LITMIR.BIZ

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until she recalled what he’d asked. “No. I don’t need the car.”

      “You’re sure?” He still held the cell phone when she wanted him to hold her.

      “Positive.” She left the rest of the words unspoken, the request for him to put his hands back on her.

      “Okay. Cool.” He set the phone down again and met her gaze.

      She could have sworn that heat flared in his eyes for a second before he scrambled to his feet.

      “I’d better put the food away.” He picked up the dishes and glasses, whisking them into the kitchen while she tried to recover from the sharp bite of longing she hadn’t felt in years.

      Seducing Danny could take a little more ingenuity than she’d thought if she had intimacy issues and he was going to insist on taking things slow. Just because she’d received an invitation to spend the night didn’t mean she’d be sleeping in his bed.

      ACCEPTING STEPHANIE’S INVITATION didn’t mean he could fall on her like a sailor on dry land for the first time in months. He would restrain himself because she deserved better. Hell, she might not even be ready to be with him like that given the way he’d freaked her out back in the water. As much as she might be sending him the green-light signal, chances were good that she didn’t know exactly what she needed.

      Which was why he would be a gentleman if it killed him. Which was also why he cleared the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen with a speed and dedication he usually reserved for his job.

      He had no idea how things would go between them tonight, but his blood still simmered. He’d be back out in the bay to cool down if he couldn’t get himself under control.

      In the living room, Stephanie wandered around checking out his book collection on one shelf and old CDs on the other. He’d chased her out of the kitchen twice, mostly because he needed the space to get his head on straight. He looked over again, and saw she was scrolling through his iPod playlist while the device was docked in the stereo. When she cranked up a Doors tune, the house filled with dark, moody music. She sang and twirled absently, occasionally running her finger down a book spine or drifting past the open French doors to breathe the fresh air.

      Seeing her like this, full of song and a bounce in her step, brought him right back to that night they’d first met.…

      MUSIC STILL POURED through him, the echo of his show in the city humming in his head. Danny had booked the gig in Manhattan three months ago, knowing his band had what it took to make it on a big stage. And sure enough, the well-connected club owner had declared their show a success. The other guys in the band had expressed doubts about his level of commitment to music given the prominence of his family—and his dad’s seemingly never-ending thirst to expand Murphy Resorts, Inc. while strong-arming all his sons into corporate positions. But maybe the fact that Danny had set up this gig would quiet his detractors.

      His bandmates certainly looked happy enough as they mingled at a house party hosted by Danny’s cousin, journalist Christina Marcel. The timing had been nice for him since Christina was headed overseas for a six-month-long news feature on the war in Iraq and she’d wanted to throw a little going-away party for her and her camerawoman, Stephanie Rosen. She’d been more than happy to expand the event into a reception for the musicians.

      “You were awesome!” Christina threw herself into Danny’s arms as soon as he walked out onto her balcony, her energy a formidable thing. “You’ve got to cut yourself free from the resort business and pursue your music, Dan,” she whispered in his ear. “You’re so talented with that guitar.”

      “Thanks.” He kissed her cheek, liking the view from her Brooklyn apartment. The city glowed across the water, reminding him his dreams were all right there for the taking.

      Except that, more than music, he wanted to follow Christina over to Iraq. He hated sitting at a desk job and carrying on, business as usual, while a war unfolded. He needed to get involved. To use his smarts for something beyond making another dollar for the old man. He liked music, but even that had been making him feel restless.

      “Have you met Stephanie?” Christina asked, oblivious to his dark thoughts as she blew kisses to someone who had just come out onto the balcony.

      Danny turned to see one of his older brothers, Jack, who’d made the trip to New York with him. Danny couldn’t help but think that Jack was his designated watchdog this weekend. In a family full of high achievers, Danny had always been the crazy one, whereas Jack was Mr. Responsible. Long ago, the guy had been charged with watching over the younger brothers while the oldest learned the ropes of the resort business.

      “No.” Danny looked around the balcony, more than ready to meet anyone that wasn’t related to him. Sometimes, when you had a big family, it was damn tough to escape their expectations. “Is she here yet?”

      “Are you kidding?” Christina laughed and tugged him closer to whisper in his ear. “She’s been looking forward to an introduction ever since your first set back at the club.”

      Danny waited while Christina waved her hand over the crowd.

      And summoned a woman who damn near floored him.

      It wasn’t just one thing about her. It was everything. Pale and delicate with wide blue eyes and fairy-tale dark waves that hugged her shoulders, she looked as though she belonged to another era. Except she wore a red silk scarf, tied pirate-style around her forehead, and her lips were quirked in a wry, knowing smile. She danced her way over to the jazz tune piped through an outdoor sound system.

      “Hola, Christina,” she greeted his cousin, toasting her with the drink she held in one hand. Then, never taking a sip, she set her glass down on the railing twined with pink-flamingo-shaped decorative lights, which surround the balcony. “And hola to you, Daniel Murphy. I’ve been anxious to tell you that you play guitar like a god.”

      She didn’t say it like a groupie. She said it like someone who genuinely loved music. And then she launched into an air guitar riff, her head thrown back and her fingers flying over imaginary strings. Danny was surprised, charmed and yeah, totally taken with her.

      And he’d known her for all of two minutes.…

      HOW THE HELL WOULD he ever be able to resist her now? He’d been a sucker for her then, before he’d ever touched her. This time, he knew exactly how good they were together. More importantly, she’d finally sought him out after all this time. When she’d ignored a couple of phone calls from him a few years ago, he’d left her alone, figuring she’d moved on. But now?

      She needed him.

      So what was he doing in the kitchen drying the same glass for the last freaking five minutes?

      He set the tumbler on the counter with a force that threatened to shatter the thing on the granite. Stephanie peered his way.

      “All done?” She took a step in his direction but paused at the stereo to turn the music down a few notches.

      No. He was only just getting started.

      “Yes. I have been for a while, actually.” He tossed the towel on the breakfast bar and met her in the middle of the living area. “I’ve just been looking at you and wondering … where to go from here.”

      She hugged her arms around her waist and shrugged. Her blue-black hair was glossy in the sunlight that streamed through the windows that lined half the room. Her eyes sparked with some of the old light, the mischief he’d always liked about her. She had a playful spirit that really worked for him.

      Or at least, she used to have a playful spirit. Protectiveness surged through him at the thought of anyone daring to take that from her.

      “Funny you should say that, because I’ve been over here thinking the same thing.” She combed a strand of hair away from her forehead with one hand.

      “Really?” He told himself to take it slow. No matter how she flirted with him, he was going to take this easy. One day at a time. “For the

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