“When?”
“Sometime this afternoon.I couldn’t pin him down to a time.But he promised he’d be here.”
Without another word, Peter started eating again.When he’d finished his first sandwich, he reached over, removed another two slices of bread from the loaf, forked up some of the tuna left in the bowl and made a second sandwich.Swiveling in the other direction, he pulled the refrigerator open.He had to leave the stool to get at the milk, and before I had time to prepare myself, he was standing beside me, looking for a
Again I felt that tiny catch in my chest.It was hard to ignore this time because it made my hand shake when I opened the cabinet.I made a vague gesture that he should help himself andquickly lowered my hand to the solidity of the counter.He took the glass, but didn’t move away.Nor did he say a word.
Barely a hair’s breadth separated us.My shoulder was an inhalation away from his chest, my arm his middle, my hip his groin.He was close enough for me to feel the soft movement of his breath in my hair and smell the wonderfully male scent that had taunted me earlier.But it was the heat of his body that affected me most; it penetrated both his clothing and mine to tempt me with the kind of solace that I’d been without for six long years.
Move,I told myself, but I couldn’t budge.The message of my mind couldn’t reach my legs because of the swelling of all kinds of sensations in between.So I stood there helplessly, feeling the lure, the attraction, the desire.My breath came shallowly, working around my hammering heart as I stared at the tiled countertop and waited for him to speak.When I felt my body begin to list that smallest, smallest bit into his heat, I knew I could wait no longer.I had to break the spell, because that was what it was, I was sure of it.Peter Hathaway had put me under a spell.I wasn’t normally affected by men this way.I just wasn’t.
“Peter?”I said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
“Hmm?”
It wasn’t a mischievous “hmm” or a mocking one or even a seductive one.It was a very quiet“hmm” that was so innocent, so thoughtful that it was indeed sexy.
Distracted by the idea of sexy, I started again.“Peter?”
“Yes?”
There was something I wanted to tell him but the words weren’t coming.“I, uh …” It had to do with Cooper.I struggled, dug deep for the thoughts.“There are several things you should understand … before he gets here.”
For another minute, Peter didn’t move.Then, slowly, he stepped away from me.Without caring how it would look, I hung my head and took in the deep breath my lungs craved.When I raised my head and glanced over at him, his back was to me.He was pouring milk into the glass that had brought him so close to me in the first place.
At first glance he looked perfectly calm, totally unaffected by what had just shaken me to the bone.Then I noted that his shoulders were very straight, and his head remained bowed well after he’d finished pouring the milk.
Something had touched him, too.I wasn’t sure what it was, wasn’t sure whether he found it as unwelcome as I did, but knowing that I wasn’t the only one with a problem made me feel better.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, which gave me the only edge I might have in a while, I addressed what I told myself were the first of my priorities.“There are several things you have to understand about this case,”I said quietly.“The first is that your bills are to be sent to me.I don’t want any mention of money in front of Cooper.The second is that I want the best defense possible.If you can get the case dropped before it goes to trial, so much the better, but in any case, I want Cooper exonerated.And the third,” I said, “is that I don’t care how reluctant Cooper is, I want you as his lawyer.”
Peter looked past his shoulder at me.“Are you sure?”he asked cautiously, and I knew he was thinking of what had just happened.
So was I.But I was also thinking that I was in control.I couldn’t deny that Peter Hathaway turned me on, but I sure as hell could overcome it.After all, I had the strength of Adam’s love on my side.
“I’m sure,” I said.“I think you’re just the man to defend Cooper.”
“Why?”
I supposed I could say that he seemed bright and articulate, honest and dedicated, and all of that was true, but the thing that stuck out most in my mind was the picture he and Cooper would make in the courtroom.Between them, they’d knock the socks off any females who happened to sit on the jury.
Not wanting to tell Peter that, I said, “Because my mother says you’re the toughest and the best.I trust her judgment.”
After a long, expectant silence, Peter said, “I accept that.”
Something in his tone made my eyes widen.“You’ll take the case?”
“I’ll take the case.”
I hadn’t expected the turnaround.“But you haven’t met Cooper.You said it would depend on—”
“I know what I said, but I’ve changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Because you intrigue me.”
My mouth fell open.“That’s alousyreason for accepting a case.”
