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“Opal? She’s Mona’s dog.” She folded her arms. This made no sense. “What about that neighbor that looks after her?”
“Out of town.”
“Why did he ask you, then, and not me? I’m family.”
Noah shrugged. “I offered.” He shifted, focusing on the road. “Actually, I thought we could both do it.” He threw her a half grin. “I need you to protect me from that man-eater.”
A short laugh burst from her. “What makes you think I won’t just let her have you?”
He eyed her for a moment, before his lips parted in a full smile. “I’ll take my chances.”
Caught off guard by the sexiness of that smile, she could only nod. Chastising herself for the unwanted jump in her pulse, she turned back to the side window.
Sabrina squared her jaw. She’d have to stay on guard to keep from being fooled by Noah’s nice packaging. She definitely wasn’t interested.
After ten minutes of silence they pulled into Cliff’s drive. Sabrina’s gaze drifted over the pristine lawn fronting her brother’s house. Well-tended flowers winked at her from window boxes set along the lower level of the two-story structure. It was a complete picture that reflected Cliff’s life. He had it all—career, house, loving bride-to-be.
Longing welled up inside her. Hadn’t she worked as hard as he to achieve that? So why didn’t she have it?
Noah got out and moved around to her door. “Coming?”
She hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t resist the image of him at Opal’s mercy. “Why not?” Again, his easy smile sent ripples of awareness through her. She set her teeth and preceded him up the walk.
With a clinking of keys he unlocked the door, then motioned for her to enter. She stepped into the dark interior. “That’s funny. They always leave a light on for that dog.” Turning, she felt along the wall for the switch plate, alarmed by his nearness as he pressed through the door behind her.
Her heart hammered. How could she still react to him after his uncouth behavior? Her anxiety rose as the light switch eluded her. The last thing she needed was to be alone with this man in the dark.
She swung her arm in a wider search. Relief flowed through her as her fingertips grazed the plate. She let out her breath and flipped the switch. Light flooded the room.
“Surprise!” A chorus of voices greeted her.
Blinking, she turned, astonished by the sea of familiar faces filling Cliff’s great room. A huge banner spread across one end of the room, wishing her a happy birthday. Balloons of every hue added spots of color throughout the lofty space.
“Bess? What is this?” She returned Bess’s exuberant hug.
The stereo came alive with the strains of an old Jimmy Buffett song. Bess drew back, smiling as the crowd of well-wishers swarmed Sabrina. “It’s your surprise party, silly. Happy birthday.” She laughed and hugged Sabrina again.
“Sabrina.” Mona pushed forward, her blond curls framing her flushed face. She pressed a kiss in the air above Sabrina’s cheek. “Were you surprised? Noah didn’t give it away?”
“Noah?” Sabrina twisted around, but he’d melted into the crowd. She turned back to Mona, strangely disappointed. “No…I had no idea.”
“He gave us a start when he called. We really had to scramble. We weren’t expecting you so soon.”
Heat again filled Sabrina’s cheeks. “We finished early.” Her traitorous stomach announced its emptiness at that moment.
Whether or not Mona heard the rumbling over Buffett’s crooning, she took Sabrina’s arm to lead her to a table laden with food. “Try these crab cakes. I’m working with a new caterer, and I need your opinion.”
Sabrina turned to Mona. “I can’t believe you had time to plan this with the wedding next weekend.”
“I didn’t want your birthday to get lost in the shuffle. I never had a sister, Sabrina. I wanted to get us off on the right foot.”
“Thank you.” Sabrina’s gaze swept the room, while unwanted emotion clogged her throat. “This was very thoughtful of you.”
Guilt tightened her chest. Maybe she hadn’t given Mona a fair shake. It wasn’t her fault that ever since Cliff had met her, Sabrina’s emotional state had taken a downhill slide.
A smile lit Mona’s face. “Actually, you’ll have to thank Uncle John. This was his idea.”
