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"Ben," he said, without taking his eyes off her, "you've been found."
Moving past him, Kate put her hands on her hips and looked down at her
son. "I apologized to Julian for you and he was gracious enough to accept,
but it better not happen again. I mean it, Ben. Next time you're rude to him,
I'll let him read you another bedtime story."
"You wouldn't really," Ben said, staring at her in undisguised horror.
"Oh yes, I would."
"It'd be better if you starved me. Or locked me in the closet with a bunch of
black window spiders. Or cut off some of my fingers." He glanced at Mac.
"He reads baby books. Last time it was Rumblesticken . . . and he used
voices." He rolled his eyes. "Like he's really going to sound like a princess.
Yeah, right."
"Can it, short stuff," Kate said, struggling to keep her face straight. "Go back
into the house, go into the living room, and tell Julian good night. Then go
up the stairs, into the bathroom, run some water, and get into the tub.
Understand? All the way in. And put on clean underwear this time."
Ben left muttering, "Well, I won't call him Uncle, because he's not my uncle
and I don't see why. . ."
She glanced at Mac, smiling an apology. "I'd better warn you right now.
He'll take over your life if you let him." She frowned. "Good grief, I forgot
to tell him to use soap. He always manages to find a loophole. What is it
about little boys and baths?"
As she turned to leave she added, "I'm sorry he bothered you. Feel free to tell
him to get lost. I can't guarantee that it will work, but feel free to try."
"He wasn't bothering me."
Something in his voice, strength or determination, something that had been
missing the day before, had her slowly turning back to him.
"He was hiding from your boyfriend," he continued. "And from what he told
me, I'd have to say he acted with great prudence. 'Uncle Julian' sounds like
the kind of man any sane person would hide from."
She blinked in confusion, and a moment later angry heat rose in her face.
"What business is it of yours?" she asked tightly. "Just because my son
invaded your privacy, that's no reason to invade mine in return. Is this how
you normally speak to your employers? If it is, it's no wonder you were
looking for a job."
When she finished, silence spread across the room, silence that apparently
bothered her a lot more than it bothered McKinsey Smith.
"This didn't come up at the interview yesterday," he said finally, the words
lazy and raspy soft, "so you can't really blame me for not following the
rules. Am I supposed to prostrate myself when you walk by or simply pull
my forelock? Maybe you prefer something more subtle. How about if I
acknowledge by my self-effacing demeanor the difference in our social and
financial status?"
Unbelievably, there was amusement in his husky voice and in his
smoked-honey eyes. The idiot was laughing at her.
Who was this man? What was he? Every word he spoke showed that he was
intelligent and educated. So why had he taken a job as her handyman?
She was going to have a long talk with Ralph, she decided with a frown.
"Don't be ridiculous," she said finally. "The only tiling I expect from you,
other than a job well done, is politeness. Plain, old-fashioned good manners.
Surely "
Breaking off, she blinked twice. When had he moved? McKinsey Smith was
much closer than he had been before. Too close.
Keeping her breathing regular, Kate kept her chin up, resisting the urge to
back away from him even when he moved a step closer. He might as well
find out right now that she was not the kind of person who was intimidated
easily.
And then, in an unbelievably outrageous move, his gaze dropped to her
body and he focused on the low V of her blue silk blouse. He took no pains
to hide what he was doing. His expression was openly insulting. And just as
openly sexual.
To have turned away from his examination would have been a sign of
weakness, so Kate simply stood there, unmoving, as he continued to stare,
letting his gaze linger long enough for her to feel tongues of electric heat
licking at the exposed flesh between her breasts.
With a soft laugh, he slowly lowered his gaze to the wide black belt at her
waist, then to the black palazzo pants that fit smoothly across her hips.
Arid every place his gaze touched, Kate felt the heat. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]