Free Enchanted by Patti Berg Page A

other before the evening’s over.”
    “Or, we could find we’re mutually attracted. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for splendid ornaments and rather fine limbs.” His grin turned into laughter. He wanted to concentrate on her face, her smile, but his eyes roamed. Kathleen had so many attributes worth watching.
    “ Y our a d asked for small packages only. ”
    “Just a passing fancy.”
    “You’ve had a change of heart?”
    “I don’t think the heart was ever that concerned. Let’s just say I’ve had a change of mind.”
    “I’m glad you’ve changed,” she said, slowly pulling off one of her gloves, her eyes never leaving his. “Three hours ago , I thought you were an insufferable pig.”
    “Me?” He smiled. “I might be insufferable. But a pig? No.”
    His eyes traversed the length of her arm as the glove slid away, baring her slender wrist and long, jewelry-free fingers. He couldn’t believe the seductive power of such a simple gesture. Again, he met her eyes. “You look beautiful tonight. I hardly recognized you.”
    “You’ve never looked at me before.”
    “Oh, but you’re wrong. There was a time when I looked a lot. All those times when we’d work late into the evening on one of your crazy ideas. I’ve never forgotten the image of you in blue jeans.”
    She shook her head. “That was a long time ago.”
    “Maybe. But I’ve been thinking about you a lot the last few weeks.”
    “Why? Why now, after all these years?”
    “I’m not sure. I turned forty-nine a few weeks ago and something clicked. I realized I’d wasted a lot of years with Ashley, and I finally got the nerve to call it quits.”
    Kathleen’s eyes narrowed . “You did?”
    “I decided I wanted more, and suddenly I remembered the times we spent together. They were good times, Kath.”
    She nodded in agreement. “We were all a little surprised when you showed up at our staff meeting. You’ve kept yourself hidden away for so many years, I think some people forgot you existed.”
    “What about you?” he asked, hoping to hear that she hadn’t forgotten him any more than he had forgotten her. But she remained silent, staring at his fingers, wrapped around the bottle of beer.
    He raised the bottle to his lips and Kathleen’s eyes followed. “I’ve never forgotten you,” she said, and the beer came close to sticking in his constricted throat upon hearing her words. It’s what he had wanted her to say, but he didn’t think the words could have sounded so wonderful.
    “I didn’t forget you either,” he said, remembering the good times, trying to disregard the rumors that had turned sweet memories sour. “Forgetting you would be pretty impossible.”
    Kathleen’s chest rose, he heard her breath catch and hold, and he thought he saw tears forming at the comers of her eyes. But that wasn’t possible. Kathleen didn’t cry.
    Change the subject quickly, he told himself. “You know, you were right when you said I didn’t love the publishing business. That’s part of the reason I’ve concentrated my efforts on real-estate transactions.” That, and the fact that I wanted to avoid you, that I was afraid of seeing you again. “Traveling around, buying property—it’s a hell of a lot more exciting than working behind a desk, and it gets me out of the city.”
    “Isn’t it funny?” She laughed. “I grew up in the country, but I love New York. You’ve lived here all your life, but you can’t wait to escape.”
    “I guess we can add that to our long list of differences. Let’s see how many I can count.” He drew a line with his finger through the circular puddle of water on the table where his beer bottle had been set. “One. I’m conservative, you’re liberal. . . .”
    “Two,” she interrupted. “I’m a woman, you’re a man.” She drew a line right next to his, then looked up and smiled. “Differences aren’t always bad, you know.”
    Damn. Does she have to have such a beautiful smile? He pulled his