“Uncle John?”
“He’s just dying to meet you. I’ve told him so much about how great you are with Cliff.”
Shifting, Sabrina pressed her hand to her rumbling tummy. “It’ll be my pleasure. He’ll be at the wedding?”
Mona laughed. “He’d better be. In fact, he’s flying in early to help me tie up the loose ends. I’d never get through this affair without Uncle John’s organizational skills. The man just knows how to get things done! He’s a real planner.” She gestured to the spread of food. “Eat!”
At her stomach’s insistence, Sabrina put aside her questions about Uncle John and took Mona’s advice. She ate her fill, then mingled with her friends. She’d caught little more than fleeting glimpses of Noah in the hour since their arrival. Putting thoughts of him aside, she lifted her chin and accepted a wine cooler from Pete Henderson, one of her neighbors.
Two years ago, Pete’s wife had left him for another woman. Sabrina had gone out on one uneventful date with him. Though they remained friends, neither had pursued a second outing.
She eyed his thick auburn hair and ready smile. By most standards, her neighbor passed as an attractive man. Had she dismissed him too quickly?
She studied his lips and the shape of his mouth. How would it feel to kiss him?
He swiped a napkin across his mouth. “Have I made a mess with that dip?”
Her gaze swung to his. “No. You’re fine.”
“Oh…the way you were staring…”
“I just…” She shifted. Warmth spread across her cheeks. Why hadn’t she ever learned to flirt? “You have nice lips.”
A deep groove formed between his brows. “Thanks.” He straightened. “There’s your brother. Where’s he been?”
She turned. “He had business in Boca.” Cliff greeted Mona near the door. Sabrina narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me. I need to have a word with my dear brother.”
A look of relief crossed Pete’s face as she turned to leave. She squared her shoulders, her earlier anger returning. Had Cliff shared her secret with Pete, too?
Making clipped responses to several greetings, she crossed the room. Cliff moved off down a back hall, briefcase in hand. Sabrina followed, her anger growing with every step. Brother or not, he had no right interfering in her affairs.
He entered his study, leaving the door ajar. She hurried her steps.
“Cliff! You made it.” Noah’s baritone stopped her in her tracks.
“I see you two found each other. I hope I wasn’t interrupting.”
A low feminine laugh drifted through the doorway. “Of course you were, but I won’t complain, since you set us up.”
Sabrina maneuvered closer to peer through the opening. Noah stood beside a high-backed chair, his arms folded across his chest. A curvy blonde pressed into his side, while her hand possessively climbed his arm. Outrage filled Sabrina.
The blonde ran her red-tipped finger along his chin. “When Cliff told me I was your bribe to get his sister here, I was flattered beyond words.”
Bribe? Sabrina clenched her fists. Fury blurred her vision. Cliff used this blonde to bribe Noah to take her out? Now, here he was, like some hormonal teen, hanging out with the bimbo, while still on their date? Who did he think he was?
She straightened. Why was she upset? The bimbo could have him. They were probably made for each other. Noah Banks was the last man Sabrina needed.
She turned and stormed down the hall. To think she’d imagined herself falling for him. How childish she’d been. Well, today she was twenty-five, old enough to put away her foolish fantasies. Maybe she’d never find Mr. Right, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t start living.
NOAH STOOD beside open French doors, and tossed back a long swallow of beer. Darcy leaned into him, continuing her one-sided conversation. He’d suggested they join the party at the first opportunity. His breath had come easier once they reached the bright lights, calypso music and festive atmosphere of the open great room.
He’d gone to Cliff’s study to let him know he wasn’t interested in meeting Darcy. It didn’t seem right now that he’d met Sabrina. Unfortunately, Darcy had followed him and made the introduction herself.
Sabrina’s lyrical laughter rose above the friendly ruckus. Straining, he glimpsed her through a crowd of men gathered around her. His gut tightened. The woman was an accomplished flirt. She had no right being a virgin.
