Page 48 of Too Hot to Sleep
Her determined sigh was not encouraging. "It would be best if we didn't see each other again."
"Georgia—"
"Ever.I know these meetings have all been coincidental, but—"
"Georgia—"
"—our paths simply can't keep crossing. There's something—"
"Wonderful?"
"—dangerous about this, this, this—"
"Attraction?"
"Temptation," she amended, and he could hear the frown in her voice. "What happened was a fluke, a freak accident."
Apparently the experience hadn't been quite as mind-blowing for Georgia. Still, dammit... "Falling in the bathtub and breaking your arm is a freak accident. What happened between us was very deliberate, at least on my part."
She gasped. "You planned this?"
He held up a hand, then realized she probably couldn't see him in the dark. "No! I meant once we started kissing..." Ken sighed, knowing he was making an even bigger mess of things, and tried a different tack. "Is this because of your feelings for Trainer?"
She shifted away from him and bumped into something. "Yes," she said finally. "Rob is a good man."
He opened his mouth to tell her what kinds of things Rob was good at, but he stopped short of crossing that line. If Georgia was in love with Trainer, she probably knew about his past. And if she didn't know, he wouldn't be the one to tell her out of what might be construed as sour grapes.
Besides, he was the first to admit he found the woman irresistible, but what could he really offer her if she broke up with Rob? He wasn't ready to settle down, to offer her a committed relationship, and certainly not a home in Knox Ridge and a six-figure salary.
"Can we just get out of here, please?" she asked. "I need to find a phone."
Ken recognized yet another opportunity to confess his deception, before she humiliated herself in front of her boyfriend. But imagining the look on her face when she realized the terrible thing he'd done stopped him. And although her hating him would be the best insulation from the woman's unexplainable appeal, he simply couldn't bear the thought of Georgia Adams hating him.
"Sure thing, ma'am."
She sighed. "Must you call me that?"
"What?"
"Ma'am."
He was at a loss. "It bothers you?"
He thought he heard her sniff. "It makes me feel like a... stranger."
"I'm sorry. I meant to be respectful."
"Well... don't."
He clamped his mouth shut, sobered by the abrupt change in atmosphere. Misunderstandings. Awkwardness. Complications. All the reasons he'd avoided becoming involved with a woman. And he was foolish to imagine things would be different with Georgia Adams just because his desire for her had reached unbearable proportions.
Feeling worse than lousy, he picked his way back to the door, sized it up, then listened for foot traffic on the other side. Hearing none, he stepped back and, pretending the door was his own backside, kicked it open.
Georgia strode out, leaving behind the scent of her perfume and her body. Ken realized with a sinking feeling that a peaceful sleep did not appear to be anywhere in his near future.
Chapter 20
THE FOLLOWINGday was Sunday, so Georgia dragged herself from her disheveled bed and attended late morning Mass, fervently hoping to assuage some of her enormous guilt for her behavior at the wedding reception with Ken. And she did—to a tiny degree. But afterward, during the bus ride to the electronics shop to pick up her phone system, she still battled with inappropriate feelings for the man. The trouble was, her body could not so easily forget the way he'd made her come alive. Unbidden, images of their lovemaking would pop into her mind, sending warmth to her cheeks and thighs. And when she thought of Rob, she felt even worse.
