Double trouble (6 page)

Without having any real idea of what he planned to do or say, Matt arrived at PITA's headquarters and was directed to Kristina McClure's office by the sweetly smiling receptionist. He asked the young woman not to announce him, intimating that he was welcome anytime. Her smile never faltering, the receptionist granted his wish, and Matt strode to the door, opening it quietly.

Inside the office, a couple stood clinging to each other in a hot embrace. The sounds of heavy male breathing and breathy female whimpers permeated the silence, burning Matt's ears. He stood stock-still, his jaw comically agape. But he found nothing funny in his untimely interruption.

Although her long, light brown hair was bound in a tight French braid instead of flowing soft and loose down her back, though her face was almost completely blocked from view by the other man. Matt recognized the young woman in the passionate clinch as none other than his erstwhile lover of Friday night. Kristina McClure.

Desperately not wanting to be seen, he started to back out of the office. But he was a moment too late. Somehov/ the couple must have sensed his presence—or perhaps they simply needed to come up for air—but whatever the reason, they suddenly broke apart.

And turned toward him.

Matt stifled the urge to curse aloud. He was not as successful in tamping the fierce wave of anger that surged wildly through him. He was a fool to have come here, he raged at himself. Wotsc yet was this feeling of betrayal that stabbed at him. How could she have given herself to him so completely on Friday, only to turn up in another man's arms the following Monday?

**Oh!" Kristina looked startled at the sight of him.

I'll bet she's surprised, Matt thought nastily. She'd been caught in the act. He wondered if her current paramour was another legislator about to fall victim to this spider-woman's charms. Kristina McClure had some way of lobbying! To think he had worried that she would be upset about negative publicity! Ha! She probably would have relished it as a career booster.

She was blushing now, and Matt marveled at how well she played the demure embarrassed maiden, lowering her eyes, smiling sheepishly over at Matt and then at the man in whose arms she still nestled.

"Senator Minteer?" she said in a soft, surprised voice, as if she wasn't positive it was him. "I'm sorry. Did we have an appointment?"

Matt resisted the urge to deck her. He'd never struck a woman in his life and he wasn't about to let this, this little tramp incite him to violence.

"NO) we didn't have an appointment, Ms. McClure," he said, his voice cold and dripping sarcasm. "I thought I'd drop by to make sure you made it safely to the office."

She looked baffled. Matt was grudgingly impressed by how very believably she could enact bewilderment, as if she had no idea why Senator Minteer should stop by to see her, as if his veiled reference to Friday night totally eluded her. When it came to acting, this girl would give Julia Roberts a run for her money.

**Was there any reason why she shouldn't have arrived here safely?" the other man asked, gazing speculatively at Matt.

Matt noted the possessive hold the guy had on her, the slight challenge in his voice. His tone, his body language stated, "This is my woman." Boy, are you being suckered, pal, thought Matt, and felt a momentary pang of sympathy for him.

Kristina cleared her throat, then smiled. "Senator Min-teer, I'd like to introduce you to Boyd Sawyer. He's a research physician for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Boyd, this is State Senator Matthew Minteer, who has just announced his intention to run for a congressional seat. We're all confident that he'll win and be in Washington next January."

Matt was dumbfounded. How coolly, how smoothly, how innocently she'd pulled that off! Introducing one lover to another. Were they now supposed to exchange pleasantries? Maybe he should ask Boyd Sawyer about his golf game?

Matt suppressed a snort of indignation. The sooner he got away from this female barracuda, the better.

"I wish you the best of luck in your campaign," Boyd Sawyer said with credible sincerity.

The poor sap obviously had no idea that he'd been cheated on over the weekend. Hostility flared within Matt, and it was all directed at Kristina. "Good luck in your medical research," he said to Sawyer. "Hope you find, uh, whatever you're looking for." No use getting angry at him. Boyd Sawyer was simply an innocent bystander.

Matt strode out the door. But he couldn't resist turning to take one parting swipe at the perfidious Kristina.

