LITMIR.BIZ

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he just wasn’t himself this morning. “I can handle the office this morning if you want to go back to the refinery.”

      “Thanks, Kate, but I think I am needed here. Especially if you are determined to quit.”

      She nodded and entered her office. The voice - mail light on her phone was flashing and she imagined she had a lot of messages waiting for her.

      Lance closed the door and brushed past her to go into his office, knocking her off balance in the one-inch heels she was wearing. Lance steadied her with a hand on her waist. She turned her head and her hair brushed his shoulder.

      Lance smelled good this morning but then she had always liked the scent of his aftershave. He put his other hand on her shoulder and looked down at her.

      “I never realized how pretty your brown eyes are,” he said.

      She flushed. “I guess you couldn’t really see them behind my glasses.”

      “Or maybe I never looked,” Lance said.

      “I think that there wasn’t anything to look at before,” Kate said. Becca had made a good point last night when she’d said that Kate hid behind her clothes and glasses.

      “You are always worth a second look, Kate.”

      “Really?”

      “Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t notice before now.”

      “Why sorry?”

      “Because you are so damned pretty.”

      “It’s not me, it’s the haircut and makeup,” she said, uncomfortable with the compliment. She started pointing out all the things her mom had always told her were wrong with her. “My mouth is too big for my face.”

      He shook his head, rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip. “Your mouth is perfect for your face. Very lush and tempting….”

      “Tempting? It’s me, Lance. Kate Thornton. You’ve never thought I was tempting before.”

      “I must have been blind, Kate, because you are tempting me now,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers. He kissed her.

      She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him back. The moment was everything she’d imagined it would be and also completely unexpected. There was no way she could have imagined the way he tasted as his tongue slid over hers. Or the feel of his big hands in her hair. Or the way that one kiss could change her life completely.

       Four

      Kate tasted like heaven. She was pure temptation in his arms and he knew he’d never get enough of her. He didn’t want to.

      He slid his hands down the sides of her body. How had he missed this curvy body and those big, pretty eyes? Glasses and baggy clothes be damned, he’d have to have been blind to not see what a hottie his secretary was.

      He turned to lean on the edge of her desk and pulled her more fully against him. Her breasts were full and felt good against his chest. He angled his head for deeper access to her mouth. He wanted more. He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her. How had he missed this Kate all these years?

      He lifted his head, rubbed his lips over hers and realized her eyes were closed. She looked so innocent in his arms. He remembered that he was a man who’d never learned how to handle the softer things in life. Having a lover was one thing, but this could never go beyond the physical.

      As he traced the line of her face with her hair hanging free, he realized how delicate she was. “Should I apologize for that kiss?”

      She opened her eyes and looked dazed for a moment but then she recovered. “Do you want to?”

      “Not at all. I want to do it again but I don’t think the office is the place for it.”

      “I agree.”

      His line rang, and Kate smiled at him as she reached over to answer it. “Brody Oil and Gas, Kate speaking.”

      Her smile faded. “Please hold.”

      “Who is it?”

      “Your fiancée. You probably want to take that in your office.”

      Lance nodded. He didn’t like that Lexi had interrupted his moment with Kate but he couldn’t ignore her again.

      “We’re not done talking,” Lance said.

      “Of course not. We have the next two weeks to get through,” Kate said, pulling out her chair and sitting down.

      “When I’m done I want to see you in my office,” he said. He wasn’t going to pretend there wasn’t a fierce attraction between them, but he didn’t know how to deal with this new Kate who argued with him and didn’t just do everything the way he wanted her to.

      “Sure thing. You better go, you don’t want to keep your fiancée waiting.”

      He pivoted on his heel and walked away from her. He went to his desk, sprawling in his leather chair. He reached for the phone and picked up the line where Lexi was holding.

      “Hi, there, Lexi.”

      “Hi, Lance. I know you must be busy this morning but I wanted to thank you for the invitation to come to your Fourth of July party. I wanted to know what you need from me as your hostess.”

      Lance hadn’t thought about Lexi acting as hostess. “My secretary has taken care of all the details.”

      “I’ll give her a call and see if I can help with anything. I think if we are going to make our marriage work, I should be involved with Brody Oil and Gas.”

      “Why?” Lance asked.

      “Because that’s where you spend all of your time,” she said. “I know what it takes to be a good wife. You need a partner who can understand where you are coming from.”

      Lance knew that was the truth. But he didn’t want Lexi here. He realized with a shock that when he thought of a partner—a female partner—at Brody Oil and Gas, he thought of Kate.

      Why hadn’t he realized that he wanted her before this? It was too late to change the past but he wanted to make things different between them going forward. But Kate didn’t want any part of the company anymore and he was engaged to Lexi. He needed to sort this mess out. Was he going to try to make the match with Lexi work? And where did that leave Kate?

      Mitch and Lance had determined that the connection to Cavanaugh was needed. And Lance had always put Brody Oil and Gas before everything else. He knew exactly what he needed to do, and how he needed to act. This was his chance to prove he wasn’t the bastard his father had been.

      He needed to be a better man. A man who wouldn’t kiss Kate unless he could make a commitment to her. A man who would honor his commitment to Lexi. A man who was proud of who he was.

      “You don’t need to do anything for the picnic, but we can talk when you get here. Kate—my secretary—has given her two-weeks notice. If you are serious about wanting to be more involved, the picnic would be a great time for you to talk to her about the details of our events.”

      “I am serious, Lance. I want to make our marriage work.”

      There was a sincerity in Lexi’s words that shamed him. He’d asked her to marry him and it was time to step up and honor that.

      “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lance said.

      “I’m looking forward to it. Mitch has raved about the Brody Oil and Gas Fourth of July party.”

      “It’s the one time of year when we pull out all the stops for our workers. When we were rebuilding the business we decided that if we were going to be successful, we had to make everyone who worked for us feel like they were a part of the Brody Oil and Gas family.”

      “If

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