LITMIR.BIZ

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Or more honestly, hoping to avoid an awkward situation.

      Only hours ago, just before she’d eventually fallen asleep sprawled across Sebastian’s chest, the pinkish gray fingers of dawn had been creeping across the city’s winter skyline. Without a clock handy, she’d guessed the hour now to be somewhere in the vicinity of noon. She snagged her watch from the nightstand for confirmation. Twelve-twenty.

      God, why had she slept with him? Not that she hadn’t enjoyed every perfect second, but that was beside the point. In two days she’d have to face him again, fully clothed this time, and she had every intention of pretending last night never happened. A feat she imagined would be next to impossible. Especially now. They’d made love again and again, taking their time to fully explore each other’s bodies. It’d been beautiful, sweet, and had caused something to stir deep inside her—something other than her libido.

      Oh, yeah. She was so out of there, if only to distance herself from the memory of their lovemaking and that strange little flutter she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, explain.

      She crept around the bed in search of her bra and found it dangling from the edge of a tall moving carton near the closet. After slipping into it, she scooped up her top a few feet away and pulled it on as well. Her boots lay on the floor near Sebastian’s side of the bed. As quietly as possible, she stooped to pick them up, but couldn’t find her socks.

      Full sunlight streamed through the windows, which made it easy for her to see them peeking out from under the bed, but she practically had to crawl beneath it to snag them. Her breathing stilled when she heard Sebastian stir.

      Please don’t wake up.

      Slowly, she lifted her head, peeked over the edge of the mattress and let out a startled gasp. Sebastian lay on his side, his head propped in his hand, staring down at her…and wearing nothing but a lazy smile.

      Damn. So much for escaping unnoticed.

      “Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice thick from sleep.

      “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

      He chuckled. “Sure you didn’t.” His thick hair was mussed and his smile went from lazy to cocky. The man looked way too sexy and far too tempting for a woman filled with morning-after regret.

      “Um…I have to water my plants.” The excuse was beyond lame, and from the skeptical light that entered those dark, bedroom eyes, they both knew it. But dammit, he seriously rocked her composure. What did he expect? A Rhodes scholar?

      She dropped onto the edge of the bed to slip on her socks. He shifted beside her and brought his body closer to hers. Warning bells went off in her head. Lordy, but the temptation to crawl beneath the covers with him again was tough to resist.

      He smoothed his hand down her back. She thought about the pleasure those hands could bring her and her resolve nearly crumbled.

      She stiffened her spine.

      “We have a problem, Joey.”

      “Great deduction, Watson.”

      He ignored her sass. “I want to see you again.”

      A different kind of regret filled her. In all honesty, she’d love nothing more than to spend more time with Sebastian, in and out of bed, but it was out of the question. Forget that he was technically her supervisor, he was smart, sexy and dangerous. The kind of guy that could easily break her heart. The kind she could easily fall for…hard.

      She shoved her foot into her boot and tugged. “Sorry,” she said with a shrug as she glanced down at him. “It’s pumpkin time, Cinderella.”

      He frowned. “It’s only Saturday.”

      “Can’t,” she said brusquely, then pulled on her other boot. “I’m busy.”

      She wasn’t. She had no plans whatsoever until tomorrow afternoon, but he didn’t need to know that. Although Molly would more than likely have worked herself into a feline snit by the time she did get home. Her persnickety cat didn’t appreciate being left to her own devices all night and half the day, but a treat and some cuddle time would smooth her leopardlike fur to some degree.

      She cast a quick glance in his direction. If his narrow-eyed stare was any indication, he wasn’t buying her line of BS. Too bad. She needed time to distance herself from him, to regain her composure before she faced him in the office Monday morning.

      Good luck.

      She let out a sigh and stood. “I think it’s best if we just pretend last night never happened.” She located her leather jacket near the bedroom door and shrugged into it.

      He swung his feet to the floor and came off the bed in one easy movement. Heaven help her, she stared. She just couldn’t help herself. In the light of day, Sebastian Stanhope was even more glorious.

      The erection he was sporting wasn’t half-bad, either.

      Heat rushed to her face and she lifted her gaze to his. “I had a lovely time,” she said in a nervous rush, “but I really do have to go home.” To take a cold shower.

      Her throat constricted when he crossed the room. Those pleasure-giving hands settled on her upper arms, sending tiny tremors of delight chasing over her skin.

      “Stay with me today.”

      She bit her lip. The man was temptation personified. And trouble, with a big fat T.

      She shook her head and looked away. “I can’t,” she said, hating that she had no choice but to deny him. Hating even more the regret so blatantly evident in her voice.

      He tucked his fingers under her chin and gently turned her to face him. “Another time, another place?”

      No truer words, she thought sadly. “Yeah,” she whispered in agreement. “Another time.”

      He dipped his head and kissed her. Deeply, tenderly. Fool that she was, she kissed him back, enjoying this last parting moment even though her heart suddenly ached. Because there’d be no more kisses for them? Ever? Or because she’d already started falling for him?

      She refused to even consider the answer. Regretfully, she ended the kiss. “Goodbye, Sebastian.”

      She spun on her heel and left. By the time she hit the pavement, her hopes that the next two days would be long enough for her to convince herself that making love to Sebastian hadn’t been a monumental and earth-shattering experience were practically nonexistent.

      “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I’ve been calling you all morning.”

      Joey didn’t appreciate the accusation in Brooke’s tone, but figured it was her guilty conscience making her feel mildly agitated. “I turned off my cell.”

      “Since when don’t you check for messages?”

      “Gee,” she said, standing back to let her older sister inside the small foyer of the carriage house, “nice to see you, too.”

      Brooke set a large shopping bag with the Worthington logo on the front on the antique bench. She worked at the department store as a window dresser. “These are for Reba,” she said, unwinding a wool scarf from her neck. “I thought she might like them.”

      Joey peered into the bag, but the clothing items were all carefully wrapped in delicate tissue paper. That was so Brooke, she thought. “Didn’t we go through all of Mom’s things a couple of months ago?”

      “We did.” Brooke hung her scarf on the hook by the door, then shrugged out of her wool coat. “I found those in the back of Mom’s closet.”

      “And you brought them here because…?”

      “Because you said you were taking Reba to lunch next week.”

      Since their mother’s passing, she, Brooke and Katie had taken to looking in on Reba, their mother’s oldest and closest friend. Joey managed a weak smile. “Ah,

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