to explain the nature of their friendship to his brother. Given Alex’s reaction, she could understand why. She glanced up, read the disapproval and suspicion in his eyes. Temper spiked through her again. The heck with setting him straight. The man deserved to stew a bit, and she intended to make him do just that. “Well, you’re right about one thing. Kevin and I have become very close friends,” she said in her best imitation of a vamp’s voice.

Alex’s dark eyes grew stormy, and Desiree told herself she’d been right in her initial assessment of him. The man did have the eyes of a warrior—hard, cold, uncompromising. “But as far as law school goes, you give me far too much credit. The only opinion that really matters is Kevin’s. After all, the decision is his to make. Not yours or mine.”

The smile he gave her sent a ripple of uneasiness down Desiree’s spine. “True. But what does matter is that I’m the one who controls Kevin’s trust fund.”

“Bully for you,” she quipped, feigning indifference. Trust fund? What trust fund? She’d assumed Kevin’s family had a bit of money. Anyone with brains in their head could see that he dressed well, drove a nice car, and while he wasn’t flashy with money, he never seemed to be short of it. Besides, he was attending a prestigious and pricy law school in New Orleans. That in itself would have wiped out any scenarios about him being on the verge of poverty. Still, the way Alex had spit out the words trust fund she doubted he was talking about a few thousand dollars—which had been the most her savings book had ever managed to reflect. “I still don’t see how that affects me.”

“Don’t you?”

“No. I’d say that’s between you and Kevin. After all, it’s Kevin’s life.”

“Yes, it is,” Alex said in a deadly soft voice. “And I have no intention of standing by and letting Kevin ruin his life by marrying you.”

Shock hit her first, then her anger kicked into high gear. She strangled the stem of the bouquet in her hand and silently condemned Kevin to a slow, painful death for getting her into this fix in the first place. Tipping up her chin up, she called on her training as an actress to make her lips curve into a smile that reached her eyes. She batted her lashes in what she hoped reflected all sweetness and innocence. “Well then,” she said laying on the Southern drawl like thick maple syrup. “I guess I’ll just have to be sure to tell Kevin not to bother sending you an invitation to the wedding.”

Two

For a moment Alex couldn’t speak. He nearly choked on the fury rising inside him. “There isn’t going to be a wedding,” he finally managed to say.

Desiree arched her brow. “No? I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

“I am sure of it. Kevin is not going to marry you.”

“I believe that’s another one of those decisions that’s not yours to make.”

“Trust me, Ms. Mason. You are not going to marry my brother.” Even if he was wrong and she wasn’t a gold-digging actress with her eye on Kevin’s trust fund as he suspected, he couldn’t tolerate the thought of her being married to his brother. Not when he could all too easily imagine her with him, in his bed, with her body naked beneath his. Just the thought of being with her had him growing hard with desire—and sent guilt stabbing through him like a knife. He shoved a hand through his hair. She was involved with his brother, for pity’s sake. Yet, not even that knowledge could ease the hungry, restless ache inside him that he experienced by just looking at her.

“Like I said, that’s Kevin’s decision. And mine,” she amended a moment later, as though adding herself to the equation was an afterthought. “Now, you really will have to excuse me while I see if I can find out what happened to the actor Bernie was supposed to send over.”

She smiled at him, and Alex’s brain turned to mush. He stared at her mouth, mesmerized by the bow shape of those rose-colored lips, remembering how warm and soft they’d felt against his own.

“I believe you can find your way out.”

He watched in silence as she scooped up the train of her wedding gown and walked down the hall. For a second he tracked the enticing sway of her hips as she moved down the corridor before she disappeared into one of the rooms.

At the click of the door closing, Alex blinked. He shook his head to clear it. Muttering an oath, he started off after her. “The woman must be some kind of witch,” Alex grumbled, remembering the tales of voodoo and black magic that was supposedly still practiced in the New Orleans area. For a moment he’d been so mesmerized by her that he’d almost forgotten his reason for being here in the first place. Alex frowned at that realization. Try as he might to stop it, he couldn’t help thinking of his father.

Eddie Stone had been a dashing, debonair ladies’ man with a hearty laugh, a lust for partying and the deep pockets to pay for it. He’d also been as irresponsible as hell. He’d been about to marry wife number five when he’d been killed in a skiing accident. Otherwise, Alex might have added a few more stepmothers to his family tree. While his memories of time spent with his father were good ones, they were far too few—primarily because of his string of ex-wives, three of whom had been ladies from the South.

