Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [29]
“And if I listen, and my views don’t change?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at her as he waited for her reply.
“I don’t know, Mitch,” she said, eyes flashing as she stood and walked toward him. “I guess if your views don’t change, you have the right to turn the radio off and pretend I’m the weather girl. I’m not going to tell you I’ll quit my job because you don’t like it.”
Her robe swished around her body as she walked. He couldn’t stop staring at the peach flesh of her upper leg, exposed as her robe gapped with each step. She reached the table and stopped right next to him.
“So what you’re telling me,” he replied slowly as he let his gaze burn a path up her thigh, across her body and up to her face, “is that I should give you another chance, listen more, and maybe I’ll like what I hear, but if I don’t, then I should go take a flying leap. Do I have this right?”
Kelsey grabbed a glazed doughnut, held it speculatively in front of her face, then looked down to stare at him.
“Yeah, I guess you do.”
Mitch stood very slowly. She had come to stand close to him, nearly between his legs, and he did a slow slide up her body, feeling a crackle of electricity flash in the scant inch that separated them. She had to tilt her head back to maintain their eye contact, and Mitch suddenly had the advantage.
“Kelsey?” he said softly, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
She backed up a tiny step. He followed until again they were nearly touching.
“What?”
“To hell with that,” he retorted.
Kelsey watched Mitch drop the half-eaten doughnut on the table, turn and stride out the door.
“Well,” she muttered after he’d gone, “so much for seduction!”
LATER THAT DAY, after Kelsey had managed another hour of fitful sleep, she went downstairs, carrying a paperback and a tall glass of iced tea. It was still relatively warm for mid-October, and she meant to enjoy the weather while it lasted. Not wanting to risk another confrontation with Mitch, she was quiet as she slipped through the kitchen to the back door.
Slight hints of yellow tinged leaves on the trees. A smoky smell hung in the air, and Kelsey knew someone was anticipating the cold weather with an early season fire. Dragging a lawn chair from the garage, she placed it under a tall shady maple in the backyard. Her long-sleeved cotton shirt and khaki pants were perfectly adequate for warmth. Kelsey breathed deeply, invigorated by the clean, crisp breeze. She would lie here and read her romance novel and not think at all about Mitch.
But she couldn’t even open the book. She kept staring at the picture on the cover. The hero was gorgeous, larger than life, but he still wasn’t as handsome as her frustrating landlord. As for the heroine…well, Kelsey figured she’d have a really tough time buying blouses that fit.
“Shall we try this again?” came a familiar drawl.
Kelsey jerked her head and dropped the book at the sound of Mitch’s voice. He stood right beside her. She hadn’t even detected his approach.
“You’re quiet as a cat,” she said. “That’s the second time you’ve done that to me.”
Kelsey watched as Mitch leaned back against the maple tree and stared down at her. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to slow her rapid pulse. She would play this cool if it killed her. What had Celia said? Flirt, seduce, all without his knowledge. She could do that. After all, she was Lady Love. Kelsey felt like a soap opera diva at the thought.
“Look, we live under the same roof, whether I like it or not,” he finally said. “And we have to find a way to get along.”
“We already do get along, Mitch. I really don’t see the problem.”
“Right. Yeah, well, that’s what I came out to say. There’s really no problem. As you said, I’m merely your landlord, of absolutely no importance in your life. That fact has finally sunk in. You do your thing, Kelsey, and I’ll mind my own business. And as you also said last night, I’m really nothing to you. We’ll be acquaintances who nod at each other on the stairs, all right?”
No. No, that was not all right. Acquaintances?