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She tried not to blush, felt her face heating anyway and kept her eyes averted. He was searching her face, reading her eyes, she was sure of it. Then he pulled her close and kissed her softly, deeply, on and on and on. Then he hugged her, burying his face against her neck.
Kissing her neck again, he whispered, “I’ll never push you, Kara.”
God help me, she thought.I kinda wish you would.
He released her as if reluctant to do so. “I should go. I have to get to that fence before our special evening.”
“Splash some cold water on your face, beautiful. Your family will lynch me if they see you looking like you’ve just been ravished.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
“I’m going. Taking Ty back to the house. See you later?”
“Soon,” she said.
“Not soon enough.”
He leaned close and kissed her gently, then he turned and left the room.
CHAPTERTEN
He put Tyler in the truck and drove back to the house—herhouse, where she was kind enough to let him stay free of charge while he did his best to seduce her, deceive her and use her for his own ends. He wondered if she’d intended to live in the second story, while having her daycare facility on the ground floor, and he thought that wouldn’t really be enough room for a family of three. They’d probably have to buy another place, either for her center or for their home.
He sure was starting to think as if this was a done deal, wasn’t he?
Tyler was completely involved in the coloring book he’d brought from the bar with him. He had a giant box of crayons between his knees, and was concentrating so hard on his picture that he had a little furrow between his brows.
Sighing deeply, Jim told himself he was not acompletebastard. He was giving Tyler the mother of his dreams. And giving Kara a son she already adored. And, hell, he intended to do his best to make her happy for the rest of her life.
Okay, not the rest of her life. The next fifteen years or so. Just until Tyler grew up. Still, that was a lot to offer, right?
Wrong, idiot. It might be a lot to offer if she knew that was all she was being offered. But what you’re pretending to be offering is a lot more. You’re making her believe in a big fat lie.
Why the hell did she have to be so damngood?It made it tough not to feel guilty. Pretending to love her, pretending to want her so badly he could barely keep his hands to himself...
He shifted in his seat. Okay, so maybe the wanting part wasn’tquitemake-believe. But he was human and she was gorgeous. And good. And yeah, it was a shame to play such a nice, decent girl the way he was playing her. And yet if she wasn’t a nice, decent girl, he wouldn’t want her, anyway. She wouldn’t be good enough to be a mother to his son, and that was what this was all about
So he had to play her. Sweep her off her feet, convince her he had fallen madly in love. He thought he’d accomplished a major part of that. Clearly she wanted him. Wanted him badly. He’d been amazed at the instant and powerful responses he’d managed to elicit in her. She responded so easily when he touched her. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on her smooth skin, and her heart pattered rapid-fire against her chest. And her breathing quickened and her eyes... Hell, he had to break this train of thought and break it now. He was having enough trouble focusing without...
She was a virgin. She’d never been with another man. He would be the first to show her how good it could be. And yet he knew he would have to be careful, gentle, take it slow. Because he didn’t want to hurt her or frighten her or...
Damn, he was doing it again.
He pulled into the driveway of the house and shut off the engine, then carried Ty straight to the backyard and got to work on the fence. He needed physical labor and lots of it.
* * *
By the time they finished inventory, Kara was wrung out, coated in a layer of sweat and dust and sure she looked hideous.
“Good grief,” she said, “I don’t even want to pass close to Jimmy and Tyler looking like this.” She sniffed herself. “Do I smell?”
“You can always come home and shower there, daughter,” Vidalia said as she pulled the bar’s door shut and turned the lock. Then she hung a sign on the hook, eye level on the door. It read Closed for Inventory.
“Maybe I will.”
“Up to you. You want to be deceptive, that’s your call.”
“Deceptive?” Kara shot a look at her mother, then sought help from Selene. Alex and Mel had already gone home—they’d be using Mel’s old bedroom while they were here in town. Maya had taken the twins and gone home, as well. They’d been cranky and tired and needed a nap.
