Free Sleepless in Savannah by Rita Herron Page B

sentence trail off, adding other requirements silently—a house with nice, clean furniture, everything neat and orderly, none of the ratty furniture or beer-stained rickety sofas and cigarette-scarred cheap tables she'd grown up with. A small yard for children to run and play—
    "You're home?"
    She swung around on her hands and knees, and Jazzy growled. Lance stood in the doorway, his gaze glued to Sophie's butt. She instantly slapped a hand over her rear, wishing she'd forgone the decadent desserts in Cancun.
    Lurching upright, she nearly smashed her knee on the toilet as she stood. Jazzy darted through Lance's feet and raced up the stairs. Smart cat.
    Lance steadied her but she pulled away. "You shouldn't sneak up on a girl."
    "Sorry. I was so busy I didn't hear you come in."
    Busy doing what? She skimmed her eyes over his torso, willing herself not to react to the fact that his denim shirt had come unbuttoned (or had he just put it on?) and his rolled-up sleeves revealed muscular arms covered in a fine layer of dark hair. "You're still here at midnight?"
    "Working."
    Sure he was. Her gaze cut toward the kitchen behind him. "Where's Lucy?"
    He chewed his lip, shifting uncomfortably. "Out with Reid."
    Sophie gulped. So if Lance couldn't have her, the other brother swooped in for the kill. "Lucy's with your brother?"
    He shrugged. "He took her to see the property on Skidaway Island."
    "What time?"
    "They left around noon."
    Her mind ticked away the hours. "And they're not back yet?"
    "He called. Lucy wanted to see the sights."
    And no doubt Reid had offered to show her. Sophie paced to the front window, pushed aside the curtain, and checked the drive. "You shouldn't have let them go off together."
    Lance grunted. "What do you have against Reid?"
    Sophie folded her arms and swung around. "He's a Summers man. That's enough."
    He grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him, but his gruff voice sounded gentle when he spoke. "Listen, I know you're upset about the dating game thing—"
    "I'm not upset; I had a wonderful time with Rory."
    His jaw tightened. "I realize when you called last night that you misunderstood—"
    "I didn't misunderstand anything." She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly in place.
    "Yes, you did. I did not offer to take Lucy to a hotel to seduce her." He pulled her through the hallway to the kitchen, then pointed to the space where the back door had once been. Plastic flapped in the breeze from the fan Lance had brought over. "I didn't think it would be safe for her to stay here without the house being secure."
    Sophie winced, still unforgiving. "But you were looking at her... her—"
    "Her boobs?"
    Heat flamed her face. "Yes."
    "You misunderstood that, too."
    She planted her hands on her hips. "How the heck could I misunderstand that?"
    He crooked his finger toward the oak kitchen table where a small silver case sat. "Look inside."
    "What is it, a trap or something?"
    He made an exasperated gesture with his hands. "Look and you'll see."
    Determined not to let him off the hook so easily, she clip-clopped over to the table and opened the case. When a life-size fake woman's chest sprang up to greet her, she screeched in shock.
    "Those are the boobs your little sister wanted me to play with."
    Sophie glanced back at him, swung her gaze to the fake breasts again, then inched closer to the table, stumbling as she assimilated the remaining contents of the case. So this was the kit Lucy had been referring to, the reason the security guard had thought she was soliciting, then bribing him. Her new business?
    What in the world had her little sister gotten into now?

Chapter 6

     
    Lance hated the look of distress on Sophie's face. While she usually seemed so tough, so perfect, a soft vulnerability shadowed her eyes that made him ache to reach out and soothe away her worry lines. He actually found himself lifting his hand toward her, then remembered that she'd accused him of trying to seduce Lucy, and that