LITMIR.BIZ

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light of the situation. She only wanted to rush to the bathroom and splash cold water on her face in the hope of waking herself and finding this was all a nightmare.

      Seeming to have recovered from her initial shock, Stephanie smirked at Oz’s comment. “Especially when a female is involved?”

      “Blair is certainly female.”

      Blair thought she might die of mortification.

      At least then she wouldn’t have to face the reality that she’d let Oz Manning touch her. Not just touch her, but touch her.

      He might have started out just massaging her neck, but when Stephanie had walked in he’d been about to kiss her.

      The worst part was that she’d let him touch her. As much as she wanted to believe she would have stopped him, she wasn’t so sure that she would have. If Stephanie hadn’t interrupted, she’d be swapping spit with the worst playboy she’d ever encountered.

      With Addy in the next room.

      Had she completely lost her mind?

      “I came to tell you Dorothy is leaving in just a few. Addy is helping her finish the last of the mailers.”

      Drawing upon all her strength, Blair kept her shoulders high and walked around the desk. She checked her watch. Almost eight on a school night.

      “I need to go, too, but I’m off duty on Saturday. Would that be an okay time for Addy and I to come back?”

      Stephanie’s curious eyes lit with gratitude. “That would be wonderful. Addy was a great help with the envelopes.”

      “I’ll take the list home with me and finish making the calls while I’m at lunch tomorrow or Friday. Perhaps even at Dr Talbot’s tomorrow night if he naps. Maybe I can get the rest marked off between now and Saturday.”

      “I’ll be here on Saturday, too. I’ll bring Dr T with me if he’s up to it. He needs to get out of the house.” Oz moved behind Blair, not so close that he was touching her, but enough that his scent enveloped her, taking her back to the moments before Stephanie had walked into the room. No. No. No. She did not wish she’d kissed Oz.

      “We’ll go over what we have covered for the fund-raiser,” Oz continued, oblivious to the effect he was having on Blair. “Hire out what we don’t, grab some lunch, then spend the rest of the day with Dr T.”

      “Thanks.” Stephanie smiled knowingly at them, a pleased smile, making Blair even more self-conscious. “I’ll just go tell Dorothy goodbye and leave you two alone so Oz can go back to…um…helping.”

      Great.

      The moment Stephanie was gone, Blair spun toward Oz. “What do you think you’re doing?”

      “Don’t go all defensive,” he warned, giving her a frustrated look that said perhaps he wasn’t as calm as he’d pretended. That maybe he had been aware of the effect his nearness was having on her and that he’d been just as affected.

      “I’m not being defensive,” she spat back, determined not to go soft on him again.

      “Yes, you are. I understand.” The blasted man stroked his knuckles across her face. “We should go somewhere and talk.”

      Talk? Yeah, right. Oz wasn’t known for talking to women.

      Glaring at him, Blair pulled back. He couldn’t touch her. She couldn’t let him. He was dangerous. Too dangerous.

      Just look what had happened the last time she’d let a man get close to her. She’d ended up pregnant and alone, mourning the death of a man she hadn’t known had been married to someone else, much less that he’d had other “girlfriends.”

      Now, she had a great life that she’d worked long and hard to forge. She wouldn’t let a man destroy her a second time.

      “We have nothing to say to each other.”

      “We need to talk about what just happened.” Was he staring at her lips?

      Dear Lord, he was.

      She swallowed. Hard.

      She’d known he hadn’t really wanted to talk. Did he think she was a fool? That he could just almost kiss her and she’d fall at his feet?

      “Nothing happened, Dr Manning,” she snapped coolly. “Even if Stephanie hadn’t walked in, nothing would have happened. I don’t like you, and I certainly didn’t want you to touch me or kiss me.” The words ground out between gritted teeth. “I prefer for you to stay away from me and my daughter. Got it?”

      Oz had wanted to kiss Blair more than he recalled ever wanting to kiss any woman.

      He’d wanted to kiss her so much he ached with need from the ends of his hair to the tips of his toes and all in between.

      He’d especially ached in between.

      Now he just wanted to strangle her lying throat.

      He wasn’t some inexperienced schoolboy. He knew when a woman wanted him. Blair had wanted him to kiss her. Perhaps not as much as he’d wanted to kiss her, but she’d wanted his mouth on hers.

      But she was right. He shouldn’t have touched her.

      Hadn’t he always known not to touch Blair? That touching her wouldn’t be nearly enough? Hadn’t he subconsciously appreciated that she avoided him because it made doing the right thing easier? Hadn’t he always made a point to keep a physical distance between them?

      Why had he crossed that line tonight?

      She was a complicated woman with a child. She was white picket fences and promises of forever. He was his father’s son and liked women. Lots of women. He didn’t do commitment, didn’t do long-term relationships.

      Yet, even now, with her staring at him as if he were the devil incarnate, he wanted to pull her to him and assure her that their touching had felt more right than anything he’d experienced in a long time. Maybe ever.

      Which made no sense.

      Likely the strain of caring for Dr T, of seeing his friend suffer, was getting to him and explained his weakness with Blair.

      “I need to get Addy.” She turned, picked up her purse from where she’d set the leather bag after they’d arrived, then moved to where Addy had left her satchel of goodies to keep her entertained.

      “I’ll walk you to your car.” He should just let her go. Should take a leaf from her book and pretend nothing had happened. Surely that would be for the best?

      So, why couldn’t he? Why did he want to kiss her until she admitted that she’d been as affected as he had?

      Blair slid the pink hand-held video game player into Addy’s bag. “There’s no need.”

      “I’ll walk you to your car,” he repeated, irritated that she insisted upon pushing him away at every turn. “This neighborhood isn’t the best at night.”

      This time Blair nodded without looking at him.

      When she said it was time to go, Addy proudly pointed to the box filled with stuffed envelopes.

      “See what I did, Mommy? Miss Stephanie says I’m a great ’lope stuffer and she hopes I’ll come back.” Addy looked at Stephanie for reassurance and the director nodded. “Can I, Mommy?”

      “We’ll see.”

      Oz wondered if he was the only one who noticed the break in Blair’s voice, the tremble of her hand, the way she looked anywhere in the room but at him.

      “Dr Oz said I was a good helper, too, didn’t you, Dr Oz?” Addy bestowed him with the smile of an angel.

      “I did, Pipsqueak.” Giving her an indulgent look, Oz touched Addy’s curly blond ponytail, letting a ringlet wrap around his finger.

      Tight-lipped,

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