LITMIR.BIZ

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waiter obviously recognized George and stood fawning over him while he gave the order. Apparently George was a good tipper, something Amy wouldn’t have given him credit for, considering his concern about people taking care of their money.

      She thoroughly enjoyed the shrimp cocktail, after assuring George that it wouldn’t give her blotches, either. She was beginning to regret mentioning her allergy, and hoped he wouldn’t question everything she put in her mouth.

      Halfway through the glazed salmon, which turned out to be delicious, out of the blue George said, “I thought you might like to take a whirlwind tour of the area tomorrow. It might help you get acquainted with the great Northwest.”

      Surprised, she paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. “Really? Well, I’d love it, of course, but don’t you have things to do? I don’t want to be a burden.”

      “I don’t have any plans. I usually spend the weekend working or catching up on my reading. Nothing that can’t wait.”

      Of course, no girlfriends. George must lead a very dull life. No wonder Aunt Betty was worried about him working too hard. A day out in the fresh air would do him good. She beamed at him. “So where are we going?”

      “I thought a trip to the beach—the Oregon coast is quite spectacular, maybe a run through the gorge and over the mountain, we might even have time to stop in for a quick tasting at the wineries on the way. Oh, wait, you don’t drink wine, do you? Well, we can skip that, then.”

      She stared at him, fascinated by the dimple that flashed in his cheek now and again when he talked. “Wow, isn’t all this going to take up a lot of time?”

      “Well, I thought if we got an early start we could at least get some of it done—”

      “You know what I’d really like to do?”

      He snapped his mouth shut and the wariness crept back in his eyes.

      “I’d like to see a casino. Aunt Betty told me there was one not far from Portland.”

      George pursed his lips. “There’s one on the way to the beach. I’ll point it out to you as we go past, though you can hardly miss it. It stands out like a sore thumb.”

      “I don’t want just to go past it.” She laid down her fork and gave him her best smile. “I want to go inside, J.R. I’ve never been to a casino. I want to try my luck with the one-armed bandits.”

      From the look on his face, anyone would think she’d announced her intention to dance naked in the street. “You want to gamble? Are you out of your mind? Do you realize what a criminal waste of hard-earned money that is?”

      She sighed. “I’m not planning on feeding my life savings into the machines. I just want a little fun with them, that’s all.”

      “That’s what they all say.” George lifted his glass of pinot noir to his lips and took a hearty sip. “Gambling in any form is dangerous, Amanda…I mean Amelia…Amy.”

      “Which is why I want to do it. But don’t worry, I can drive myself down there when I get a car. Perhaps Aunt Betty would like to come with me.”

      A look of pure alarm crossed his face. “If it means that much to you,” he said hurriedly, “then I’ll take you. We can stop in on our way to the beach.”

      “Super!” Having won that point, Amy tackled the rest of her salmon. “What made you go into finance?” she asked, when they had both laid down their forks.

      George looked relieved to be on familiar ground. “I always liked working with figures and math was my best subject in high school. It just seemed logical to go into something financial. I started out as a clerk in an accounting firm and worked my way up from there.”

      “And now here you are, with a big consulting company.” She tilted her head on one side to study his face. “Come on, J.R. You can’t really enjoy being stuck in a stuffy office all day staring at figures, can you? I always figured you’d go into the army, like your dad.”

      His gaze flicked away from her, and he picked up his wineglass. “Well, what time would you like me to pick you up tomorrow? The earlier we start out, the more we’ll get done.”

      Apparently she’d touched on a forbidden subject. Now she wanted to know why, but this clearly was not the right time. She stored that particular topic away in her mind for a more suitable opportunity, and glanced at the gold watch her parents had given her for her twenty-first birthday. “Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I could be ready by eight. I’m not sure I’ll sleep all that well with all this excitement.”

      “I imagine this move is a huge upheaval for you. Why did you leave Willow Falls?”

      She wasn’t expecting the question, and stumbled over her answer. “I…wanted to further my career.”

      “They don’t have computers there?”

      She started playing with her untouched teaspoon. “They do, of course, but not advertising companies.”

      “What about Shepperton? That’s a fairly big town.”

      She met his gaze across the flickering candle between them. “But it’s not the city. There’s more choice of jobs in Portland.”

      “And more people after them.”

      “You sound as if you disapprove of my being here.”

      “It’s not my place to disapprove. It’s just that you don’t seem like the type to leave your home and family and move to a strange town where you don’t know anyone.”

      “I know you and Aunt Betty,” Amy said gently. “And I promise not to be a nuisance.”

      George actually looked ashamed of himself. “Of course…I didn’t mean…I’m sorry if I…”

      Amy reached out to lay her hand on his. She felt his fingers jerk beneath her touch, and she gave them a light squeeze. “George, it’s all right. Really. I understand if you don’t have the time to drag around town with me. I’m quite capable of finding my own way about. Really. Once I have my own car—”

      “We’ll take care of that next week. And of course I have time to show you around.” He pulled in a deep breath. “It will be…er…fun.”

      He’d sounded as if he wasn’t really sure what fun was. Well, Amy thought, with a little rush of anticipation, she was just the person to teach him. Maybe she could even persuade him to gamble with a little of his precious money. It would be great to see him relax and let go of that stuffy attitude. She had a feeling that once George learned to unbend and have fun, he would be devastatingly sexy.

      She met his gaze again and he narrowed his eyes. “What are you grinning at now?”

      She lifted her shoulders in a careless shrug. “Just looking forward to tomorrow, that’s all. It sounds as if it’s going to be a great day.”

      “Super,” George said dryly.

      Amy woke up the next morning full of expectation for the day ahead. Things had been a little awkward between them when George had escorted her to her door the night before. She’d thanked him for the wonderful evening, saying it was the best time she’d had in a long time. For some reason, George had seemed upset by that and had disappeared into his apartment mumbling something that could have been “Sleep well,” but she couldn’t be sure.

      Amy tried to analyze his reaction while she showered and dressed for their trip. It was hard to tell if he’d enjoyed the evening. Reading George’s mind would be like trying to penetrate Fort Knox. It was probably her imagination, but she had the feeling that all that control was holding down the lid on a lot of tension, and that one day he would blow his top like Mount St. Helens. She could only hope that she wasn’t the one to set him off. She had an idea that George Bentley, Jr., could be a dangerous animal once aroused.

      The object of her speculation rapped

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