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All the same, he did have a certain charismatic maleness that no woman could completely ignore. Strength, Peta decided, was his main asset. Matt Davis looked capable of standing up to anyone or anything. It wasn’t just his powerful build, either. Peta sensed the kind of character that would take on any business and make a success of it.
He had a strong face, every feature carved with definition; a squarish, determined chin, a mouth full of straight white teeth, a nose that seemed to flare with passion, rather prominent cheekbones providing an emphatic underlining for surprisingly light grey eyes... very luminous and piercingly direct eyes shining from between rows of thick black lashes. Straight brows added to his no-nonsense look, as did the thick, closely cropped black hair.
Most people would see him as the solid, dependable type, but Peta wasn’t about to trust that image. She’d seen and felt the simmer of sexual speculation emanating from him and no way was she about to fulfil the fantasies flying through his head. Giorgio was definitely the last man who would ever lead her down the garden path, whispering sweet nothings that came to precisely that. Nothing. From now on she was taking charge of her life and she was not going to have her judgment seduced by sex appeal.
“Speaking of singles...are you?” she asked, looking for feet of clay under the magnificent masculinity now revealed in navy shorts and a white sports shirt. His tan, she noted, was not of the sun-lamp variety. It had the natural glow of healthy outdoors activity. However, that did not preclude lots of indoor activity, as well.
He frowned incomprehension. “Pardon?”
“Single, unattached, on the loose?” she rolled out with a quizzical little smile. “I mean the wife could be taking a separate vacation while you do your filial duty. Or you might have an understanding lover sidelined until further notice...”
“No,” he cut into her flippant little speech. “I’m not in a relationship at the moment. Haven’t been for quite some time.”
“Prefer to be fly-by-night, do you?” she tossed at him.
He hesitated. “Is that what you prefer?”
She arched her eyebrows and shook her head. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear about air hostesses and pilots.”
“I was asking about you in particular.”
“And I was asking about you. Some guys are take it and run specialists.”
She heard the bitter edge on her voice and saw it give him pause for thought. She didn’t care. If he was of that ilk, let him be warned the only thing he’d get from her was frustration.
“That’s not my style. Though I guess there could be circumstances that might influence me,” he answered slowly, his eyes sharply scanning hers.
“Well, it’s my guess you do whatever suits you, Matt Davis. Like the salt and the cigarette,” she said dryly.
And like Giorgio, keeping her on a string with a stack of cheating lies. Two years she’d wasted on him while he’d kept his real life hidden from her, holding out the promise of a future that was never going to happen. She’d hung on every flight to Rome, wild for the intense romance he showered on her, and all she’d been to him was a bit of fluff on the side.
She thought of her sister and the husband who adored her and their new baby and felt almost sick with envy. Why couldn’t she meet a decent man who didn’t shy clear of commitment? Just the mention of the word, baby, over lunch, had made Matt Davis bolt for a different tack in the conversation.
Her eyes flashed icy derision at the man who’d taken one look at her today and got bed on his brain.
“You want to know about me? I’ll tell you straight before you start nursing any ideas of fun and games.
The next guy who wants to get in my pants will have to put a wedding ring on my finger first!”
His jaw visibly sagged.
Peta smiled. “Ready to play now?”
CHAPTER FOUR
A WEDDING ring?
She wanted marriage? Actively wanted it?
The tennis ball whizzed past Matt so fast he was left totally flat-footed, his racquet still balanced in both hands. Her first serve and she’d aced him!
He saluted her, graciously conceding her the point. She grinned, her face alight with triumphant pleasure at surprising him. Her jaunty walk to the other side of the service line gave warning this had not been a fluke shot. Peta Kelly could really play. Strong arm for a woman, too. Great coordination. He wished she would take her tracksuit off so he could watch her fantastic body in action. The baggy trousers and sweatshirt frustrated his...
The next ball shot down the centre line, leaving him standing again!
“Okay! So I’ve got the cannonball express on the other side of the net,” he remarked appreciatively.
She laughed. “Should I slow up for you?”
