LITMIR.BIZ

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in a strange woman’s kitchen, getting insulted. Okay, so he was wearing a suit. The fact that his own family had taken to calling him a stuffed shirt did not mean he needed someone else accusing him of the same thing.

      Still, he had to admit that compared to Beth, in her comfortable T-shirt with the Mariners’ baseball team logo on it, he must seem pretty stuffy.

      “I’m really sorry,” Beth said, sounding genuinely penitent. “But you asked, and I didn’t think before I opened my mouth. Curt used to say it was my biggest fault.”

      “Who’s Curt?”

      Her eyelids flickered, almost imperceptibly. “My…fiancé. He died several years ago in a mountain climbing accident. He was part of a search and rescue team, and things went bad.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “Anyway,” Beth said quickly, “I’m sure I look like a wreck to you. It just shows we live in two different worlds.”

      Accustomed to feminine wiles and not-so-subtle demands for compliments, Kane’s gaze narrowed thoughtfully. But if Beth was fishing for a compliment she had to be the greatest actress in the world. He couldn’t help being intrigued—it had been a long time since he’d met a woman who wasn’t trying to impress or beguile him.

      “You look fine. In fact, you have the right idea.” Kane unbuttoned the jacket of his suit and shrugged out of it. He heard her swift intake of breath and cocked his head. “Something wrong?”

      “Of course not,” she said quickly.

      The color in her eyes shifted, turning dark, all traces of gold erased, and Kane sighed. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties, which made her ten to twelve years younger than himself. Perhaps he made her nervous, and that’s why she’d decided to refuse her prize. Or it could be the loss of her fiancé, though it had happened a while in the past.

      “Miss Cox—Beth,” he said after a moment. “If you’re worried about the arrangements for the trip, I can assure you there have always been plans for separate hotel suites. It’s very respectable and aboveboard. Both KLMS and I have a reputation to maintain.”

      “Heavens, I never thought that,” she said quickly. “I’m the last woman you’d ever be interested in…in that way.”

      I’m the last woman…

      Frowning, Kane shook the ice in his glass. He didn’t understand her vehement denial. Most of the women he knew had an invincible confidence in their ability to attract a man.

      “Why do you say that?” he asked finally.

      She lifted her shoulders in another small shrug. “Your taste in women isn’t any secret.”

      “You don’t seem the type to read the society page, or what passes for it around Crockett.”

      “No, but people talk.” Beth looked down at her faded T-shirt and shorts. She wasn’t the “type” for a lot of things. She didn’t really mind, but she was realistic—she was far from pretty, and even Curt had looked at more generously endowed women with appreciation. Kane O’Rourke was accustomed to dating the most beautiful women in the world; she’d look ridiculous standing next to him.

      Kane lifted her hand and she shivered. Her skin was stained and rough from working in the garden all morning, yet compared to his hard fingers, she felt small and delicate. It was an ironic contrast, especially with a man she’d expect to have professionally manicured nails and soft hands from pushing paper for a living.

      “Maybe I am a little stuffy, but I’m a decent guy,” he said quietly. “My family will vouch for me. You can phone them if you’d like. Of course, my brothers and sisters will probably claim that I boss them around too much.” Kane gave her a self-deprecating smile. “I’m the oldest child, so it’s an occupational hazard. My sister, Shannon, says I’m not always right—I just think I am.”

      I’m the oldest.

      Beth’s heart gave an odd lurch. She would have loved being part of a large family—youngest, oldest, or in the middle, it wouldn’t have mattered. “How many in your family?” she asked.

      He grinned. “Four brothers and four sisters. And my mother, but she thinks I’m perfect. Naturally.”

      “Naturally,” Beth echoed, though she’d never known her own parents, never known what it was like to have a mother think she was perfect. But she was compelled by the warmth in Kane’s face and voice, a voice that held a trace of Irish brogue. She remembered his parents had immigrated from Ireland shortly before he was born, which probably explained the accent.

      Kane O’Rourke was the epitome of the American dream. Son of poor immigrants, skyrocketing to success and fortune with the speed of a meteor. Not only that, he’d done it with a widowed mother and all those brothers and sisters to support. And he was so handsome it took her breath away.

      Stop.

      All at once Beth shook herself and pulled her hand free from Kane’s grasp. She’d warned herself against his perceptiveness, she should have worried more about his sex appeal. It had been a long time since she’d touched a man in a way other than friendship, and long denied feelings were demanding attention.

      “It must be nice, having such a big family,” she said.

      Edgily she grabbed their two glasses and carried them to the sink. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the sensations uncurling in the pit of her stomach, she liked them too much. A steady trickle of water streamed from the faucet and Beth tried to focus on it. Another repair in the making. The little house still had its original vintage plumbing and she’d been learning how to do the repairs herself to save money. She certainly didn’t need any distractions. Her life was very full. She had friends, a partnership in a local business. Everything she needed.

      What she didn’t need was Kane O’Rourke upsetting her hard-won peace of mind. Her fingers closed around a dishrag and she scrubbed at a permanent stain on the ancient sink.

      “I don’t understand why you entered the contest, if you didn’t plan on going,” he said.

      “I didn’t enter the contest,” she said over her shoulder. “My neighbor entered me. And Carol has been yelling at me for being an idiot ever since I said I wasn’t going. Even though she’s married I think she has a crush on you.”

      I didn’t enter the contest.

      Briefly Kane wondered if he’d just been provided with an escape clause, then decided he wasn’t going there. The easiest, cleanest way out of the embarrassing situation was to convince Beth to go on her “weekend date with a billionaire, separate rooms of course,” as the radio station had billed the prize. And the next time Patrick asked for a favor he’d get tossed out on his ear.

      “Okay, but why didn’t you contact me before making your announcement?”

      Guilt, followed by irritation, flashed across her face. “I tried calling both the radio station and your company, but never heard anything back. Besides, I didn’t exactly make an announcement, the reporter just kept bugging me until I finally said I wasn’t going.”

      Damn. He would have to speak with the switchboard. His employees tried to protect him, but this time he’d missed something that really mattered.

      “Beth, this is important,” Kane said, deciding candor was the only way to make her understand. “To be honest, I didn’t want to be a prize on the radio, but my brother Patrick owns the station and he thought it would be a good publicity stunt.”

      She turned. “Your brother owns the station?”

      “Yes. He switched to country after buying it, and they’re struggling to find a niche in the Seattle broadcasting market. Prizes are a big deal in radio and he wanted to come up with something different.”

      “So he decided on as a prize?”

      Kane wrinkled his nose.

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