“Oh, no, please, it was my treat.You’re the one out of work—”
“I can afford a pizza.”His mouth twisted with irritation.
“I’m sure you can.”She sighed, drawing a deep breath.If anything, her insistence was doing more harm than good.Please,her eyes implored,let’s not ruin our time by arguing over something so petty.
He flashed her a tender smile, his eyes holding hers magnetically.“You are very lovely.”
Her eyes widened in surprise and her heart thundered against her ribs as her mind searched for some witty retort, but it was as if her senses had been struck numb.Self-consciously she lowered her head, the long, golden strands of hair falling forward, wreathing her flushed face.Just a few seconds before they had been teasing and joking; now, disconcertingly, they were on intimate terms.
“Don’t, Jordan, please,” Skye whispered shakily.
“Why not?”he asked quietly.“You’re a beautiful woman, inside and out.”
Skye drew a steadying breath and quirked her eyebrows suspiciously.“I thought you broke your arm in the car accident.I didn’t realize you had also suffered brain damage.Your tongue may be smooth, but you won’t have me believing out-and-out fantasy.I am no raving beauty.”Her voice shook slightly.“Besides being a virtual Amazon, did you happen to notice my schnozzle?”She placed her index finger on the tip of her nose, and crossed her eyes as if examining its extended length.“Good night, Mrs.Calabash, wherever you are.”With a theatrical gesture typical of Jimmy Durante, Skye stepped across the room to where her coat rested on the chair.
A low, gravelly laugh shook Jordan’s shoulders.“Skye—” His laughing gray eyes suddenly became serious.“—come here,” he requested softly.
“Not on your life,” she retorted.
His round eyes feigned innocence.“You don’t trust me?”
“No!”She finished buttoning her raincoat.
“I’m still hungry,” he insisted.
“Then ring for the nurse,” she suggested.“The hospital keeps a supply of snacks available.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of dessert.”He smiled.“I seem to have developed a sweet tooth lately.”
Skye’s heart lodged somewhere near her throat at the suggestiveness of his tone.“In which case I suggest you go on a diet,” she countered smoothly, belying the uneven beat of her heart.
Jordan chuckled softly.“Good night, my frightened little bird.”
It was an accurate description.Her heart hammered fearfully against her ribs like a trapped, wild fledgling.Why she should experience such alarm was a mystery.Jordan Kiley was just a man.Rugged and compelling, but nonetheless a man not unlike a hundred others she had successfully parried in the past years.
“Good night, Jordan,” she whispered, quietly closing the door after her.
“Are you coming tomorrow?”he called brusquely.
His sharp question brought her back inside the room.His eyes were directed solely upon her, and she frowned, confused by his barely concealed anger until she understood.His pride resented the necessity of asking her to return.She hovered uncertainly, just long enough for his face to twist into a scowl.
Skye found herself incapable of meeting his gaze.“All right,” she said, nodding.“I’m working on the children’s ward until about eight.I’ll stop in after that.”
Jordan nodded.“I’ll see you then.”
Chapter Three
Everything went better on Thursday.Not that her kindergartners behaved any differently, Skye realized, but her attitude had changed.Instead of finding herself constantly on edge, she was more relaxed and at ease with the children.
Skye decided to stay after class and tie up a few loose ends.As part of the educational budget cutbacks, the janitor cleaned the classrooms only twice a week.But a high sense of neatness drove her to sweep the floors once or twice a week herself.
After she’d swept and straightened the small desks into even rows, Skye cut out the letters for the bulletin board she had designed for the month of April.There would be plenty of time to do it during vacation week, but she knew she wouldn’t rest easy until the project was finished.
She was sitting at her desk cutting jaggedly shaped letters from brightly colored paper when a gruff voice interrupted her.“Need any help, little sister?”
“Brad!”she exclaimed.“What are you doing here?”
“What’s the matter, aren’t I welcome?”Brad Garvin was ataller version of Skye.Lean and angular, he had blond hair and vivid blue eyes that mirrored those of his sister.