"Did you tell Boyd about Friday night and the WINDS debacle?" he asked with an extremely hearty laugh. It sounded forced, even to his own ears. He definitely wasn't as skilled an actor as Kristina. Nevertheless, he persisted in

his performance. "What a zany bunch of cutups, hmm? I know we're all supposed to have taken a vow of silence about that night but hey, there's no need for secrecy and subterfuge between two old friends like you and me. Right, Kristina?"

He had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen in what was definitely, unmistakably, alarm. He wondered what kind of lie she'd told Sawyer to explain her whereabouts Friday night. Probably made up a tale about a sick grandmother or something equally phony. He felt a fraternal link to Boyd Sawyer and hoped the other man escaped from her treacherous spell as easily as he himself had.

For it dawned on Matt as he walked out into the wintry February sunshine that Kristina McClure's potent allure no longer held him captive. He was free. Maybe it was the shock of seeing her in the other man's arms, maybe it was because of her stellar, deceitful performance. Whatever, he realized that today he hadn't looked into her honey-hazel eyes and felt that thrill he'd felt on Friday. He had looked at her soft mouth and hadn't been seized by the desire to kiss it.

Whatever intangible magic, whatever sexual chemistry had drawn him to her was gone. He had gazed at her and not ached with wanting her. In a bizarre way, it was as if he had been with someone else entirely during the passionate Friday night.

And maybe he had. Matt's lips twisted into a cynical smile. He'd been with a figment of his imagination, of his drunken imagination. He had seen what he'd wanted to see in Kristina McClure; he'd made her his fantasy-come-to-life.

Now, in the cold light of day, Matt faced the truth. His dream girl—dream woman—was just that. A dream. A dream that had ended.

Four

^^Kayla, there's a call for you from your sister," Jolene Fuller, Kayla's secretary-receptionist and all-around gofer, spoke through the intercom before putting through the call.

Anxiety streaked through Kayla. Kristina rarely called her at the office, and they'd just spoken on Sunday evening. Today was only Wednesday. Had Kristina's romance with Boyd Sawyer hit the rocks so soon? Or had word of Kayla's Friday night indiscretion leaked, leaving Kristina to cope with the barrage of nasty gossip? Kayla's heart lurched as she apprehensively picked up the receiver. Kayla knew she should have talked to Kris about it all, but so far she hadn't had the nerve.

To her surprise, Kristina was cheerful and upbeat, chattering on about Boyd who'd flown back to Atlanta eariier that morning, about her plans to visit him, about the unseasonably warm weather Harrisburg was currently experiencing.

Kayla began to relax. It seemed Kristina had simply called to chat, after all. Things were obviously going well with Boyd and she even hadn't mentioned Friday night. Until...

''You know, I've been talking so much about Boyd and myself that I never got around to asking you about that fund-raiser on Friday," Kristina said. "Thanks again for subbing for me, Kayla. Did you get a chance to meet Matt Minteer?"

Kayla bolted upright and clenched the receiver, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She strained to discern any nuances in her sister's tone but either there were none or she was too rattled to pick up on any. "I met him," she said carefully.

"He's a great-looking guy, isn't he?" Kristina chirped. Kayla said nothing, nothing at all. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"So how did everything go?" asked Kristina, seemingly unfazed by her sister's lack of response.

"Go?" Kayla echoed. Oh, how to answer that? An image of herself and Matt intertwined on the bed in the darkness, touching, moaning, coming, flashed before her mind's eye with such vivid clarity, she nearly cried.

Mercifully, Kristina started talking again, her voice as chipper as before. "Word around here is that it was just a typical fund-raising dinner. I hope you weren't too bored, Kayla."

Kayla tried to swallow and couldn't. "That's all you heard about it?" she dared to ask.

She clearly remembered sitting on Matt's lap at the head table, in full view of the crowd. And there had been no comment on that? Surely it wasn't commonplace behavior at a campaign fund-raiser? Or was it? Perhaps she should revise her perceptions of party politics on the state level.

"Mmm." Kristina sounded bored, as if she were already tiring of the topic. She immediately launched into another.

