Heart Stealers

by Patricia McLinn

  “We can look over all that later. Did you bring the bids from the contractor on rewiring and plumbing?”

  “Got it right here.” She pulled out a set of papers.

  “Great.” Chance took it from her. “You bring the sandwiches. I’ll take care of this.” He left the kitchen reading over the figures from the contractor.

  Rory laughed at how quickly he became distracted with paperwork. By the time she joined him in the spare bedroom, he was already fast at work on the computer. The man had a talent for breaking things down into simple steps that made the grandest schemes seem possible.

  “You actually enjoy this, don’t you?” she said, watching his long fingers play over the keyboard.

  “You bet. It’s a type of game when you think about it,” he answered, without taking his eyes off the screen. “Punching in numbers, manipulating this and that until each bottom line is exactly where we want it.”

  “Maybe.” She set his sandwich and fries on the desk. “Although why you need the computer to add and subtract is beyond me. From what I’ve seen, your brain works as fast as any machine.”

  “I’m not that fast.” He chuckled.

  “Well, nearly. Here, you’re ignoring your dinner.” She nudged the plate closer to the keyboard, then watched as he worked between bites. She loved the way the monitor lit up his face and reflected little squares off his glasses. Sitting beside him made her insides flutter until she could barely taste the sandwich she was trying to eat. Mostly because she couldn’t stop wondering when he would kiss her again. They’d been together every evening for nearly a week, yet he barely even made eye contact, much less a move that could remotely be termed a pass.

  “That about does it for the report on projected renovation costs.” His eyes scanned the screen. “No, wait.” He touched the glass with his finger. “I need Adrian to get me the figures from the restaurant supply company for kitchen equipment. Do you know if he has them?”

  When he turned to her, she leaned closer in an effort to distract him. Couldn’t they ever talk about something other than the business plan? “I think he’s too busy drooling over stoves to make up his mind on what he wants.”

  For a moment, her ploy seemed to work. His gaze held hers for a heartbeat, then slipped to her mouth before it darted away. “I see. Well.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Tell him he doesn’t have to decide right now, but I need something to go on.”

  Don’t we all? she thought as she set aside their empty plates. Could she have been wrong about Chance? Maybe the man wasn’t attracted to her. But then how to explain those two searing kisses?

  Stretching sideways, he grabbed a notepad and a pen. “Here, why don’t you make a list of everything we’re missing?”

  She stared at the pad as if it were a snake about to strike. “You want me to write something down?”

  “Yes, if you would.”

  Her heart pounded as she pulled her hands up along her thighs, her shoulders curling back, away from the deadly pad and pen. “I’m, um, not very good at making lists. Besides, I don’t need to. I have a really good memory.”

  His expression showed doubt. “Well, you might have a good memory, but I’d feel better if we had a checklist.”

  Her stomach churned as he picked up a book they’d ordered from the International Association of Innkeepers and he flipped to a bookmarked page. “Here, read down this list, and I’ll make a note of anything we’re still missing.”

  Icy sweat coated her skin. Praying her hands wouldn’t shake, she took the book and stared at the page filled with words. Being put on the spot always made the letters jumble even more. If she were alone, and had plenty of time, she could sort most of it out. But she’d never do it sitting next to Chance, one of the smartest men she’d ever met, with him waiting for her to read aloud.

  For one desperate moment, she thought she might be ill. On impulse, she scooted forward and propped the book on the desk next to the monitor. “Here, why don’t I hold it for you and you can compare their list to ours?”

  He looked ready to argue, but shrugged and went back to work. Relief came first, a huge dizzying wave of it, followed by fascination as he typed notes in a new document.

  The longer she watched, the easier he made it look. Since she was leaning forward, she noticed the words on the lit screen looked different than the ones on a printed page. They were bigger, and the background wasn’t stark white, so they didn’t float around or have strange ghost shadows.

  Even the typing intrigued her, since he watched the screen as the letters appeared. That seemed so much easier than the kind of typing she’d failed at so miserably in junior high, where she’d had to stare at a book and type blind, never knowing how many mistakes she made until she looked at the paper and cringed.

  By watching the screen, he knew instantly if he made a mistake. She was stunned to see that Chance actually made quite a few. Even more stunned that the mistakes didn’t seem to bother him. Of course, he didn’t have to reach for a bottle of correction liquid over and over again until the page turned into one big blob as hers always had. He simply hit the delete key.

  Amazing!

  “Okay,” he said, startling her out of her trance. “I think that gives us a good idea where we stand. Let me print this out so you can take it to Adrian and Allison.”

  Since she was sitting closer than usual, and watching the screen more carefully, she realized the box that always appeared before he sent a document to the printer had something to do with spelling. It told him he’d misspelled a word, then gave him suggestions for the correct spelling.

  Some strange emotion that went beyond excitement, beyond anything she’d ever felt, tingled inside her as he corrected the spelling of three more words with the computer’s help. She’d heard people talk about computers and spelling software, but she’d never paid much attention, always assumed she’d never be able to use anything so sophisticated. But Chance made everything look easy.

