Cinderella and the Playboy / The Texan's Happily-Ever-After: Cinderella and the Playboy / The Texas Billionaire's Baby. Lois Dyer Faye

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СКАЧАТЬ obligingly lay down between Chance and Jennifer, technically outside the dining area. Ears perked, eyes alight with interest, he watched the diners at the neighboring tables.

      The cute young waitress who took their order clearly adored Chance.

      “You have another admirer,” Jennifer teased as the teenager disappeared into the restaurant.

      “Carrie?” he asked. When Jennifer nodded, he grinned at her. “Nah, I’m helping her brother study for his SATs, that’s all. He’s a bright kid but the family doesn’t have the money to send him to a top-notch med school. If he scores high on the SAT, he’ll have a better shot at scholarships.”

      “What a lovely thing for you to do,” she told him. “You’re a surprise, Dr. Demetrios.”

      “Why?” he asked, resting his forearms on the tabletop and leaning forward, his gaze searching hers.

      “Because you have a reputation as a playboy, which infers you’re shallow. But the more I get to know you, the more complicated you seem.”

      He smiled, a slow upward curve of his lips. “I’m not complicated,” he murmured, his voice husky with need. “At the moment, I’ve got only a single interest.”

      “And what would that be?” she asked, mesmerized by the heat in his eyes and the sensual curve of his mouth.

      “You.” He closed the few inches between them and covered her mouth with his.

      The kiss was sweet, slow and filled with heat. Jennifer felt her toes curl as desire moved like languid fire through he veins.

      “Um, excuse me.” The hesitant female voice had Chance lifting his head.

      “Ah, coffee.” He sat back to give the waitress room to empty her tray, setting steaming coffee cups in front of them and a carafe in the center of the table. “Thanks.”

      The fresh-faced teenager smiled shyly in response and whisked away.

      Jennifer was disoriented and slightly dizzy from the kiss, while Chance appeared to have gone from arousal to casual friendliness in a matter of seconds.

      Determined to match his seemingly unflappable coolness, she sipped her coffee, eyeing him over the rim while she scrambled for casual conversation.

      “Did you grow up here in Boston?” she asked, settling for a standard, getting-to-know-you topic.

      “No.” He shook his head. “I spent my childhood in upstate New York. I moved here when I took the job at the Armstrong Institute. What about you—did you grow up in Boston?”

      “No, I lived in a small town in Illinois until I moved here last year.”

      “What made you choose Boston?”

      “I had a friend from high school who moved here. She encouraged me to join her. She loved the city, especially all the American historical sites. We used to visit a national historical treasure nearly every weekend.”

      “Used to? Why did you stop?”

      Jennifer shrugged. “Renee met the man of her dreams and it was love at first sight. They married after dating for three weeks and have been traveling the world ever since. He’s an archeologist and they’re currently living in Central America while he helps excavate a Mayan temple.”

      “No kidding?” Chance looked intrigued. “Now there’s a job that sounds interesting.”

      Jennifer laughed. “Every guy who hears about Renee’s husband’s job says that. There must be a frustrated adventurer hidden in every male on the planet.”

      “Maybe.” He grinned.

      The waitress arrived with their food, interrupting their conversation. Jennifer indulged in crepes drizzled with chocolate sauce while Chance tucked into a Spanish omelet. By the time they’d finished eating and had poured a second round of coffee, they were deep in a discussion of movies they’d seen.

      “You like chick flicks,” Chance told her. “Most of the movies on your best-of list are romantic comedies.”

      “I liked the movie Hunt For Red October and that’s not a chick flick,” Jennifer protested.

      “No kidding—you like that movie?” He lifted his brows in surprise. “I’ve seen it about a dozen times.”

      “Me, too.” Jennifer sipped her coffee. “Of course,” she added, “the film’s stars are Sean Connery and a young Alec Baldwin. To be honest, I’d be tempted to watch it over again just to see them.”

      “So the big attraction isn’t the incredible underwater sub maneuvers or the great suspense plot, it’s the handsome actors?”

      She considered the question, eyes narrowed, before nodding firmly. “Pretty much.”

      Chance’s face lit with amusement, his deep, rich laughter drawing the attention of nearby diners.

      Jennifer suspected her smile was besotted but she couldn’t help it. The sunlight gleamed in his black hair, laugh lines fanning at the corners of his eyes.

      His gaze met his and his laughter died.

      “Let’s go home,” he said roughly, the curve of his mouth sensual.

      “Yes,” she breathed, caught up in the heat that flared between them. “Let’s.”

      Jennifer woke slowly, stretching and smiling contentedly at the warmth against her back. A weight lay over her waist, anchoring her to the hard male body she lay tucked against and she realized Chance was curled around her, his arm holding her close.

      There was a great deal to like about waking up with a man, she thought with a smile.

      She opened her eyes. Just beyond the edge of the white sheet-covered mattress was the oak nightstand with a brass clock, its numbers glowing in the dim bedroom.

      Her eyes widened. It was almost four o’clock. And Linda had promised to return Annie to the apartment by 6:00 p.m.

      Her weekend was over.

      She wasn’t ready to let it go. She’d lost track of the number of times they’d made love and yet she wanted more. But reality intruded and she bit her lip, knowing she had no choice.

      Carefully, she lifted Chance’s arm and slipped out from beneath his hold. He muttered, protesting, and she froze beside the bed, holding her breath and hoping he wouldn’t waken. Then he shifted, sprawling on his stomach over the place where she’d lain moments before. His eyes remained closed and the tension eased out of his big body as he relaxed, clearly asleep again.

      Jennifer lingered a moment, her gaze tracing the beard-shadowed line of his jaw, the black lashes fanning against his olive skin and the sensual curve of his mouth. The white sheet was bunched at his waist, leaving the powerful muscles of his upper body and arms bare.

      Reluctant to leave him, she forced herself to turn her back and pad silently into the bathroom where she’d left her borrowed clothes СКАЧАТЬ