The Bachelor's Bed by Jill Shalvis Page B

thighs.
    Cool, inscrutable Colin had taken one look and come to an abrupt stop. His gaze had run slowly down the length of her, lingering in spots that had made him swallow hard before dragging it back up to meet hers.
    There’d been such hunger there, Lani’s knees had quivered and, never one to hold back, she had actually taken a step toward him. But before she could say a word, Colin had spun on his heels and shut himself in his bedroom. Alone.
    She shut off her computer now and looked out the narrow window her office afforded. It was late enough in the afternoon that she could pretend theday was over. The heat would be intense, but Colin’s house was cool.
    He’d be there today. He would have to be, to let in his mother and two aunts. Just thinking about it made her sweat. They were pathetically unprepared. They’d accomplished little in the past few days. Fact was, she knew no more about Colin now than when she had started this farce.
    Oh, he wanted her, she knew that much about him.
    She hadn’t mistaken the look in his eye, the almost palpable attraction radiating between the two of them.
    But for whatever reason, he refused to act on it, or even acknowledge the existence of their chemistry.
    It wasn’t much to go on as far as engagements were concerned.
    Apparently it would have to be enough.
    Â 
    I T WASN’T DIFFICULT to talk herself into running errands before going to Colin’s house. Lani wasn’t too eager to face his mother and lie about their engagement.
    She drove through town, melting in the heat, going to the bank, the gas station, the library, any place she could think of.
    Then she drove to her apartment, where she grabbed her two plants. By the time she’d set them in her car, along with a few more changes of clothes,she was a sticky wreck and wishing she’d had her car air-conditioning fixed instead of paying down her credit card bill.
    Out of errands and with nowhere else to go, Lani crossed the train tracks. Immediately the quality of the houses improved. Within two minutes she was heading up the steep grade that led to the hill above the town where the wealthy residents lived.
    At the top of the hill, she pulled into Colin’s driveway and took a long moment to admire the beautiful place. She could only imagine how wonderful it could be if Colin turned it into a real home. She glanced down at her plants. “You’ll be a start,” she decided. “A good start.”
    She let herself out of the searing hot air and into the soothing coolness of Colin’s kitchen. Because her nerves were suddenly leaping, she called out jokingly, “Hi honey, I’m home!”
    Juggling her plants, her purse, a bag of clothes and a smile, it took her a moment to realize she was the only one grinning.
    Colin was standing at the open refrigerator, a dark eyebrow cocked. “Honey?”
    â€œIt’s supposed to be funny.”
    â€œAh. Well, they’re in the living room, you can drop the show.” He shut the refrigerator and came toward her, looking far more handsome and cool and relaxed than any man with a panicked fiancée in one room and a nosy mother in another should. Hewore those jeans that made her light-headed and a dark knit polo shirt, untucked. Simple clothes. Complicated man.
    Lani set down her things and took the bottled water he handed her, gratefully running the bottle over her hot forehead. What was she going to say to his family? Would she convince them? “Thanks,” she said lightly. “Whew, it’s a scorcher, isn’t it?”
    â€œWhat’s all this?” He looked at her plants as if they held the plague.
    â€œI know they’re drooping,” she said a little defensively, stroking one sagging leaf. “But they’re just hot. I thought your kitchen window would be perfect for them. All that empty space.”
    That unsettling gaze of his switched to her, and for once he wasn’t so