And now Kevin thought he was in love with Desiree Mason, another Southern belle. He conjured up an image of the green-eyed beauty in his mind and frowned. Maybe it was something in the water that drew men to women like her. Alex hesitated in front of the room he’d seen Desiree go into. Or maybe it was a weak gene in the Stone men that made them susceptible to a woman with a honeyed voice and magnolia-soft skin.

Whatever the reason, Alex decided, he had no intention of allowing himself to fall under Desiree Mason’s or any woman’s spell. With that thought in mind, he rapped his knuckles on the door.

“It’s open,” she called out in a distant, somewhat muf fled voice.

Alex pushed the door open and stepped inside only to discover the room was empty. “Ms. Mason?”

“Be right with you,” Desiree called out from an adjoining room.

As he waited, Alex took the opportunity to study the room. Just like the rest of the house, this room boasted high ceilings that were accented by crown molding. Ivory silk wall coverings flecked with gold ran from ceiling to floor. What he suspected was either a genuine Aubusson rug or a good imitation covered the center of a wooden floor that was in dire need of polishing. A lovely watercolor of Magnolia House and the grounds, painted during earlier and obviously more prosperous times, hung crookedly on one wall alongside several framed theater posters of plays that he’d never heard of, let alone seen.

On another wall damask drapes, in a faded shade of what once had probably been mint, were swept back from a massive window that served as a home to a half dozen flowering plants.

Alex fingered a purple bloom on one of the plants and caught the fragrant scent. Wisteria. It brought back vague memories of a house with a yard and a huge tree with a swing. He could remember sitting in that swing as a little boy, urging his mother to push him higher. He’d wanted to reach the tree’s limbs and capture one of the purple flowers from the vine tangled in its branches. It had been the first and only time he’d lived with his parents—before they’d divorced, before they’d left him with his grand-father and gone on to their new lives—lives without him.

Pushing the melancholy thought aside, Alex prowled the room while he waited for Desiree. The place was a mess, Alex decided as he looked at the beautiful Queen Anne desk covered with stacks of papers, magazines and bound copies of what were evidently plays. A battered-looking computer sat haphazardly on a desk blotter. Framed photographs took up what little space was left. Alex picked up one of the snapshots of a much-younger Desiree flanked by a timid-looking blonde and a serious-eyed brunette—all dressed in toy soldier costumes and tap shoes. He grinned at the way Desiree mugged for the camera despite two missing front teeth.

“That was one of my first starring roles,” Desiree told him from the doorway. “You’re looking at the Mason Sisters Trio. Tap dance recital for four- to six-year-olds,” she explained.

She was still wearing the wedding dress, but the veil and flowers were gone. Most of her hair had escaped from its combs, leaving long strands of red shot with gold trailing along her neck and cheeks. “Must have been quite a performance,” Alex replied.

“Oh, believe me, it was.”

She walked toward him, the sound of her skirt swishing as she moved, and his eyes immediately zeroed in on those sashaying hips.

“My sister Lorelei—she’s the blonde—lost her dinner in front of the entire audience before we even got to the first ‘ball-change’ in the dance routine. Stage fright,” she said as though that explained everything.

“And my sister Clea—” she pointed to the brunette “—she’s the perfectionist. She was so miffed at Lorelei for ruining our act, she walked off the stage in the middle of our number and hung up her tap shoes for good. I’m afraid it ruined any hopes my parents might have been harboring that we’d be a dancing version of the Lennon Sisters.”

“What about you? What did you do when your sisters dropped out of the show?”

“The Mason Sisters Trio quickly became a group of one. They had to yank me off the stage because I insisted on completing the number by doing everyone’s part.”

Alex heard the smile in her voice even before she looked up from the photograph he was holding and he saw it on her lips. “And you’ve been dancing ever since.”

“And acting.” She took the picture from his hands, stroked the edges of the frame lovingly before returning it to her desk. She glanced up at him. “But I’m sure you didn’t really follow me in here to hear about my sisters and our failed attempt at show business, now, did you?”

“No.” He hadn’t, and Alex tamped down the urge to ask her to tell him more about herself and her family. Once more the lady had distracted him from his purpose. “I’m here because we didn’t finish our conversation about you and Kevin.”

“We did as far as I’m concerned. There’s nothing further to discuss.” Desiree turned around, offering him her back. “Do me a favor, will you? Unhook the back of this thing so I can get out of this dress.”

Alex stared at her bare shoulders and tried to ignore the faint hint of flowers that seemed to emanate from her skin. His gaze strayed to a heart-shaped mole just above her left shoulder. He had an incredible urge to run his fingertip across it.

