She smiled at him and he immediately felt every nerve and muscle in his body shift from Yellow Alert status to Code Red. An almost irresistible urge swept over him to pick her up off the sofa, carry her into the shadowy room at the end of the hall, and put her down on a bed. He flexed one hand deliberately to regain control.
It had been like this all evening, as though he were walking the edge of a cliff in a violent storm. One false step and he would go over into very deep water. It didn't help that outside the rain and the wind had struck land with a vengeance some forty minutes ago.
He crossed the living room to the stone fireplace, picked up an iron poker, and prodded the fire. The blaze didn't need prodding, but it gave him something to do with his hands.
"I've enjoyed your books," she said. "I've got all four in the series."
"I noticed." He put aside the poker, straightened, and glanced at the bookshelf where his novels were arranged between two heavy green glass bookends. "We authors tend to pick up on little details like that."
The bookends looked expensive, he thought. Dolphins playing in the surf. One-of-a-kind pieces of art glass, not cheap, utilitarian bookends picked up at a rummage sale.
There were other quietly expensive touches in the cottage. An exotically patterned carpet done in shades of muted greens and gold covered most of the hardwood floor in front of the dark-green sofa. The coffee table was a heavy sheet of green glass that rippled and flowed like a wave of clear lava. A couple of framed abstract paintings hung on the walls.
Not the kind of furnishings you expected in a weekend or summer house, he thought. He had the feeling that she had deliberately set out to make a home here. And now she was planning to depart for good.
"Tell me," she said, "was it difficult to make the decision to leave Harte Investments when you decided to write full time?"
"Making the decision was easy." He sat down on the sofa and reached for his coffee mug. "Getting out of the family business was a little more difficult."
"I'll bet it was. You were the firstborn and from all accounts you showed a talent for investments."
He shrugged. "I'm a Harte."
She gave him a fleeting smile. "There must have been a lot of pressure on you to take over the helm after your father retired."
"My parents were very understanding and supportive." He took a swallow of coffee and slowly lowered the mug. "But Sullivan went off like Mount Saint Helens."
"I believe it. Harte Investments was your grandfather's creation. Everyone around here knows what he went through to recover and build a new company after Aunt Claudia—" She broke off. "After Harte-Madison went under."
He wrapped both hands around the mug. "Dad tried to shield me from the worst of the blast but no one could have suppressed that explosion. Sullivan and I went a few rounds before he finally realized that I wasn't going to back down and change my mind."
"It must have been a difficult time."
"Yeah." He took another sip of coffee. "But we got through it."
"It's a tribute to the strength of your family bonds."
"Uh-huh." He did not want to talk any more about that time in his life. It was tied up too closely with Amelia's death. He glanced around the room. "Looks like you planned to stay here for a while."
She raised one shoulder in a tiny shrug. "Plans change."
He couldn't think of anything to say to that so he tried another topic. "Heard you've been seeing Jeremy Seaton."
"We've had dinner together a couple of times." She sipped her coffee.
He looked at her. "Mind if I ask if there's anything serious in that direction?"
She pursed her lips and tilted her head slightly. Thinking. "I would describe my relationship with Jeremy as friendly."
"Friendly." What the hell did friendly mean?
"Jeremy and I have a lot of interests in common."
He nodded once. "The art thing. Jeremy paints."
She gave him polite concern. "Is there a problem here?"
"You tell me." He put his mug down with great care. "Is Jeremy going to have a problem with you and me having dinner tonight?"
"I doubt it." She looked surprised by the question. "But if he says anything, I'll explain the situation to him."
"How, exactly, do you intend to explain it?"
"I'll tell him that we're just friends. He'll understand."
"Just friends," he repeated neutrally.
"What else?" She put down her own mug and looked pointedly at the clock. "Good heavens, it's getting late, isn't it? I have to go into the gallery early tomorrow to frame some of the children's pictures, and I'm sure you're anxious to pick up Carson."
"Kicking me out?"
"It's been a long day," she said by way of an apology and got to her feet.
"Sure." He rose slowly, taking his time.
She handed him his black windbreaker and opened the door for him. Smiling all the while. Friendly.
He went outside onto the front porch. The squall was dying fast, leaving behind crisp, still-damp air.
"Drive carefully," she said.
"I'll do that."
He pulled on his jacket but did not bother to fasten it. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stood looking out into the night. He could hear the distant rumble of waves crashing against the bottom of the bluffs behind the cottage.
He turned slowly back to Octavia.
In the porch light, her hair glowed the color of the flames on the hearth inside. He could feel the magic that swirled around her.
He'd had enough. He knew now what was wrong with this picture.
"Something you should understand before we go any further here," he said.
"What's that?"
He took two steps back across the porch, closing the distance between them. He kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket, not trusting himself to touch her.
"Whatever else this turns out to be," he said evenly, "it isn't about being just friends."
She blinked. Her lips parted but no words emerged.
Just as well because he did not want to talk.
He kissed her, hands still in his pockets, leaning forward a little to claim her mouth. She did not flinch or step back but he felt the shiver that went through her.
He deepened the kiss deliberately.
Her mouth softened under his. He got the feeling that she was tasting him; testing him, maybe. Or was it herself she was testing?
She made a tiny, unbelievably sexy little sound and his blood ran hot in his veins. His breathing thickened.
