Into the Fire - Leslie Kelly [47]
Nate flipped through the issue. Folding back a page, he handed it to her. Lacey glanced down and caught the headline—"A Man's Guide to Those Pesky Feminine Products." Nate Logan's name was prominent beneath the heading.
"Oh, my goodness," she said with a grin as she understood what he was showing her. "And the lingerie?"
"Last May. Oh, I did love that article," he replied, a note of nostalgia in his voice.
"The makeup?"
"A few months ago," he replied, bending over to examine the magazines. "You'd be amazed how many men have no idea what women have to go through to put on eyeliner."
"The curling iron?" she asked, not even needing the answer.
"You found it? I was packing all that stuff up the other day. Today, when you said you'd come, I did a hurry-up cleaning job and shoved the boxes wherever I could stuff them. Couldn't find that curling iron, though."
She grinned. "It poked me in the back when I sat on the couch. I assume it's not yours?"
"Same article as the makeup, called 'What She Goes Through For You.' It's about how women prepare for a date. How on earth do you females bring yourselves to pluck your eyebrows?" He followed her stare as her eyes shifted to the pile of paperback romance novels on the floor. "Six months ago. 'Be Her Romance Hero.' I almost didn't want to share the secrets I learned while researching that one!"
Lacey held her hand in front of her mouth as she giggled. It all made perfect sense. "You freelance."
"Sure. The writer's pension plan. You'd be amazed how much companies will give away to a journalist, hoping he'll write a favorable comment about their product. Victoria 's Secret just loved me!"
"I can imagine," she said as she accepted another magazine he held out, noticing the photos of lingerie-clad models interspersed with the text.
"You should see the stuff I got when I was doing the article on the adult toy industry."
She raised an eyebrow.
"It's shoved away in a box somewhere."
"Under your bed?"
"Hmm … that's possible," he said, a wicked glint in his eye. "Maybe I'll show you sometime."
A rush of naughty images skittered across Lacey's mind.
"So, are we clear? You are not trapped in Nate Logan's Sensual Passion Prison."
The laughter that had been building in Lacey erupted across her lips. "I guess you know what I was imagining."
He nodded. "I have a pretty good idea."
"I didn't immediately go for the most obvious, damning explanation." She surprised herself with that realization.
"You would have a week ago."
She nodded. "Yes, I would, but not now." Lacey watched a look of pleasure cross his face. How much had she admitted with the small exchange? Did he realize she was growing to like and respect him? And was that a good thing, or a bad one?
"So how come you held onto this stuff?" she asked, taking a step back. "Couldn't you have given it to your sister?"
"I kept meaning to," Nate admitted. "She already took some of the lingerie, but Kelsey's a shrimpy little thing. Somehow I ended up with nightgowns meant for tall, curvy blondes."
Oh, boy. The teddy was singing to her from the hall closet.
"I've had most of the stuff in packing boxes in my storage unit since I moved here. Last week I heard about a new woman's shelter looking for donations, which is why I started digging stuff out and repacking it to give to them. The makeup, the books, magazines."
"The lingerie?"
"I decided to hold onto it." He leaned closer so he nearly whispered in her ear. "Who knows when a tall, curvy blonde needing a silk teddy might cross my path?"
She didn't breathe for twenty seconds. Nate, as if completely oblivious to her weak, shaky legs and overheated face, turned away to answer the phone, which had just rung. Giving her an apologetic look, he sat at his desk and flipped the power switch for his computer. He appeared to be talking business.
As Nate spoke on the phone, Lacey