“I had Mindy—she was one of the bridesmaids—help me get into this getup, but she’s already gone, and now I can’t get the thing off by myself. I can’t imagine why a designer would make a dress with all those tiny buttons down the back. How do they expect you to get the thing off?”

“Since it’s a wedding dress, I suspect the designer assumed the bride’s husband would be helping her to take it off.”

Desiree stilled a moment, and then he heard her laughter. “Kevin said you tended to take things literally. He was right.” She looked at him over her shoulder again. Her green eyes sparkled, a mischievous grin curved her mouth. “Well, since my groom isn’t here at the moment, maybe you could do the honors for him. Or is that a problem?”

Alex caught the note of challenge in her voice, saw the dare in her eyes. “No problem at all.” He’d show the little tease. Did she think she could unnerve him by asking him to help her undress? He reached for the first button. His fingers brushed against her skin, and it was just as soft as it looked. And warm. Despite his efforts not to respond to her and all that soft, bare skin, the blood heated in his veins as, one by one, he released the tiny buttons from their silken loops. “There. It’s unbuttoned,” he told her and stepped back.

Clutching the front of her gown with one hand, she reached behind her to the bow at her waist. She fumbled with the fastening. She turned slightly and lifted her gaze to his. The challenge was still there in her eyes, but there was also an awareness now that hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Looks like I need you to unhook the train for me, too,” she told him in that honey and whiskey voice before giving him her back again. “There’s a row of hooks beneath the bow.”

Alex felt the punch of desire hit him as he forced his gaze down the length of her bare spine where the dress gaped, to the curve of her waist, to the jutting of her hips.

“Can you see the hooks?”

“I see them,” he said, irritated by his body’s response to her. Swallowing, Alex hesitated a moment before stepping closer. He lifted the bow that draped over her shapely bottom and, gritting his teeth, he fought back the urge to cup her in his hands. Instead, he caught her at the waist with his right hand and used the fingers of his left hand to work at the tiny hooks attached to the bow. All the while he was conscious of the slope of her hips, the warmth of the satin-covered skin beneath his fingers.

Finally the bow and train fell free from the gown. After placing them on the desk, he started to attack the row of buttons that ran from her waist to the top of her bottom. He’d barely finished opening the first button when Desiree reached behind her and grabbed his hand.

“Stop!”

Alex looked up, surprised at the unsteady sound of her voice. She whipped around. Still holding the front of her dress, she snatched up the train and bow with one hand and took a few steps away from him. When she looked at him, heat licked at him again as he recognized the flame of desire in her eyes. He slid his gaze down the length of her and back up again, noting her flushed cheeks, her quickened breathing, the rise and fall of her breasts. Alex itched to reach out, pull her fingers away from where they clutched the front of the dress to her. He wanted to peel the lace edges away from her breasts and touch them. He took a step toward her.

Desiree moved a step back. “Th-thanks. But I think I can manage the rest of the buttons myself,” she told him, then began to inch her way backward across the room until she reached the door she’d emerged from earlier. She fumbled with the doorknob, pushed the door open with the heel of her foot. “Goodbye, Alex. I’ll tell Kevin you were looking for him,” she said before disappearing behind the door.

Alex took a deep breath. He scrubbed a hand across his face. Muttering an oath, he jammed his hands into his pockets. No wonder Kevin was in trouble! Hell, he had been in trouble there for a minute. The woman had him feeling like a damn teenager who’d just discovered the opposite sex. Another five minutes of touching her soft flesh, smelling that flower-scented skin and he would have been hard-pressed not to beg her to let him make love to her.

Kevin was definitely in over his head where Desiree Mason was concerned. His brother wouldn’t have a prayer at resisting the woman if she’d set her sights on marrying him. His only hope, Alex decided, was to find Kevin fast and get his brother back to Boston and as far away from Desiree Mason as he possibly could. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to get himself out of range as well.

Desiree leaned against the door of her bedroom. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Whew! Talk about playing with fire. Alexander Stone ranked right up there with a four-alarm blaze. She must have been out of her mind to bait him the way she had. Pushing away from the door, she finished unbuttoning the wedding dress and shivered as she remembered the feel of his fingers brushing against her skin. Her stomach fluttered as she recalled glancing up and seeing the heat of desire in his dark eyes.

Thank heavens she’d had enough sense to call a halt to things when she had. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened. Desiree frowned. From everything Kevin had told her about his older brother and his aversion to romantic involvements, she didn’t doubt for a moment that she’d have been the one who would have ended up getting burned.

