Free Cautious Lover by Stephanie James Page A

confrontation.
    "Damon says he'd like to take me and Compass Rose to the beach tomorrow. Wouldn't that be nice?" Sarah reached around Elly to help herself to a small sandwich.
    "It's too cold for swimming," Damon said, accepting the sandwich from Sarah with a charming smile, "but I thought Compass Rose might enjoy playing on the beach."
    "It's always too cold for swimming as far as Elly is concerned," Sarah said with a laugh. "She hates the water, don't you Elly ? She's afraid of sharks and things. Has a real phobia about swimming in the sea."
    "I didn't realize there were sharks in these waters," Damon said, eyeing Elly with interest.
    "The truth is," Elly said blandly, "most of the sharks are on land. Which is lucky, I guess. So much easier to spot them that way." She didn't wait to see if Damon had gotten the point. Instead she slipped away from the potluck table with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me I want to talk to Ruth and Liz about that quilt they're doing for me. I'll see you later, Sarah."
    "Right," Sarah smiled and turned back to bask in the attention of the handsomest male at the gathering.
    From a discrete distance Elly watched her friend during the rest of the evening, knowing there was really nothing she could do to interfere. Damon had set out to make a conquest. It was easy to see, Elly decided, just what a captivating effect Damon Carrington had on women. Every female in the room was aware of him. When they spoke to him they bubbled with enthusiasm; their eyes were a little brighter, the conversation a little more intense. There was a feeling of excitement in the air. Elly could imagine what the impact on the males would be if a female version of Damon had walked into the room. She began to see what Marina Carrington must have been like in action. It was frightening.
    By ten o'clock the good-natured crowd began to break up. Sarah left with Damon, her eyes still too excited as far as Elly was concerned. She worried for her friend, but she didn't know what to do. Sarah had been so unhappy for so many months it seemed cruel to step in and try to blight the one spark that had come into her life. You couldn't make other people's decisions for them, Elly told herself as she helped Ann Palmer clean up the old farmhouse parlor.
    "Drive carefully, Elly . The fog is starting to get heavy out there. Take it easy going home." Ann smiled as Elly collected the empty casserole dish.
    "Don't worry, I'll be careful. It was a lovely evening, Ann."
    "That Carrington man certainly livened things up, didn't he? He's almost too good looking somehow. Like something out of a magazine ad."
    Elly nodded, glad that at least one other woman in the room had realized that fact. "I agree with you. It's as if he's not quite real. Or quite human."
    "I'll stick with my Jim, I think," Ann confided lightly. "One thing you can say for Jim; he's human!" She grinned at her bearded husband, who was scooping up paper plates. Jim growled a laughing response as Ann turned back to Elly . "You'll do fine with your Jess. By the way, that casserole was fantastic. What's the secret?"
    "Wine, molasses and ground chili peppers. Took a while to get the proportions down right."
    "How many times have you experimented with it on Jess?"
    Elly winced, remembering how frequently Jess had found himself eating a different version of lentil casserole during the past two months. "I hate to think about it. He never complained, though."
    "He wouldn't. He values homecooking too much. The last time I saw him at the store he told me he couldn't wait to get it full-time."
    "Then he should hire a cook!"
    Ann Palmer's expression softened. " Elly , believe me, there's nothing wrong in having a man like your cooking. That old cliché about the way to a man's heart being through his stomach didn't get to be a cliché by being untrue, you know. Clichés get to be clichés just because they do contain an element of truth. He's a good man, your Jess."
    Elly smiled politely and