"Ashley," he said with a smile and then dropped his gaze to the small bump showing beneath her skirt. It had been a while since he'd seen her, and he was surprised to find she was expecting, though that explained her glowing complexion, which he'd seen many times on his own sisters' faces when they'd been pregnant. "Looks like you and Scott have been busy."

Laughing, she placed a hand on her protruding belly. "A honeymoon baby. I'm about five months along. For months I had a nice, flat belly, then about two weeks ago I woke up and nothing in my closet fit because my waist had expanded a few inches. Literally overnight," she said wryly.

"Well you look great. And happy," he said, knowing she and Scott had gone through a lot to be together. But everything had worked out for the two of them in the end, despite their issues. "I'll have to congratulate Scott when I see him at Steve's tomorrow."

"Ah, yes, Cody and Tara's birthday party," she said lightly. "It should be quite a gathering, considering how many family and friends are going to be there."

"Cody and Tara?" Cameron was aware of Steve's son's one-year celebration, but hadn't known the party included Eric's daughter as well.

She nodded. "Steve and Eric decided to go ahead and have the kids' parties together this year, because they were born on the same day and the family will all be there. It's like having twins I suppose, even though Cody and Tara are cousins. They'll be sharing the same birthday for a lifetime, and I'm sure as they get older they'll want individual parties."

"No doubt." But at a year old, they didn't know the difference, and it made sense to have their birthday party on the same day.

"So what brings you here?" Ashley asked curiously. "Business or pleasure?"

"Business," he said, remembering Trish's swift getaway. "Which is pretty much over at this point."

Then he had a thought, that maybe Ashley might be able to help him out as far as Trish's visit to the hotel was concerned.

Maybe find out if Trish had been a registered guest for the day, and with whom. At this point, he'd take whatever information he could get.

Except it wasn't a discussion he wanted to have with her in the middle of the hotel lobby. "Can we go somewhere private and talk? I have a favor to ask."

"Sure. Come on over to the boutique." She started in that direction with Cameron following beside her as she said, "I need to relieve my salesgirl for a half-hour break. The shop has been pretty quiet and slow all day, so we can talk there."

Of course slow and quiet wasn't the case once Ashley let her salesgirl leave the boutique for her break. As soon as the young girl was gone, an older woman walked in, wanting to find a new pair of comfortable shoes to wear because the strap on her current sandals had snapped apart. So while Ashley helped her customer, Cameron strolled through the boutique, taking in the expensive items and designer-end accessories on display.

A long thirty minutes later, the woman finally left the shop, happy with her purchases-because of course once she found new shoes she'd needed a new purse to go with them and that had been an ordeal as well.

Ashley came back to Cameron, her expression apologetic. "It figures that would happen, right after I claimed how quiet it was today. I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he replied easily. "Business is business, and I completely understand."

"So what kind of favor can I do for you?" she asked with interest.

Knowing he could trust Ashley, Cameron briefly explained his current case, how he'd ended up at the hotel today, and how he needed to find out the name of the person Trish Shelton had met up with.

"If there's anything you can do in terms of finding out if she's a registered guest here for today, or who she hooked up with, I'd appreciate it." Cameron wasn't holding out much hope for that, though, considering her lover had most likely paid for the room.

"Sure. I'll find out what I can and let you know."

"Thanks."

He chatted with Ashley for another fifteen minutes, and just as he turned around to head out of the boutique to wait in his truck for Trish to leave the hotel, he caught sight of her stepping off the elevator-alone.

He cursed beneath his breath. "There she is," he said to Ashley so she could get a good look at Trish as she walked across the lobby. "Have you ever seen her here before?" he asked hopefully.

Ashley shook her heard. "I can't say I have. There are just so many people who come through here on a daily basis. I'm sorry."

It was just his luck, or lack thereof, when it came to this case. He'd just spent an hour and a half tailing Trish, and he had absolutely nothing to show for it.


SHE'D worn those lace-up, fuck-me boots on purpose.

