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think he is? I d appreciate a woman like you more than he does. Let me
take you to bed, for Crissakes.
 Well, I d better go, he said instead, proud he d managed to get the
words out.
But she went and ruined all his good intentions.
 Unless& you d like to stay and eat with me?
* * *
She d taken leave of her senses, obviously. She must have left them
in the car. Why on earth had she asked KD to stay for dinner?
-35-
Sami Lee
She sat across from him at the small outdoor table on her back
verandah, the warm twilight air creating the kind of intimate atmosphere
that only those close to each other usually shared. The wooden table
seemed an inadequate and easily surmountable barrier between them.
Funny, when she d been sitting across from Stefan at lunch this very
day, she hadn t fought down the insane urge to swipe their crockery off
the surface, scramble on all fours atop the table and shove her tongue
down his throat.
She had been fighting an ever-growing, frighteningly powerful sexual
attraction to KD since the second she d opened her front door to him
almost a week ago. So why had she gone and consumed two glasses of
Chardonnay something sure to dull her sense of propriety and possibly
get her into serious trouble if she couldn t change the sexual orientation
of her thoughts?
Because she d been stood up and it depressed her, that s why.
She had hastily changed into denim cutoff shorts and a perfectly
boring white tank top. Then she d put the steaks on the grill and opened
the wine she had planned to share with Stefan while KD went to get
cleaned up. Evidently, he d stuck his head under the bathroom tap
enough to wash his face and get most of the dust out of his thick auburn
hair.
She liked the color, she decided as she stole a surreptitious glance at
him. He wasn t quite a redhead, not traditionally dark. His hair wasn t
straight, but wasn t exactly curly either. Shaggy might be the word, with
a little length so it brushed his collar. Up close, the faintest remnants of
freckling could be seen across a nose a little too long and broad to be
considered aristocratic. On the whole, he might not be considered a
handsome man at least, not in the traditional way that Stefan was
handsome. But he had those sparkling blue eyes, a stunning contrast to
his unique coloring, and a killer smile that promised satisfaction in the
most elemental way.
And that body, of course. Muscles hard and rough-hewn from
traditional manual labor, not gym workouts, in a long, lean and thrilling
package.
-36-
Born Again Virgin
 So do you have family here in Holly Hill?
Recognizing his question for what it was a conversation starter that
might fill the awkward silence Kelsey was glad for the opportunity to
talk. Even about her family.  Not blood family, but Gabby s always been
closer to me than my real sister. At his questioning look, she explained,
 Genevieve is based in London. She s a freelance travel writer. We don t
see much of each other. My parents are divorced. My mother s still in
Brisbane that s where I grew up with husband number two. My
father s in Sydney with girlfriend number, I m not sure, five, I think. And
I m here because& 
Kelsey shrugged. How could she explain? After Adam Scalia had
made her the unwitting other woman in a triangle she hadn t known
existed and broken her heart in the process, she had lost her way and
gotten on a merry-go-round of short, ill-conceived relationships. She
could never admit to KD the humiliation of that alcohol-fuelled one-
night-stand with a work colleague that had finally prompted her to take a
look at her life and change it. Too deeply ashamed of herself, she hadn t
even told Gabby. She had simply changed her job and stopped dating
altogether, stopped going out, limited drinking. She had been determined
not to sleep with another man on impulse. With another man who wasn t
The One.
 I got sick of the rat race in the city and the opportunity to take over
the real-estate practice here came up a couple of years back. She gave
as much of the truth as she was willing to.  This is Gabby s hometown
and I fell in love with it long ago, so it seemed like fate. Especially as I d
just gotten my real-estate license. You re babbling, Kelsey.
 How did you meet Gabby, if you re from Brisbane and she s from
here?
 Boarding school. Gabby s parents sent her so she could get the best
education and mine sent me& well, because they were getting divorced, I
suppose. Made things easier for them with me and Gen not around.
 Easier for them, he noted quietly.  Not for you.
-37-
Sami Lee
His eyes searched her face and she felt them trail warmth wherever
they touched.  I didn t think so at the time, but who knows? Maybe it
was better than being in the house with the two of them fighting like the
proverbial cat and dog. And I met Gabby there. Had she already said
that?
She cut off a slice of steak and popped it into her mouth, chewing
thoughtfully.  What about you?
 What about me? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]