Free Legends and Lies by Katherine Garbera Page B

travel coffee mug with the JM logo on it, along with a packet of sugar and a small container with half-and-half. “I didn’t know how you take it,” he explained.

    “Just cream,” she said, adding it to her coffee. The rich aroma filled the air around them.

    “How did you get into the coffee business?”

    “It started when I was in college. I always had a lot of extra money, but my father wouldn’t let me have control of it until I could prove myself. With my trust fund we purchased a building. My original intent was to make money from the rents, which I did for a while.”

    She took a sip of her coffee. “What changed?”

    “I went to Colombia for the summer on one of those extreme vacations, and broke my ankle doing a high-altitude climb. I spent the rest of the vacation sitting in the main house of a coffee grower. His son was our guide.” He shrugged. “I learned a lot from him, and one thing led to another and before I knew it, I’d opened a coffeehouse.”

    They ate their breakfast and talked about their lives, and Annie realized that the tests she’d thought about last night had disappeared. She wasn’t playing games and keeping score anymore. She was just enjoying her time with him.

    When the meal was over he helped her clean up the containers and then repacked them. Then he took her hands in his and drew her around to face him. They sat cross-legged, knees touching. He leaned in, cupping her face in his hands.

    He kissed her, a soft, sweet brush of his lips against hers. “Yesterday I meant for our lunch to be the start of our relationship. A real start. But that got botched, so I want to start again.”

    “Me, too,” she said, her voice sounding breathless to her own ears.

    He pulled the Tiffany box from a pocket in his jacket and held it out to her. “Will you accept this now?”

    She nodded.

    He took the bracelet out and fastened it around her wrist. She glanced down at it and noticed that there was a second charm hanging from it this morning.

    She smiled and tried not to give the new charm too much importance, but it was a dazzling sun charm. She fingered it carefully and then leaned forward to kiss him.

    He pulled her into his arms and leaned back so they were both lying on the blanket.

    She closed her eyes and wrapped herself around him. His mouth moved over hers in languid sweeps, making her feel like they were the only people in the world.

    JARED TOOK HER MOUTH in his, letting his hands wander over her body. He was still amazed that she’d agreed to give him a second chance. A chance that he was determined not to screw up.

    He hadn’t slept at all last night. Instead he’d spent the time planning out the next steps he’d take in his courtship of her. Having her accept the bracelet gave him confidence that he was on the right track.

    He rolled over so that she was under him. Her legs parted and he settled against her. His arms were braced on either side of her body. Looking down into her serious brown eyes he saw something fragile there, and he knew that she was vulnerable to him.

    He caught her head in his hands and brought his mouth down hard on hers. When he finally came up for air he said, “I promise you won’t regret this.

    He hoped she’d believe him. Jared wasn’t the kind of man to make promises lightly. Oh, man, he’d just given her another promise. But with Annie he wanted to make promises he knew he would keep, no matter how hard it was on him.

    She turned her head, reaching up with one hand to caress his face. “I promise you won’t, either.”

    He stroked the long line of her cheekbones. Her skin was softer than anything he’d ever touched. Her lashes drifted down as he explored the angles and curves of her face. He traced the lines of her lips as they parted under his touch. He stroked his thumb over her full lower lip, watched the natural pink color of her lips darken.

    She tipped her head back and leaned the slightest bit away from him. He