page13 (1/2)
“How kind,” Dominique murmured, then walked away
She passed a trash can and nearly tossed the nu
CHARLIE CHECKED THE street, then watched Michelle in the ine into its spot in the bay
The accident on the highway into town had been bad Both cars totaled Fortunately everyone inside had been wearing seat belts and the air bags had done their thing The passengers had walked aith only a few one up in flames, but Charlie and her team had quickly taken care of that
She got out of her gear and returned to the bay The engine ca to eat
Michelle strolled over with two rinned “You have a visitor”
Charlie held in a groan “My mother?” Had Dominique waited?
“Not exactly” Michelle pointed
Charlie turned and saw Clay leaning against the wall When he caught her eye, he straightened and started toward her
Thestrides His body was perfection—a result of his career choice, she knew, but still i better was his face The lines and planes, the dark eyes Her gaze drifted to his ain Strangely, she found herself thinking she wouldn’t mind Well, except for the “in public” part
“Hi,” he said as he approached “Hoas it?”
“Easy for us Not so good for the people in the accident Everyone is fine, but one of the cars caught fire The other is totaled”
“Tourists?”
She nodded “They get excited about their tiet distracted and solanced around “You didn’t see my mother here, did you?”
“I don’t know your mother”
“Soh “Petite” She held up her hand midway between her elbow and her shoulder “Short, blond hair Green eyes Elegant”
“No Haven’t seen her”
“Good She ca et in a few years of practice before she becohost”
“Sounds like a fun relationship”
Charlie’s mouth twisted “Oh, it’s a thrill I’m not sure why she’s even here Fool’s Gold isn’t her kind of place She swears she wants to spend tie to think about”
She paused, aware she was talking tooaround hi was different now They’d kissed They were going to have sex sooner or later That was a point-of-view shifter
There was also the fact that he’d promised a full-service seduction She didn’t know exactly what that , she couldn’t decide if she was more excited or more scared The fact that she had any excitement at all was a real win for her She told herself it was sress than to question it but she wasn’t that comfortable with the whole seduction idea
“Stop,” Clay said, holding up both his hands “You’re exhausting me”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re thinking too much I can hear it I knew you would be That’s why I came by You need a schedule”
“Excuse me?”
He took her are door “A schedule,” he repeated, his voice quiet “So you can knohat to expect And when Then you won’t worry so much”
She doubted her worry level was going to change significantly throughout the process, but she illing to pretend so she didn’t have to talk about it
She folded her arms across her chest “What did you have into take?”
He grinned “The conversation or the full-service seduction?”
Heat burned on her cheeks She knew she was blushing, da it part”
He leaned close “Seduction Come on, Charlie You can say it”
“I can also pick up a tire iron and beat the crap out of you”
“That’sas you need It’s as much about the journey as the destination”
She glared at hia talk?”
“Trust et you to where you can relax and enjoy It’s not going to happen in an afternoon”
Words to ly
She glanced behind her No one was in the bay, but that didn’tattention to Charlie and her visitor
“We probably shouldn’t discuss this here,” she said
“No problem You’re off tomorrow?”
She nodded
“I’ll co We can work on your schedule then”
She had a brief impression of notations on her calendar Septeets to first base
“Shift change is at seven” She thought about telling him that soet to her house until eight, but that seemed like too much information
“See you tomorrow, then,” he said
He gave her a wave, then walked away She allowed herself a couple ofin his very fine butt She’d seen it plenty in pictures and in movies, but it was better in person Just think, one day she would see it nad Maybe even touch it Having sex meant—
She caht into it as reality took an unexpected turn She and Clay were going to have sex She’d asked him to do that with her But what she hadn’t considered was his part in all that As in he would take his clothes off
She was about to have the world’s best-looking male ? She wasn’t beautiful or even pretty She was too tall and too strong and not the least bit girlie She didn’t own any hair products or kno to doiron There were exactly two dresses in her closet and she would rather be gut-shot than wear a thong
Talk about a disaster
She couldn’t do it, she realized She couldn’t go through with it She needed a different type of rees closer to norrateful Now she was going to have to figure out how to tell Clay that he’d just been fired
CLAY SAT ON Charlie’s front porch steps and checked his watch With shift change at seven, and Fool’s Gold’s nonexistent rush hour, she should be home any minute
He’d stopped by Ambrosia’s Bakery on his way over He’d picked up an assort with the coffee He was coar as well as caffeine
He’d been doing soh as they recovered and the road to what Charlie would call norht Partners were advised to be patient and pay attention to signals He illing to do both
Right on tie, then closed the door and stepped out the side door She walked across the lawn and paused at the bottom of the steps