To Have And To Hold: Made for Marriage / To Wed a Rancher / The Mummy Proposal. Helen Lacey

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СКАЧАТЬ followed with unusual obedience, passing a small, efficient-looking woman who sat behind the reception desk, tapping on computer keys and wearing the same style shirt as Len. When she entered the office Len quickly excused himself, and Callie sat on a long black leather lounge. As far as offices went, this appeared better than most. And it was as neat as a pin.

      She didn’t have to wait long.

      “Callie?”

      Noah stood in the doorway, dressed in chinos and the same corporate shirt as his staff. He stared at her with such raw intensity she was relieved she’d been sitting. Her knees would surely have given way if she’d been standing. “Hi.”

      “Is everything all right?” he asked as he closed the door.

      “Oh, yes. I just wanted to speak with you.” Callie felt absurdly self-conscious beneath his penetrating stare. “This is a nice office,” she said, desperate to fill the silence rapidly smothering the space between them.

      “Do you think?” One hand moved in an arc, motioning to the chrome and glass furnishings. “I’m not sure. I’ve only had this place for about six months. Grace did the decorating. It’s a bit too modern for me”

      And just who was that? “Grace?” she asked as she stood.

      “My other sister,” he explained.

      Stupidly relieved, Callie scanned the room again. “It is modern but appropriate, I think.” She relaxed a bit. “You said you’d just moved here?”

      He nodded. “I’ve kept the original workshop down by the Port, but the business needed larger premises.”

      “And a showroom?”

      “Buyers are keen to see the finished product,” he replied. “Would you like a tour?”

      “Maybe after we’ve talked.”

      He closed the door and walked farther into the room. “Okay, let’s talk.”

      Callie clutched her hands together. “I just wanted to … to thank you.”

      Noah tilted his head. “For what?”

      “For Maddy Spears, and Jacinta and Skye Burrows and Chrissie Drew,” she said. “And as of this morning I have another two students starting next month.”

      He shrugged. “It was only a couple of phone calls.”

      Callie knew it was way more than that. “It means so much to me,” she admitted. “My business …” She paused, and then shook her head. “My horses …”

      “They’re important to you?”

      “They’re everything,” she breathed.

      Noah saw the emotion in her eyes and his chest tightened. “Because they don’t let you down?”

      She took a shaky breath. “I … I …”

      “Someone did,” he said and figured there was no point in holding back. “Husband? Boyfriend? Lover?”

      “Fiancé,” she confessed on a sigh.

      “What did he do?” Noah asked, preparing himself for the worst.

      She hesitated for a moment. “He lied to me.”

      Lies and deception went hand in hand—Noah knew that from experience. The fallout from his ex-wife’s infidelity had broken his world apart. “Then he wasn’t worthy of you.”

      The emotion in her eyes shined brighter and Noah fought the impulse to reach for her. Everything about Callie affected him on some primal level. He wanted to hold her, soothe her and protect her. He’d never felt such a blinding need before.

      She nodded and the gesture spoke volumes. “The horses … they make it simple, you know—uncomplicated.” Her hands came together. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me. I guess I’ll see you Sunday.”

      “How about Friday?”

      “What?”

      “Friday,” he said again. “Tomorrow night. Dinner and a movie?”

      Callie stilled. “I don’t really think a date is—”

      He smiled. “Oh, believe me, this wouldn’t be a date. Just you, me, a DVD and the kids squabbling over a bowl of spaghetti.”

      “Noah, I can’t.”

      “Sure you can,” he said easily. “You wanted to thank me—so, thank me.” His voice faded for a moment, and then he spoke again. “Dinner, movie, simple.”

      Silence stretched between them. He expected another refusal and waited for it.

      Instead, she nodded and said softly. “Dinner. Yes, okay.”

       Chapter Six

      Noah picked the kids up from Evie’s that afternoon. He found his sister and three youngest children in her pottery/art studio, all four of them cutting up cardboard and crepe paper. Pots of glue and an assortment of other hobby equipment lay on the big table in the middle of the room.

      They all cheered a round of hellos when he walked into the room and perched on a stool near the kitchenette to the right of the door. Evie left the kids to their crafting and joined him.

      “Coffee?” she asked and grabbed a couple of mugs. He nodded and she poured from the pot of filtered brew. “You’re early today.”

      Noah glanced at his watch. “Not by much.”

      His sister raised her brows. “Bad day at the office?”

      “Not particularly.” An unusual day. A day filled with thoughts of Callie. Like most of his days lately.

      “Trevor has a video-game party planned for tomorrow night,” she said of her fifteen-year-old son. “Do you feel like coming round for dinner? M.J.’s coming over, too.”

      “I have plans,” he said and drank some coffee.

      Evie’s eyes widened instantly. “A date?”

      Noah didn’t know what to call it. “Sort of.”

      “Anyone I know?”

      Like a dog with a bone, Noah knew his sister wouldn’t let up. Besides, he had nothing to hide about his relationship with Callie. Relationship? Is that what it was? It felt … he didn’t know what the hell it felt like. Something. Everything. Like she was the air inside his lungs and he couldn’t draw in enough breath. His desire for Callie burned a hole through him. And I haven’t even really kissed her. He’d thought about it, though. He’d imagined it. Dreamed about it. Wanted it so much he could barely think about anything СКАЧАТЬ