that sounds interesting.â
Jennifer laughed. âEvery guy who hears about Reneeâs husbandâs job says that. There must be a frustrated adventurer hidden in every male on the planet.â
âMaybe.â He grinned.
The waitress arrived with their food, interrupting their conversation. Jennifer indulged in crepes drizzled with chocolate sauce while Chance tucked into a Spanish omelet. By the time theyâd finished eatingand had poured a second round of coffee, they were deep in a discussion of movies theyâd seen.
âYou like chick flicks,â Chance told her. âMost of the movies on your best-of list are romantic comedies.â
âI liked the movie
Hunt For Red October
and thatâs not a chick flick,â Jennifer protested.
âNo kiddingâyou like that movie?â He lifted his brows in surprise. âIâve seen it about a dozen times.â
âMe, too.â Jennifer sipped her coffee. âOf course,â she added, âthe filmâs stars are Sean Connery and a young Alec Baldwin. To be honest, Iâd be tempted to watch it over again just to see them.â
âSo the big attraction isnât the incredible underwater sub maneuvers or the great suspense plot, itâs the handsome actors?â
She considered the question, eyes narrowed, before nodding firmly. âPretty much.â
Chanceâs face lit with amusement, his deep, rich laughter drawing the attention of nearby diners.
Jennifer suspected her smile was besotted but she couldnât help it. The sunlight gleamed in his black hair, laugh lines fanning at the corners of his eyes.
His gaze met his and his laughter died.
âLetâs go home,â he said roughly, the curve of his mouth sensual.
âYes,â she breathed, caught up in the heat that flared between them. âLetâs.â
Jennifer woke slowly, stretching and smiling contentedly at the warmth against her back. A weight lay over her waist, anchoring her to the hard male body she lay tucked against and she realized Chance was curled around her, his arm holding her close.
There was a great deal to like about waking up with a man, she thought with a smile.
She opened her eyes. Just beyond the edge of the white sheet-covered mattress was the oak nightstand with a brass clock, its numbers glowing in the dim bedroom.
Her eyes widened. It was almost four oâclock. And Linda had promised to return Annie to the apartment by 6:00 p.m.
Her weekend was over.
She wasnât ready to let it go. Sheâd lost track of the number of times theyâd made love and yet she wanted more. But reality intruded and she bit her lip, knowing she had no choice.
Carefully, she lifted Chanceâs arm and slipped out from beneath his hold. He muttered, protesting, and she froze beside the bed, holding her breath andhoping he wouldnât waken. Then he shifted, sprawling on his stomach over the place where sheâd lain moments before. His eyes remained closed and the tension eased out of his big body as he relaxed, clearly asleep again.
Jennifer lingered a moment, her gaze tracing the beard-shadowed line of his jaw, the black lashes fanning against his olive skin and the sensual curve of his mouth. The white sheet was bunched at his waist, leaving the powerful muscles of his upper body and arms bare.
Reluctant to leave him, she forced herself to turn her back and pad silently into the bathroom where sheâd left her borrowed clothes earlier. Dressing quickly, she slipped through the connecting door to the hall and let herself out the front door of Chanceâs town house.
As she hurried down the street on her way to the bus stop on the next block, she was assailed by a barrage of memories of the hours spent with Chance.
He was a man she could easily fall in love with, she realized. She hoped fervently that she hadnât already done soâbecause she knew there wasnât, could never be, a
Michael Buckley, Peter Ferguson