Free Confessions of the World's Oldest Shotgun Bride by Gail Hart

couldn’t afford the luxury of a full time or even a part time boy toy.
    She’d tried to make a clean break with him at the hotel, but he’d insisted on coming along to the airport. Everything he did made it clear he didn’t want to let her go.
    She couldn’t deny she’d miss the pleasure he gave her. He’d made her feel like a real woman for the first time since Jeff left. But she didn’t have time for a relationship—did she?
    Steve’s voice in Kathryn’s ear startled her out of her trance. “Hey, where’d you go? All of a sudden you’re a million miles away.”
    She blushed. “Only a thousand. I was thinking about what I need to do when I get back to the office.”
    “Bad idea. Vacation’s already too short. I won’t have you checking out early on me.” He reached over with his free hand, and she assumed he planned to cop one last feel. Instead, he took her hand, laced his fingers through hers, and gave a gentle squeeze.
    The innocence of the gesture touched her. God knows Steve was a man in every possible way, but even if he hated to admit it, he still had a lot of Stevie’s sweetness. She relaxed against his chest and gave his hand an answering squeeze.
    The cab pulled up in front of the airport and Kathryn and Steve climbed out. Kathryn paid the cabbie and walked to the back to collect her luggage. The cabbie lifted her bags from the trunk and set them down on the pavement.
    “You travel light for a woman,” Steve said. Aside from her dive bag, all she had was a rolling bag small enough to fit into the overhead compartment of an airplane.
    She felt she ought to object to the remark on grounds of sexism, but the truth was, she was proud of her ability to pack light. The girly-girls he usually traveled with would probably have needed that much space for their shoes. “I do a lot of business travel, so I’ve learned to pack efficiently.” She started to reach for her dive bag.
    He grabbed her hand to stop her. “I’ll get that.”
    “I can manage by myself. It’s got wheels.”
    He frowned and snatched the handle. “Let me be a gentleman.”
    She smiled her amusement. “If you insist.”
    They walked into the terminal, stopping in front of the large ceramic mural next to the security screening entrance. To their right, passengers were lining up at the American Airlines counter. She was glad the terminal was crowded. The public setting would make this easier, keep things from getting maudlin.
    “Good-bye, Steve,” she said. “This has been the best vacation of my life, thanks to you. I’ll never forget it.”
    His eyebrows knit together. “That sounds suspiciously like a kiss off.”
    “Nothing as harsh as a kiss-off. Just a fond good-bye.”
    He glared at her. “As in, good-bye and have a nice life?”
    “Good, you understand.”
    He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “No way, Kathryn. This isn’t the end; it’s just the beginning. I intend to keep seeing you in D.C.”
    She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Steve, you’re not being realistic. We live in very different worlds. You wouldn’t fit in with my friends, and I wouldn’t fit in with yours.”
    He snorted. “Puh-leeze. If you want to blow me off, you’re going to have to give me an actual reason, not spout a bunch of dumb-ass clichés.”
    She felt herself blush. “Okay, I could have put that better, but you know I’m right.”
    “You’re not right, and I’ll prove it to you.”
    “I don’t think...” Kathryn began.
    “Yes, you do. That’s your whole problem, you think too damn much. I’m crazy about your brilliant mind, but sometimes you need to give it a rest.” He backed her against the mural, lowered his head, and kissed her, gently at first, then with increased intensity. As his tongue teased and played, heat built up and throbbed between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into him. For a moment she didn’t exist as a person with a mind, only as a ball of