Darcy rubbed against him. “Maybe we should slip away.” She nodded toward Sabrina. “Your ‘date’ would hardly notice.”
Gritting his teeth, he straightened away from her. “I should see that she has a ride home.”
“Darling, really, I don’t think you need to worry about her. Let’s go to my place. It isn’t far.”
He faced the woman Cliff had dangled before him like a carrot. Somehow, her appeal had lessened. Her curves remained in all the right places and proportions, but his enthusiasm had evaporated.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on Sabrina.” As Darcy stared at him with wide eyes, he turned, then headed across the room. He had brought Sabrina. In spite of their less than perfect start, she was his date. Common courtesy demanded he attempt to socialize with her. He squared his shoulders and moved through the crowd.
SABRINA LOWERED HER GAZE and smiled. She wasn’t a bad flirt, after all. Pete and the half-dozen other single men around her all stared in rapt attention. Unlike Noah, they responded well to her candid glances and suggestive body language. With a gentle touch here, a smile there, she’d included each one in the conversation.
“Okay, who can answer this?” She leaned forward and they moved as one, shifting in, tightening the circle.
With deliberate motions, she lifted her wine cooler to her lips and emptied the bottle, then she eyed them one by one and smiled. A thrill shot through her. For once in her life she felt desirable. “What is your favorite means of seduction?”
“Seduction?” Pete blinked his hazel eyes.
“Mmm-hmm.” She focused on him. “If a woman were to seduce you, how would you want her to go about it?”
“Well…” His gaze swept over her. “She’d wear something soft and sexy—”
“Something that showed off her breasts,” said the redhead beside him.
“One of those teddy things,” another added.
“No.” Pete touched her hand. “It isn’t what she wears.”
“Right.” Brendan, her brother’s accountant, leaned forward. “It’s the way a woman kisses that really turns me on.”
“Yeah.”
“Right.”
“Oh?” Sabrina turned to Brendan. “How so?”
He grinned. “You know, she starts slow, with her lips—”
“No,” one of Cliff’s friends to her left interrupted. “I want her whole mouth—”
“With a full body meld,” the redhead added. A movement behind him caught her eye. Her heart skipped a beat. Noah pushed through the crowd toward them.
The irrational need to prove her desirability to him rose in her. She cast a look around the group. “Maybe one of you should show me.”
“Right.”
“Yeah.”
“Cliff won’t like it.”
“True.”
“What about that big guy you came with?”
As one, the circle fell back.
Sabrina spread her hands in appeal. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Your brother’s got a temper.”
“Your date didn’t look too congenial, either.”
“Yeah, why can’t he show you?”
Noah loomed closer. Sabrina bit her lip. She laid her empty bottle on the coffee table. “Let’s see which one of you shows me.” With a flick of her wrist, she spun the bottle.
Pete dove to the left. Brendan dodged to the right. The redhead flung himself over the back of the couch, out of the bottle’s range. Sabrina pursed her lips. So much for feeling desirable.
The bottle rotated to a stop. She swallowed as her gaze traveled up the corded thighs and broad chest of the glowering figure standing before her. Dismay filled her. “Well, Noah,” she said, “looks like you win.”
4
NOAH’S ATTENTION SWEPT over Sabrina’s scattered admirers. What had gotten into them? The lot looked as though they’d escaped a stint on death row. “Win what?”
“There.” A guy with red hair peeked over the back of the couch. “I told you he should be the one to show you.”
“Show you what?” Noah demanded.
A devilish spark lit Sabrina’s eye. She stood, then moved around the coffee table, stopping inches from him. “We were discussing the most effective means of seduction.”
Noah narrowed his eyes. An irrational anger swelled in him. “The hell you were.”
“Oh yes.” She leaned toward him. Her palm grazed his chest. His pulse kicked into gear. “The consensus seems to be that it’s all in the kiss.”
“Kiss?”
