convenient time to talk to her before. Either he was on the way to work while she was returning home or she was long gone when he woke up. His morning was afternoon for most people.
But timing wasnât an issue with Frankie. She knew his crazy shifts and would expect him to be on an odd schedule. He couldnât wait for his shift to end. If he could get her past the thong mishap, he might have a chance with her.
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âTwinkle twinkle little thong, how I wonder where you belong,â Daniel said in a croony bluesy voice that tracked heat from her heart to her deepest belly. The man had a voice that stroked through to her vitals. The in-joke about her missing thong made her smile.
âWish I may, wish I might, see you twinkle in the moonlight.â She laughed out loud at that one. The man was funny and hotâa potent combination. She hoped he was visualizing her in a sexy scrap of black velvet, because sheâd love to show him the real thing.
She opened her laptop and searched for the radio stationâs phone number. Eventually she found her way through the automated answering system to the booth and talked to a person who identified himself as Danielâs producer. He told her to turn her radio volume down, then put her on hold while she waited until the next song ended.
Thirty seconds later Daniel answered.
âHi! Itâs Frankie.â The shower sheâd taken had cooled her, but now she was hot all over again.
âAny luck with your thong?â His voice warmed to molten lava. And she heard âI want youâ under the words. She shivered with anticipation.
âNo. And Iâm afraid I have to ask you to help me round up your doggy pal so we can get him X-rayed.â
âI thought of that myself, although he usually doesnât eat the underwear he steals. If he does, Iâve never seen it come out again.â He chuckled. âIâm wincing because that didnât sound right. Not the kind of conversation I usually have with a woman I want to impress.â
âYou want to impress me?â She grinned and let the smile show in her voice. Flirting was such fun. The spice of middle-of-the-night phone flirting added to the days of eye contact.
âHell, yes, I want to impress you. As long as youâre free to be impressed.â
âIâm free. You?â
âAs a bird.â
With those important preliminaries out of the way, she tucked the phone close to her chin. âI like your voice. That impresses me. I love the music you play. That impresses me.â As did his shoulders, his caramel-colored eyes and the shock of sun-tipped hair that fell over his forehead. His pecs, his arms, the lazy but focused way he watched her whenever she walked up the ramp.
He must think she didnât see the way he tipped the brim of his ball cap up to watch her. It was subtle, that tip, but since sheâd become aware of him, sheâd caught it every time.
âIâll be off soon; do you think you could round up Barkley and bring him to the station? I can call a vet clinic from here.â
âWill he be inside or on the deck?â
âHeâs got a dog house on deck. Should be there.â
He hung up suddenly, but no sooner had he disconnected than she heard his voice, sultry and warm, on the radio again. She turned the volume back up and smiled as he joked about the thong one more time.
This time he made it sound like a shoe rather than a panty.
She put a call in to Fiona and left a message for her not to expect the thong for a while. Her sister had protested long and hard about going to a remote wilderness camp for a honeymoon. But Bernie, her longtime fiancé, had perked right up at Frankieâs suggestion. Raised in the city, Bernie had wilderness fascination big time.
Next up on the honeymoon whirlwind was a safari in Kenya. Anything to keep her sister out of the limelight. With Bernie on her side for a change, Frankie felt