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“Hello.”In spite of how angry she was with him, she still loved the sound of his voice. It had just the right amount of calm in the tone and delivery of every word.
“Oh, I was expecting your voicemail.”
“Nope, you got me. I’m glad you called,” Dexter announced.
“You are?” Corianne’s tone instantly changed. She was excited to know he was thinking about her.
“Yes. Do you have plans this afternoon?”
“No.” She was very hopeful. Maybe the drought was over. She started fantasizing about how she and Dexter would celebrate the end of the drought.
“Good. Remember the landscaper I told you about?”
“Yes.”
“I asked him to come by this afternoon.”
“Oh.” The elation in her voice quickly disappeared.
“I wanted to make sure you’d be there.”
“Oh.”
“I need you to show him the grounds. I really want to get the yard ready in time for the hospital staff party.”
“Oh.” So the big plans weren’t for them to spend time together, but for her and the landscaper to spend time together. And based on Dexter’s statements, he wouldn’t be there.
“So, if you don’t mind meeting with him I’d really appreciate it. Thanks. I’ve got to go.” Click.
And just like her marriage, the phone was dead.
She put on her best “Suzy Homemaker” look and waited for the landscaper. Her phone started vibrating inside her pocket and it startled her. That was the most action she’d had in twenty-two months. Just because Dexter was being an inconsiderate ass didn’t mean she had to be a bad hostess. She made a pot of coffee and some lemon bars and placed them on the table for her meeting.
The door bell rang and she walked out to the front door. She took a deep breath, put on her fake smile; and opened the door.
“Hello.”
The man looked up smiling and she got weak in the knees. She held on tightly to the door. He was beautiful. This was a real life Roman soldier. Dark, wavy hair that just grazed his shoulder, and a little grey at the temples. His skin was a cross between caramel and dark olive. He was very tall, and rugged, with broad shoulders, unlike Dexter. She lowered her eyes to his feet and slowly examined him. My God, there was nothing small on him, she hoped. What was she thinking? She patted her chest, trying to suppress the lustful thoughts swirling around in her head. How apropos…swirl.
She never considered herself to be down with the swirl, but damn, she definitely didn’t mind spending a little time in Swirlville, if it meant he was her tour guide. It was obvious he had a little chocolate mixed in with something else. Uhm…she thought about the place where the chocolate might be. She finally met his gaze and smiled.
If this was how God had chosen to answer her request, she was certainly going to say an extra prayer of thanks tonight. She cleared her throat, patted her chest and spit out a reply.
“Luc Rene`?”
“Mrs. Abernathy?”
Oh, Damn…the sound of her name floating off his lips was very arousing. She patted her neck and sucked on her bottom lip.
“Yes.” She stood smiling at the sexy gentleman standing on her doorstep. She felt a tingle in her stomach and someplace else that had been neglected almost two years. She cleared her throat again. “Come in.”
She stepped to the side and watched as he walked past her. She caught a whiff of his cologne and his scent seemed to surround her. It felt like she had been sucked into the eye of a powerful hurricane. He smelled as rugged and sexy as he looked. No sweet, citrusy scent for this man. No, he smelled like…tobacco, musk, rich spices and sex. What the crap! She had sex on the brain. It was bad enough she pictured herself as the sex crazed heroine in the erotic novels she read. Now she was picturing this stranger doing things to her that would make a hooker blush.
He stood to the side and waited for her to close the door. They stood in the foyer smiling at each other.
“Is your husband here?”
“My husband...my husband…oh, my husband. No, he got hung up at the hospital. He wanted me to let you in the back way...I mean let you have your way with me...I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He smiled at her. “He wanted me to show you the back yard. Follow me.”
