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tucked his shirt in and took the steps needed to circle the bed. He reached for her, his mouth quirking on
one side when she took an instinctive step backward. Leaning forward again, his hand circled her waist and
he leaned down to press one of those soft kisses to her cheek, lingering enough to make her fingers tingle to
touch him.  That s our deal, right? A man who can give you everything you need and know when it s time
to go home?
She frowned.  I don t think that was exactly it.
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Another kiss, this time to her lips.  See you tomorrow night, Jess.
She watched him go, her hand twining in the strap of her robe until she heard the click of her front
door closing. She followed eventually, to turn over the deadbolts, wondering why exactly she was
frowning.
Getting rid of him had been entirely too easy. And definitely too disconcerting. She was supposed to
be relieved. He was exactly right. They had made a deal. They d have no-strings sex and he d go away,
grateful. This was supposed to be what she wanted.
Except& Except she d been this close to falling asleep in his arms as if she d belonged there. She d
never had that feeling in her life. Never known anyone who d wanted her to feel that way. And the first one
to inspire it had just blithely walked out the door, oblivious to her confusion.
She rubbed her face, shaking off the odd feelings. They must just be from the strangeness of the day.
Getting out of the elevator that afternoon hadn t been too much of a hardship. Within fifteen minutes of
them getting their clothes to rights, the car began a smooth descent to the bottom floor. Kyle s exit might
not have had his usual sleek grace, but no one would have guessed at the clawing panic she d seen in him
earlier. They might have figured out about the sex, but with her frosty reputation, people probably
discounted the notion.
Then, right on time, she d opened her door to Kyle and an armful of potted flowers. Purple ones that
had petals with long rippling edges and bright yellow stamens that stood out far from the centers. The
flowers were still on her kitchen counter. Kyle, now that she d had her way, his way, and a few extra ways
on top of that with him, was securely on his way home.
A well-laid plan coming out exactly the way she d envisioned.
So why wasn t she happy?
The question plagued her long after she turned off the lights and climbed into bed. The bed that felt
emptier than ever before. When she woke up the next morning, her face hurt from frowning but she
couldn t stop, not even when she got to work. Something wasn t right with this plan, but she couldn t quite
figure out what, and asking Kyle or Dory to help her figure it out was not an option. Since she didn t have
anyone else, the best she could do was move on to the next problem that needed tackling.
In this case, that problem would be Lucas Lonnigan and his much-needed punishment.
Oh, he d sounded outraged that morning she d overheard him and Kyle was it really only last
weekend? so she gave him the benefit of the doubt about not realizing she and Kyle would have sex, but
he d still stood her up and set her up to be duped. That alone was enough to make her want to tie him to a
stake, slather him with salt water and let a horde of cows lick him to death.
The idea of keeping him alive so he could handle some referrals for her crossed her mind from time to
time, because almost no one was as efficient or impartial as Lucas when it came to his work, but she hadn t
yet decided. His loyalty lay with the numbers and that, at the very least, she could trust, though she didn t
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like admitting that either. Dealing with him from now on would have a level of disquieting tension she d
never had to work with before.
Unfortunately, she was in need of him.
She d spent the past week putting off the referral she d meant to give him on their last date. She had a
new client who d inherited a number of businesses from an elderly uncle, none of which appeared to be
solvent. The client had a few questions about his uncle s business manager, who had taken over when his
uncle became too ill. She d need Lucas s skills to untangle the books so she could advise the client whether
to sue the business manager or just fire him. Normally, that would be a fascinating discussion topic
between the two of them. The way things stood between them now, she could only fantasize that the
businesses still used paper ledgers so she could throw them all at his head.
But her feelings didn t change the fact that she needed him.
Staring at the paperwork now, she felt an evil grin slide over her lips. Perhaps the staking could be
done another way. And it would give her the opportunity to finally break up with him.
She arrived at his door ten minutes into her lunch hour, prepped down to each question she was going
to ask and how many times she d allow herself to glare at him. It wasn t until he opened it with his slash of
an eyebrow raised that she realized she d been rapping on it like a machine gun.
 Oh& hi. She blinked dumbly as she gathered her bearings. Not the best of starts, but she could roll
with it.  I need to talk to you, she added firmly, stretching for her earlier irritation.
It wasn t as easy to find with him looking almost apprehensive and slightly lost about why she was
there. Probably waiting for her to rain holy fire on his head like she d meant to. Glumly, she finally
admitted that wasn t going to happen.
She wasn t mad at Lucas anymore. Looking at him, she couldn t even gather up a good sense of rage
that he d traded dates on her or that he d been trying to break up with her in such a lame way. In fact, her
feeling for him was so bland and& well, nonexistent, really, that she couldn t believe she d ever mistaken
him and Kyle in the first place.
Kyle shimmered with vitality. He couldn t hide a smile if you paid him. Lucas could frown for days
and not even notice. Kyle s eyes were brighter, his skin was golden. Was he taller?
Lucas s eyes narrowed as her thoughts rambled on. He shook his head at her, making a sound of
supreme male exasperation.  And here I thought you had the sense God gave a fruit fly.
 I& What? Wait a minute. He wasn t the one supposed to be mad here. She was the wronged one.
She opened her mouth to point that out but he shrugged and let go of his front door like it didn t matter if it
was closed or not.
 You d better come in. He sighed, appearing somewhat put upon while he turned away and left her
to enter the apartment or go back the way she came.
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All of You
 I have work for you, she called after him, feeling strangely petty for coming here now, despite the
legitimate claim.
He kept going, through his open living room and around a corner.  Sure you do. Come on, Jessica,
you re letting the cool air out.
She stared at the open door, just knowing she was going to regret this. She hadn t even gone inside
and she was already losing the argument. Bland or not, the Lonnigans could derail her plans with unerring
precision. It didn t bode well for the rest of her mapped-out conversation and even worse for her revenge.
But she was here for a reason and she d better get to it. She stepped into the cool wood-paneled living room
and closed the door behind her.
 Tea? Lucas asked, filling a kettle at his sink, while she tentatively followed him into what turned
out to be his kitchen. Ninety degrees outside and he was making hot drinks. Given how well air-
conditioned he was, though, she supposed it wasn t a bad idea. She was going to be freezing in a matter of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]