Calamity Mom (12 page)
“Yes, I remember.”
“Why did you recommend me for that job? There must be a line of people who’d love to have it—people better qualified than I am.”
He turned his head and looked directly into her eyes. There was something that he wasn’t telling her, something deep inside him.
“Maybe I’m lonely,” he said shortly. “There aren’t many people who aren’t afraid to come close to me these days.”
“Does that matter? You don’t like people close,” she said.
She searched his arrogant profile. There were new lines in that lean face, lines she hadn’t seen last year, despite the solemnity of the time they’d spent together. “Something’s upset you,” she said out of the blue. “Or you’re worried about something.”
Both dark eyebrows went up. “I beg your pardon?” he asked curtly.
The hauteur went right over her head. “Not something to do with work, either,” she continued, reasoning aloud. “It’s something very personal…”
“Stop right there,” he said shortly. “I invited you out to talk about a job, not about my private life.”
“Ah. A closed door. Intriguing.” She stared at him. “Not a woman?”
“You’re the only woman in my life.”
She laughed unexpectedly. “That’s a good one.”
“I’m not kidding. I don’t have affairs or relationships.” He glanced at her as he merged into traffic again and
turned at the next corner. “I might make an exception for you, but don’t get your hopes up. A man has his reputation to consider.”
She grinned. “I’ll remember that you said that.”
“Palmer is the queen of desperado quests for justice and true love.”
—
Publishers Weekly
on
Dangerous
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author Diana Palmer brings you breathtaking stories filled with romance, excitement and drama. Don’t miss any of these fantastic titles:
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Read on for an exciting excerpt from
New York Times
bestselling author Diana Palmer’s latest
Wyoming Men
series,
WYOMING RUGGED…
S
HE
’
D BOUGHT PRESENTS
online for her father and Edna and Blair. She was careful to get Blair something impersonal. She didn’t want his wife to think she was chasing him or anything. She picked out a tie tac, a
fleur de lis
made of solid gold. She couldn’t understand why she’d chosen such a thing. He had Greek ancestry, as far as she knew, not French. It had been an impulse.
Her father had gone to answer the phone, a call from a business associate who wanted to wish him happy holidays, leaving Blair and Niki alone in the living room by the tree. She felt like an idiot for making the purchase.
Now Blair was opening the gift, and she ground her teeth together when he took the lid off the box and stared at it with wide, stunned eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she began self-consciously. “The sales slip is in there,” she added. “You can exchange it if…”
He looked at her. His expression stopped her tirade midsentence. “My mother was French,” he said quietly. “How did you know?”
She faltered. She couldn’t manage words. “I didn’t. It was an impulse.”
His big fingers smoothed over the tie tac. “In fact, I had one just like it that she bought me when I graduated from college.” He swallowed. Hard. “Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.”
His dark eyes pinned hers. “Open yours now.”
She fumbled with the small box he’d had hidden in his suitcase until this morning. She tore off the ribbons and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful brooch she’d ever seen. It was a golden orchid on an ivory background. The orchid was purple with a yellow center, made of delicate amethyst and topaz and gold.
She looked at him with wide, soft eyes. “It’s so beautiful…”
He smiled with real affection. “It reminded me of you, when I saw it in the jewelry store,” he lied, because he’d had it commissioned by a noted jewelry craftsman, just for her. “Little hothouse orchid,” he teased.
She flushed. She took the delicate brooch out of its box and pinned it to the bodice of her black velvet dress. “I’ve never had anything so lovely,” she faltered. “Thank you.”
He stood up and drew her close to him. “Thank you, Niki.” He bent and started to brush her mouth with his, but forced himself to deflect the kiss to her soft cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
She felt the embrace to the nails of her toes. He smelled of expensive cologne and soap, and the feel of that powerful body so close to hers made her vibrate inside. She was flustered by the contact, and uneasy because he was married.
She laughed, moving away. “I’ll wear it to church every Sunday,” she promised without really looking at him.
He cleared his throat. The contact had affected him, too. “I’ll wear mine to board meetings, for a lucky charm,” he teased gently. “To ward off hostile takeovers.”
“I promise it will do the job,” she replied, and grinned.
Her father came back to the living room, and the sudden, tense silence was broken. Conversation turned to politics and the weather, and Niki joined in with forced cheerfulness.
But she couldn’t stop touching the orchid brooch she’d pinned to her dress.
Copyright © 2015 by Diana Palmer
ISBN: 9781460395684
CALAMITY MOM
Copyright © 1993 by Diana Palmer
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