A Fortune's Children's Christmas by Barbara Boswell, Lisa Jackson, Linda Turner

accepting her invitation to dinner, feeling tense and excited and suddenly concerned about how close he’d shaved? He couldn’t get involved with her. Wouldn’t.
    And yet he couldn’t stop himself. He’d jumped at the chance to be alone with her and Angela again, read the funny card she’d left for him half a dozen times. He felt foolish arriving with a bottle of wine, like a schoolboy with a corsage for his prom date, but he hauled it with him nonetheless.
    She greeted him at the door, and he was stunned. He’d never seen her dressed up before. In a black skirt, white silk blouse and some kind of suede vest, she was more than striking. Her hair was pinned back, a touch of lipstick glistening on her lips, and a smile as warm as South Florida causing a dimple to creaseone cheek. “I thought you might back out,” she teased.
    “Why would I do that?” He handed her the bottle of wine and she lifted an already-arched brow.
    “Just a feeling I got. That you’d rather avoid me.”
    He walked into her house and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Sometimes I think it would be wiser.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “It keeps life less complicated.”
    “And that’s what you want? No complications?”
    “Let’s just say I’ve had more than my share.”
    Her smile faded slightly. “I’ll let you in on a secret, Chase. We all have. Come inside and take a load off. I’ll try to keep things uncomplicated for you.” He knew she was needling him, but he let it pass as he walked into the kitchen where he’d grown up. The house smelled of baked ham, scalloped potatoes and lemon in the form of a meringue pie that she cut after he’d devoured two helpings of the main course. True to her word, she kept the conversation light, and if she flirted with him at all, it was at a shallow level that didn’t delve too deep. Several times he thought about bringing up the problem with granting her water rights, but the perfect moment never seemed to arise, and he didn’t want to spoil the mood of comradery they’d found.
    He even let a few of his old barriers break down and couldn’t resist the baby. She’d grown over the past month and a half, her eyes more focused, her tiny body filling out. Chase and Lesley played with Angelauntil she nodded off, and then they were completely alone.
    That’s when the trouble began.
    He knew he should leave, that being with her any longer was begging for a kind of trouble he didn’t want, but as they sat on the couch in the living room, the panes of the windows misting, candles flickering on the mantel, he couldn’t find the words to say goodbye.
    She was tense beside him, her leg close to his, her shoulder brushing his own. The room was too intimate, way too close. He yanked at the neck of his sweater. Couldn’t breathe.
    “I’m glad you came,” she said.
    “I’m glad you invited me.” Oh, hell, he sounded so stiff and formal.
    “I wish, I mean, I’d like—” She turned and stared deep into his eyes. “I don’t want you,” she said. “I…I don’t want this, but—”
    So there it was.
    “But—I do.”
    His mouth was dry as he stared into eyes that glimmered like a forest in the rain. “I know.”
    She licked her lips, and he was undone.
    His groin throbbed. His heart raced, and he saw her pupils widen as he slowly lowered his head. “This is a mistake,” he whispered.
    “A big one.” An enticing flush crept up her neck, and he couldn’t resist the temptation to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. Her lips parted willingly, herbody molded to his, and if he felt any bit of resistance in her it quickly disappeared.
    Don’t do this, Fortune. Stop now, while you still can, a nagging voice inside his head insisted. But the kiss deepened and she let out a soft moan. His tongue slipped between her lips, his pulse raced and fire danced through his blood. One of his hands tangled in her hair, and her head lolled backward, exposing more of her throat. Deep