**Kayla, I do have an ulterior motive for this call. I'm hoping to tap your consulting and media expertise on behalf of a friend of mine, Elena Teslovic. She's a public health nurse who has done a lot of unpaid lobbying for the poor and elderly. She's decided she can do more as an elected official and is planning to run for a seat in the state house against a totally odious incumbent. Would you be interested in taking her on as a client? Before you decide either way, let me tell you something about her."

It took several minutes for the tension to drain from Kayla. More relaxed, she could fully listen to her twin's capsule summary of the candidate, who seemed bright, talented and scrupulously honest, with a desire to serve in political office rather than using it to serve herself.

**She's a political neophyte but she has great natural instincts and she's determined to make a difference, Kayla," Kristina concluded eagerly. ''We need people like Elena in public office. Say you'll come and at least meet her. She could definitely use your expertise. You'll stay at my apartment with me, of course."

Kayla considered it. Traveling was part of a political consultant's job and the living expenses incurred while staying in another city was always a concern. Staying with Kristina would certainly ease the budget while she met and assessed a potential new client. She had every reason to accept and under normal circumstances, Kayla would have, immediately.

This time, however, she hesitated. Being back in Harris-burg meant the risk of running into Matt Minteer. Humiliation and shame roared through her at the memory of the uncharacteristic, passionate abandon she'd indulged in with him. No, seeing Matt Minteer again was more than she could face.

"Kristina, I-"

''Do you know that I was in a traffic jam this morning and it took me twice as long as usual to get to my office?"

mn

Kristina cut in breezily. "Harrisburg is growing by leaps and bounds. It's no longer the small town it used to be. Why sometimes I go for months without running into people I know."

Kay la was startled. It was uncanny, as if Kristina was attempting to dispel her sister's anxiety by subtly assuring her that it was safe to come to town, that her path wouldn't inevitably cross Matt Minteer's. But of course that was impossible because Kristina had made it obvious that she had no idea what had transpired between her twin and the virile state senator.

Reassured, Kay la considered the matter practically. "I suppose I could come to Harrisburg and meet your candidate. She does sound promising."

"Great, Kayla!" exclaimed Kristina. "I'll arrange a meeting between the two of you. Just say when. I know Elena will accommodate herself to your schedule."

Kayla checked her calendar. "What about Monday?"

"Perfect. Want to come up on Friday and spend that sisterly weekend we didn't have last week?"

"I'd love to." Kayla found herself smihng. She had always drawn strength and comfort from her twin's presence. Kristina was the one person in her life who'd always been there, who stayed while all the others left. Why, they'd been together even before they were bom. Yes, a relaxing weekend with her twin sister was exactly the tonic she needed to restore her spirits and get herself back on track after last week's humiliating, shattering debacle with Matt Minteer.

"Dinner tonight will be my treat, Kayla," Kristina said expansively as she pulled her car into the parking lot adjoining the restaurant early Friday evening. "Rillo's is one of the most popular restaurants in town and for good reason. The food is wonderful and the size of the portions is unbelievable! But you'll definitely have to save room for

dessert. They have the most delicious homemade ice cream here!"

Kay la felt alarm bells go off in her head. Wasn't this the place Matt had mentioned when he'd invited her to skip the rubber pudding and go out for dessert? Not that they'd ever arrived. They had ended up in bed instead

She quickly blocked the renegade thought but it took a while for her nerves to stop jangling. The place was quiet and uncrowded and the food as good as Kristina had promised. The sisters made a leisurely meal of it, even splurging on dessert. Kayla deliberately avoided the heralded ice cream, choosing instead a slice of thick rich carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

A group of six men, all wearing suits in varying shades of gray, entered the restaurant as Kayla and Kristina were leaving. Matt Minteer, deep in conversation with his brother Luke, followed the others who trailed the hostess to their table. He almost didn't notice the two young women who were passing the group, single file in the narrow aisle. But he raised his head just in time to make direct eye contact with Kayla.

Both froze in position, as if they had been suddenly turned to stone.

Kayla was aghast. She'd been in Harrisburg less than three hours and now she was face-to-face with Matt Minteer, the man she had vowed never to see again. All her senses reacted to the sight of him, so tall and strong and darkly handsome. Sensual memories tumbled through her head, and she was catapulted back to that fateful Friday night, just one week ago