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Focus, Carmen, focus. Don’t get off track here. You need to win back the upper hand. Remembering her call from Rachel, she asked, “Has Candy Sumlar called you yet?”

He pushed his chair under the table and went to the sink, pausing for a moment to glance at her. “Is she supposed to?”

Carmen shrugged. “Don’t be surprised if she does. Someone took a picture of us yesterday and it made the front page of the Wagging Tongue.”

He turned toward her after placing his cup in the sink. “I know. It could cause a problem or two, I suppose.”

He took a few steps toward her until Carmen had to tilt her head back to look up into his face. “Then why did you kiss me?” she asked.

“Because I wanted to.”

His words, precise and definitely unapologetic, gave her a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sexual tension filled the room and for a moment, she was mesmerized by his gaze—those extraordinary dark eyes could render a woman breathless if she stared into them for too long.

So she broke eye contact and moved away. “Doing things that you want to do without thinking about the possible outcome can get you in trouble.”

“And who said I didn’t think about it?”

Carmen fell silent. Was Matthew insinuating that he’d kissed her knowing full well what he was doing? That he would have done so anyway, even if she hadn’t made a move first with that kiss on the cheek? She ignored the tingle in her stomach at the mere thought that this was more than a game to him. That perhaps he had wanted her and initiating that kiss had been just the thing to push him over the edge.

Umm. The thought of that had her nipples feeling hard and pressing tight against the bikini top. She drew in a deep breath and as her lungs filled with the potent air they were both breathing she felt her nipples grow even more sensitive. He was leaning against the counter, his eyes roaming up and down her body. She wanted him to check her out good and assume that he could get more from her than just the hot-and-heavy kiss they’d shared last night. Then she would gladly show him how wrong that assumption was. If he was playing a game, she would show him that two could play.

She moved toward the table to sit down, intentionally swaying her hips as she did so. She took a sip of her coffee as she felt heat emitting from his gaze.

“There are some muffins in the refrigerator if you want something else to go with your coffee,” he said.

“Thanks, I’m fine.”

“There’s another polo match tomorrow. Do you plan on going?” he asked.

“I do,” she replied.

She knew why he was asking. By tomorrow, a number of people would have read the article and all sorts of speculations would be made. The main question was, how would they handle it?

The room got quiet. He finally broke the silence by asking, “What about Bruno? Will he get upset when he hears about the article?”

Carmen looked over at him and plastered a smile on her lips. “No, because he knows he has nothing to worry about.” She knew that comment irked him. Back in the day when he’d been a movie star, Matthew and Bruno had been rivals as Hollywood heartbreakers. The two never developed a close friendship and even now merely tolerated each other for appearance’s sake.

“Good. I wouldn’t want to cause friction between the two of you.”

“You won’t.” Seeing she would not be able to drink her coffee in peace while he was around, she stood and announced, “I’m going to the pool.”

Matthew watched her leave, irritated by what she’d said about Bruno knowing he had nothing to worry about. The very thought that the man was that confident about their relationship didn’t sit well with him. A sudden picture of her in Bruno’s arms flashed through his mind and he felt anger gathering in his body, all the way to his fingertips.

He drew in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, wondering what Bruno would think if he knew his girl had gotten pleasured by her ex last night. Although they hadn’t made love, Matthew knew her well enough to