Page 30 of Winter Vows

Something told him she wasn’t referring to breakfast. He suspected she wanted to know if her husband thought his scheming had paid off.

“I’d say it’s looking promising,” he told her, confirming Hardy’s guess. “Now come on over here beside me and make me forget about that coffee you’re denying me.”

Hardy chuckled. He turned and caught Trish’s grin. Obviously she had caught the exchange as well.

“He’s something, isn’t he?” she asked.

“He’s a sneaky meddler,” Hardy contradicted, but without any real rancor.

“That’s certainly true enough. I’m sorry about you getting roped into this. If I could have thought of a way out, I would have. I’m sure there are plenty of contractors I could have hired to do whatever work is needed at the store.”

Her eagerness to rid herself of his company annoyed him, especially under the guise of consideration for his feelings. “I’ll survive. I imagine you will, too. In the end, you’ll have your bookstore. Isn’t that what matters?”

“I suppose.” She peered at him intently. “Hardy, do you regret ever suggesting that I stay here? I know you said it impulsively and then I ran with the idea. I’ve always been like that. If something sounds right to me, I do it. I don’t always stop to consider all the ramifications. Just look at how I ended up here in the first place.”

He shrugged. “What I think doesn’t matter now, does it? You’re staying.”

“But you’d rather I go,” she persisted.

“Why?” He had thought that was obvious.

“Because of what just happened, for one thing. Harlan’s not the kind to let go once he’s gotten an idea into his head. He’s settled on getting us together, and he won’t rest until he’s accomplished that.”

“We don’t have to go along with it,” she pointed out as if she genuinely believed it was a simple choice. “We’re adults. We both know what we want and what we don’t.”

What Hardy wanted right this minute, more than anything, was to kiss the woman who was staring at him so earnestly, the woman who actually believed they were in control of their own destiny. He wanted to wipe that certainty off her face. He wanted her to tremble in his arms with sensations she couldn’t simply wish away because they were inconvenient. And because he usually took what he wanted, he stepped closer. Before she could begin to guess what he had on his mind, he dipped his head low and brushed his lips over hers. It wasn’t enough, not nearly enough, he thought, startled by the depth of his sudden need for more. He cupped a hand behind her head and kissed her again, ignoring her startled gasp, savoring the fact that it enabled him to dip his tongue into the sweetness of her mouth.

With the baby clutched tightly in her arms and trapped awkwardly between them, she swayed toward him. Hardy was pretty sure the earth tilted on its axis, that heaven opened up and welcomed him, when he’d been counting on hell.

It was Laura’s whimpers that finally cut through the sensations rocketing through him. Clasping Trish’s shoulders to keep her steady, he took a step back and fought for control. She stared up at him, her expression dazed and dreamy. Two red patches appeared in her cheeks.

Then, in the blink of an eye, fury replaced bemusement. “You have one heck of a nerve,” she declared furiously. “Just because you’re doing me a favor, don’t start thinking—”

Hardy cut her off before she could travel too far down that particular path. “I am not doing you a favor,” he reminded her. “I am doing a job that my boss has requested that I do. That’s it.”

“All the more reason not to take advantage of the situation,” she countered. “This is a business relationship. It’s not personal.”

“You call it whatever you like,” he taunted. “Personally, I’m beginning to think the benefits outweigh the salary.”

“I am not part of the deal,” she insisted. “If I have to, I will tell Harlan that it’s not working out and that I don’t want you anywhere near the store. Then he’ll want to know what you did to offend me.” She let the threat trail off.

“And you’ll say I kissed you?” Hardy suggested. “Darlin’, believe me, that will make his day.”

As acceptance of the truth washed over her, she sighed heavily. “I suppose you’re right.”

“So do we try to make this work?”

“We don’t seem to have any choice.” She scowled at him. “No more kisses, though, and that’s final.”

Hardy kept his expression sober and nodded dutifully. “No more kisses,” he echoed, then grinned, “unless you ask real nicely.”

“I won’t ask.”

“We’ll see.”

There wasn’t a woman on earth he couldn’t make want him if he put his mind to it. A little charm, an innocent caress or two, a careless wink. He’d have her right where he wanted her in forty-eight hours. Maybe less.

Then what? he wondered as she went stalking off toward her car, her back ramrod straight, her shoulders squared with singed pride. Would a few more kisses satisfy him? Was that the goal? Or did he want her in his bed, just like all the others who’d come so easily? Thinking of Trish as nothing more than another notch on his bedpost turned his stomach sour. She didn’t deserve that. Laura’s mother deserved better.

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