Cameron took a long drink from his bottle of beer, not doubting Mia's wicked intentions for a moment. He'd taken one look at her simple but pretty outfit she was wearing when she'd arrived at Steve's and then saw those sexy leather boots with the ties up the side and had known she meant to torment him today and keep him on the razor-sharp edge of wanting her.

It worked. More than two hours into the celebration and he'd already entertained half a dozen fantasies about Mia in those heeled boots. Even now, as he watched her from across the backyard where she was mingling with her family on the porch and playing with her one-year-old niece and nephew, he was thinking about having her legs wrapped tight around his waist and imagining the feel and friction of that soft, supple leather against his skin. If he wasn't careful, he was going to be sporting a perpetual hard-on for the rest of the day.

She'd already managed to insult him a few times and provoke him with mat smart mouth of hers, enough to make her family think everything was normal between them. He went along with the act, issuing a few gibes of his own, though he wanted more than anything to grab her, pull her body flush to his, and kiss her senseless in front of everyone to stake his. claim.

Mia stopped to talk to her cousin-in-law Chayse, who'd married her cousin Adrian Wilde a year ago. Just a few weeks ago Chayse had given birth to their first child, a baby boy they'd named Brandon who was currently cradled in his mother's arms. But that didn't last long, because Mia gently scooped him up and cuddled him close to her breast. She spoke to Chayse while looking down at her newest nephew adoringly, the longing on her face so tangible Cameron felt the same emotion deep in his gut.

Then Mia's stepmother, Amelia, joined them to fuss over the baby, too. Recalling the conversation he'd had with Steve about Mia losing her mother at such an early age, Cameron watched with interest at how Mia and Amelia interacted around one another-and learned more than he thought possible.

Though Mia and Amelia conversed easily, something about their body language told him they didn't share the kind of close-knit bond most mother and daughters did. True, they weren't blood related, but it appeared they'd never developed a strong, secure relationship throughout the years. In fact, there was a definite reserve between them-mostly on Mia's part, as if she'd never let those walls of hers down far enough to let her stepmother get close.

"Hey there," Ashley said, approaching the table where he was sitting at out in the backyard. "What are you doing sitting out here all by yourself?"

He shrugged and smiled at her. "Just taking a break. Steve had me flipping hamburgers at the barbecue earlier, and I just want to be sure I'm nowhere near when he needs someone to pull the pinata cord for the kids."

"If you ask me, that sounds like a job for one of the uncles, and there's plenty of them here." She sat down in the chair next to him. "Well, because I finally caught you alone, I thought I'd talk to you about that woman you wanted to get some information on."

"Anything?" he asked and finished off the last of his beer.

She shook her head. "No. I'm really sorry. The front desk had nothing listed under her name."

"It's okay. I honestly wasn't expecting much anyway. I appreciate you trying."

"I'm going to go help Jill and Liz cut the birthday cake." She stood again, her hand automatically coming to rest on the curve of her belly. "Can I interest you in a piece?"

"No, I'm stuffed." He rubbed his own stomach. "I ate two of those hamburgers and way too many servings of all those delicious side dishes you girls made."

She laughed, her green eyes sparkling. "The Wilde gatherings have turned into a huge potluck, which certainly helps since the family seems to be growing by leaps and bounds these days."

Ashley left him alone once again, and Cameron's gaze automatically drifted back to Mia. He was surprised to find she was watching him, too, with a sexy, sinful smile curving her lips. She glanced away again, and as she spoke to her brother Alex and his wife Dana, she lightly touched her fingers to her throat in a way that made him wish he was caressing her there.

She tossed her head back and laughed at something her sister-in-law said, the husky, sensual sound arousing his senses. And when she casually reached down and skimmed up the hem of her long skirt, he wondered what the hell she was up to. She rubbed her fingers along the exposed skin above the top of her leather boot, right where the lace-up ties were.

To anyone else nearby, it appeared Mia was scratching an itch, but Cameron saw right through the pretense. She was flashing those provocative boots his way, tempting him from afar and teasing him with what she knew he wanted but couldn't have.

A low, frustrated growl rumbled up from his throat before he realized he'd let it escape.