Pamela Hearon – In Emmylou's Hands (страница 13)

And he could watch himself slide from half man to no man at all in her perspective in a matter of seconds. Or worse, she’d start being kind to him and giving him that pitying look.

Oh hell no.

Despite the fact that it aggravated him, the one thing he liked about EmmyLou Creighton was how she didn’t cut him any slack because of his bum leg. Except the day her dog had humped it—she’d seemed sympathetic then. He’d hated that.

The Cadiz exit appeared, and Sol left I-24 to make the rest of the trip on two-lane roads. As he approached the stop sign at the bottom of the ramp, he glanced at the rearview mirror.

What he saw wasn’t so much his own reflection with two bluish-green bruises circling his eyes and a piece of adhesive tape holding his nose in place. Instead, it was the answer he’d been searching for.

He grinned at the painful sight.

* * *

“JOE WAYNE WENT on and on about your friend he met at the beach house. Sol?”

Her mom’s mention of Joey and Sol in the same sentence brought a flush to Emmy’s face. The thought of her brother’s hijinks was bad enough, but adding Sol Beecher to the images made her want to crawl in a hole...or seek a new identity. Again.

“Sol’s not really a friend,” she corrected her mother, sensing the turn this conversation was about to make. “Just a guy from Taylor’s Grove.”

“Well, Joe Wayne told us he’s not married, and he’s around forty.” Yes, indeed. Thar she blows! “I never dreamed that Podunk town you moved to might have an eligible bachelor near your age. You shouldn’t let this opportunity pass you by. Lord knows, you’ve let that happen too often—and I’m not just talking in the marriage department.”

The long-familiar tightness in her gut, which always accompanied a visit or phone call from her mom, twisted into an ache. “This isn’t an opportunity, Mama.”

“Nothing ever is with you. That’s exactly the kind of failure talk that got you where you are. Nowhere.”

EmmyLou bit back the retort on the tip of her tongue. Mama never heard when she talked about her successful salon or how much she loved living in her beautiful home on the outskirts of the friendly village. If it didn’t somehow bring direct attention to Mama, it was considered a failure. Emmy had learned the rules of engagement long ago.

A blessed beep sounded in her ear. “Hey, I’ve got another call, so I’ll have to let you go. Tell Dad I love him. Bye.”

“Think about what I said.” Her mom rushed and got in the last word...as always.

Emmy tapped the button without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Hey, EmmyLou. It’s Sol.”

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Heat surged through her at the sound of the wolf-like growl. She gritted her teeth. “Hi there. You back? And all in one piece?”

A long pause brought the hairs on the back of her neck to attention. “You talked to your brother.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry about your nose—”

“Oh. That. Yeah, it doesn’t help my looks any.” She heard him draw a long breath. “So if you’re home, I’ll bring the key by.”

“I am. Out by the pool,” she lied, but it wouldn’t be a lie for long. She headed for her closet. “Just pull on around to the end of the drive, and you won’t even have to get out.” She had it all planned. He’d get an eyeful as she walked from the pool to his truck, and Bentley wouldn’t have a chance to hump his bad leg again.

“Be there in a minute,” came the gruff reply.

All she had to do was slip into her gold bikini and run to dive into the pool. She’d known Sol would be dropping by sometime today, so she’d done her waterproof makeup first thing after her shower. Her hair was pulled back into a cute, calculated bun that would keep its shape when wet.

On the way to the pool, she called Bentley, who came running from somewhere upstairs, as she grabbed the thermal glass of iced tea from the fridge and the magazines from the island.

She arranged everything around the chaise and then dove from the diving board to gain that sun-kissed glisten. Bentley jumped in from the side and dog-paddled to the steps. He shook himself and sprawled out on the warm concrete while she settled into the chaise and thumbed leisurely through the magazine. By the time she heard Sol’s truck in her driveway, she was confident she and her canine companion looked as though they’d been out there all day.

Her timing was a tad off. As she rose from her chair, Sol was getting out of his truck, so he missed the beginning of her entrance. And with him standing outside his truck, she wouldn’t get to lean over toward his driver’s side window. Oh well. She started her slow, seductive walk.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.