Free Shadows of the Past by Frances Housden

we’re in the same room. Lock your door.” She bunched her fists at her waist and cocked her head to look up at him. She looked a long, long way up. His height had never been more obvious as when he stood alongside her father and brothers.
    His grin curved higher one side than the other and reminded her again of one of her favorite movie stars. “You think that all the problems are on my side.”
    “No, you’ve got that wrong.”
    “Like I didn’t know the feeling was mutual?”
    He slid his hands inside her arms and pulled her close as if he didn’t want her to run away, so there was nothing she could do but slip her arms around his neck. At the moment, running away didn’t figure high on her things-to-do-next list. It was running to him that made the situation hazardous. Yet, the more she thought of it, the better it sounded. She wanted to know him better. A good idea since she’d decided this was the man she would give her virginity to.
    “Look, hon, all I’ve ever wanted in my life is to pit myself against all its caprices and win. I have a chance to do that, to become a partner in Stanhope Electronics if my work pans out. And I won’t let anything or anyone swerve me off that path.”
    He tilted her chin toward him as if she would read in his eyes that he meant what he said. “But I have been forced to take a break. I have roughly twelve days left. If you like, we could spend them together, but that’s all I’m offering, so don’t think of holding out for more.”
    Franc was ideal. A fling was all he was after—not under her mother’s roof, of course, but that was only for a couple of days—she knew she could never have forever…but at her age it was about time she had today.
    Her lips quirked, and her eyes flirted, trying to dissolve his frown. “How does this sound? I promise not to take advantage of you, Girl Scout’s honor.”
    “Hell, you’ve already discovered how to get around me. All right, if you think that will work. Just one more thing, were you really a Girl Scout?”
     

    Supper, the crowded table, the crisscross of conversations that the family easily kept pace with, a blend of herbs and spices tantalizing her nose as the food passed from hand to hand—all of it meant Christmas to Maria.
    The children had gone off to bed without protest, and now her parents were reminiscing, except this year the stories seemed more poignant. Franc appeared to be coping. It wasn’t that the members of her family were impolite, but as she’d explained, they were all naturally gregarious and had so much to say since her parents’ bombshell.
    No doubt it felt like an alien world to him.
    Maria was conscious of him sitting next to her, the warmth of his leg close to hers and the touch of his hand as he’d passed one of the many dishes.
    The awareness between them had intensified into a hungry ache in the pit of her stomach that food couldn’t assuage.
    They’d built a wall between them on a promise, but the foundation supporting the wall was pretty shaky. Her nerves prickled as she tuned in to him. Of all of them at the table he was the quietest, laughing when necessary and answering questions, but not truly giving of himself.
    “Have some biscotti with your coffee, Maria.” Her mother pushed the plate in her direction.
    “Honestly, Mamma, I couldn’t eat another bite. Maybe Franc…” She flashed a quick glance at him. His crooked grin put her off her stride and she almost forgot what she’d been saying. He was so darn handsome she’d rather eat him than a piece of cake.
    Darn and double darn. How would she sleep tonight knowing she could leave her room and be with him in a heartbeat? “Would you like some, Franc?” she asked, shifting the focus on to him.
    “No more for me.”
    She slid the plate across to her mother. “Looks like you’ll have to sell them to someone else. No takers over here.” Her good humor died when she caught a snatch of Michel’s conversation.
    “We’ll