She arranged the gown on its padded hanger and did up some of the buttons to keep it in place. As she fingered the satin-covered buttons, she thought of Alex’s comment about the dress being designed for a man to take it off. A tremor of excitement danced along her spine as she wondered what it would have been like to have Alex undress her for real.

Dangerous, she told herself at the crazy thought. Give it up, girl. The man is definitely not the “marriage and happily ever after” type. And since she wasn’t interested in an affair, there was no point in even thinking about it. She reached for a pair of white cotton shorts and the tropical-print blouse that she’d laid out on the bed earlier. She should be thanking her lucky stars she’d gotten rid of the man, she chided. But instead of relief, she felt an odd sense of disappointment.

Desiree laughed aloud at herself. Evidently catching the bouquet at her sister Lorelei’s wedding and then taking on the role of a bride in this play had fried her brain. Why else would she be the least bit disappointed to see the last of Alexander Stone? The guy might be gorgeous and maybe he could make her blood spin with just a look, but she’d have to be nuts to even consider getting involved with him. Not that there was much likelihood of that happening, since he believed she was engaged to his brother.

She felt a prick of conscience at that thought. She probably shouldn’t have let him think that she and Kevin were engaged. But even if she’d come clean and told him the truth—that she and Kevin were nothing more than friends—he probably wouldn’t have believed her, anyway. He’d made up his mind, before he’d known who she was, that she was after Kevin for his money. Well, Alex Stone would have to just stew over her pretend engagement to his brother until Kevin returned, and then he could set the man straight. In the meantime she was short one actor and had yet to speak to Bernie.

After knotting the blouse at her waist, she slipped on her sandals and headed out the door. She stepped into the sitting room that she’d converted into her office and headed straight for her desk to find Bernie’s number. She came to a halt mid-step at the sight of Alex standing at the window, staring out at the oak trees. Her chest tightened at the sad, lonely expression on his face.

As though sensing her presence he turned around to face her. The vulnerability that had been there a moment ago disappeared. His eyes darkened. He slid his gaze over her like a caress, and Desiree’s disobedient pulse immediately picked up speed. With far more calm than she was feeling, she walked over to her desk. Retrieving the stack of business cards she’d bundled together with a rubber band weeks ago and had yet to organize, she began to shuffle through them in search of Bernie’s phone number. “I didn’t realize you were still here,” she told him, praying he wouldn’t notice how unsteady her fingers were.

“Contrary to what you might prefer, I have no intention of leaving until I speak with my brother.”

“But I told you, Kevin isn’t here.”

“I know what you said. But I don’t believe you. I wouldn’t put it past Kevin to hide out just to avoid facing me. He knew I’d be furious with him for dropping out of law school, and he knows I’d be even angrier at the prospect of him getting married.”

“Fine, don’t believe me then,” she said, slapping down the cards. Lord, but the man was stubborn. “Since you’re so convinced I’m lying, why don’t you search the house and grounds.”

“I intend to.”

She shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s your time. If you want to waste it, go right ahead. But you aren’t going to find Kevin hidden under a bed or a closet somewhere because I told you the truth. Your brother isn’t here.”

Alex rubbed his jaw and continued to study her with those midnight eyes of his. “If he’s not here, then where is he?”

“Out of town.”

“Out of town?”

“That’s what I said. He left more than a week ago.”

“Where did he go?”

“I...I don’t know,” Desiree replied and crossed her fingers behind her back at the semi-white lie. Well, it was true, she reasoned. She didn’t know exactly where Kevin was, only that he was somewhere in the Chicago area. He’d gone to visit his girlfriend—a dancer working in a musical.

“When is he due back?”

“I’m not exactly sure.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “You expect me to believe that my brother drops out of law school, closes up his apartment and leaves town without telling his fiancée where he’s going or when he’ll be back?”

“Yes! No!”

“Well, which one is it?” Alex demanded.

“Both.” She took a steadying breath and wished she’d never let herself get into this mess. “Listen, I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know where Kevin is or when he’ll be back because... well, because I sort of misled you a little earlier,” she admitted, embarrassed now by how she’d let her temper get the better of her.

“Misled me?”

Desiree could feel the flush crawl up her neck and cheeks. “About... about the nature of my relationship with Kevin,” she finally managed to get out. Feeling defensive, she tried to explain. “You were acting so darn huffy when you came in here looking like you’d just stepped out of an advertisement in GQ with your custommade suit and Italian loafers and you were so darned indignant at the mere idea that Kevin might actually consider marrying me that I...that I—” she hiked up her chin “—I decided to teach you a lesson.”