  When he finished checking the spelling, he hit the print command. “All done,” he said. “As soon as we tie up these last loose threads, we can start putting the actual business plan in order.” As he turned to check the printer’s progress, he caught sight of her face. “Aurora? Are you all right?”

  A lump rose in her throat, reducing her voice to a whisper. “The computer checked your spelling.”

  “Yes, of course. I always run a spell check, since I’m a pretty sloppy typist.”

  She willed herself not to cry. “Can I try it?”

  “What, the computer? I thought you didn’t like the things.”

  “I know what I said, but I’d just like to try, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure.” He stood and held the chair for her. “Here, let’s start a new document.” He leaned over her shoulder and hit a few keys.

  She started to place her hands on the keyboard, but pulled back. “I don’t know what to type.”

  “How about ‘My name is Aurora St. Claire’?” he suggested, standing behind her, watching the screen.

  She glanced up and offered a wobbly smile. “Could you please not stand over my shoulder?”

  “Oh, sorry.” He took the chair she’d just left and watched her face rather than the screen, which only reduced her tension a fraction.

  Biting her lip, she tapped her way through the words: “My name is Aurora St. Claire.” Since she was reasonably sure she’d spelled all that right, she added the line: “This is my first time to use a computer.” She read it over, not sure if she’d made any mistakes or not.

  “Okay”—she took a deep breath—”how do I tell it to check my spelling?” He leaned forward to show her and she slapped her hands over the screen. “No, don’t read it!”

  He looked perplexed and a little offended, but he walked her through the steps without looking at the screen. Her breath caught when a box appeared telling her she’d misspelled “first” and giving her the correct spelling. To her surprise, she wasn’t mortified. The comput
er wasn’t human, it wouldn’t laugh and call her stupid. It simply fixed the problem.

  It was so easy. So damn easy! She covered her mouth with both hands, afraid she’d laugh or cry. Why hadn’t she taken a computer class in high school? How could she have gone all these years assuming it would be beyond her ability just because she’d flunked typing? It wasn’t beyond her at all.

  It was easy!

  She’d walked in here tonight, the same old Rory she’d always been, and now everything was different. Without even realizing it, Chance had opened a door to the world for her.

  “Hey, hey,” he said, and she felt his hand rubbing her shoulder. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Everything,” she sobbed. “I’m just happy! And angry! Where was this dang thing ten years ago? Do you know all the things I’ve missed?” She turned to him, trying in vain to dry her cheeks. “I barely graduated high school. College was out of the question. Not for everyone who has problems, but for me it was. Maybe I’m just too lazy or stupid, I don’t know.”

  “Hey!” His brows snapped together. “You are not stupid.”

  “I feel stupid, though. You don’t know how stupid I feel sometimes. I can’t even get a decent-paying job, because I can barely read and write. I can’t take a phone message without embarrassing myself. Or fill out a check at the grocery store. Do you know how I got the job at Captain Bob’s? I took the application home and Allison filled it out for me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She hiccupped. “I have dyslexia.”

  “Well, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I didn’t want to hear you say it’s just an excuse, that I should try harder. I did try when I was in school. You have no idea how hard I tried, but I can’t keep up with other people. I’ll never be able to keep up. I didn’t want you to think of me as lazy.”

  “I would never think that!”

  “And now to discover I can do this. Me! Stupid, lazy Aurora St. Claire can operate a computer! Will you teach me more?” She grabbed his hand. “I want to learn everything. I’ll do anything to learn. Please say you’ll teach me.”

  “Of course I will.” He cupped her face with his free hand and glared at her. “But only if you promise to never call yourself stupid and lazy again.”

  Biting her lip, she nodded. “Thank you.” The words came out all choked and broken. “Thank you so much.” She threw her arms around his neck and clung tight. When his arms went around her, her sniffles turned to sobs. “I’m getting your shirt all wet.”

  “I don’t care. And I meant what I said. You are not stupid or lazy. You’re one of the brightest, most take-charge people I have ever met. It’s what I admire most about you.”

  “You really admire me?” She pulled back to blink at him. Even with her vision blurred by tears, she saw his smile. His face hovered bare inches from her. Her heart lurched when his gaze dropped to her lips, and she wondered if he was going to kiss her. Finally. Please, yes, kiss me.

  “I admire you a great deal,” he said, but when he leaned forward, it was her forehead he kissed in a sweet comforting gesture. Which only made her start crying all over again.

  * * *

  “I’m in love,” Aurora announced the following week. “I am completely and totally in love. You realize that, don’t you?”

  She turned away from the computer, and Chance felt the impact of her smile like a punch in the chest. For one wild moment, he wished she were talking about him rather than the machine that had captured her heart. His gaze drifted over her face, so close and glowing with such joy. How easy it would be to bend forward and touch his lips to hers, to close his eyes and breathe her happiness deep into his lungs.

  The thought coiled inside him, tying his insides into knots of aching need.

  He shook himself free of temptation. One more night. He only had to get through one more night without slipping up—and then his life would be back on its safe, predictable path. Bracing himself, he pointed to the screen. “You just need to add the figures in the bedding and linens category, and we’re done with the furnishings report.”

