LITMIR.BIZ

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back, and sure, I wanted him off mine too. I’m not worried about Dad. I think he’s willing to believe me. It’s the way Patrick and Damon looked that worries me.”

      “As a matter of fact, me too.” Max looked around for a place to stash his suitcase, but there didn’t seem to be an empty place. “Especially when I caught Patrick looking for your wedding ring. Maybe I ought to go out and buy you a ring before your father gets back.”

      “Don’t bother.” Kelly dropped onto the bed, kicked off her shoes and peeled off her silk stockings. “We only have tonight to worry about.” She frowned at the bridal veil. “What am I doing with DeeDee’s bridal veil?”

      Max tried to clear the cobwebs from his mind. “Beats me. Maybe she loaned it to you when we got married.”

      “Don’t be ridiculous,” Kelly scoffed. “In spite of what I told my father, we’re not married. Never have been, never will be. I remember almost everything that happened last night and applying for a wedding license wasn’t one of them. So, in spite of what happened last night, we couldn’t possibly be married.”

      “In that case, I guess I’m out of here,” Max responded with a twinge of regret that surprised him. “I’m not looking forward to being your brother Patrick’s target.” Max hoisted his suitcase. “Well?”

      Kelly sat up with a look of alarm. “You can’t leave now! I need you to back up my story!”

      “Some story,” Max muttered. “Just remember, you can’t have it both ways. Either we’re married, or we’re not.”

      “Just for tonight, Max. Please?”

      Max felt a pang of sympathy at the near panic in her voice. There was that growing attraction he felt for her. And her reputation with the family was shaky, at best. “Okay. But if you keep changing your mind, no one is going to believe you. Including me.”

      He looked around for a place to put his suitcase. “I don’t know about you, but it’s beginning to look to me as if we’re in a hole so deep, we’re never going to be able to dig our way out.” Do you really want to? Where had that thought come from?

      He tore his gaze from Kelly’s slender right leg that had caused all his trouble. “Er…I’m sure that bed is too small for the two of us. Maybe we can try for some other sleeping arrangements?”

      Kelly looked around her bedroom, then shrugged. “I doubt it. I don’t think Dad would let us get away with not staying here tonight, or with your sleeping on the couch. It would be a dead giveaway. I know the house isn’t very big, but it’s been home for the last year for Dad, Sean and me.”

      “Your brothers?”

      “Damon lives in the bachelor-officers’ quarters. Patrick has an apartment in Las Vegas, but they’re in and out all the time. They’ll probably show up later.”

      Max sighed. “Okay. Just for tonight. Where can I stash my suitcase?”

      “I’m afraid you’ll have to try under the bed. The closet is full.”

      Max contemplated the logistics of sliding his suitcase under the bed with Kelly’s hips inches away from his eyes. The spicy fragrance surrounding her reminded him of the exotic bathroom at the Majestic Hotel. The effect the scent had had on him was back, big time.

      He studied the bed one more time. It looked as if a platonic night was going to be shaky. “How do you expect me to…” He caught himself before he asked the burning question that was bothering him. How was he going to keep his hands off Kelly if they had to share that bed? He fought the urge to turn on his heel and make tracks.

      “Expect you to do what?”

      He felt himself flush. But what the heck, they had to face facts sooner or later. “I meant to ask, how do you expect both of us to manage with such a small bed?”

      Before Kelly could answer, a small furry bundle raced into the room. The dog ran past a startled Max, jumped into Kelly’s arms and licked her face furiously.

      Max backed away before the animal came at him. Kelly’s attention last night had been welcome, but canine kisses weren’t his idea of affection. “Yours?”

      “Mine,” Kelly agreed happily. She hugged the wiggling cocker spaniel. “Her name is Honey.”

      Max was bemused at the airy kisses Kelly showered on the little animal. “I’ve never had a pet of my own. We weren’t allowed to have pets at boarding school.”

      “You don’t know what you’re missing.” Kelly laughed happily and returned the dog’s frantic kisses. “I left her with the family next door yesterday. She must have come in the doggie door.” Another hug. “Honey is my best friend. We move so often, everything and everyone else seems to have passed through my life like a moving train.”

      “That must have been hard on you.” Max studied Kelly thoughtfully, aware of her for the first time as a person instead of only as a desirable woman. No wonder she needed someone like Honey in her life. As for himself, where would he fit in? “My family has lived in the same house in Boston for generations.”

      “You’re lucky. We’ve lived in places like this all over the world. That’s part of the reason I got into teaching aerobics. It’s flexible. Anyway, if you’re a military brat, you have to get used to being a loner. As for a residence, every house and every bedroom on every air force base looks like this one.”

      Max heard the unhappiness in Kelly’s voice. His own life was predictable, scheduled to a gnat’s eyebrow on a strict agenda—even as a child. What would it be like to be uprooted from schools and friends every few years?

      “Ever think of busting loose?” he asked tentatively.

      “Sometimes,” she answered wistfully. “Especially whenever I thought Dad and my older brothers were unreasonable and too controlling.” She buried her head in Honey’s fur and crooned softly.

      Max felt a pang of envy as the dog licked Kelly’s nose. Maybe Kelly’s background was the answer to last night. Had it been a time she had decided to cut loose, to make love with a man of her own choice? Or did she really care for him? Strangely enough, he was beginning to wish she did.

      Kelly set the dog on a heart-shaped pillow. “Sit!” When the dog obediently froze, Kelly smiled at her pet approvingly. She gazed down at her bridesmaid’s gown. “I’m beginning to feel as if this dress has been glued to me. I’ve got to change.” She rummaged in the small chest and came up with jeans and a dark green plaid woolen shirt.

      Glued to her was right, Max mused. The velvet dress clung to her curves as if it had been sewn on. He cleared his throat. “Go ahead. I’ll just get rid of this thing.” He bent to stow his suitcase under the bed but retreated at Honey’s low growl. “Okay, have it your way,” he muttered, “but you’re going to have to let me get near that bed sooner or later.” He’d be damned if he’d get into a territorial dispute with a dog.

      With a smile he hoped Honey would interpret as friendly, Max studied an O’Rourke family picture hanging on the wall. Her father was dressed in a military uniform with a lieutenant’s insignia on its shoulders. A sweet-faced, dark-haired woman, Damon and Patrick, serious even at a young age, stood at her side. A smiling young Kelly and a small dark-haired boy sat on the floor in front of them. “The woman in this picture—your mother?”

      “Yes,” Kelly emerged from the closet with a pair of sport shoes. “We lost her about five years ago.”

      “Sorry,” Max answered. “That must have been rough.” His gaze swung to the faded heart-shaped pillows, the handmade quilt that was on Kelly’s bed and hooked rug. They’d probably been made by her mother and kept close no matter how many times the family had moved. Under Kelly’s feisty bravado obviously beat a sentimental heart.

      “Mostly on Sean, I guess, since he was so young. He and I have always been close. Since I was the only woman around, I guess you could say I

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