“A lesson,” he repeated.

“Yes, about that snooty attitude of yours.”

“Snooty?”

“Yes, snooty.”

Alex’s frown deepened. “Go on. We’ll debate your assessment of my attitude another time. Right now why don’t you explain just how you misled me.”

“I let you think that Kevin and I are engaged, when we’re not. The truth is, he and I are just good friends.”

Alex clapped his hands in mock approval. “Very good, Ms. Mason. That was a nice little performance and delivered with such sincerity. The wringing of your hands and halted speech was especially convincing. I can see why you chose acting as a profession. You’re quite good at it. Unfortunately for you, I happen to know you’re lying through your pretty, white teeth.”

“What?” Desiree shrieked, shocked that despite her confession the man still didn’t believe her.

“You heard me. I don’t believe a word of that garbage you just gave me.”

“But it’s the truth!”

Alex made a snorting sound and began to pace in front of her desk. “Sure it is. That’s why every time I’ve spoken to Kevin in the past few months, your name has been the one that keeps coming up.” He stopped directly in front of her and glared. “Hell, he as much as told me two weeks ago that he was going to propose marriage to you.”

Stunned, Desiree sank to her chair. “Kevin told you he was going to ask me to marry him?”

“No, not in those words precisely. But I realized once I got here and took stock of the situation that that’s what he’d been trying to tell me.”

“Why? What did he say?”

“It’s not so much any one thing that he said, but several things he said. Add to that the reflective mood he was in and how his thoughts seemed to wander. Now I can see where he was heading with all that talk he was spouting about the importance of following one’s dreams, of setting goals for the future and seeing them through.”

Which explained why Kevin had upped and dashed off to Chicago the way he had, leaving her short one actor for her play and a weak promise to return in time for the opening. Kevin had gone in pursuit of his dreams—a deeper relationship with his girlfriend and a career on the stage.

Alex jammed his fingers through his hair, mussing the model-perfect cut and making him somehow more handsome because of it. “Fool that I am, at the time I thought he was talking about joining me at the firm.”

Poor Alex. She could have told him that Kevin didn’t have the least bit of interest in becoming an attorney or in joining the family-owned firm to run their megabusinesses.

“Of course, now I realize he was talking about you and his intention to marry you.”

“What!” Desiree did a double take.

“Come off it, Ms. Mason. It all makes perfect sense now. Kevin was trying to tell me he wanted to marry you.”

“And I’m beginning to think you’re one beignet short of a dozen. Either that, or that Boston brain of yours can’t handle the sky-high humidity down here. How on earth did you arrive at that ridiculous conclusion?”

“Quite easily, when you consider all the facts. First there’s—”

“Stop!” Desiree raised her hand. “I don’t even want to hear it. Kevin was not talking about marrying me. The dream he was referring to is his acting. He wants to be an actor, not an attorney.” For now, she decided, it might be best to leave out the little detail of his dancer girlfriend.

“Don’t be absurd. Kevin’s not interested in acting. He’s always wanted to be a lawyer.”

“Then how do you explain the fact that he has a role in my play and that I met him while we were both working at another dinner theater?”

“If Kevin’s shown any interest in acting recently, I’d say it’s because of his involvement with you.” Alex began to pace. “You’re the one who’s responsible for his quitting school.”

“Now, wait a minute—”

“Damn.” Alex slapped his palm with his fist. “I should have realized something was wrong when he came home a few weeks ago. He was quiet to the point of being somber. And Kevin is never somber.”

No, he wasn’t, Desiree admitted. Kevin was as happy-go-lucky as his brother was obviously serious.

“I should have known there was something behind all those crazy questions he was asking me.”

“What crazy questions?”

Alex pinned her with his dark gaze. “Ridiculous questions like whether or not I’d ever been in love or if I’d ever thought about getting married.”

Before she could check her reaction, Desiree asked, “What did you tell him?”

“No.”

Of course, his answer would be no, Desiree decided. She didn’t doubt for a minute that while Alexander Stone would probably be a generous lover, he would never give any woman his heart. For some reason she found that thought oddly depressing. “Well, I still don’t see how Kevin’s reflective mood and questions about your love life made you come to the conclusion that he was talking about marrying me.”

Alex planted his hands on her desk and leaned forward, bringing his face eye level with hers. “It was simple. Because when I told Kevin that if he had any crazy ideas in his head about getting married he should forget them, he gave me that choirboy grin of his and told me not to worry. He said he’d already proposed to you and you had turned him down, claimed you were too old for him.” Alex sneered. “But I guess once you found out about his trust fund, a few years difference in age wasn’t such a big problem anymore.”

