The Men of Medicine Ridge - Diana Palmer [12]
He watched her calmly, his gaze narrow and intense.
She put the compact in her evening bag and moved toward him. “You’d better do some quick repairs of your own,” she murmured after she examined his face. “That shade of lipstick definitely doesn’t suit you.”
He gave her a glare, but he pulled out his handkerchief and let her remove the stains from his cheek and neck. Fortunately, the lipstick had missed his white collar or there wouldn’t be any disguising it.
“Next time, don’t put on six layers of it before you come over here,” he advised coolly.
“Next time, keep your hands in your pockets.”
He chuckled dryly. “Fat chance, with your dress showing off your breasts like that.”
She unfastened her lacy shawl and draped it across her bodice and over her shoulder. She gave him a haughty glance and waited for him to open the front door.
“The next dress I buy will have a mandarin neckline, you can bet on that,” she told him under her breath.
“Make sure it doesn’t have buttons, then,” he whispered outrageously as he stood aside to let her pass.
“Lecher,” she whispered.
“Temptress,” he whispered back.
She walked past him and into the living room before he could think up any more smart remarks to throw at her. She looked calm, but inside, she was rippling with tiny fears and remnants of pleasure from his touch. It occurred to her that, over the years, she’d been more intimate with him than any other man she’d ever known, but he’d never kissed her.
Thinking about that didn’t help her situation, so she smiled warmly at Bob and Charles as they rose to their feet, and then at Vivian and the tall, blond man who stood up from his seat on the sofa beside her.
“Natalie, this is Whit,” Vivian introduced them. Her blue eyes looked at the blond man with total possession. Whit, in turn, looked at Natalie as if he’d just discovered oil.
Oh, boy, Natalie thought miserably as she registered the gleam in Whit’s blue eyes when they shook hands. He held hers for just a few seconds too long, and she grimaced. Here was a complication she hadn’t counted on.
Chapter 3
It didn’t help matters that Whit was a graduate of the same community college Natalie attended and had taken classes with some of the professors who taught her. Vivian had never wanted to go to college, and was unsure what she wanted to do with her life. Just recently, Mack had put his foot down and insisted that she get either a job or a degree. Vivian had been horrified, but she’d finally agreed to try a course in computer programming at the local vocational school. That was where she’d met Whit, who taught English there.
As they ate dinner, Natalie carefully maneuvered the conversation toward the vocational school, so that Vivian could join in. Vivian was livid and getting more upset by the minute. Natalie could have kicked Mack for putting her in this position. If only he’d let Vivian invite Whit over unconditionally!
“Why didn’t you go to college to study computer programming?” Whit asked Vivian, and managed to make it sound condescending.
“The classes were already full when I decided to go,” Vivian said with a forced smile. “Besides, I’d never have met you if I’d gone to college instead of the vocational school.”
“I suppose not.” He smiled at her, but his attention went immediately back to Natalie. “What grade do you plan to teach?”
“First or second,” Natalie said. “And I have to leave very soon, I’m afraid. I have exams next week, so I expect to be up very late tonight studying.”
“You can’t even stay for dessert?” Whit asked.
“Nope…sorry.”
“What a shame,” Whit said.
“Yes, what a shame.” Vivian echoed the words, but the tone was totally different.
“I’ll walk you out to your car,” Mack said before Whit could volunteer.
Whit knew when he was beaten. He smiled sheepishly and asked Vivian if she’d pour him a second cup of coffee.
It was pitch black outside. Mack held Natalie’s arm on the way down the steps, but not in any affectionate way. He