The Texan's Suite Romance

“I have a better idea,” Alex said, glaring at her.

“Uh-oh, I don’t think I’m going to like it.”

“Probably not. But you’re going with us.”

“No! I wasn’t invited!”

“I assumed she meant both of us.” He smiled at her, and then he pointed out that they needed to get to the bookstore.

Tabitha checked her watch and realized they only had twenty minutes before they were supposed to be there. The bookstore people had asked them to arrive half an hour early.

Once they were in the taxi, she tried again. “Alex, I can’t go with you. She didn’t invite me!”

“Either you go with me or I tell Helen I refuse to go with her, which will upset her.”

“It’s going to upset her even more if I play chaperone.”

“What would Mona do?”

“That’s unfair, Alex!”

“I think Mona would protect me from a man-hungry woman.”

“I think you’re a fraud, Alex Myerson. You handled Helen just fine in the interview. You can survive dinner with her.” She held her breath, hoping her challenge would convince him.

He looked at her and shook his head, a grin slowly forming on his lips. A very charming grin. No wonder Helen was after him.

“Fine! I’ll go with you. But you owe me, Alex. No more being difficult.”

“Agreed.” Then he drew a deep breath. “I really appreciate your getting me through this evening. I won’t fall apart again.”

“Just doing my job,” she said with a smile. “Though I’ll admit I was thinking about resigning earlier.”

He suddenly turned serious. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

When the taxi pulled up in front of the bookstore, Tabitha hurriedly paid the driver. Alex got out of the taxi and stood there, holding the door open for her. She scooted across the seat and stepped out.

“We’re right on time,” she announced. Taking his arm, she started toward the store. Then she remembered that he didn’t want to be touched and jerked her arm back. “Sorry.”

But Alex didn’t say anything.

In the store, Tabitha quickly found the manager and introduced herself as Mona’s replacement. “And this is my client, Dr. Alex Myerson.”

Alex shook the man’s hand.

“Welcome, Dr. Myerson. Your books are set up over here, near the door. We have a pitcher of water and glasses and black-inked pens, as you requested. Is there anything else we can get you?”

“No, I don’t think so. However, this is my first signing, so if I think of anything, may I have a rain check?”

“Absolutely. By the way, I saw your interview on the afternoon show. It was wonderful. We’ve been getting phone calls ever since the interview.”

“Really?” Alex asked, his eyebrows going up in surprise.

“Absolutely. We’re expecting a wonderful turnout.”

Alex looked at Tabitha, and she smiled encouragingly. She wasn’t sure he was happy about a large crowd.

Fifteen minutes before the signing was to begin, the store began to fill with women who surrounded the table where Alex’s books were piled high. Tabitha and Alex were sitting in the coffee shop that was part of the bookstore.

“You feel like starting early?” she asked. “You already have a crowd.”

“Not really. But I guess I could.”

She went to the manager, offering to start the signing early.

“That would be wonderful. We’ll get them in line if Dr. Myerson will do that.”

Tabitha waved Alex on. When he walked toward her, several women saw him and screamed out his name. Alex came to an abrupt halt, staring at the women in shock.

Tabitha crossed to his side. “Come on, I’ll protect you,” she whispered.

Careful not to touch him, and not to let any of the crowd touch him either, she ushered him to the table.

Once he was ensconced behind the wooden barrier, Alex seemed to relax. He greeted each woman and signed a book to her. There were even a few men in the line. He spent more time with them.

The signing was supposed to last an hour and a half, but Alex continued to sign as long as there were people there. Then the bookstore people asked him to sign a few extra copies for them to put on the shelves with an autographed-copy sticker on them.

Tabitha had seen Helen come in a while ago and she saw her check her watch every five minutes, seeming to grow impatient.

Tabitha grinned. Helen thought she was unhappy now, but wait till she heard her evening would include Tabitha as a chaperone.

Alex saw Helen as soon as she came in the bookstore. He could hardly miss her since she waved to him, calling his name while he was signing a book. Until then, he’d had his doubts about Tabitha’s interpretation of Helen’s intent.

Dressed in a silver lamé dress that dropped low in front, ensuring that he got a good glimpse of her décolletage, Helen was hunting. No doubt about it. Now he was grateful he’d convinced Tabitha to come along with them. After all it had been awhile since he’d dealt with an aggressive female.

In fact, it was only since he’d begun to work out, at Mona’s behest, that he’d had the form that attracted women. Jenny had loved him as he’d been.

He looked to be sure Tabitha saw Helen. Of course, her appearance wouldn’t surprise Tabitha. But he thought the dress Helen was wearing would be a lot more interesting on Tabitha’s svelte body. Thanks to her exercise regimen, she didn’t have an ounce of fat on her.

When he’d finally finished the signing, Helen appeared at his side.

“I didn’t think you’d ever get done.” A satisfied smile lit up her made-up eyes.

“Thanks to your wonderful interview, we had a crowd waiting,” he told her with a grin. “To show our appreciation, Tabitha is going to host our little dinner party tonight. The three of us have a lot to celebrate.” He hadn’t mentioned that to Tabitha, but he’d promise to reimburse her if she’d go along.

“Oh, but I—”

“Here’s Tabitha now. Tabitha, I was just telling Helen we owe this wonderful signing to her, so you wanted to take both of us out to dinner to celebrate.” He stared intently at her, hoping to quell any resistance.