Free Seduced by Metsy Hingle Page A

birthday I ever had.”
    â€œI’m glad,” he said, ruffling her hair.
    â€œI only wish...” Her smile slipped a notch.
    â€œWhat is it, honey? What were you wishing for?”
    Summer shrugged. “I was just wishing my mom were still alive...that she could have been there to see all the stuff I got.”
    â€œI know, sweetheart. So do I.” Michael’s chest tightened at the thought of his sister. Sara should have been there for her daughter’s birthday, and she would have been were it not for the Winthrops.
    â€œBut I’m glad Dr. Bennett came,” Summer said, brightening a little. “She’s very nice.”
    â€œYes, she is.”
    â€œDid you see the music box she gave me?”
    Michael nodded, grateful that some of the child’s earlier excitement seemed to return.
    â€œIt’s a carousel. It was Dr. Bennett’s when she was a little girl. Her grandmother gave it to her. It plays a real pretty song. Dr. Bennett said it’s a love song and...”
    Surprised that Amanda had given Summer a childhood keepsake, Michael was moved by her generosity. “You know, honey, it was very nice of Dr. Bennett to give you the carousel, but I bet it has a lot of sentimental value for her if it was a gift from her grandmother. Maybe you should offer to return it.”
    Summer’s expression fell. “But, Uncle Mike, she wanted me to have it. She said so. Besides, she has lots of others.”
    Michael arched a brow in question.
    â€œIt’s true. She told me so. She collects them.”
    â€œShe collects music boxes?”
    â€œMmm-hmm. Carousel ones. She said carousels are her weak...her weak...”
    â€œHer weakness?” Michael offered.
    â€œYes.” Summer grinned. “She likes them. That’s why she goes to the Carousel House at the park all the time. She even has a favorite horse.”
    So, Amanda was fond of carousels, Michael thought, surprised and yet pleased at the thought of her being whimsical about painted horses. He tucked the information away.
    â€œDo you think we could go see the Carousel House? Dr. Bennett said it’s beautiful.”
    â€œSure. Why not.”
    â€œWhen can we go?” Summer asked.
    â€œHow about tomorrow?”
    â€œYes!” Summer practically jumped up and down in her seat.
    And perhaps while he was there, he would figure out some way to break through Amanda’s defenses. Because, as Dave had warned him, time was running out.
    * * *
    Dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. I won’t take no for an answer.
    Amanda Bennett stared at the note once more and the bold, arrogant strokes that formed the name Michael. She looked up at the exquisite vase of flowers that had accompanied the card. Unable to resist, she reached out and fingered the delicate petal of one violet.
    Brilliant purple, red and yellow blooms spilled from the crystal vase sitting on her coffee table, creating a wild, untamed effect. Something about the reckless, undisciplined explosion of color appealed to her.
    It also reminded her of Michael.
    Disturbed by how often the man had been invading her thoughts lately, Amanda frowned. She ran her fingertips along the edges of the card. Since Summer’s birthday party, he’d been relentless, asking her out, sending flowers, balloons and nonsensical gifts. Even Gracie had commented, without bothering to hide her amusement, at Michael’s visits and calls to the school office.
    Amanda thought for a moment of the way he had been looking at her during their consultation meeting the day before. There had been such an intensity in his expression, a deep hunger in his navy eyes, every female fiber in her had responded to the sexual pull. She’d found herself wanting him to kiss her again, to hold her in his arms.
    She was a romantic idiot, Amanda chided herself, hating herself for weakening. She tore the card in two and tossed it on the table. Turning her back to the