If Looks Could Kill. BEVERLY BARTON

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СКАЧАТЬ with release. Moments later, their bodies damp with sex- induced sweat, they lay on their backs, their bodies not touching, only their entwined fingers.

      She loved holding hands with Caleb. A sweet, sentimental gesture, but it said so much about their relationship. About who she was when she was with him. About the type of man Caleb McCord was.

      Jazzy looked up at the ceiling, stretched languidly and smiled. Sex with Caleb was always like this—explosive and fully satisfying. But there was so much more to their relationship than great sex. They were friends as well as lovers. And they were madly in love, too. Honest to goodness in love.

      She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve a fabulous guy like Caleb, but she thanked God for him. And with each passing day, she trusted Caleb and the love they shared more and more. Maybe one of these days soon she would be able to accept his marriage proposal. He had asked her to marry him so many times, it had almost become a joke between them.

      Almost.

      Even now, months after Jamie Upton’s death, his memory haunted her. But not in the way Caleb thought it did. On some basic, totally masculine level Caleb was still jealous of Jamie, of the fact that he’d been her first love and her first lover. There was no reason for him to be jealous. She didn’t love Jamie. Only the distrust and fear Jamie had instilled in her kept him alive and allowed him to stand between her and Caleb, between her and happiness.

      “Jazzy?” Caleb said her name in that lazy, sexy Memphis drawl she loved so well.

      “Hm-mm?” She turned sideways and looked at the silhouette of his long, lean body there in the semi-darkness of her bedroom. She knew his body as well as she knew her own.

      “Marry me.”

      Her smile widened. She reached over and ran her fingertips up and down his body, from throat to navel.

      He grabbed her hand. “I mean it. Marry me. Let’s get a license tomorrow and just do it. We’ll elope. No fanfare, no—”

      “No Miss Reba throwing a hissy fit until it’s over and done.”

      “Do not bring my grandmother into this equation. I’ve told you a thousand times that I don’t give a damn what she thinks.” Totally naked, Caleb jumped out of bed and grabbed his jeans up off the floor.

      Damn it, she’d hurt his feelings by questioning his loyalty to her. Her mind told her that he would never do as Jamie had done and allow Miss Reba to dictate who he could and couldn’t marry. But her heart had been broken once by an Upton heir, by the charming, worthless, womanizing Jamie. And her heart was afraid to trust, afraid to believe that Miss Reba didn’t wield the same power over Caleb that she had over her other grandson.

      “What are you doing?”

      “I’m putting on my clothes,” Caleb told her.

      “Why? You aren’t leaving, are you? Please, Caleb, don’t go.”

      He pulled on his jeans, then felt around on the floor until he found his shirt. “I’m just going outside for a few minutes. I need some early morning air to clear my head. I’ll be back in a little while.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “It’s okay,” he said. “Just remember, I’m not Jamie. I’m not walking out on you or giving up on us. Not now or ever. You couldn’t beat me off with a stick, honey.”

      “I know you’re not Jamie.” When she sat up, the sheet dropped to her waist, exposing her breasts.

      “Then stop assuming I’m going to treat you the way he did. I can’t stand it when you project his actions onto me.”

      Caleb turned from her and hastily left the room. Jazzy flipped on the bedside lamp, then got up and headed for the bathroom. Usually they didn’t get up this early—and seven- thirty was early for people who didn’t go to bed until two in the morning—but she had an appointment to meet Reve Sorrell in Dr. MacNair’s office at nine. Galvin had explained to them that the results of the DNA test might take a few weeks, but Reve had informed him that she would pay any extra costs necessary to facilitate a speedy response.

      Jazzy turned on the water, waited a couple of minutes for it to heat, and then stepped under the showerhead. As the warm spray doused her, she thought about her future. Her first concern was Caleb. She couldn’t keep putting him off. Sooner or later he’d get tired of waiting for her to marry him. The thought of losing him was too terrible to consider, yet she wasn’t ready to say yes. There were too many un answered questions in her life, too many loose ends she had to tie up before she could build a solid future with the man she loved. And she did love Caleb. More than she’d ever thought possible to love a man. But she had to convince him that he was the only man she loved. In order to do that, she had to let go of Jamie completely.

      Since Caleb spent most nights at her apartment above Jazzy’s Joint, they usually closed the bar together and came upstairs for a late-night meal and then went to bed. She loved being with him, making love with him, sharing her life with him.

      So why don’t you marry the guy? she heard Lacy Fallon’s voice inside her head. Lacy, the bartender at Jazzy’s Joint, treated Jazzy like a kid sister, giving her advice and watching out for her.

      Don’t let what Jamie did to you keep you from finding happiness with Caleb, Jazzy’s best friend, Genny Sloan, had told her repeatedly.

      Even her own heart advised her to reach out and grab the happiness Caleb offered.

      Jazzy bathed hurriedly, washed her hair and emerged from the shower, fresh and clean and clear-headed. By the time she dried her hair and dressed, Caleb would probably be back in the apartment and in the kitchen fixing their breakfast. She smiled to herself. Her Caleb was a man of many talents.

      The telephone rang. Who on earth would be calling so early? Everyone knew they slept late. After wrapping a towel around her, Jazzy rushed into the bedroom to answer the phone.

      “Hello.”

      “Jazzy, this is Reve Sorrell. I got an early start so I’m already in town. I’m over at Jasmine’s and have just ordered breakfast. Any chance you can join me?”

      “Ah . . . I just stepped out of the shower, but—” Maybe it was a good idea to touch base with Reve before they went to see Galvin. After all, if it turned out they really were twin sisters, as they suspected, they’d be spending a great deal of time together in the upcoming weeks. They had agreed that if the DNA tests proved they were siblings, they would work together to discover the truth about their parentage.

      “If you’d rather not—” Reve said.

      “No, it’s okay. I’ll hurry and dress.” Jazzy peeked through the open bedroom door and into the living room. No sign of Caleb. She listened for any sound of him in the kitchen. None.

      “It’s okay if I bring Caleb along, isn’t it?”

      “Sure. After all, he is your fiancé, right?”

      “He most certainly is. Unofficially.”

      “Have you two set a date?”

      “Not yet.” Everyone assumed that sooner or later she’d accept Caleb’s СКАЧАТЬ