Free Blind Love by SUE FINEMAN Page A

have to go into the office in LA and get some work done. The girls Mitzi chose... Well, let’s just say they won’t all work for this show.”
    “Why not?”
    She glanced at his face and wanted to talk it over with him, but if he knew, they wouldn’t get the reaction they wanted on camera. “I can’t talk about it, Tony.”
    “Big secret, huh? Okay, we won’t talk about it. How about a swim when we get home?”
    Gazing into his warm brown eyes, Catherine wanted more than a swim. She wanted a night of hot sex with the man of her dreams. As if that was going to happen.
    He cleared his throat. “Are you going to be one of the women on the show?”
    His question surprised her. “Me?”
    “Yeah. Are you looking for love, or have you given up on men?”
    “If I went on a show like that, I’d be the first one eliminated.”
    “Oh, I don’t know,” he said softly, and her skin tingled. Maybe a night of hot sex wasn’t such a far-fetched idea after all.
    In the gathering dusk, with traffic thinned to a tolerable level, Catherine leaned her head back and watched Tony drive toward home. She didn’t want to be one of those clingy, possessive women who didn’t know when to give a man his freedom, and she didn’t want to make a play for a guy who’d soon have a baker’s dozen of eligible, love-starved women to choose from. But she wanted this man with everything in her.
    Did he really want her to be one of the women on the show? She couldn’t do it, of course, or her career would be over in a heartbeat. Still, the fact that he asked had to mean something. How could he be attracted to her? There was nothing special about her except the size of her breasts and the size of her trust fund, and she didn’t think money would matter that much to Tony.
    Instead of driving her to the house, Tony headed for the hospital. “I want to say goodbye to your father before I leave, and I don’t think I’ll have time in the morning.”
    Father would appreciate the gesture, but Catherine didn’t want Tony to leave. It was selfish of her to want to keep him to herself, but the thought of going through an entire day without him left her with an overwhelming sense of sadness.
    He pulled into the parking lot at the hospital and unfastened his seatbelt and hers, and she drifted into his arms. The gentle kiss of friendship turned into a passionate, bone-melting kiss, and his big hand covered her breast. “Definitely natural,” he whispered. “The best kind.”
    Tony rubbed his cheek against hers and licked her earlobe, electrifying her body.
    “I can’t believe you’re doing this now, when you’re leaving tomorrow.”
    He pulled back far enough to gaze deeply into her eyes. “Let’s go visit your father and then go home.” Threading his fingers through her hair, he pulled her in for a lusty kiss that left her wanting more.
    No man had ever made her feel more alive.
    They walked inside together and found Father in a rare good mood, smiling and joking with his nurse. Catherine hadn’t seen him this happy in a long time, maybe since her mother left.
    “Catherine, Tony, how was your day?”
    “Eventful,” said Tony. “The property is out in the middle of nowhere, and someone is growing a nice crop of marijuana, so we didn’t hang around. I scratched up Catherine’s car, blew out two hoses, and punctured a tire on the way out. I patched the hoses and changed the tire, but it’s only a temporary fix.”
    “But you got her back safe and sound. She can drive one of my cars.”
    Catherine slowly shook her head. Any other guy and Father would have given him a scalding rebuke for damaging the car, but Tony had been up front about it, and Father respected a man who didn’t try to hide things or blame someone else.
    It didn’t matter if the SUV was dinged. It was hers, bought with money she’d earned herself. “I’ll drive my own car, thank you.”
    “ After you have the tire fixed and have a mechanic check it out,” said