Men to Trust. Diana Palmer

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СКАЧАТЬ don’t grow vegetables,” he confessed. “Unless you count catnip, for the cats, and some herbs. I enjoy cooking.”

      “Me, too,” she said. “Mama can do it, but I don’t like to let her. She favors cast iron cookware, and it’s heavy.”

      “She shouldn’t be lifting it,” he agreed. “I hope you’re hungry.”

      She smiled. “I didn’t even eat breakfast.”

      He smiled back. “Come in, then. It’s all ready.”

      He opened the front door and let her walk in. There was a long hall with an elephant umbrella stand and a coatrack, with rooms opening off it on either side.

      “Down the hall, to the left,” he directed as he closed the front door.

      The hall was painted a pale blue, with a chair rail in a darker shade, and wallpaper up to the crown. There was a pale blue carpet as well.

      “You’re probably thinking that it’s hard to keep clean,” Kemp remarked as he followed behind her. “And you’re right. I have a cleaning crew come in to steam it frequently.”

      “I love the color,” she remarked. “It reminds me of the ocean.”

      He laughed out loud. “It’s the color of Yow’s eyes,” he added. “And she knows it. She loves to sprawl on the carpet. Mee prefers the couch or my bed.”

      Violet caught her breath as she walked into the formal dining room. There was a cherry wood table, already set with linen and crystal and china, and beyond it was a kitchen that would have been any cook’s dream. There was a tile floor, modern appliances, a huge combination sink, and a counter big enough to use for dressing half a steer. Over the sink was a large window overlooking the pasture and forest behind the house.

      “I’ll bet you enjoy working in here,” she remarked.

      “I do. I like enough space to move in. Cramped kitchens are the very devil.”

      “Indeed they are, and I could write you a book on them,” Violet confessed. “I bump into the refrigerator or the stove every time I turn around at home.”

      “What would you like to drink?” he asked, opening the refrigerator. “I’ve got soft drinks, iced tea, or coffee.”

      “I love coffee, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

      He grinned at her. “I always have a pot warming,” he said.

      He got down two china cups and saucers and poured coffee into them. “Cream and sugar on the table.”

      He carried them to the places, which were already set, amid platters of fish, vegetables, fresh rolls and even a cake.

      “This looks wonderful!” she exclaimed.

      “I counted on your being punctual,” he said with a glance. “You always are.”

      He seated her, and then himself.

      “I like to make a good impression,” she told him.

      He chuckled. “Help yourself.”

      She looked around curiously as she helped herself to trout and rolls and a potato casserole that smelled delicious. “Where are the cats?”

      “They’re shy around people they don’t know,” he said nonchalantly. “They’ll show up when I cut the cake. They beg for cake.”

      “You’re kidding!” she exclaimed.

      He laughed. “I’m not. You’ll see.”

      They spoke about the upcoming election and the local political gossip during the meal. Violet was impressed with his culinary skills. He was an accomplished cook.

      “Have you always been able to knock out a meal?” she wondered aloud.

      “I was in the Army—special forces,” he replied simply. “I had to learn how to cook.”

      “You were in Cag Hart’s division, weren’t you?”

      He nodded. “So was Matt Caldwell. A lot of local guys turned up there.”

      She didn’t know how far to push her luck. Someone had told her that he didn’t like to talk about his unit’s participation in the earlier Iraq conflict. But he got up to slice cake and two Siamese voices grew louder.

      “See?” he asked, when the cats appeared on either side of him, their faces lifted as they meowed, sounding for all the world like little children.

      “They have unique voices, don’t they?” she asked, fascinated.

      “They do. And Siamese have one other peculiarity—they can reach completely behind their heads. They have claws and they aren’t shy about using them,” he added with a warning glance. “Go slowly, and everything will be all right.”

      “Do you give them cake?” she asked.

      He laughed. “Tiny little bites,” he said, confessing. “I don’t want to make them fat…”

      Violet flushed red.

      He ground his teeth and looked at her soulfully. “I didn’t mean that the way you’re taking it, Violet,” he said gently. “I don’t think you’re fat. You look exactly as a woman should look, in every way.”

      “You said…” she began.

      “I took a bad day out on you,” he replied, “and I’m sorrier than you know. It was a vicious thing to do. I made you quit, and I never meant to.”

      For an apology, it was wholesale and flattering. She looked at him without blinking. “Really?”

      He relaxed when he saw the combined pleasure and fascination in her face. She made him tingle just by looking at him. He wanted to drag her out of her chair and kiss the breath from her body. The thought shocked him. He stood with the knife poised over the cake, just staring at her.

      The flush grew. She felt her heart racing like mad in her chest. Her lips parted as she tried to breathe normally.

      “A lot of it was the way you dressed,” he said tautly when he managed to drag his eyes back to the cake. “I like the new wardrobe. It fits properly. Baggy dresses and blouses aren’t flattering for a full-figured woman.”

      She didn’t take offense. He was looking at her as if he wanted, very badly, to kiss her. As he slid a piece of cake onto a saucer and put it in front of her, she looked up into his pale eyes with pure lust.

      It had been a long time between women, but Kemp hadn’t forgotten the way a woman looked when she wanted to be kissed. Absently, his lean hand went to the back of Violet’s chair and he bent toward her confidently.

      Her intake of breath made him hesitate, but only for a second. His other hand came up to her softly rounded chin and he tilted it up, just a fraction. “Don’t make such heavy weather of it,” he whispered as his СКАЧАТЬ