Page 16 of The Honorable Texan
She shrugged.“It’s a job.”
His eyebrow jerked.“Your hair looks nice,” he murmured, reaching out to take a strand of it in his strong fingers.“I don’t like frosting as a rule, but it suits you.You’ve lost more weight, too, haven’t you?”
“It may look like it, but I haven’t really,” she replied, lost in a haze because of contact with him.“I’ve justbeen learning how to dress to make the most of what I have.”
His eyes slid up to meet hers.“That’s what life is all about, Violet,” he said gently.“Learning how to make do with what we’re given.You don’t need to lose any more weight.You look great.”
She flushed and smiled radiantly.“Do you…really think so?”
He moved a step closer, aware of pleasure centers opening all over his mind as he looked down at her.“Do you like trout?”
It was an odd question.She blinked.“Trout?Well, yes.”
“Why don’t you come over for lunch tomorrow?I’ll fry trout and make a pasta salad to go with them.You can take some home to your mother.”
Violet’s jaw dropped.She stood gaping at him while she tried to decide, quickly, if she’d lost her mind and was having hallucinations.
CHAPTER FOUR
Her lack ofresponse made Kemp uneasy and provoked a sarcastic response.He’d thought she’d jump at the chance.“What’s the matter?”Kemp taunted.“Afraid to be alone with me outside the office?”
Violet gaped at him.“I am not…no… I don’t think… I didn’t say…” She cleared her throat.“I love trout.So does Mama.”
His eyes twinkled.So he hadn’t been wrong.She did still care about him.“So do I,” he replied.“I panfry it in butter and spices.I have my own herb garden, even in the winter.”
“It sounds delicious,” she said breathlessly.
He still had the strand of her hair in his fingers.They became caressing, and his deep voice dropped even lower.“Do you like cats?”
She nodded.
“You may have a little trouble with Mee and Yow at first, but they’ll get used to you.”
Violet felt as if she’d stepped off a precipice and solved the mystery of free flight.She was ecstatic.“I think cats are beautiful.”
“Mine are Siamese.They’re unique.”
She smiled slowly.“I’ll enjoy meeting them.”
He let go of her hair and touched her soft cheek withhis fingertips.They seemed to tingle at the contact.“About one in the afternoon tomorrow suit you?”
She nodded, speechless.
“Know how to get to my house?”
“Oh, yes,” she said, and could have bitten her tongue for sounding so enthusiastic.
Kemp was eating it up.He knew it was a bad idea, encouraging her.At some point he was going to have to back away from her.He didn’t want commitment.Not yet.But Violet was soft to the touch and lovely to look at.He’d been without a woman in his life for a long time.He was lonely.Surely it wouldn’t hurt to have the occasional meal with her.Of course it wouldn’t.He was enjoying her rapt expression.She made him feel as if he could conquer the world.For once in his life he was going to jump in with both feet without counting the cost.
“Then I’ll expect you,” he added.
She smiled up at him, her blue eyes wide and soft and hungry.“I’ll look forward to it,” she said huskily.
“So will I,” he replied, and the smile faded for an instant as he searched her eyes for so long that she flushed and her breath rustled wildly in her throat.
“Kemp!Glad you could make it!”Tall, handsome Calhoun Ballenger moved forward to shake Kemp’s hand and greet Violet.“Kemp, there’s someone I’d like to introduce you to.Violet, you don’t mind?”
“No, not at all,” she lied.
