Shawna Delacorte – In Forbidden Territory (страница 2)

“I hate to interrupt your schedule, Ty. I can certainly amuse myself until Mac gets home tonight.” His mention of expansion plans did not escape her notice. Hopefully the company’s plans would fit nicely with her personal agenda, her primary goal—a plan she had not shared with her brother even though he was central to its success. It was her real reason for moving to Seattle.

Ty extended a dazzling smile and winked at her. “Nonsense. There’s nothing I’d rather do than take a beautiful and charming lady to lunch.” He glanced toward Mac before leaving, catching the look of warning aimed directly at him.

Ty escorted Angie out of the building. The tightness in his chest increased as the scent of her perfume tickled his senses. A sudden rush of discomfort left him uneasy. He felt pressured to make small talk even though he wasn’t sure what to say to this enchanting woman who had just robbed him of his ability to be glib and charming. He took a deep breath. Maybe Mac thought of her as still being his kid sister, but there was no way this gorgeous vision could be thought of as anything other than all woman—beautiful and fascinating.

He took another breath and tried to brush away the flood of lascivious thoughts that invaded his mind. He tried to convince himself it was just force of habit. It was not as if he was entertaining serious thoughts about making a pass at Mac’s little sister…not really. The band pulled even tighter across his chest. The heat settled low inside his body. Regardless of what he tried to tell himself, pizza and a movie were the last things on his mind.

The libidinous thoughts coursing through his head and pulling at his body were totally inappropriate under the circumstances, but that did not make them go away. She was Mac’s sister, what Mac referred to as his kid sister—an expression that had a very protective sound to it, especially the way Mac said it. It was the type of sound that matched the look of warning Mac had shot in his direction.

Ty turned toward Angie. “Well…shall we go? There’s a charming little place a short walk from here.”

They strolled along the waterfront toward the harbor. As much as he tried not to, he couldn’t keep from staring at her. He drank in her finely sculpted features, the turn of her nose, the absolutely delicious-looking mouth.

“Why are you watching me?”

Her words surprised him. His mind scrambled for some sort of acceptable explanation. “I…I was looking for similarities in appearance between you and Mac. I can see the family resemblance.”

“I think we both look like our mother.”

He allowed his gaze to drift across her features. “You’re not what I was expecting. I was still picturing that ten-year-old little girl.”

She emitted a sigh, part exasperation and part resignation. “Yes, that’s what Mac sees, too, whenever my name is brought up in conversation. He and Mom both. They’re always patronizing me. I guess I can understand it. Not only am I the only girl, I’m also the youngest—the baby of the family with five older brothers. Mac is the oldest, thirteen years older than I am. I keep hoping that the day will come when they stop thinking of me as that little girl, but I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon.”

Ty and Angie reached the restaurant. It was a bright, sunny autumn day and they were seated outside on the deck. After they ordered lunch he leaned back in his chair in an attempt to project a casual appearance, something far removed from the uneasiness churning inside him. “So what have you been doing with yourself since you were that little girl?”

A teasing grin played at the corners of her mouth. “Mostly I’ve been trying to get everyone to stop thinking of me as that little girl.”

Was she making fun of him? At that moment his mind was so muddled he didn’t know what to think. His gaze slowly traveled across her features again, pausing a moment to take in the way the fabric of her blouse caressed the curve of her breasts. He finally settled on her tantalizing mouth, a mouth that deserved to be kissed long, hard and often.

“What else have you been up to besides not being ten anymore?” His voice held a huskiness he wasn’t happy with. He cocked his head as he made eye contact with her. A shiver of anxiety worked its way up his back followed by a shiver of uncertainty. Just pizza and a movie with Mac’s kid sister—what had he gotten himself into? He was not sure about this anymore, not sure at all.

“I went to school. Then after I graduated from high school I entered an Oregon beauty pageant and was selected first runner-up.”

He straightened to attention. “Ah…you’re a beauty queen.” He saw a momentary flash of irritation dart across her face.

“I didn’t care about the beauty title. What I wanted was the college scholarship. I had some scholarship money, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to provide the rest of the funds myself. Unfortunately, with the heavy class load I had planned to carry I wouldn’t have been able to work very many hours a week.”

The words were not what Ty had expected to hear. She sounded very serious rather than simply engaging in casual chitchat. Was she always this serious? She had shown marvelous flashes of humor in the short time he had been around her. He was not accustomed to having serious conversations with women. “How did things turn out?”

“Mac came to the rescue as he always has for anyone in the family who needs anything.”

The waitress interrupted their conversation when she placed the food on the table. Angie became reflective as she watched the waitress leave, then turned her attention back to Ty. “As Mac has probably told you, our father died when I was very young and Mac was still in high school. Mom had a tough time financially. She was raising six kids by herself and money was very tight. Mac worked for two years after he graduated from high school to earn the money he needed for college to supplement his scholarship funds. That’s why he was two years older than the other freshmen such as you.” She flashed a teasing grin at Ty and displayed another moment of her pointed humor. “And far more mature than most of them.”

“Ouch!” Ty expressed the pain of another direct hit to his ego, partly in good fun, but with an underlying layer of reality.

“Mac was right there for me. He stepped in and took care of the rest of my college expenses. I graduated with honors and a dual major in business and industrial design.”

Ty emitted a low whistle of appreciation. “That’s a very impressive accomplishment.”

“I never would have been able to do it without Mac’s help. I’ve always looked up to him. He’s been both my big brother and the father figure I never had. He always took care of me.” She quickly blinked away the tears of emotion that started to moisten her eyes. “I owe him so much.” What she chose not to say was that she had always been in awe of Mac and his many accomplishments, not to mention just a little bit intimidated, too. She idolized her brother and knew there was no way she would be able to repay him.

She also knew he wouldn’t accept it even if she could.

“Yes, Mac is a very generous and giving person.”

“Other than that, for the past three years since graduating from the University of Oregon I’ve worked in Portland at an industrial design firm. Unfortunately it was a job that didn’t offer any challenges or any future.” Not to mention a boss who decided I was the office decoration and never took my work seriously. It was a sore spot with Angie and an attitude she deeply resented. She wanted to be treated according to her merits, not her beauty. At one time she had even considered dyeing her hair in order to avoid being the object of the dumb blonde jokes. She quickly dismissed the idea. She was who she was and didn’t see any reason to make changes just to appease someone else whose opinion wasn’t important to her anyway.

Ty snapped to attention. Suddenly she was more than just a drop-dead-gorgeous beauty contestant. She was intelligent and articulate with a sense of humor and an openness that he found very refreshing, especially compared to a lot of the pretentious women he had dated over the years.

“Is your whole family close?” It was an area he had been both curious about and uncomfortable with—one in which he had no experience. “I know Mac feels very close to his family, even though he doesn’t see any of them that often—which is not surprising, given his workaholic nature. He doesn’t take near enough time for himself, time to just kick loose and have fun.”

Fun…the word cut through to the core of Angie’s reality. She stared at Ty for a moment. He seemed to her to be someone who knew how to have fun and enjoy himself—someone fun to be with.

“Yes. We’re a pretty tight-knit family emotionally even if we aren’t geographically close anymore. Only one of my brothers still lives in Portland. The others have moved to various places around the country in pursuit of their careers.”

“What do you like to do for fun? What kind of activities do you enjoy?”

“Activities? Well, I like museums, concerts, art galleries and the theater. As for sports, I snow ski and water-ski. In fact, I enjoy just about anything connected with the water. I’m also the quintessential tourist. I love traveling and seeing new places.”