Read Online Once Tempted by Laura Moore - Free Book Online

her car dying in front of the main lodge was how Ward had thrust his arm into the car, and her reaction when his arm had grazed her breasts.
    How could a fleeting touch have generated so much electricity that her body still remembered the sizzle? The gnawing want?
    So yes, she felt more than uneasy about Ward; she begrudged him the way he had aroused her. And how, in the weeks since her arrival, when she’d done her utmost to steer clear of him and forget the effect he’d had on her, she couldn’t. It didn’t help her peace of mind that whenever she was around him she found her initial impression of him reinforced. He remained irritatingly high-handed and eminently able to ignore her. He was as unconcerned about the plight of her car as he was about the fact that a simple brush of his arm had left her gasping like a sex-starved ninny.
    Why should he be concerned about her? an inner voice asked. How she felt was her problem. So was her car. And she knew she’d better solve both problems. She couldn’t take many more taxi rides into Acacia with Ralph Cummins. From the amount of time he spent on the wrong side of the road, it was possible Ralph believed he was in Australia. A few more weeks and the money she was putting aside from her paycheck might be enough to afford a new used car.
    She’d figure out, too, how to quash the unwanted and strange fascination that filled her whenever she stole a glance at Ward’s profile or heard the low timbre of his voice. It just might take a while.
    “Something in your expression tells me you still believe he’s responsible for your car’s unfortunate demise.”
    Tess jumped guiltily. She wondered how long she’d been scowling at Ward’s image. “It’s just that in New York when a guy comes up and sticks his arm into yourcar, it’s to steal your purse. I guess in California they do things differently. But, frankly, I’d rather he’d snatched my pursed than played Terminator with my car.”
    Adele laughed lightly. “And that’s what’s interesting about stories—there are at least two sides to them. The way Ward tells it, he was alarmed by the amount of black smoke pouring out your hood.”
    A handy excuse. But Tess refused to spoil the morning by thinking about Ward. Turning back to the conference table, she adjusted a plate of lemon macaroons a hair to the right, aligning the plate with the others she’d placed on the polished conference table.
    Her gesture drew Adele’s attention. “Mmm, this looks lovely. What’s Roo baked for us?”
    Tess relaxed. Here was a safer topic than Adele’s handsome and imperious son, and one where she could prove her professional chops. She pointed to the different delicacies she’d arranged on china plates as she rattled them off. “These are lemon macaroons, and she also wants us to try an orange-scented olive oil cake, chocolate oatmeal drop cookies, hazelnut apricot bar cookies, and a rum apple cake. The plate at the end of the table has goat’s milk cheesecake bites—they’re made from Silver Creek’s own goats, of course.” She picked up the last plate. “And these are pistachio and fig cookies—”
    “Oh, Lord have mercy!” Adele held her hands up as if warding off an attack. “I need to be able to zip the dress I’ve chosen for tonight. Daniel’s taking me to our favorite restaurant in Healdsburg.”
    “Have no fear, Mom. For you I’ll sacrifice myself on the altar of Roo’s culinary experiments.”
    Both Tess and Adele turned. “Reid!” his mother exclaimed happily. “Oh! Are those for me?”
    In Reid’s hand was a bouquet of deep red tea roses.
    “Of course, since you’re my first and best Valentine.” He kissed her cheek.
    Beaming, she took the flowers. “Thank you, darling. They’re lovely.”
    “Glad you like them. And these”—with a flourish, he produced another, smaller bouquet of deep purple tulips and white freesia that he’d been hiding behind his back—“are for you, Tess.” He