briefly closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and seeking a peaceful calm, not the turbulent chaos that he specialized in eliciting. “I’m not looking for perks.”
Several seconds passed before he said, “Sorry, Kate.” He almost sounded as though he meant it. “I am not going to be your go-to patsy.” A hard glint flickered through his eyes. “I fell for your damsel-in-distress routine before, and I’m not doing it again.”
She ignored the old shame and concentrated on today’s humiliation instead. She had one trick left to get Memphis to agree. Her name was firmly attached to this reunion and, if nothing else, she would make sure it went off successfully.
“Brian told me you’d refuse,” Kate said. At the mention of her brother, Memphis froze, his face devoid of emotion. The pause was the most awkward to date which, given their history, was saying something. “He asked me to tell you to consider saying yes as a favor to him.”
Memory torqued his every muscle, and Memphis’s body tensed as he remembered the last time he’d seen Kate, right outside Brian’s hospital room. It was the only time in their history he’d seen her so tenaciously outspoken, not to mention livid, fighting for what she wanted. The feisty female he’d sensed all along but had rarely seen.
Until today.
Apparently the change was now permanent, and Memphis wondered how much their history together had contributed.
For the first time since she’d chased him down Memphis allowed himself a moment to take in every detail. The sleek blond hair was arranged in a loop at the back of her neck, a style that was casual yet elegant. A few loose tendrils framed her face. The blue eyes were clear and cool—and used to flip-flop between an infuriatingly eager-to-please manner toward her family and the frustrating ice-princess look of disapproval she’d saved for Memphis. Especially while lecturing him after every stunt he and her brother pulled as teenagers. And then there was the slim figure in a classy sundress that covered her gentle curves, a sight that could tempt a man into doing things he knew wouldn’t turn out well for him. A body that in one memorable night had ferried Memphis straight to heaven right before it had condemned him to hell.
Memphis cleared his throat, sorry all the memories weren’t as easy to banish. “How is Brian?”
“He’s getting around better now,” Kate said, the words expanding the uneasiness in his gut. For a moment her expression softened. “You should give him a call.”
Regret made his voice gruffer than he’d planned. “Eventually.”
There was an awkward pause before she went on. “Well,” Kate said. “Will you help me?”
He’d rather face the harrowing drop he’d done off the rim of the Grand Canyon last year, the one that had come close to getting him killed. All for an action film remembered only for its death-defying stunts by Memphis James and its lethal lack of a decent script.
Memphis ruffled an impatient hand through his hair, studying Kate. His teasing, provoking behavior in the past had all been in response to a teenage obsession that had frustrated the heck out of him. Fortunately, hellaciously sharp chemistry aside, experience had made him immune to her now. But Kate had definitely changed, correctly surmising the one weakness he had left and using it against him—which meant he was caught between the woman he’d sworn off long ago and the friend to whom he owed a debt that could never be repaid.
Helping Brian’s sister was the least he could do.
“Okay,” he said, letting out his breath and giving one last swipe through his hair. “I’ll do it.” He dropped his hand to his side. “Exactly what does this favor entail?”
“In celebration of completing our task, the reunion committee has voted to combine business with pleasure,” she said. “There are several meetings that have been turned into social functions.”
“Sounds like the kind of pompous crap your private-school classmates would pull,” he muttered.
“I want you to go with me,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes at her, growing wary. “How many events?”
Dropping her gaze to his shoulder, she fingered the belt of her dress, and her uneasy fidgeting didn’t bode well for Memphis. “A dinner party, three cocktail parties …” Kate met his gaze again. “And then there are the two events on the reunion weekend itself.”
Memphis’s mind balked at the thought. “No wonder you can’t find anyone to help you. I’ll agree to the dinner party and one cocktail party.” He shot her a you’re-crazy look. “But I didn’t attend Biscayne Bay Preparatory Academy. No way am I going to your reunion.”
“But that’s the main event I don’t want to attend alone.”
Memphis enunciated each word succinctly. “I am not going to your reunion.” Brian’s old classmates would take one look at Memphis and remember his highly publicized mistake. The one that had almost killed his friend … “That’s beyond the kind of torture I can take. You’ll have to find someone else for that phase of your plan.”
Kate blew out a breath and eyed him steadily. “One dinner party, two cocktail parties, and the reunion weekend,” she said, going on smoothly. “Brian will be there, and he’s looking forward to seeing you.”
Damn, another low blow. “One reunion event,” he said, hating that he’d caved in the face of her less-than-subtle pressure. “Either Friday or Saturday. Your choice.”
“Deal,” she said, and then her eyes swept down his well-worn jeans. “And I get to select the clothes you wear.”
The grin hit him hard, as did her sweeping gaze. “You got a problem with my wardrobe?”
She lifted a brow. “I remember what you wore after one of my misguided classmates invited you to our prom.”
“Tiffany Bettingfield didn’t mind my faded kakis and athletic shoes. Because after I watched you get crowned Prom Queen alongside your golden-boy Prom King—” his smile crept higher “—Tiffany suggested we head to my car. I was happy to show her that there are more important things about a man than his clothes.”
“Hopefully she’s recovered from her lapse in judgment by now,” she said with a sarcasm that was so smooth he almost missed the tone. “Do we have a deal?”
Despite everything, Memphis was delighted with Kate Anderson’s new spunk wrapped in her usual class. “Deal,” he confirmed. “But just to be clear, I’m doing this for Brian, not you.”
Her lips twisted. “Don’t worry, Memphis. I’m under no illusions you would ever do a favor for me.”
A sliver of anger shot through him, momentarily dimming his good humor. There was a time in his teens when he’d have done anything for Kate, if she’d only hinted that she cared. But those days were long gone, killed in a fateful night that had had far-reaching consequences that neither of them could have predicted.
Her ice-princess behavior and hands-off attitude used to frustrate the hell out of him, but these days things were different. He was certainly done touching Kate, but now he was impressed and intrigued by her cool demeanor and polite facade, especially in the face of their tumultuous past.
Yet a small part of him longed to see her emotional cool crack, just for a moment. And, after their teen years, provoking her was as ingrained as breathing.
“I did you a favor once.” He deliberately turned his voice husky. “Do you remember?”
He took comfort in the slight catch of her breath, a small smile forming on his lips as Kate clearly struggled to remain composed.
“Memphis,” she finally said, recovering her cool and holding his gaze. “That was a long time ago. And even you can’t be so conceited as to think of sex as a favor.”
He studied her for a moment and then he leaned close,