Free A Better Father (Harlequin Super Romance) by Kris Fletcher Page A

away. “Nothing. Forget I said anything. I have to
finish cleaning up.”
    He picked up the pizza box and lumbered back into the kitchen.
Sam crushed his napkin in his hand, then readied himself to stand. It was time
to make his move.
    Libby watched Cosmo go, nibbling on her lip in a way that went
straight to his groin, then shook her head. She set her clipboard on the closest
table, reached both arms overhead and stretched toward the beamed ceiling. Face
tilted up, she swayed in place as if to undo the kinks in her back. Her braid
danced behind her and her hips rocked from side to side and her dark blue
Overlook T-shirt molded itself to her breasts and his mouth went dry.
    Because when she made herself taller this way and let herself
relax, when the shadows blurred her features and let him see nothing but hair
and curves—he couldn’t deny the truth anymore.
    Libby and Robin could have been sisters.
    With a sigh, she gathered up the clipboard and slipped out the
door with barely a sound. He knew he should follow her, knew he should chase her
down and bring her up to speed, but he couldn’t. Not when his brain was jumping
between memories of Robin and thoughts of Libby. And who he had been with each
of them. And the moment earlier in the evening when he leaned over Libby’s
shoulder, pretending to pay attention to the numbers on the screen, when he had
placed a hand on her shoulder and inhaled the last traces of her coconut shampoo
and his muscles had started to purr in recognition.
    But which woman had he recognized?

CHAPTER FIVE
    L IBBY HAD BEEN SLEEPING in the cabins with her
staff, just to save time, but after her run-in with Sam she thought it best to
head back to the town house for the night. She had never sleepwalked to her
knowledge, but she didn’t trust herself if the inclination should kick in that
night. She might find herself jerking awake just after tossing Sam into the cold
waters of the river.
    Or, worse—she might find herself sleep-wandering up to his
cabin to see how it would feel to have him hovering over her, breathing softly
on her neck once more. Because while her brain knew that Sam was a temptation
best left in her very distant past, her hormones had chosen those moments when
they were alone in the office to come out of hibernation. Lousy timing. Truly
lousy choice of person to rouse them.
    She tossed her keys on the table, stripped off her camp clothes
and treated herself to a very long, very relaxing shower. Sam had been her first
lover. It made total biological sense that he would be imprinted on her in some
primordial manner, that her body would recognize him in ways that her brain knew
should not be indulged. But this time she had knowledge on her side. Knowledge
and the fact that, given his history, Sam would likely slip up and make an ass
of himself sooner or later. If she was lucky, it would be a thorough enough fall
that even her stupid hormones would get the message.
    She let herself sleep a bit later the next morning, indulging
in the comfort of a real bed and a few moments of total peace. When she did pull
herself from the covers she lingered over her coffee while tweaking her résumé
and composing a cheerful email to Myra. She took a few moments to go through the
refrigerator and toss some perishables, then gathered up her library books
before finally heading out the door.
    The library was one of her favorite places in town. Comeback
Cove, like so many settlements in the Thousand Islands, had a rich history that
revolved around both the river and their proximity to the States. Shipwrecks and
pirates and rumrunners lived on in both local lore and the many themed gift
shops that lined the main streets. But the library had opted to feature the
story she loved most, that of a rumrunner who dared to fall in love with a rich
summer girl and then died in a shoot-out on the water before revealing the
location of a rumored hidden treasure. Thus, each summer the library put
together