Part 26 (1/2)
”No, she wants me happy with a nice guy. But they're never nice guys.
They're always sort of...weird. I think it's me.” She frowned. ”I must repel normal men or something. I attract weirdoes. Selfish guys who only care about the Lakers game they're missing.”
Evan laughed. ”He must be a diehard fan.”
”Totally. I only agreed to the date because I've never been to a professional basketball game before. And Mia swore he was a good guy.”
”And you still didn't get to go to that game.”
”No, I didn't.” Her smile was rueful. ”He made me quit eating my dinner so we could get there in time for the beginning.”
”What a loser.” Evan shook his head. He wouldn't rush her for anything.
Well, maybe for some hot and sweaty s.e.x. There was nothing wrong with a quickie here and there...
Jesus. What was wrong with him? He never thought of patients like that.
”He was pretty awful. I think I'm going to ban myself from dating for a while.”
Disappointment filled him. Not that he'd act on his urges. He had a strict rule-no dating patients. There were a few of his fellow paramedics who had no qualms asking out their injured patients. They had quite the reputation among their coworkers, but Evan wouldn't do it. It was unprofessional.
And more than anything, he was professional.
”One bad date and you're done?”
”Oh, it's been more than one bad date. More like an endless string of bad dates.” Her cheeks turned pink. ”I probably shouldn't be confessing any of this to you.”
”Why not?”
”I'm making myself look worse. And you probably don't even care to hear about my dating endeavors and how awful they are.” Her entire face was flushed.
He smiled. ”You're cute when you're all fl.u.s.tered.” There, he said it. He was flirting. If Wes had been there, he would've been shocked. He never flirted on the job.
She tore her gaze from his, her teeth sinking into her lower lip-her very plump lower lip. ”I must look awful.”
She did look plenty awful but he still thought she was pretty. ”I've seen worse.”
”Great.” She rolled her eyes but smiled. ”That makes me feel so much better.”
The heart takes no prisoners.
Secrets and Seduction 2011 Jane Beckenham The only emotion Leah Grainger can muster when thinking of her dead husband is relief. Until she learns his gambling debt threatens her beloved farm and the child she wanted to protect from the rootless existence she grew up with.
The last straw? Her husband's brother demands a meeting. When she charges into his office to tell him she won't let another Grainger screw up her life, the startlingly handsome, former oil rig wildcatter goes for the jugular. He's claimed legal guardians.h.i.+p of her daughter, bought her mortgage...and he's moving in.
The final email Mac received from his suicidal brother blamed Leah for everything. If it's the last thing he does, he plans to protect his niece. Even if it means using his millions to gain the upper hand. And hardening his heart against the beautiful Leah's protests of innocence.
Yet something seems off. Leah is nothing like the uncaring woman his brother described. She's warm, loving...and when a new threat to her child surfaces and she reaches out to him in need, his body won't let him say no. Even when her last secret forces him to make a decision that exposes his most closely guarded possession. His heart.
Warning: Contains tug-your-heart love, raise-the-roof l.u.s.t, a marriage of convenience and hot s.e.x that will give a whole new meaning to the word ”wildcatter.” Enjoy the following excerpt for Secrets and Seduction: Mac Grainger leant against the porch railing, arms folded across his broad chest. He stared at her, full mouth curling at the corners.
Leah swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat.
He'd changed from the suit he'd worn at his office into a pair of jeans and Polo s.h.i.+rt, making him appear deceptively approachable. Almost-because Leah knew Mac Grainger wasn't a man to toy with.
A few yards behind him, parked beneath the copse of cabbage trees, was a red Ferrari. Expensive, cla.s.sic, with a hint of the devil. She shouldn't have expected anything different.
Leah backed up a step, hoping the shadow cast from the overhanging trees would hide the shock she felt heating her cheeks. ”What are you doing here?”
”Exactly what I said I would. I take my role as uncle seriously.” The bush she'd been holding slid from her grip and landed at her feet. ”You can't just walk in here any time you like. This is my property. I'll...” He stepped away from the porch and took a few steps toward her. ”I'm not going away, Leah. We need to talk.”
She glanced to the house. Charlee, please stay asleep. ”Not now. Not here,” she countered.
He came another step closer. ”You can't run away.” Could he read her mind?
”You don't get a choice, Leah,” he reminded her.
Choice. That word highlighted their differences. Rich versus stone broke.
”We can talk here,” she prevaricated.
”We could, but we won't.”
”Pardon?”
”Look, why make this harder than it has to be?”
”It's already hard. I don't want you here.”
”And I told you I'm not going away. So I guess we're at an impa.s.se.”
For the count of several heartbeats, his dark eyes held her captive. He wasn't about to budge. Somehow she had to get him on her side and appeal to his better nature.
Did he have one?
Of that, Leah wasn't certain. He was, after all, Curtis's brother.
Steadying her nerves, she exhaled a choppy breath and wiped her hands down her jeans. She hooked her gaze with his, tilting her chin up a tad higher.
”Five minutes. That's all. Then you go.”
She jumped off the back of the pickup and walked right past him, refusing to offer a whiff of weakness, even though resignation soured in her stomach and desperation constricted every breath. She took the front steps two at a time up to the wooden porch, where she peeled off her gumboots, entered her house and switched the light on in the entry hall.
A crackle of electricity exploded above her, a current shooting from her fingertips and up her arm. ”Ouch.” She yanked her hand back. The bulb above flickered momentarily, then a loud popping sound bounced off the walls, and the bulb died, sending the hall into darkness. ”d.a.m.n.”
”Problem?”