Free Feel the Heat by Desiree Holt Page A

went on. “I’m not comfortable with you living with a man you hardly know.”
    “Oh for god’s sake, Geoff. I’m not living with him.” Not exactly, she thought, and smiled. “And he’s not exactly a stranger. He’s a very good friend of the Hallorans and a partner in Mark’s business.”
    “Oh.” The disdain in the one word sliced through the connection. “So he’s a mercenary.”
    “No he’s not.” Damn it. “And we’ve covered this ground before. Listen, thanks for your concern but I’m doing fine.”
    “I want to meet him.”
    “What?” She held the phone away from her and stared at it. “What did you just say?”
    “I said I think I should meet him. Look, I can stop by your house on the way home from the office. I won’t stay long but please do this for me so I’m not going out of my mind imagining all sorts of wild things.”
    “Are you going to put on your lawyer suit and cross-examine him?”
    Geoff had the good grace to laugh “No, honey, I’m not. I just think he needs to know your family hasn’t dumped you on strangers.” He paused. “At least not all of your family. And that someone’s watching out for you.”
    “Okay.” She sighed. “But please don’t grill him. Show up with an open mind. Can you do that for me?”
    He chuckled. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
    She disconnected the call and shoved the phone in her pocket.
    “Problem?”
    She hadn’t heard Troy come up behind her and the touch of his hands on her shoulders sent a burst of warmth through her.
    “Not really. Just my brother being his usual self. He’s going to stop by for a little bit on his way home from his office.”
    “To check out the strange man in your house?”
    She relaxed a little when she saw the twinkle in his eye.
    “Got it in one. Sorry about that but—” She lifted her hands helplessly and let them fall. “I haven’t really given you the entire lowdown on my family and I suppose I should.”
    “If they make you unhappy then damn right I want to know about it. It’s bad enough for you that the bloodsuckers are still camped outside your doorstep and the damn stalker keeps calling. You don’t need added stress. So let’s talk about your family and why they’re giving you a problem.”
    Taking her hand, he tugged her over to the big armchair and sat down with her in his lap. Lauren wanted to just sink into him and pretend that nothing else existed. She loved inhaling his male scent and feeling the heat of his body. With his arms around her she could almost pretend the craziness didn’t exist.
    “I think it’s always been like this,” she told him, leaning against his shoulder. “Ever since I discovered my…gift. My mother hated it. Hated her mother who also was a healer. She stopped talking to her mother when Nonnie helped me realize the abilities I had.”
    “What about your dad?”
    She shrugged. “He doesn’t understand it, so he supports my mother. Keeps trying to tell me to stop all this woo-woo stuff.”
    “But you’re his daughter,” Troy protested.
    “I know, and it hurts. But my mother is his wife.”
    His big hand was stroking her back in soothing motions. “And your brother? I gather that was him you were talking to.”
    “Yeah. He’s okay. He and Lissa, his wife, are really supportive of me but they kind of walk a tightrope between me and our parents. Not a comfortable place to be in.”
    “He wanted you to come and stay with him,” Troy guessed.
    “He said, but I think he was secretly relieved when I turned him down. They live a very conservative lifestyle, just like my folks. All of this is hard for them to deal with.”
    Troy’s hand tightened on her for a moment. “Do they know about your stalker?”
    She shook her head. “I couldn’t tell them. They’d freak and create an impossible situation.” She gave a nervous laugh. “Anyway, it seems Geoff’s more worried about someone staying here he knows nothing about. He doesn’t know Mark and