Risky Business by Jane Sullivan

Author:Jane Sullivan [Sullivan, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Adult
ISBN: 9780263835632
Google: lPIbPQAACAAJ
Amazon: 0373690983
Barnesnoble: 0373690983
Goodreads: 1599185
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2002-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

10

As rr turned out, Jack was absolutely right.

Within a few minutes of his arrival, they sat down together on an overstuffed love seat, and soon the sofa and chairs in the vicinity were occupied and the conversation was flowing.

The group was a fluid one. One person would get up and another one would sit down, changing the direction of the conversation. But Rachel had no inclination to move somewhere else, and neither, it seemed, did Jack. They remained glued to the tiny love seat, chatting with anyone who happened by. The warmth of his body next to hers was intoxicating, and the way he draped his arm along the low back of the love seat behind her made her feel as if she were wrapped in a protective cocoon. Every once in a while, he would turn and give her one of those looks reserved for couples only, couples in love, couples who are merely tolerating the people around them because they have eyes only for each other. And as the evening progressed, that was exactly what it felt like.

In spite of her going three rounds with the Colorado Coma at lunch, Rachel eventually ordered a glass of wine and sipped it slowly, letting its warmth flow through her. Occasionally Jack would drop his hand to the back of her neck, and take the area beneath the collar of her sweater with his fingertips. It was a subtle act, but the effect on her was devastating. At the same time, he laughed, he lis-128

tened, he told jokes—clean ones when the audience demanded it, and bawdy ones when it didn't. His good looks were a big part of his charm, at least where the women were concerned, but when it came right down to it, it was his personality that people seemed to gravitate toward.

But the best part was that instead of feeling uptight as she usually did in a crowd of people, Rachel actually felt relaxed. As the night progressed, something that had been nearly impossible for her all her life began to feel effortless. She knew if there were any of those awful pauses in conversation, Jack would intercede and take up the slack. She was free to contribute without having to shoulder the entire burden, and she found herself wondering what she'd ever done without him. She was starting to think that a lot, in more ways than one.

Then Walter and Emma sat down with them, and Rachel felt uneasy all over again. A few minutes later, Phil began to hover on the periphery, waiting for somebody to get up. As soon as a seat was free, he slid into the unoccupied chair and proceeded to try to monopolize the conversation. He might have succeeded, too, if not for Jack.

Jack caught Walter's eye. "I saw the mall atrium for the first time today."

Walter grinned. "It's really something, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement."

"I have to admit that I wasn't too sure about it in the beginning, but Rachel insisted on presenting the idea to the client.

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.