Page 65 of The Bride Wore White

Her temper sparked. “Your manuscript is valuable.”

“To me. Not to you.”

“Look, the damn thing was just sitting there on my nightstand.I did not put either one of us at any additional risk by picking it up on the way to the door. It happened to be convenient to save your manuscript, so I did.”

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

She blinked. “You’re welcome.”

He winced and put the manuscript back down on the coffee table. “This is another stupid argument, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but we’ve been under a lot of stress tonight. We’re probably not thinking clearly.”

“Probably not, because I want to kiss you, and I know that would be the wrong thing to do. Probably.”

She stilled. “You want to kiss me because I saved your manuscript?”

“That and other reasons.”

“Why would thatprobablybe the wrong thing to do?” she asked.

“You took a risk when you agreed to move into the house of a man who lived alone, a man who was a complete stranger.”

“To be fair, you did come with Luther Pell’s recommendation.”

“The point is, you took the risk of moving under my roof because you didn’t have much choice,” he said. “I can’t betray your trust.”

“Okay, I took the risk. And it’s true I didn’t have a lot of options, but if you’re afraid to kiss me because you are worried youprobablywould be taking advantage of me, you can relax.”

He watched her warily. “Yeah?”

“Yep.” She stretched her arms out wide in a grand see-for-yourself gesture. “The circumstances have changed.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Simple.” She gave him what she knew was a very smug smile. “We are no longer in your house; therefore, we don’t have to abide by your rules. Instead, we are currently shacked up at the famous and quite notorious Burning Cove Hotel, which is well-known forproviding discreet accommodations and opportunities for shacking up.”

“Shacking up?” he repeated, his voice a little too even.

“I believe that is the technical term, yes.”

“And you don’t have a problem with that?”

“Nope.” She rested her hands on his shoulders. “Everyone knows the rules are different in a hotel like this. Places like this are made for illicit affairs and clandestine liaisons.”

He cradled her face between his palms. “Why do I have the feeling I’m being manipulated?”

“I’m trying to flirt with you, not manipulate you. I believe I mentioned that my goal is to become a professional flirt.”

“Right. I almost forgot.”

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to practice. How am I doing?”

“You are doing a great job of flirting.” He drew her closer. “I’d say you have a natural talent for it.”

“Thank you.” She seized handfuls of the front of his shirt and smiled. “You’re not doing bad yourself. The strange thing is that back at the start, I was sure you would not be any good at flirting.”

“Too serious?”

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