Page 17 of Homecoming Heartbreaker

“Well, we can damn well try,” Molly said, cursing the agitation in her voice. “Mack, I’m exhausted. It’s been a long, long day and all I want is a huge glass of wine. As for us working together, I will be professional but that’s it. There will be no personal conversations and no physical contact. Are we clear?”

Mack opened his mouth to argue—she recognized his need to always have the last word—but instead of speaking, he shook his head.

Thirty seconds passed before he spoke again. “We can try. I’m not sure how successful we’ll be.”

He thought she was just going to fall back into his arms, oh so grateful to be with him again. Was he completely nuts? Okay, their kiss had caught her off guard, but it was a mistake, and she couldn’t allow herself to repeat past missteps. Mack hurt her; she’d never allow him to do that again. As for their attraction, well, he was a good-looking guy and it had been a long time since she’d had any bedroom-based fun.

And if she was overdue for some naked fun, she could head into town, find a bar and pick someone up. She’d never had a one-night stand but how hard could it be?

What she wouldn’t do was let Mack Holloway upend her world. Once bitten, twice shy, blah, blah...

Molly looked up into Mack’s face and sighed. If only he wasn’t so damn sexy. High cheekbones, that square-ish jaw and pointed chin, his straight nose. That hot, sexy mouth and the rough stubble on his cheeks. He was such aman...

But he wasn’t the man for her.

“Have a good evening, Mack. I’ll see you in the morning,” Molly told him, pushing past him to walk up the path toward her apartment above the stable. A part of her was done, ready to collapse into a heap; another part of her wanted to grab her leotard and tights and head into Asheville to work out her frustration in a hip-hop class. It wasn’t ballet but it was still moving her body in time to the music. It counted.

She might dance first, collapse later.

All she knew for sure was that she had to put some distance, physical and emotional, between her and Holloway.

The next day Mack, on his way to Jameson’s office on the third floor of the inn, caught movement out of the corner of his eye as he passed Molly’s office. Stopping, he looked through the half-open office door and frowned when he saw a woman looming over Molly’s desk, her index finger under Molly’s nose.

Beth, Moonlight Ridge’s bookkeeper. He’d met her at last week’s senior management meeting. And he hadn’t been impressed.

Mack cleared his throat and two heads whipped around to look at him. Frustration and annoyance skittered across Beth’s face while Molly just looked relieved...

What the hell was going on here?

Mack leaned his shoulder into the door frame, crossed his foot over his ankle and lifted his eyebrows. “Am I interrupting something?”

Judging by their expressions, he very obviously was. Molly was frowning and her lovely eyes—light green today—reflected her anxiety. And her annoyance.

And the fact that this woman—tall, slim, generically beautiful—could make her feel like that annoyedhim.

“Is there a problem here?” Mack demanded, keeping his voice even but making sure Beth heard the authority in it.

He’d be a fool not to see the warning glance Beth threw Molly’s way. Oh yeah, she was stirring a bubbling pot with a long-handled spoon.

Beth flashed him a smile that was meant to impress, or distract, him. It did neither. “Good morning, Mack. Molly and I were just chatting about the family.”

“And what family would that be?” Mack asked.

Beth fiddled with a button on her too-tight shirt, a movement that was supposed to draw his eye to her impressive cleavage. Not wanting to play her game, he kept his eyes on her face and noticed her tiny pout.

“Why, the Haskells of course,” Beth replied, her too-high voice still cheerful but her eyes flat and wary.

“Beth and Grant have been together for the past six months, Mack,” Molly reluctantly explained.

Ah.

Beth touched the messy bun on the back of her head, the movement lifting her chest, and breasts, up. Mack did an internal eye roll. Okay, I get it, you’ve got great tits.

Strike one.

As Mack walked into the room, his eyes moved on to Molly and he spent a minute taking her in. She wore a white sleeveless top that showed off her toned arms, and through the silky material, he could see the outline of a lacy bra. A pendant, a purple stone tipped with silver on a long chain, was wound twice around her neck, and her crazy curls were pulled back from her face by a multicolored scarf. Her makeup, unlike Beth’s, was light and fresh and he could see the freckles under a light layer of foundation. Her eyelashes were long and coated with black mascara, making her eyes seems lighter and brighter.

God, she was gorgeous. And, despite the way they left things last night, he still wanted her.

---