Burning Up. Susan Andersen

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СКАЧАТЬ Charlie agreed around a mouthful of sweet potato fries. “That’s a wig of Ty’s Aunt Macy’s.”

      Resisting an unusual urge to check out Aunt Macy sans her wig in more microscopic detail than he’d already done, he kept his focus determinedly on Janna. “It looks good on you.”

      “Doesn’t it?” Lenore agreed. “And it’s sure nice to see some color in her cheeks.”

      “Johnny slap you with a ticket, sweetheart?” Bud asked Macy in a low voice, promptly diverting Gabe’s attention. He looked across the table at her, wondering if she’d invest the story of being pulled over with the same hint of attitude he’d sensed when it had been happening.

      But she merely shrugged. “Nah. Johnny’s always been a pretty decent guy. He just gave me a warning.”

      Charlie leaned forward to look around Janna’s boy at Macy. “My sister says you’re, like, a movie star, or something.”

      Tyler rolled his eyes. “I’ve tol’ him and tol’ him you ain’t.”

      “You’ve told him she’s not,” his mother corrected.

      “I know! But his sister Amy keeps insistin’ she is.”

      Macy gave the boys a crooked smile. “Tyler’s right, Charlie. I’ve made a name for myself in the music-video industry, but movie star–wise I’m not even a little fish in a big pond. I’m more like a minnow in the ocean.” She indicated the basket next to his elbow. “Pass me those rolls, will you?”

      The basket was handed to her, and holding it in both hands, she brought it up to her nose and inhaled deeply, her lips quirking up and her eyes sliding closed in appreciation.

      But her eyelids promptly reopened and she gazed straight at Gabe, catching him watching her. He felt that look like fingers running down his chest. Then her tongue commenced a slow glide across her full bottom lip and his balls tightened.

      Damn. He didn’t understand why those eyes and that voice and, hell, every goddamn thing about her kept having such an impact on him. Women didn’t usually get under his skin. He didn’t allow it.

      Yet here he sat, waiting to see how outrageous she’d be in the company of her aunt and uncle.

      “You’re right to worry about who’ll do the cooking when you move into your new house,” she murmured. “Because Auntie Lenore is, hands down, the greatest cook in the world.”

      And as fast as she’d locked gazes with him, she turned her attention to selecting a roll and passing the basket to Janna.

      Leaving him irritated as hell that he felt…let down.

      And itching for something he couldn’t even name.

      MACY HAD JUST GOTTEN Janna settled in the over-stuffed chair in their room when her cousin swore and started levering herself out of it again.

      “Whoa!” Macy put a hand on her shoulder. “Sit. Stay. What do you need?”

      “Me, nothing. But I forgot all about Ty’s uniform for tomorrow’s Little League game. Dammit, I meant to check earlier to make sure it was clean and not moldering under his bed since the last game.” She planted her hands on the arms of the chair as if preparing to push herself back onto her feet.

      “Plant your butt,” Macy ordered. When Janna narrowed her eyes at her, she snapped, “Don’t give me that look. This is exactly the kind of thing you wanted me here for. So take a deep breath. I’ll run up and see if he has it. And if it is under the bed, I’ll make him fish it out and we’ll bring it down and run a load of laundry. You know that’s no biggie. There’s always something needs washing in this house.”

      “Okay.” Blowing out a breath, her cousin sagged against the cushions. “Thank you.” She scrubbed a hand over her mouth. “God, I hate this. Every little molehill turns into frigging Mount Everest.”

      “I know. But that’s what you’ve got me for—I’m your designated mountain climber. So prop that leg up. Grab your book. Or I can turn on Wheel, if you prefer. You always were better at that game than me. You want anything from the kitchen?”

      “God, no. I’m still stuffed from dinner.”

      She grinned. “Yeah. I wasn’t kidding when I told the fire chief your mom puts on one dynamite spread.”

      But the last thing she wanted to think about was Gabriel Donovan. She hated the fact she was so aware of the man while he was all cool-eyed disinterest when he looked at her.

      “All right, then,” she said briskly. “I’ll go find out the status of Ty’s uniform.”

      She took the stairs two at a time up to the second floor and strode down the hall to the Closet, where she rapped on the door.

      “Who is it?” Tyler’s muffled voice demanded.

      “Emissary from your commanding officer, Seaman Purcell. Open up.”

      The door whipped open. “I’m not a seaman, Aunt Macy—I’m captain of the sub!”

      “My mistake, Cap’n. So, you all ready for tomorrow’s game? You have your uniform in tiptop shape?”

      “Yep. Grandma washed it up for me and it’s in my closet. On a hanger and everything.”

      “Excellent. How ’bout your shoes, mitt, all that sorta thing? They ready, too?”

      “Uh-huh.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “Can me and Charlie get back to our game now?”

      Over his shoulder she saw Charlie twist around to stare at her and hooked her elbow around Tyler’s neck to haul him in for a noogie. “Yes, you may,” she said, turning him loose. “As you were—”

      He shut the door in her face.

      “—men.” A huff of laughter escaped her. “Am I racking up the points with the under-twenty crowd tonight, or what?”

      She was smiling when she turned around, but yelped in surprise as she smacked into someone. Reaching out a hand to steady herself, she jerked it back when it touched the abdomen of whatshisname, one of the guys studying at the Experimental.

      “Steady there.” His hands grasped her upper arms.

      “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” She stepped back, breathing easier when the man’s hands dropped away. Jeez, girl, get a grip. This was a shy young man, not Jack the Ripper. “Um, Brian, right?”

      “Yeah. Hey, at dinner, I didn’t get a chance to say how much I enjoy your videos. That Aussie Kiss one, Burn, Baby, Burn? Man, you smoked in that!”

      A corner of her mouth ticked up. “Mr. Dawson, are you punning me?”

      “Huh?” Then he chuckled. “Oh. I guess I did make a pun. Not on purpose, though. I just can’t believe I’m meeting you and want you to know how hot I thought you were in that video.”

      Because he didn’t leer at her as he said it, she swallowed СКАЧАТЬ