  “Not a problem.” She turned back to the computer and hit the required command. She had a rather imaginative way of using the keyboard, but she was gaining in speed and proficiency. “You know, I never thought I’d say this about paperwork, but I’m actually going to miss this.”

  “You have a natural ability with the computer. Not everyone picks it up so quickly.”

  “You think so?” Surprise showed in her clear blue eyes.

  “Definitely.” He indulged in a moment of admiring her face, the sheer beauty of the sun-kissed skin, the golden-red brows, the expressive lips. All that blended with her quick wit, her humor, and her generous nature was damn near irresistible. Any man who could spend two weeks in her presence and not kiss her should be nominated for sainthood.

  “I’d love to learn more,” she said. “If you would teach me.”

  Dangerous thoughts swirled through his head, memories of how well they’d worked together these last two weeks blended with images of their time continuing on into the future. He pulled back to a safe distance, where the exotic floral scent of her hair didn’t seep into his senses. “I’d like to, but you’ll be way too busy building your business once you get the loan.”

  He realized suddenly that she wasn’t the only thing he’d miss. Somewhere along the way, he’d gotten wrapped up in the excitement of the project. He understood now what drove people to take such risks. It was more than the prospect of a financial payoff—it was the satisfaction of building something from the ground up.

  “Do you think we’ll get approved?” she asked softly.

  He blew out a breath. “It’s hard to say. If it were up to me, I’d approve the loan tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t work in the loan department. I run operations and handle new accounts.”

  “So, when we get the loan, you’ll be our personal banker?” she asked with a quick grin.

  “It would be my pleasure,” he said, even though he didn’t handle many accounts personally anymore. His management duties took up too much time. But handling the St. Claire account would allow him to remain part of the project in a vicarious way. “Are you still planning on tomorrow being the big day when you turn in your application?”

  “Yep.” When the report finished running, she sent the document to the printer. “Allison has asked the antiques shop for the morning off, and I don’t need to be at the pier until noon. So, we’ll come down to the bank first thing.”

  He retrieved the report from the printer. “Let’s go through everything one more time and be sure we have it all in order.”

  Rising, they went to the daybed, where Chance had lined up all the reports and documents in neat piles. Watching him, Rory wanted to groan in frustration. For two weeks, she’d tried every subtle way she could think of to let him know she would welcome an advance. Honestly, she thought, if the man weren’t so intelligent, she’d think he was completely dense.

  Neither of them was seriously involved with anyone else. She’d only had a couple of friendly-dating relationships in the past year, and she was certain Chance wasn’t enthusiastic about going out with Paige. He never called her, and to Rory’s knowledge they hadn’t had a single date yet.

  So, what was the hold-up? They were both available, adult, and attracted to each other. At least she was attracted. Wasn’t he curious to see if there was something more interesting between them than compiling business reports?

  They stood by the bed with Chance checking off each item as she put them in the large manila envelope. As the envelope grew heavier, and the bed emptier, her desperation mounted. This was their last night together. Unless something happened within the next few minutes, she would lose her excuse to be alone with him like this.

  “I guess that about does it,” Chance said, staring at the empty bed.

  “I guess so.” She wanted to cry. Or scream. With the envelope weighing d
own her hands, she looked up into his eyes. What she saw made her heart jolt. Finally, his guard had dropped, revealing desire that mirrored her own. He wanted her. She could see it so clearly. And she was tired of waiting for him to make the first move.

  Now or never, she told herself and pressed her lips to his. She felt him freeze, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Don’t pull away, she prayed. Kiss me back. Please kiss me back.

  He swept her hard against him. His clipboard clattered to the floor. The envelope fell at her feet. One of his hands ran up her back, into her hair as his lips took greedy possession.

  Yes! she silently shouted as she lifted one leg along the outside of his thigh. His other hand moved downward to cup her bottom.

  “Aurora,” he rasped as he kissed her neck, her ear. “Aurora.”

  “Yes,” she sighed just before he reclaimed her mouth. This was more than the simple acknowledgment of interest she’d wanted—far more—but his enthusiasm sent a thrill of joy singing through her. All she could think was, Don’t stop, don’t stop.

  If he stopped, he’d start thinking, and that logical brain of his would come up with some reason why they shouldn’t be touching and kissing. But it felt so right! Couldn’t he feel it, too?

  With her pulse drumming in her ears, she pressed her body along the full length of his, hoping to show him the answer was yes, yes to whatever he wanted, yes! They fit together so well, both of them tall and lean. She felt his erection rise against her belly and she moaned in approval. If just once in his life this man would act without thinking, they might get somewhere. Later, there would be time to think. Right now, she only wanted to feel.

  Tugging the golf shirt free of his shorts, she gloried in the tautness of his muscles against her palm. His hands slipped beneath her shirt as well and a moan rumbled deep in his throat. When he kissed her again, with a hunger that left her dizzy, she guided his hand to her breast.

  Don’t stop, she tried to convey with her lips and her hands, the press of her body.

  In answer, he bent and swept her into his arms to carry her. She broke the kiss long enough to gasp in surprise, then pressed her lips back to his. He walked only a short distance, to his bedroom she assumed, before he lowered her and she felt the give of a mattress beneath her.