Free Catch of the Year by Brenda Hammond Page A

special blinds made for his bedroom windows to block out the glare of the streetlights. Now when he opened his eyes, he saw no artificial halogen lamp illuminating his world. Instead, shining daylight flooded in through the undraped window.
    He fumbled for his watch. Almost ten o’clock. Fine. Rest was partly what he’d come for. No need to leap out of bed, jump in the shower, and throw on some clothes.
    What an extraordinary, wonderful thought.
    Looking out the window, his gaze rested appreciatively on green leaves and slim, silver birch branches. He listened to the sound of a jay calling and thought about life. Last night he’d really cracked the fishing code. And the company had been exceptional, too. That Serendipity really was something — funny and appealing, not to mention sexy.
    His creativity began playing with her name. Se: He’d like to see her naked, those perky breasts revealed. Ren: He’d like to render her speechless with desire for him. Dip: He’d like to dip into her, slowly, faster, gently, harder. Pity: It was that she wasn’t here right this minute.
    Wonder of wonders, he was beginning to feel like a normal, healthy male again. Better still, his body was beginning to behave like one. This was a good sign, an excellent sign. Yay.
    He stretched mightily. What was also excellent was that, with a bit of luck, he might be able to do something about his recovered sex drive that very evening. The thought of being together with Serendipity filled him with energy. He couldn’t remember when last he’d been so intrigued by a woman or looked forward to an evening so much.
    Taking a deep breath in, he sat up. Coffee would go down well. Unfortunately, all caffeine was forbidden by his doctor. Determined to stick to the rules, Paul went to the kitchen and chose a herb-tea bag. After brewing himself a cup of Bright and Cheerful Lemon, he went to sit outside, eager to feel in touch with nature again. Already the day was hot. Come evening, conditions should be perfect for another fishing foray. How fortunate that he’d noticed Serendipity’s lack of a watch last night, and that he’d had the inspiration to pretend she owed him half an hour. She’d never know it wasn’t true.
    Used to listening to his intuition, he’d sensed she might not have accepted if he’d asked her for a date. All along she’d blown strangely hot and cold toward him. Yet gut instinct told him they could be good together. This evening he was going to do his best to turn their coming sortie into a night of delight.
    He leaned over and set down his empty mug, glad his thoughts of Serendipity had obscured the horrified, desperate messages from his taste buds. They’d quiet down soon enough. Inside and out, there were preparations to be made. But first, he was going to take advantage of the cool water, which glistened invitingly from across the strip of beach. He got up, strolled down to the shore, and plunged into the lake.
    â€¢ • •
    Once again Jade crossed the bay in the boat. As predicted, the evening was perfect. Above, the sky glowed a luminous blue. Deliberately she looked about her, keeping her gaze on the trees, the swimmers, the cottages, trying not to allow her eyes their desire to search out a certain figure on the opposite shore. But when she found herself heading for the public beach instead of the resort, she resigned herself to the inevitable and set her sights on Paul.
    There he stood, waiting for her.
    The impact brought a small shock. Unfortunately for her resolve, he was not wearing googlie glasses with extra eyeballs, nor ridiculous gear, but only an ordinary tee shirt without sleeves and shorts that stretched midway down well-muscled, dark hair-dusted thighs. She had to look twice, just to make sure he was real and not another dream Paul. How did he do that? Just stand there and look so virile, so handsome, so sexy, so male ? A small shiver ran down