by Cindy Kirk
She blamed the night air for the shiver working down her spine, rather than the way he was still moving his thumb ever so slowly against her hand. She tugged and he finally let it go. The fact that he seemed reluctant to do so had to be her imagination. It was all fired up because she’d spent so much of the evening daydreaming. Fantasizing that she was someone like a Savannah, and not who she really was. Plain Sarah-Jane. “My boyfriend is out of town.” Another whopper. What was wrong with her?
He grimaced and shook his head. “Should have known there’d be a boyfriend. Whatever he’s doing must’ve been mighty important.”
“Why?” The question popped out despite herself.
“No man in his right mind wants to leave behind a beautiful woman like you on a night like this if he can possibly help it.”
She twined her fingers tightly in the cashmere wrap. She couldn’t come up with a response to save her soul.
“Are you headed home?”
She nodded.
He smiled slightly and glanced around the parking lot. Even the other two cars had now left. “Where’s your car?”
“I walked.”
“Ah. Can I give you a ride?”
Her mouth dried up. She shook her head even though something inside her wanted to jump up and down with glee.
“You sure?” He spread his hands. “I promise you’d be safe. Whether it looked like it or not in there, I leave most of the drinking to my brothers. I’m sober as a judge.” He smiled slightly. “If we kissed, you wouldn’t taste anything but me.”
Her jaw loosened. If?
“But then your boyfriend probably wouldn’t approve.”
She nearly choked. Thank goodness he didn’t ask for the nonexistent boyfriend’s name. “No. Probably not.”
“Seriously, though. You shouldn’t be out walking alone at this hour.”
“It’s only a few minutes from here. I’ll be fine.”
“And getting in the car of a stranger isn’t something you’re anxious to do.”
Her ears went hot again, because that thought hadn’t even entered her mind. And it certainly should have.
“Well.” He suddenly caught her hand up in his again, only to lift it and drop a kiss on the back of it. “You walk carefully, Savannah. And have yourself a good New Year.” He tugged his loosened tie off completely and tossed it in the car before following it.
“You too,” she finally managed faintly.
But she knew he hadn’t heard.
He’d already started the engine of the expensive-looking car and was driving away.
She couldn’t help feeling like she’d blown her one and only chance with the handsome man. For her and the nonexistent Savannah.
ISBN: 9781460313541
Copyright © 2013 by Cynthia Rutledge
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
