Back in Service by Isabel Sharpe

Author:Isabel Sharpe
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-06-05T16:00:00+00:00

10

JAMESON LEANED HIS elbows back on the ancient quilt he and Kendra had spread on Rat Beach—so named not because of rodents, but because it was the beach Right After Torrance. The day was chilly but the sun was warm, and as always the beach was not at all crowded. Frankly, if he could lie next to Kendra on a blanket he would do so even in Antarctica. She was leaning back in the same position he was, her hair a thick curtain between her head and the quilt, making him want to put his hands into it, feel it spreading across his chest...

She’d picked him up after her last appointment and they’d gotten takeout and brought Byron to the beach. They’d been chatting pretty easily during dinner, but there was still underlying tension. There probably would be until they settled into the rules of phase three of the Kendra-Jameson relationship—from grade school enemies to counselor and client to...whatever this was going to be.

Jameson was hanging back until he found out. The chemistry between them had made it pretty obvious maintaining a professional relationship wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t see her without wanting to touch her, kiss her and...yeah, um, a lot more than that. Hell, he felt that way about her even when she was out of sight.

But this was more than a simple working out of male-female urges. He liked Kendra a lot. He respected her. He wanted to find out more about her life since high school, how she’d weathered the tragedy of losing her parents and what she wanted for her life in the future—whether that could involve a long-distance relationship. And lately he’d found himself wanting to protect her. To keep her safe from the big bad guys of life. To be the one she turned to for advice and support.

Not great ingredients for a casual two-week fling. Yet the thought of ending whatever this turned out to be was nearly as ridiculous as thinking about waiting twenty years to live with her again in the same town.

Behind them Byron let out an impatient woof. Kendra groaned and dragged herself to sitting. “I should let him run around. Why didn’t you stop me after I’d eaten enough for three people?”

“I was too busy eating for seven.” Jameson surveyed the wreckage strewn around them. Thai food. Decimated. The battle had been long and delicious, starting with tom yum kai soup, a spicy flavorful broth brimming with shrimp, straw mushrooms and cilantro; then fiery, rich red curry with beef; and finally pad thai, rice noodles slightly sour from tamarind juice, rich with peanuts and egg and refreshed with lime and bean sprouts.

“C’mon, Byron.” She got to her feet and untied his leash, then headed for a corner of the quilt. “I have a present for you, Jameson. Want it now?”

“A present?” He pretended childlike eagerness. “Where? What is it?”

“Here. Wait.” She reached into her bag and came up with an old chewed-up dog toy.

“Ooh, slobbery tennis ball, thank you!” He grinned at the look she sent him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.