walking by with his hungry gaze.
He brought his attention back to Jana, sliding his eyes over her light green silk blouse. “No. It’s just that I appreciate each one.” The short, emerald green skirt Lisa insisted she wear was creeping up her thighs.
She resisted the urge to tug it further down her legs.
She snorted. “Appreciate. Yeah. Right.” Just her luck. The call Lisa received from the medical center had taken her away before she could even order dinner. Now Jana was stuck in this circular booth with the one man she swore she never wanted to be alone with.
It wasn’t safe to be alone with him. He did something to her libido the minute he came into the room. Now he was only an arm’s length away, causing her heart to pummel her chest. His white polo shirt stretched tight over his chest. His tanned skin begged to be touched.
Among the tinkling of silverware, forks and knives striking plates as people ate the delicious offerings of Marchetti’s. Marchetti’s was a large restaurant with booths aligning the wall, tables in the center. Grape vines bordered the ceilings. Exquisite art donned the walls.
“Take for instance the brunette at the table in the corner, by herself,”
Nicolas continued. Jana’s vision followed the path of his gaze. “Some would call her homely.”
Yes. Jana could see that. The woman was thin. Her short hair was dull and lacking luster. Her facial features were uninteresting and non-descriptive. The poor woman was boring.
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Mackenzie McKade
He inhaled deeply. Jana didn’t know if it was the Chicken Parmesan the waiter just passed by with or if Nicolas was trying to breathe in the woman’s perfume from a short distance away.
His expression softened. “Look at her hands. Delicate. Soft.” He pinned her with a look as if he were staring at a runway model with appreciation and lust. “See the way she holds her wine glass, strokes the shaft slowly, gently. That is how she would touch a man.” His voice lowered, dropping deeper and quieter. “She would touch to please. Find the secret spots that would release the animal in her man.” A fire burned in his eyes as if he believed his own words. Then he sighed and leaned back in his seat. “But sadly, many men would pass her by, her love lost on a passing affair, because he couldn’t see what I see in her.” He paused and took a sip of his wine. “She would also make a good mother. Her children would be cherished.”
Jana couldn’t help staring at him in disbelief. Was this man for real?
Good looking, sexy and passionate, and a hopeless romantic, too.
“She went from sex goddess to mother in one leap. What makes you think she would be a good mother?”
He smiled as if he knew a secret. “See the family in the corner booth?”
How could Jana miss them? The noise was enough to make someone think they were at the playground instead of the posh restaurant Nicolas owned.
Beneath a beautiful chandelier that sparkled with elegance, a flustered mother and father had their hands full with three rambunctious boys. Corralled between the adults it was one fight after another, until they separated the hellions by placing one at each of their sides, which now allowed the children on the ends freedom to roam, sticky fingers touching the marble statues and fresh flower arrangements adorning the room. It was like herding cats to keep the boys contained within the booth. Their parents’ expressions were haggard and tired.
“When the three-year-old passed by her a moment ago she struck up a conversation with him. Then she wiped his running nose. Most people 52
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Lisa’s Gift
would have ignored him, found him annoying, even disgusting. She didn’t.” He shook his head. “Wouldn’t.”
As he spoke it was as if the woman morphed into this beautiful creature. Features Jana had never recognized were now apparent like her hands, her slender neck, and the unusual violet of her
He brought his attention back to Jana, sliding his eyes over her light green silk blouse. “No. It’s just that I appreciate each one.” The short, emerald green skirt Lisa insisted she wear was creeping up her thighs.
She resisted the urge to tug it further down her legs.
She snorted. “Appreciate. Yeah. Right.” Just her luck. The call Lisa received from the medical center had taken her away before she could even order dinner. Now Jana was stuck in this circular booth with the one man she swore she never wanted to be alone with.
It wasn’t safe to be alone with him. He did something to her libido the minute he came into the room. Now he was only an arm’s length away, causing her heart to pummel her chest. His white polo shirt stretched tight over his chest. His tanned skin begged to be touched.
Among the tinkling of silverware, forks and knives striking plates as people ate the delicious offerings of Marchetti’s. Marchetti’s was a large restaurant with booths aligning the wall, tables in the center. Grape vines bordered the ceilings. Exquisite art donned the walls.
“Take for instance the brunette at the table in the corner, by herself,”
Nicolas continued. Jana’s vision followed the path of his gaze. “Some would call her homely.”
Yes. Jana could see that. The woman was thin. Her short hair was dull and lacking luster. Her facial features were uninteresting and non-descriptive. The poor woman was boring.
www.samhainpublishing.com 51
Mackenzie McKade
He inhaled deeply. Jana didn’t know if it was the Chicken Parmesan the waiter just passed by with or if Nicolas was trying to breathe in the woman’s perfume from a short distance away.
His expression softened. “Look at her hands. Delicate. Soft.” He pinned her with a look as if he were staring at a runway model with appreciation and lust. “See the way she holds her wine glass, strokes the shaft slowly, gently. That is how she would touch a man.” His voice lowered, dropping deeper and quieter. “She would touch to please. Find the secret spots that would release the animal in her man.” A fire burned in his eyes as if he believed his own words. Then he sighed and leaned back in his seat. “But sadly, many men would pass her by, her love lost on a passing affair, because he couldn’t see what I see in her.” He paused and took a sip of his wine. “She would also make a good mother. Her children would be cherished.”
Jana couldn’t help staring at him in disbelief. Was this man for real?
Good looking, sexy and passionate, and a hopeless romantic, too.
“She went from sex goddess to mother in one leap. What makes you think she would be a good mother?”
He smiled as if he knew a secret. “See the family in the corner booth?”
How could Jana miss them? The noise was enough to make someone think they were at the playground instead of the posh restaurant Nicolas owned.
Beneath a beautiful chandelier that sparkled with elegance, a flustered mother and father had their hands full with three rambunctious boys. Corralled between the adults it was one fight after another, until they separated the hellions by placing one at each of their sides, which now allowed the children on the ends freedom to roam, sticky fingers touching the marble statues and fresh flower arrangements adorning the room. It was like herding cats to keep the boys contained within the booth. Their parents’ expressions were haggard and tired.
“When the three-year-old passed by her a moment ago she struck up a conversation with him. Then she wiped his running nose. Most people 52
www.samhainpublishing.com
Lisa’s Gift
would have ignored him, found him annoying, even disgusting. She didn’t.” He shook his head. “Wouldn’t.”
As he spoke it was as if the woman morphed into this beautiful creature. Features Jana had never recognized were now apparent like her hands, her slender neck, and the unusual violet of her
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