Bravo Unwrapped (26 page)
Authors: Christine Rimmer
F
letcher put a handâso lightlyâat the small of her back. Cleo went where he guided her, stunningly aware of the press of his palm against the base of her spine.
They took the elevator to the office tower. As they stepped into the car, Cleo eased away from him. She turned and backed against the brass railing that ran along the mirrored elevator walls.
They looked at each other, neither of them speaking. She found herself achingly aware of how small the space was, how, with only a step or two, she would be in his arms.
Crazy. Ridiculous. She was not, under any circumstances, going to end up in Fletcher Bravo's arms.
She shifted her gaze, and she was looking at her own reflection in the mirrored wall behind him. Did she look as guilty as she felt?
Before she could decide if she did or not, the elevator whooshed to a stop and the doors parted.
Marla had a manila envelope all ready for her. Cleo took it with a smile. “Thanks.”
From behind her, Fletcher said, “I'll see you to your car.”
No way, she thought as she turned to him. She made a joke of her refusal. “You don't want to do that. You saw the way I pull out of parking spaces. I might actually run over you this time.”
“I'll take my chances.”
Danny had said it that night last week.
He's after you.
And he was. He
still
wasâhis hand on hers at the table, his palm settling so possessively at the small of her back as they left the restaurantâ¦
Subtle, knowing touches. What a man does to draw a woman in. Nothing obvious. Nothing blatant. Making it so very easy to pretend it isn't happeningâ¦
But it was happening. And she had to stop denying, stop pretending it wasn't.
Guilt tightened her stomach as she remembered how she'd assured Danny that she wasn't interested.
Liar, she silently accused herself. She was interested. She just didn't want to beâno. Wrong, damn it.
She wasn't going to be. She was stopping this
slow and oh-so-clever seduction, stopping it right here and now.
She drew herself up. “No,” she said firmly. “I enjoyed the lunch. Thank you.”
He held her gaze for a second too long. She felt the heat, zipping back and forth, arcing between them. And then he said silkily, “No need for thanks. I'm pleased that we're going to be working together.”
â¦
NOT THE END
â¦
ISBN: 978-1-4592-4100-8
BRAVO UNWRAPPED
Copyright © 2005 by Christine Rimmer.
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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