She made it to the door just as Storm stepped up to it and he had to wait for her to grasp the handle and pull it open.
“You seem to be in a good mood,” he said dryly then climbed into the limousine.
That was when she realized she still had the silly grin on her face. So much for private jokes. The man must think she’d been hitting the bottle while he’d gone to put Sleeping Beauty to bed. She wiped the smile off her face real fast. The last thing she needed was a report getting back to Tony that he had a weirdo on his staff.
The journey to Storm’s place would take another twenty minutes and Dani began to sweat. She’d forgotten to roll up the separating glass while Storm was away and she was dying to do it now but wouldn’t that be too obvious? What if he objected? In the meanwhile he had a perfect view of the back of her head and she could feel something tickling the back of her neck. Christ, had a coil of hair slipped out from under her hat and was now hanging down, giving her disguise away? She wanted to put her hand up to check but she couldn’t, not while he was watching.
And she could feel him watching. The weight of his eyes was on the back of her neck. He wasn’t staring out the window, he wasn’t relaxing with his eyes closed. No, he was watching her. She didn’t have to glance in any rear view mirror to know that. She could feel it.
Silently, angrily, Dani began to grind her teeth. What did this man find so fascinating about the back of her neck? She wished he would grab a glass of gin and drink himself into oblivion like any normal man would. Then she could drive in peace and not be sweating buckets like a pig in a tanning booth.
She was so deep in her angry thoughts that she jumped when she heard Storm’s voice.
“So how long have you been at Tony’s? I’ve never seen you before.”
“Uh, only a week or so,” she muttered. She had to remember to keep her voice deep and low. She was supposed to be a man, after all.
Although, thinking about it now, it seemed almost silly to be keeping up this pretense. She’d done it to protect herself from weirdos but now that she would have a fairly regular customer in Storm was that still necessary? What if she just told him who she really was?
But then she dismissed the thought as fast as she’d come up with it. Storm Hunter would probably be a regular but he certainly wouldn’t be her only customer. And anyway, her boss had told her to keep things secret for her own safety. Better to just leave things as they were.
“So what are you into? Football, baseball, or basketball?”
Don’t let him ask me questions about sports. I don’t know a darn thing. “Hockey,” she blurted out.
“Hockey?” He sounded incredulous. “You’re Canadian?”
She gave a little laugh at that but it came out sort of high-pitched and she had to cut it short. “No, but my brother plays hockey. He was recruited for a team at the University of Notre Dame."
“Oh.” He sounded unconvinced but Dani was glad that at least, in that, there was no lie.
Another good thing was that Mr. Sports seemed to be out of his element where hockey was concerned. Good. He shouldn’t have any questions to ask her about that. Now hopefully he’d just be quiet and let her drive.
“So which teams are you rooting for in hockey?”
Dani groaned. Now why did he have to go and ask a question like that? What did she know about hockey outside of the little she’d picked up from Brian?
She began to pull at straws. “The one Wayne Gretzky’s on.”
“The one Wayne…hey, isn’t he retired?”
Okay, so wrong answer. Time to change the subject, “Nice weather tonight, isn’t it? A starry night, too.”
“Huh?” Now Storm sounded really confused.
Dani sighed. She wasn’t doing such a good job with the male disguise thing. What guy talked about the stars at night? It wasn't exactly the most manly topic of conversation. Thereafter she clamped her mouth shut and, thank God, so did he.
When they finally pulled into the driveway of Storm’s palatial home Dani gave a sigh of relief. Freedom at last. She pulled up in front of the mansion and hurried around to get the door.
And just like last time his nearness threw her off. As Storm climbed out of the car he stepped very close to her, so close she wondered if it was deliberate. His invasion of her space made her take an involuntary step backward. She glanced up and, as tall as she was, he stood a good five or six inches taller. And he was staring down at her.
“How old are you, kid?”
“Twenty-two.” The question came at her so suddenly she could only blurt out the truth.
“You?” he said with a laugh. “You don’t look a day past seventeen. I bet you’re still in high school.”
She glared up at him. “I am twenty-two and I already finished college. I’m a preschool teacher.”
Storm chuckled. “Tell that to your face. It’s got a lot of growing up to do. My God, not even fuzz on your chin. You’re as smooth as a baby’s behind."
That made her step back some more. He was seeing too much. In a minute he’d figure out she wasn’t who she seemed.
He was looking at her quizzically now and even though she’d deliberately stepped into the partial shadow his stare was beginning to unnerve her.
“It’s weird but there’s just something about you…” he began but his voice trailed off. Then he shook his head. “Nah, it’s nothing. I must be seeing things.” He turned and with the swagger of an uber-confident male he strode away. “Tell Tony I’ll need you again next weekend. See you around, kid.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He took the steps two at a time and then he unlocked the door and was gone, leaving Dani standing there staring after him.
For a moment she just stood there contemplating what he’d just said. Finally, she closed the limo door and walked back around to the driver’s seat. As she buckled up then started the engine she shook her head slowly.
She didn’t know if seeing him again was such a good idea. All of a sudden the thought made her apprehensive. She was looking forward to it just a little bit too much…and that was really scary.
“Time for you to settle down, my boy. You’re not getting any younger.” Edgar Hunter leaned back in his chair and stared up at his oldest child.
Storm scowled down at his father and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “Dad, I’m twenty-seven years old. It’s not like I’m over the hill. There’s plenty of time for that.”