Summer Mahogany by Janet Dailey Page B

the short black waves of her hair "—I think we'd better return to the clambake, since I'm the host."
    "Yes, we should," Gina agreed quickly, anxious to bring an end to the embrace, especially when she was reacting so unnaturally to it.
    "You don't need to sound so eager," Justin laughed, and curved an arm possessively around her shoulders.
    "Hunger pangs," she lied brightly, walking at his side to the door.
    "We'll cure those." Justin ushered her through and slid his arm back to its former position around her shoulders as he escorted her to the gathering of people.
    Amid the crowd was Rhyder, magnetically drawing Gina's gaze against her will. His raw masculinity and rough vitality set him apart from the others. His attraction was powerful. Even while she despised him, Gina felt its strength.
    Through the crowd, his gaze drifted, caught Gina's look and stopped. She glanced quickly away, her gaze skittering sightlessly in any direction except where Rhyder stood.
    Breathing in deeply, she resolved not to let Rhyder's presence disturb her. The shock of seeing him again was over. As much as she disliked him, she refused to permit him to spoil her enjoyment of the clambake.
    "You returned just in time," Katherine Trent spoke up as her brother approached with Gina under his arm. In an aside, she jested to another couple standing near the canvas-mounded trough, "Trust my brother to turn up when the food is ready!"
    "I've never been accused of bad timing," Justin responded good-naturedly to the teasing.
    Gina slid a surprised glance at her watch. She had been in the house nearly an hour while her mind had run through the events of nine summers ago.
    Justin turned to the guests and called, "Come on, everybody. We're ready for the unveiling!"
    This time there were plenty of volunteers to help draw back the steam-enclosing canvas and the burlap cloth beneath it. A delicious aroma rose from the mound of seafood and vegetables, mixing an exotic blend of scents that filled the air. An appreciative murmur ran through the guests.
    "It's been years since I've been to a clambake," someone declared, "but that's an aroma I'll never forget!"
    Gina glanced in the direction of the voice, an understanding and agreeing smile curving her lips. Rhyder blocked her view, his eyes on her, alertly blue yet masked. The smile faded as her heart tripped over itself.
    She was forced to acknowledge that there were many memories that time couldn't dim. Not all of them concerned moments of anger and hatred; remembered moments of desire could blaze in the mind, too. She paled at the discovery wanting to remember only the bitter dislike and never be vulnerable again to humiliation at Rhyder's hand.
    "Dig in!" Katherine invited as the bulk of the food was set on a long table, leaving the lobster on the bottom, bright red-pink against the seaweed bed.
    With Justin at her elbow, Gina joined the line of people piling food on their plates. She lost sight of Rhyder in the milling group and hoped the separation would be permanent.
    "Take our plates to that table over there," Justin said, pointing, as he handed her his plate. "I'll get our lobster and the drawn butter."
    As Gina turned to comply, she saw Rhyder seated at the picnic table Justin had indicated. She hesitated but Justin pushed her forward playfully. Other tables were filling up. She couldn't tell Justin that she didn't want to sit at the same table with Rhyder, and there was no other objection she could make to the choice.
    Reluctantly she walked toward it. His blue gaze swept uninterestedly over her as she set the plates on the table on the opposite side from where he was sitting. His attention was directed to the couple seated beside him. In seconds Justin returned, balancing two plates while holding on to a cheesecloth bag of clams.
    "I don't know what to eat first," the woman across from Gina declared with a laugh.
    "Take a bite of everything," the man who was evidently her husband suggested. "Here," he