Desiree lost it. She pushed to her feet and smacked her hands down on the desk. She leaned in, brought her face close to his, employing the same intimidation tactic he’d tried to use on her. Glaring at him, she said, “You fool, I didn’t even know Kevin had a trust fund. But if I did, it wouldn’t have mattered a lick to me if I’d wanted to marry him. But I didn’t. And I still don’t. Kevin and I are friends. That’s it. Just friends.”

“Then you don’t deny that Kevin asked you to marry him?”

“No.” Why should she? Kevin was a born flirt. He’d proposed to her and half of the females in the cast on a regular basis. No one took him seriously. No on except Alex, evidently.

The look Alex shot her could have withered a rock. “Tell me, Ms. Mason, do all of your ‘friends’ go around asking you to marry them?”

She straightened her spine, tipped up her chin and did her best to look down her nose at him. “No, not all of them,” she replied sweetly, marveling at how she managed to sound so calm when inside she was spitting mad. She took pleasure in seeing the wariness creep into his eyes. “Usually the only ones who propose marriage are the men.”

Three

Alex gritted his teeth. The woman was baiting him, and he knew it. He didn’t doubt for a second that she had any number of men after her. Trouble was, he was hard-pressed not to join their ranks, because right now he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss that sassy mouth of hers himself.

“But don’t worry, Alex. If I ever decide to take Kevin up on his marriage proposal, you’ll be among the first to know—right after we say ‘I do.’” Tipping her chin up a notch, she gave him a chilly smile. “Now, you really will have to excuse me. I’ve got a dinner theater opening in just over a month, and I’m still short one cast member.” She reached for the stack of business cards she’d been playing with a few minutes earlier. Sitting down in the chair behind the desk, she swiveled around and gave him her back.

Maybe it was several days of too little sleep. Maybe it was the frustration of the morning’s discoveries and being unable to locate Kevin. Or maybe it was just the simple fact that he’d been suffering with a bad case of lust from the moment he’d walked into that ballroom and seen this green-eyed siren about to marry a man he’d thought was his brother. Whatever the reason, her cool dismissal had done what few people, and certainly no woman, had had the power to do before. She’d destroyed the last of his control.

He didn’t stop to think about how out of character his reactions to this woman were. He didn’t stop to think how heavy-handed he was being. He didn’t think period. Instead, he reacted.

In the space of a heartbeat, Alex was behind the desk, spinning her chair around so that she faced him. Grabbing the arms of the chair, he shoved it backward until the wheels hit the wall.

“Alex!”

He leaned forward, bringing his face so close to hers that he could see the black centers of her eyes widen in surprise, smell that damn flowered scent on her skin. “Maybe that duchess-to-peasant routine works on those college boys you’re used to dealing with, but it doesn’t work on me.”

He heard her breath catch, watched the shock in her eyes fade and darken with awareness. The air hummed between them like an electrical wire that had snapped and was dangling dangerously during a storm. Her tongue slipped out to moisten her bottom lip. Alex’s body hardened; blood rushed to his groin as he followed the movement.

“Tell me, Alexander Stone. Just what does work on you?”

Her husky, honeyed drawl set off images in his head of satin sheets, soft skin and hot sex. His brain shut down as his body tightened with renewed desire. He stared at her slightly parted lips and gripped the arms of the chair even tighter. The need to taste that luscious mouth again hit him with the force of a prizefighter’s fist As though she could read his thoughts, her breath hitched. Her eyes fluttered closed.

Alex gave up and stopped fighting himself. He leaned a fraction closer, already anticipating the feel of her mouth beneath his, when suddenly something brushed against the back of his legs. He jerked away, nearly tumbled to the floor as he felt that “something” wind itself around his feet and legs. “What the—”

“Meow.”

Alex glanced down at his feet where a black ball of fur was rubbing itself against his ankles, weaving its body in and out of his legs.

“Meow.” The cat looked up at him and gave him another rub. Then it started to purr.

Alex wasn’t sure whether he should curse the fur ball or thank it. He didn’t have time to do either because his eyes began to water. Damn, he thought, blinking in reaction to the animal fur. But his allergy kicking in was a small price to pay, Alex told himself. If not for the cat’s intervention, in another five seconds he would have been kissing Desiree.

That realization brought him up short. Alex scrubbed a hand over his face and shifted uncomfortably at the ache still present in his lower body. Lord, he’d been only a breath away from kissing her—a breath away from betraying his brother.

