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“I can’t believe you had that…obscene representation of your own shortcomings tattooed onto your back.”
He almost grinned, suddenly knowing why she was so ticked off. Then his grin faded. No, Caroline wouldn’t like what he’d done with “her” lamb. But he’d had to do it, had to try to make their relationship mean nothing, seem like nothing. Because it had, once upon a time, meant too damn much.
“Okay, I guess you two do know each other,” Louise finally said as she inched toward the door, probably seeing by the fury in Caroline’s eyes that an assault was, indeed, about to take place here. But instead of defending him, Louise looked ready to leave him to his fate. She also looked amused.
“The gun, Louise,” Mick said, unable to keep his stare from drifting back to the face he’d never thought he’d see again.
He heard a thud and assumed the gun had dropped to the carpeted floor, but he couldn’t look away from that amazing familiar face long enough to make sure. Then the door clicked shut, leaving him alone in his office with Caroline Lamb.
She’d changed. Matured. Oh, she was still a knockout, but she’d lost that small-town-girl look that used to make her eyes a little brighter and her smile a little sunnier than anyone else’s. Not that she was smiling now.
“Great entrance,” he murmured. “Graceful as always.”
She merely closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath as they both struggled to regain their composure.
She was really here. In the flesh.
Such nice flesh, damn it.
While she got a grip on herself, he took a moment to devour her with his eyes, noting the things that had changed over time and those that had remained the same. It was easy to tell—her image had been burned into his brain since the day they’d met.
He studied the way her new longer haircut framed the sweet curve of her face and the vulnerable delicacy of her neck. Her makeup was designed to accentuate the alluring, vivid blue of her eyes. God, those eyes, such a stunning contrast to her thick, dark hair. Her jaw was just as stubborn, her lips just as plush and pink.
Oh, so kissable.
She wasn’t quite as slender as she’d been in college, but the curves were stillallin the right places. His college girl had grown into quite a woman. From the top of her chestnut-brown hair to the tips of her expensive shoes, she screamed totally-in-control female.
But she wasn’t. Not by a long shot. No more than he could call himself in-control male.
“Yeah, well, I see you haven’t changed much either,” she finally said with a falsely sweet smile. “Why am I not surprised to bump into you after eight years and find you with a woman, naked and displaying your best side?”
His eyes narrowed. “Used to be you thought my front was my best side.”
She raked a thorough look across his bare chest and arms, his stomach, the unfastened waist of his slacks.
Everywhere her gaze touched, his body tightened and grew hot. His reaction to her was instinctive and had been since the minute he’d met her in his sophomore year of college.
Somehow, she managed to look as though she’d studied him and found him lacking. Which was, he knew, total bullshit. The flush on her cheeks and the way she couldn’t quite control her deep breathing told him her dismissing look was as fake as her perfectly manicured nails.
Caroline was a nail biter. A blusher. And a heavy breather.
But she gave it her best shot. Crossing her arms, she managed what would probably pass for a pitying smile. “That was before I got to know you. I’m all grown-up and I’ve figured out that the rear is always the best side of a horse’s ass. The better to watch him walk away.”
He grinned, unable to help it. Damn, the woman always had been able to throw a good insult. Her prickliness had been one of the things that had so fascinated him in the old days. Because it came in the sweetest, most adorably sexy package.
“So, what are you doing here, Caroline?” he asked, struggling to remain casual and calm, as if his world hadn’t rolled over the moment he’d seen her face.
She ignored his question. “Are you going to call 9–1-1?”
He raised a curious brow.
“A woman just threatened to shoot you.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you to end up in jail so soon. I mean, we just met again. We haven’t had time to catch up yet.”
Her eyes narrowed as she tapped her fingers on the top of his desk, near the gun Louise had dropped. “I’m talking about yourfriend.”
“Louise? She’s harmless.”
