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COVERT MAKEOVER
by
Mallory Kane
Book 3 Miami Confidential
July 2006
Sean glanced at her as he stuffed
the last bite of bread in his mouth and chased it with wine.
"You handled yourself pretty
well out there, for a wedding invitation designer."
She went still. "I used to live
in New York. I took some courses."
"Damn good ones, I'd say."
He studied her for a moment, then reached over and touched her temple with
his thumb.
Her gut reaction was to flinch away,
but for some odd reason she didn't.
"You've got a bruise on your
temple, right here."
His thumb was warm and gentle against
the tender skin. "I guess my duck and roll wasn't as good as it
should have been."
"No. It was good."
After a few seconds, Sophie blinked
to break the spell his green eyes were casting over her.
"So did Rafe say anything
else?" she said brightly, standing and picking up her dishes.
"Did they find any rifle casings. Any tire tread to analyze?"
"Good questions."
She heard the curiosity and suspicion
in his voice again. Sean Majors was not going to be fooled long by the
flimsy cover of Weddings Your Way. He was too sharp. Too observant.
She had the feeling he wouldn't long
be fooled by her flimsy cover either, if she stayed around him. She needed
to keep her distance.
As she put her bowl and glass into
the sink, she sensed his warm body behind her. He reached around and
placed his dishes on top of hers.
"What did you tell Rosita?"
His voice in her ear was low and gruff. The words were ominous.
She stiffened and turned around,
brushing his chest with her shoulder. "What? What do you mean?"
"About us. About why I brought
you here?"
"About us?" She shook her
head, bewildered by his question. "N-nothing."
He was so serious, so intense--and so
close. She'd gotten herself into a situation she'd sworn she'd never be in
again. She needed to get away.
Taking a step backward, she ran into
the corner of the refrigerator and lost her balance.
His hands on her arms steadied her.
"I don't understand," she
said desperately. "What do you think I did?" Then it dawned on
her.
The bimbo who got off on danger.
She lifted her chin. "I did not
tell her anything. In fact I told her the only reason I was here was
because you needed to see your daughter. That you'd have preferred not to
have me in your apartment at all."
Sophie saw in Sean's face that she'd
surprised him. His eyes changed, turned stormy. He let her go and ran his
fingers down the sides of his mouth. "I'd have preferred not to have
you here. You told her that."
"It's true."
Sean blinked. "Yes. It
was." He heard himself say was, not is. She was right. He hadn't
wanted to bring her into his private world, his haven, where he was Daddy
and his daughter loved him and he loved her in a way he'd never dreamed
was possible.
He wondered what she'd think if she
knew she was the only woman other than Rosita who'd been in his apartment
since his divorce.
"I have to go," Sophie
said, sliding away from him.
A dangerous impulse made him reach
out and touch her temple again. He hadn't noticed the bruise earlier in
the day, but it was turning dark now.
When he touched her she flinched,
then froze.
"This is going to mar your
pretty face."
Her wide blue eyes met his, and he
saw suspicion, wariness and something else in them.
"Who are you, Sophie
Brooks?" His thumb caressed the soft, discolored skin near her
hairline, even while he cursed himself for acting on the instant
attraction that had been growing since the he'd seen her long sleek legs
and delicate features from across the wedding salon.
Then all day today, as much as he'd
tried to fight it, she'd insinuated herself into his consciousness.
Everything about her fascinated him. She was beautiful, intelligent,
remarkably capable of taking care of herself. But she also had a false
side--the sultry, danger-loving side that reminded him of his ex-wife. And
he didn't like that.
She shook her head, a faint glint of
alarm visible in her clear blue eyes. "I'm nobody. Nobody at
all."
And that was the enigma of her. She
was such a contradiction. She had to be hiding something.
God help him, he had to know what it
was.
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