Read Online Firefly Glen: Winter Baby (Harlequin Signature Select) by Kathleen O`Brien - Free Book Online

first glimpsed her on the mountain this morning.
    He had fully expected to meet her again sooner or later. Firefly Glen was too small for any two people to avoid each other for long, even if they were trying. But what a piece of luck that she should be related to his good friend Ward.
    â€œThe supplies are upstairs,” he said, cocking his head toward the doorway, inviting her to follow him. “I’ll show you.”
    Back before indoor plumbing, the bathroom had been a small bay-windowed bedroom adjacent to Ward’s own suite. When the mansion had been updated to include all the modern amenities, this room and several others had morphed into bathrooms and walk-in closets.
    As a result, it looked like the bath in some fantastic monastery. It was painted Madonna blue, with a ribbed, domed ceiling forming a Gothic arch over the claw-footed bathtub. The bay windows were blue and gold stained glass.
    Sarah smiled as Parker opened the door. “I’d forgotten how amazing this house is,” she said. “When I was here as a kid, I was a little afraid of it. I was always getting lost.”
    â€œI’ll bet. I still do. I’m convinced the place was designed by a lunatic.” Parker unlatched the medicine chest with the tips of his fingers, revealing a well-stocked supply of ointments and bandages. He held out his hands and smiled. “Okay, then. Be gentle.”
    Sarah smiled back and, as she leaned forward to assess the damage, he could just barely smell her perfume. Nice stuff. Sweet and modest, but with a hidden kick to it. A lot like the impression he got of Sarah herself.
    Not that he’d know anything about that. Not really.
    Not yet.
    â€œOh, dear,” she said, running the tips of her fingers across the pads of his palm, tracing the outline of the biggest blister. “Does it hurt a lot?”
    He couldn’t decide whether she’d be more impressed if he suffered agonizing pain stoically, or if he professed himself too tough to feel pain at all. So he settled for the truth. “It’s pretty minor. Stings a little. I used her skirt to do most of the work. The worst of the fire never got to my hands.”
    Guiding his hand toward the basin, Sarah turned on the water and let its soft, cool trickle run over his palm. The pain stopped immediately, and he had to admit it was something of a relief. She kept his hand there, cupped within hers almost absently, while she scanned the labels of the available ointments.
    â€œShe was lucky you were nearby.” Sarah frowned at the cabinet, as if she didn’t see what she wanted. “At least you knew what to do and weren’t afraid to do it. I think the rest of us were paralyzed with shock.”
    â€œOh, I don’t know,” he said. “Ward was only a step or two behind. And I’m not at all sure Madeline wouldn’t rather have waited for him.”
    She glanced up, and their eyes met in the mirror. She had great eyes—hazel, with deep flecks of green. And they seemed to have so many moods. On the mountain, he would have called them sad. Vulnerable. But then, in the shop, he’d been struck with how perceptive they looked. Now they were uptilted, dancing with amusement in a way he found absolutely adorable.
    â€œI noticed that, too,” she said with a small laugh. “Incredible. Madeline’s clothes are on fire, and she’s thinking about romance?”
    â€œShe’s in love.” Parker allowed Sarah to place his other hand under the spigot. “You know how that is, I’m sure.”
    Until he saw the guarded expression fall over Sarah’s face, he hadn’t even realized what he was asking. But she knew. She had instinctively sensed the question behind the question.
    Are you already spoken for? Should I back off—or is it okay to take another step forward?
    Well, heck, of course she knew. She was beautiful, smart, sexy, interesting. She probably saw that