He winced at that sobering fact. Desiree Mason was by no means the first woman he’d ever wanted physically. There’d been several in his thirty-four years, and he’d enjoyed a number of satisfying sexual relationships with several of those women. But not one of those women had ever made him forget rhyme or reason. Not one of them had ever made him forget to put his brother’s interests first.

Guilt slapped at him. What in heaven’s name had he been thinking of? She was Kevin’s girlfriend for Pete’s sake! The woman Kevin thought he loved and wanted to marry.

And he wanted her for himself.

Disgusted with himself, Alex cut a glance to Desiree. He took in the sight of those tempting lips. She’d wanted him to kiss her, still wanted him to kiss her, judging by the dazed heat that lingered in her eyes. And heaven help him, he’d almost given in to the urge to do so, and would have, in fact, had it not been for the cat.

Alex clenched his jaw. For both his sake and Kevin’s, he couldn’t let his brother marry this woman, he told himself again. To do so would be a disaster. Somehow he had to find a way to prevent that from happening, because, despite her denials, he suspected her sights were set on his brother.

He could use himself as bait, a voice inside him whispered. He was rich, decent looking and wasn’t without charm when the occasion called for it. Over the years he’d become adept at engaging in mutually satisfying relationships with women that never led to marriage. Why not do the same with Desiree? If he did, surely Kevin would see how wrong the woman was for him.

Alex frowned. The danger was he hadn’t been thinking of Kevin or of saving his brother from Desiree’s clutches when he’d almost kissed her. The truth was he hadn’t been thinking at all.

The cat abandoned her dance around his legs and jumped up to the credenza beside him, where it proceeded to nuzzle his arm, leaving a trail of black fur along the sleeve of his gray suit jacket. “Friend of yours?” Alex asked as he returned the cat to the floor only to have it promptly resume its perch beside him. Giving up, Alex moved out of the creature’s path as his eyes started to fill again.

“That’s Maggie,” Desiree told him. Abandoning the chair, she walked over to the credenza and stooped down to face the cat. “Where have you been, you naughty girl? I was worried about you. I looked everywhere for you last night.”

The cat meowed in response and licked at Desiree’s outstretched fingers a moment before jumping down to the floor and heading straight for him. Alex’s nose started to twitch as she brushed against his pant leg again.

“Maggie, what a shameless little flirt you are. Leave Alex alone and come back here.”

The cat ignored Desiree and started in on the other leg of his suit trousers. Her silky black fur clung to the Armani like a magnet. Stepping over the cat, he removed himself as her rubbing post by walking over to the desk. The stubborn little fur ball trotted right behind him. The stinging in his eyes worsened. Alex blinked several times and reached for the handkerchief in his back pocket to wipe at his tearing eyes. “What’s with this cat, anyway?”

“She likes men,” Desiree offered by way of explanation.

Like mistress, like cat, Alex thought silently as his eyes continued to water and burn. His nose twitched again. Despite his efforts to control it, Alex gave in to the inevitable and sneezed.

“Bless you,” Desiree said. Walking over to the desk, she pulled open a drawer and withdrew a box of tissues. She shoved the box toward him.

“Thanks.” Alex stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket and snatched a handful of the tissues just before the next round of sneezing hit him.

After several moments the worst of the allergy attack was over. He wiped at his eyes again and watched as Desiree stooped down and retrieved Maggie. “Come on, sweetie. I think you’re making poor Alex sneeze.” She nuzzled the furry creature, heedless of the black fur it left clinging to her white shorts and blouse.

Alex stared at those long, slender fingers as she stroked the cat. Silently cursing himself, he tried to block out thoughts of what it would be like to have her fingers stroking him the same way.

Her hand went still at the sound of a tap on the door, and Alex breathed a prayer of thanks.

The tap sounded a second time. “Hey, Des. You in there?” The minister—minus his collar and robe—stuck his head in the door.

“Right here, Charlie.”

The fellow stepped inside, then he looked from Desiree to him and back to Desiree again. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“You weren’t. Mr. Stone and I were already finished our discussion. What’s up?”

“That real estate lady, Miss Marilee, you know, the one with the fancy hats? She just called and said she’s on her way over. She wants to pick up the key to the cottage. Says she’s got a real hot prospect coming with her who might rent the place from you.”

Alex didn’t miss the look of hope that came into Desiree’s eyes as she slid open a desk drawer and removed a ring with a gold-colored key.

“Well, let’s hope Miss Marilee’s right.”

