A Guilty Affair by Smith Maureen

Author:Smith, Maureen [Smith, Maureen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, General, Contemporary, Contemporary Suspense/Mystery African-American, Fiction
ISBN: 9780373860173
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2007-05-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Noah wasn’t in the office when Riley arrived the next morning, and as the day wore on without his return, she told herself the dull ache of disappointment she felt had nothing to do with the fact that she’d spent another restless night thinking about him, reliving not only their kiss, but the time they’d spent alone in his truck yesterday while waiting for her tires to be replaced.

She’d thought of little else since then, and it was Janie who finally noticed how distracted she was.

“Why don’t you go home?” Janie suggested, appearing in the doorway and catching Riley staring at the spot where Noah had kissed her on Friday.

She started guiltily, her eyes snapping to Janie’s face. “What did you say?”

Janie smiled. “I said,” she enunciated, stepping into the office, “why don’t you go home? It’s already after three o’clock—you’ve put in your hours for the day. Besides, how productive can you really be when you’re daydreaming?”

Heat flooded Riley’s cheeks. “I wasn’t daydreaming,” she muttered, briskly shuffling a stack of papers on her desk. “I was doing research.”

Janie arched a dubious brow. “Sure could’ve fooled me.” She perched a hip against the corner of the desk and idly swung her foot, which was encased in a pair of stiletto Jimmy Choo pumps. She watched Riley for a few moments, a speculative gleam in her dark eyes.

“What?” Riley asked warily.

Janie’s mouth curved in a coy smile. “Kenneth seems to think there’s something going on between you and Noah. He told me when he arrived at the office on Friday evening after I’d left, you nearly ran him over in your haste to flee the premises. When he went to investigate the source of your, uh, agitation, he found Noah standing right here in this office, looking as hot and bothered as you’re looking right now.”

Riley flushed. “I’m not hot and bothered.” Then, opting for honesty—since there seemed no way of getting around it—she looked the other woman squarely in the eye. “Noah and I had a big argument on Friday. That’s what Kenneth caught the tail end of.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.” A half-truth was better than nothing at all.

“You know,” Janie said, striking a thoughtful pose as she tapped a fingertip to her dimpled chin, “I would have accepted that explanation before yesterday. But yesterday I saw with my own two eyes why Kenneth suspects something’s up between you and his brother. And he’s not the only one. His mother commented on it as well, almost as soon as you and Noah left. Within minutes of each other, I might add.”

Riley frowned. “That was pure coincidence.”

“Maybe, but it’s no coincidence that three different family members—people who know Noah very well—saw the same thing yesterday during lunch.”

“Which is?”

“The fact that Noah couldn’t keep his eyes off you.” Mischief glimmered in Janie’s dark eyes. “And, unless we’re all mistaken, you had the same problem.”

“You’re all mistaken.” Riley stood abruptly and began packing up her belongings. Maybe it was past time for her to leave for the day.

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