Countering His Claim by Rachel Bailey

Author:Rachel Bailey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-03T07:00:00+00:00

Seven

Della froze at her desk as the nurse’s voice floated from the front room through her partially open door.

“Good morning, Mr. Marlow,” Jody said. “How can I help you?”

Hidden in her office, Della bit down on her lip and wondered if she could shut the door without drawing attention. She’d successfully avoided Luke Marlow since their bone-melting kiss. For a full day yesterday. Despite knowing she only had a short time to convince him about the Cora Mae.

She sighed. Her procrastination had to end now.

“I’d like to see Dr. Walsh about the stitches in my hand,” he said, voice deep and charming.

Even from this distance, the timbre of his voice seemed to reverberate through her body, and her eyes drifted closed. Memories of their kiss surfaced in her mind—the way his hand had curled around the nape of her neck, the champagne fizz that had rushed through her veins the moment his lips had touched hers.

“I’ll just see if she’s available,” Jody said out in reception.

Della’s hands fluttered to the desktop and clasped together. Two years ago, she’d lain in a hospital bed critically ill with the injuries she’d received in the attack that had killed her husband. Shane had been her everything. Having his life ripped from her in that dirty street had been unbearable, overwhelming. In her grief, she’d made a promise to herself—never, never again would she love someone enough to leave her vulnerable to that much pain.

Intellectually, she knew she couldn’t, shouldn’t, hold herself to that long-ago promise. But emotionally, she knew it still held sway over her. Exposing herself meant stripping bare in so much more than just a physical sense. And Luke would be horrified if he ever caught a glimpse of the puckered scars across her torso. He might think he knew about a couple of dainty marks, but the reality was uglier. Anything physical between them would end before it had begun.

Not that it would ever get that far. All she was doing now was stopping things prior to reaching that point. Saving him the trouble. Saving herself the pain.

Jody slipped in through the doorway and closed it behind her. “Do you want me to pass him to Cal?” she asked quietly.

As strong as the temptation was, she knew she couldn’t. She’d asked Jody and the other staff in the medical suite to cover for her if Luke rang. She hadn’t explained why, and they’d been considerate enough to not ask questions. She simply needed time to get her bearings—to purge that kiss from her memory so she could focus on the reason for seeing him.

So she could face him merely as a business associate, the other half-owner of Patrick’s ship. Calm, professional, unperturbed.

That meant no passing him to Cal now.

“That’s fine, Jody.” She drew in a fortifying breath. “Show him in.”

All too soon, Luke sauntered into her office, one hand deep in a pocket, the bandaged hand held at chest height, his dark blond hair rumpled, as if he’d been on the top deck in the breeze.

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