LITMIR.BIZ

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admission was made in little more than a whisper, but the subdued strength behind the words swamped Ryan with a mixture of love and relief so great that it was easier to wrap his arms around her and draw her close rather than speak. Finally, after more than a dozen years, his little sister was ready to push free from the shadows which had cocooned her, her mourning was over. When he finally held her away they were both smiling.

      ‘Have you told Mum and Dad?’ he asked.

      ‘Yeah, I rang them before I came into work.’ She laughed. ‘They were stunned, thrilled and relieved, in that order!’

      ‘I’ll bet.’ He hesitated before adding, ‘And the Cosgroves?’

      Jack and Claire Cosgrove were their folks’ best friends and currently touring Europe with them. They were also Steven’s parents.

      ‘They were pleased too…’ There was a slight break in her voice. ‘Claire said Steven would’ve been glad to know I was getting on with the business of living.’

      Ryan nodded, then immediately steered the conversation back to lighter topics. ‘Well, from what Mum said when I spoke with her the other night you’ll love Italy! So—’ he leaned across his paper-scattered desk and retrieved his coffee ‘—when do you fly out?’

      ‘Sunday.’

      ‘Sunday! But today’s Friday. What about a passport and visa—?’

      ‘They’re up to date. Remember, I nearly did this a couple of years back?’

      He remembered. K.C. Cosgrove, Steven’s younger sister, had all but convinced Jayne to take a vacation with her, but at the last minute Jayne had backed out and nothing anyone had said had been able to change her mind. If nothing else, perhaps the very impulsiveness of this decision would prevent Jayne from having second thoughts this time.

      ‘OK. Then I’ll ring Mrs Phillips right away and organise for her to come in and cover for you in Accounts and—’

      ‘Mrs Phillips isn’t available, but it’s OK,’ Jayne assured him. ‘I’ve arranged for Kirrily to cover for me.’

      ‘You can’t mean that!’ Even as he said the words Ryan knew the worst. ‘Aw, Jayne! Please tell me you didn’t ask K.C..’

      ‘It’s all arranged; she’s arriving tonight.’

      ‘Then unarrange it or I’ll be courting a nervous breakdown.’

      ‘Oh, stop it, Ryan!’ she chided him. ‘It’s the perfect solution. Kirrily’s currently out of work—’

      ‘She’s a soap actress, not an accountant!’

      ‘I’m not an accountant either. Besides, she did two years at business college.’

      ‘K.C. did two years because she flunked out the first! What’s more, she’s only a kid—’

      A chuckle interrupted him. ‘If you still think of her as a kid you obviously missed the episode of Hot Heaven where she was practically nude and—’

      ‘Spare me the run-down on that soap opera,’ he said drily; his body was reacting to the scene he unfortunately hadn’t missed.

      ‘Ryan, what’s the problem? It’s only for a few weeks.’

      He grunted. ‘Earthquakes occur in mere seconds.’

      ‘I should’ve guessed you’d be difficult about this.’

      ‘Jayne, honey, I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m trying to be practical. As much as K.C. is like one of the family, asking her to do this isn’t a good idea.’

      ‘Why?’

      ‘Why?’ he echoed, feeling as if he’d been hit from behind by fate in a ten-ton truck. ‘Because…well, because she’s so damned flighty. Heck, a person never knows what she’s going to do from one second to the next! And she hates being told what to do. Especially by me,’ he added ruefully. ‘Hell, she’ll question every decision I make. Plus her face is so well known that she’ll have every person who walks into the place wanting her autograph or trying to hit on her. How much work do you think she’ll manage to get done?’

      ‘Look, Ryan, this trip is important to me, but I’ll cancel if—’

      ‘What? Uh-uh…no way!’ The thought that he might provide Jayne with an excuse to back out of her plans overrode the instinct to preserve his sanity. ‘Put that idea right out of your head! You’re going. You’ll be on that plane Sunday and K.C. will be sitting at your desk first thing Monday.’ Glancing down at the quote which had been giving him so many headaches, he sighed. Compared with living and working with K.C. for the next few weeks, everything else was going to seem like a picnic!

      As a kid K.C. Cosgrove had always had a knack for throwing him off balance, one minute tugging at his heartstrings and making him putty in her hands and the next grinding away at his patience until his hands had wanted to tighten around her cute little neck. Then, during her rebellious teen years, she’d done her best to develop her ability to manipulate Ryan into an art form, which had caused numerous heated debates between the two of them. But what bothered him the most was that now, at the ripe old age of twenty-four, K.C. had unexpectedly acquired yet another unsettling trait—the ability to send his thirty-six-year-old hormones into a frenzy.

       CHAPTER ONE

      KIRRILY spied his tall frame waiting by the luggage carousel at first glance. Even if his black jeans and leather bomber jacket hadn’t contrasted with the business suits of late, Friday-night commuters, Ryan Talbot would have stood out in a crowd. Six feet six of solid male athleticism and rugged blond good looks weren’t easily overlooked—at least, not by any red-blooded woman with a pulse.

      Unfortunately, Kirrily was forced to concede that not only was she red-blooded but her pulse was positively rabid! Anxious to gain some control over its excited thumping, she stopped dead in her tracks and took a deep breath. Aside from its causing several fellow passengers to cannon into her, nothing happened. Great!

      Up until Bob and Pam Talbot’s fortieth wedding anniversary a few months back, she’d been convinced she’d outgrown the teenage crush she’d had on their son, but now, at the age of twenty-four, she’d relapsed into a severe bout of the hots for one Ryan Talbot! As if she didn’t have enough problems!

      She sighed. After what she’d left behind in Melbourne, being in Sydney was a godsend, even if it meant exposure to Ryan.

      An impatient shove and a frosty look from a wellgroomed matron reminded her she was impeding people’s progress. Muttering an apology, she again started moving towards the waiting Ryan, wishing she could quash the tingle of adrenaline which increased with each step she took. It wasn’t fair! A grown woman wasn’t supposed to react like this to a man who still saw her in pigtails and braces. Realising the male in question had now spotted her, she fixed a serene smile on her face, determined not to let him rile her. She was an adult; she could control both her tongue and her temper. And this time while she was around Ryan she would control them simultaneously! Even if it killed her! No matter what he said!

      ‘G’day, short stuff!’

      The term would have been an insult even if she hadn’t been five feet six, but her vow of self-control and maturity demanded that Kirrily wait until he actually did pat her on the head before she hit him! No pat was forthcoming. Instead Ryan bowed from his superior height and brushed his usual kiss across her cheek before stepping back and studying her from head to toe. Though irritated under his detailed, blue-eyed scrutiny, she forced herself to relax—at least as much as it was possible for her to relax around Ryan; it seemed these days whenever they got within sight of each other the air around them

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