LITMIR.BIZ

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said, setting the tray on the unpainted steps of the gazebo.

      He’d started to reach for his shirt, but she’d said, “You don’t have to cover up for me. I’ve lost my modesty where the human body is concerned.”

      It was a strange thing to say, but he knew that, at the end, she’d taken care of the most intimate duties for her mother. He sat down beside her on the steps, took the glass of lemonade she handed him and drank most of it down. When he lowered the glass, he caught her staring at him.

      She blushed and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just that…you look so…healthy.”

      “My job keeps me in shape,” he said matter-of-factly.

      To his amazement, she reached out a hand and traced the corded muscles from his shoulder, down across his biceps, all the way to his forearm. She seemed totally absorbed in what she was doing, unaware of the response it was eliciting in him.

      He waited, keeping himself totally still, wondering when she would realize what she was doing, not wanting her to stop. When she traced a small scar at his wrist, his hand reflexively clenched into a fist.

      “Oh,” she said, looking up at him with startled eyes. “I’m sorry.”

      He caught her hand before she could flee. “No problem. I liked you touching me.”

      “You did?”

      “It felt good.”

      “Oh,” she said. “I wondered if…I mean as an experiment I wondered if you’d mind if I…”

      “What?”

      “I’m just curious, you understand.”

      “About what?” he asked, his voice harsh with unexpected desire.

      “Nothing,” she said, rising abruptly.

      He still had hold of her hand and rose with her. “About what?” he persisted.

      She looked almost frightened as she gazed into his eyes. “I wondered…” She laid a hand around his nape, drew his head down and kissed him. Her lips were soft and gentle, and he was so surprised that he didn’t respond, although the kiss was electrifying.

      She broke the kiss abruptly and stepped back, her blue eyes stark. “Excuse me. I have some papers to grade.”

      He’d wanted to hold on to her, and if she’d been engaged to anyone but his brother, he would have. But when she ran, he let her go.

      Rabb had never mentioned the kiss. And neither had Amanda.

      She’d brought him lemonade and cookies several more times over the summer as he built her gazebo. She even stayed to talk about her work and the books she was reading. She’d made sure their conversations stayed on a friendly footing. But she’d been careful never to touch him again.

      Rabb had felt frustrated that he couldn’t tell her how much he admired her. How much he loved her. But she was engaged to his eldest brother.

      It seemed odd to him that Jake never seemed to come around much. He’d watched the engaged couple together and realized something shocking. His brother didn’t seem to have an intimate relationship with Amanda. Rabb was grateful, but frustrated. Especially since Jake kept throwing him together with Amanda. Whenever Jake couldn’t escort his fiancée to some event, he would deputize Rabb to take his place. And since Rabb was grateful for every moment he could spend with Amanda, he was happy to oblige.

      Over the past two years, it had gotten harder and harder to be a good brother. Especially when he wanted his brother’s woman for his own.

      To make matters worse, he wasn’t sure if Jake even loved Amanda. Even now, at a party to celebrate his impending marriage, Jake couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off Hope Butler. That little sex kitten really had her claws into his brother.

      Rabb took a breath and let it out. Amanda would never be happy married to a man who didn’t love her. And Jake wouldn’t be happy living with a miserable wife. He owed it to both of them to make his feelings known…before it was too late.

      The first problem was how to separate Jake from Amanda so he could talk to his brother. In the end, he decided the direct approach was best. He walked up to the two of them and said, “I need to talk to you, Jake.”

      “Can it wait?” Jake said. He smiled at Amanda. “I’m a little busy right now.”

      “It’s important,” Rabb said.

      Jake turned to Amanda and said, “I’ll be right back,” then released her and followed Rabb.

      Rabb led his brother to a deserted corner of the backyard where forsythia bushes had grown out of control.

      “What is it?” Jake said impatiently.

      “I don’t think you should marry Amanda Carter.”

      Jake frowned. It was a look that would’ve cowed Rabb a few years ago, but he couldn’t afford to be daunted by his older brother’s displeasure. This was too important.

      “You don’t love her,” Rabb said bluntly.

      “How I feel about Amanda is none of your business,” Jake retorted.

      “I’m making it my business.”

      Jake’s blue eyes narrowed. “Did Amanda say something to you about us?”

      “No, but—”

      “Then how is my relationship with her any of your business?” Jake demanded.

      “Do you love Amanda even a little?” Rabb asked. “Tell me you love her, and I’ll back off.”

      Jake’s eyes narrowed even more. “I already told you—”

      “You don’t love her,” Rabb accused. “Do you? That Butler girl has her claws in you so tight, you can’t see anything but those big brown eyes of hers and that knockout body.”

      “Keep Hope out of this. And keep your voice down,” Jake said, shooting a glance at the gathered friends and family who were just out of earshot.

      “Hope Butler is very much a part of this,” Rabb said in a low, urgent voice. “Because I think you’re in love with her.”

      “How I feel about Hope is none of your business, either,” Jake said heatedly.

      “You have to break off this engagement, Jake. You have to set Amanda free.”

      “You know I can’t do that,” Jake said. “I proposed to Amanda, and unless she calls it off, I intend to go through with the wedding. Because she’ll make a damned fine wife!”

      “You are the most stubborn, bullheaded—”

      “If you’re done—”

      “I’m not done,” Rabb said, grabbing at Jake’s shoulder to keep him from walking away. “If that sexpot Hope Butler wasn’t wagging her tail—”

      Rabb never got to finish his sentence, because Jake swung a fist at his chin. He reacted quickly enough that the blow only grazed him, but even that was enough to knock him off his feet. Rabb lay on the ground staring up at his stunned brother.

      “Damn it, Rabb. I’m sorry,” Jake said. “I don’t know—”

      Rabb avoided the hand his brother offered and quickly got back on his feet. “I know exactly what’s wrong with you. You’re in love up to your eyeballs with Hope Butler, and you’re marrying Amanda Carter out of some misplaced sense of honor. You’re not doing either one of them any favors.”

      “Hope’s too young for me,” Jake said bleakly.

      “Yeah, I know. And because Amanda’s the right age you’re going to marry her and live miserably ever after. I’m giving you fair warning that I intend to do everything in my power to stop this wedding.”

      “Amanda

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