“Want me to wait out front for her and give her the key?” Charlie offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll do it. You go on home.”With the cat in her arms, Desiree started for the door.

“Ms. Mason. Desiree—” Alex began, only to sneeze again when she walked past him with the cat.

“Bless you.”

“You getting sick?” Charlie asked. “Nothing worse than a summer cold.”

“I don’t believe that’s a cold he’s suffering from, Charlie,” she said, pausing as the other man opened the door for her. “I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Stone here is allergic to cats,” she said as she cuddled the ball of black fur in her arms.

“Pets,” he corrected before sneezing again. “I’m allergic to pets period. It’s the animal fur. And quit calling me Mr. Stone. My name’s Alex.”

The corners of her lips curved upward. “Well in that case, Alex, I’m sure you really don’t want to spend any more time at Magnolia House than you already have.”

Alex narrowed his still-tearing eyes. “I think I can manage to survive one little cat.” That is, he could if he got some antihistamine tablets.

“Oh, but I wasn’t referring to Maggie. I meant the rest of my little four-legged family.”

“The rest?” he asked suspiciously, not liking the Cheshire Cat grin spreading across her lips.

“Uh-hmm. At last count, I believe there were thirteen of them.”

“Thirteen! Nobody has thirteen cats!”

“Oh, but they’re not all cats. Although I admit, several of them are Maggie’s adorable siblings. I also have three dogs, a squirrel, a rabbit and—”

“Stop!” Alex held up his hand, his eyes filling again at just the thought of being subjected to all those animals—and the resulting bout of sneezing and weeping eyes.

She released a squirming Maggie, and the cat scooted out the door. “When you get back to Boston, you might want to see an allergist about some medication. Looks like you’ve got a bit of a rash starting on the side of your face.”

Alex’s hand went up to the right side of his face instinctively. He hadn’t broken out with hives since he was a kid. At the twitch of her lips, he let his hand fall back to his side.

“And don’t you worry. When Kevin gets back, I’ll be sure to tell him that you came by.” With a smug look on her face, she slipped out the door.

Frowning, Alex noted the seductive sway of her hips as she made her way down the hall with Maggie trotting at her heels.

“She’s not kidding, you know.”

Alex jerked his attention back to Charlie, the minister, who leaned against the doorway, an intent look on his face. “What was that?”

The older man folded his arms across his chest and gave him a measuring look. “I said she’s not kidding about all those pets, so if you are allergic, you might want to take her advice and put some distance between you and this place.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

The other guy shrugged. “Suit yourself. But if you hang around here you’re liable to run into more than a few of Desiree’s critters. She’s got herself a whole mess of them. Cats, dogs, even a squirrel just like she said. Doesn’t matter what it is, if the creature shows up here on her property, the next thing you know, she’s given the thing a name and made it a part of her family.”

“She sounds like a veterinarian’s dream.”

Charlie’s lips kicked up in a half smile. “Yeah. I suspect she is.”

Which was one more reason Kevin and his trust fund would be attractive to her. He had friends who claimed to spend a fortune on only one pet; he could imagine the tab for thirteen. With the cat gone, his breathing was becoming somewhat easier, Alex realized. Now he just had to get rid of the fur Maggie had left behind. Tossing the soiled tissues into the trash, he began brushing at the black hair on his jacket and pants.

“So, you planning to stick around?” Charlie asked.

Alex looked up at the other man. “I might be. You have a problem with that?”

“Depends on your reason for sticking around. That Desiree, she’s a real sweet kid. Sometimes too sweet for her own good. She’s got this tendency to take in strays—both the two-legged and four-legged variety, if you know what I mean.”

He understood all right. “You mean she’s a soft touch.” Which surprised him, given her profession as an actress and her latching onto his brother.

Charlie rubbed at his jaw, looking less and less like a minister and more and more like a papa bear guarding his cub. “I guess that’s how some people would see her. Me? I see a beautiful woman with a generous heart. Sometimes that big heart of hers gets her into trouble.”

“I bet.” If Charlie was to be believed, the woman was a cross between a saint and Mother Teresa. But he didn’t recall any of the nuns from his grade-school days looking like Desiree Mason. He thought of that heart-shaped mole on her shoulder, the way she’d trembled when he had touched her. He had a hard time tagging Desiree as the naive woman Charlie described when just looking at her had his brain shutting down and his body aching for her in his bed.

Irritated with himself, Alex gave up on getting rid of the cat hair and started for the door. He stopped when Charlie put his short, round body in his path. “Was there something else?” Alex asked.

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