Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [17]
He sat on a leather wing chair, swirled his drink and waited for her to get to the point of her visit. He was very patient, a trait he’d worked long and hard to achieve, and within a short time Amanda was tapping her nails on the edge of the sofa, betraying her irritation at his aloof greeting. Finally she walked over and perched on the arm of his chair, resting her fingers on his arm. He glanced down at the perfectly manicured hand, wondering if those long, bright red nails would last for five minutes in Kelsey’s garden. Probably not.
She offered him a coy smile. “I did hope you might be at least a little pleased to see me.”
He should have been. After six months of intense research and practically no social life, he should have been enticed by the kind of distraction Amanda had always been willing to provide. But he just couldn’t muster the interest.
“Refresh my memory,” he said. “Don’t I recall you flinging a very expensive Oriental vase at my head the last time we were together? That was right after we ‘agreed’ not to see each other anymore, right?”
He watched her bright red lips tighten and pull down at the corners. She was so spoiled. That was another thing Mitch hadn’t been able to handle while they dated. Amanda had never been denied anything by her father, and she wanted a man who would provide the same mindless devotion. Mitch wasn’t that kind of man. And he never would be.
“Really, darling, I would have thought you’d have forgotten all about my little bout of jealousy. I just couldn’t stand it that you didn’t want me to join you in China.”
As if that was what had broken them apart. Amanda’s overreaction to the trip was the excuse for the breakup, not the reason. They’d only dated a few months, and never exclusively, because of Mitch’s realization that beneath the polish the woman was shallow as hell. The attraction had palled long before the trip to China came up.
“I think you and I both knew that was never an option.”
She frowned. She hadn’t taken their breakup very gracefully.
“Possibly,” she conceded. “But there’s no reason two old friends shouldn’t spend time together, is there? After all, I’ve so much to tell you…did I mention who we’ve lined up as a visiting lecturer for next semester?”
Mitch watched Amanda as she spoke. He saw her lips moving and heard a vague humming sound, but he really didn’t hear a thing she said. For some reason he suddenly found himself wondering what Kelsey was doing. Was she sitting right above their heads with the fading sunlight catching the golden highlights in her honey-colored hair? Was she upstairs lying in the tub? It was nearing six o’clock, and he half cocked an ear to listen for the sound of water running. But there was nothing.
Until the knock.
KELSEY NEARLY TURNED BACK and darted upstairs to her apartment. But she’d already knocked sharply on Mitch’s door. This was crazy. Insane. He was here with a date, and she was about to barge in.
It was purely impulsive. She’d been about to run a bath when she again heard the shrill voice from downstairs. Before consciously deciding to do it, she marched to her closet, yanked out a satiny emerald green robe and pulled it on. Skipping downstairs, she banged on the door without even forming one cohesive thought about her plan.
Mitch opened the door and Kelsey smiled brightly. She pushed past him into his living room, pretending she didn’t see the blonde in the corner, whose jaw had suddenly dropped, and said, “Mitch, baby, do you have some candles I could borrow? I’m afraid mine are burned down to nubs and I do love taking a long soak in the tub with candlelight flickering on the walls.”
Narrowing his eyes as Kelsey cast him a sultry glance from beneath partly lowered lashes, Mitch dropped his gaze to appreciate her attire…or lack thereof. She wore a silky confection that clung to every curve. The top gaped open, revealing smooth cleavage, and the bottom of the robe just kissed the top of her thighs.