Sealed with a Kiss Read Online Free

panic, a twenty-minute meeting with Sam should be a piece of cake.”
    She steered the land yacht into the alley and slammed on the brakes to avoid a two-wheeled chrome-and-leather monster angled across the drive. She poked her head out the window.
    â€œOnly an idiot would stop there. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she shouted over the car’s engine. “Didn’t you see the parking spot out front?”
    Eyebrows raised, he glanced over his shoulder regarding the ostentatious sedan.
    â€œYeah, I noticed it, but I figured you might need it for your limo.”
    She squashed down the desire to smile at his wise-guy tone and familiar drawl. Instead, sheswitched off the ignition and pushed open the door. Since he hadn’t budged from his comfortable spot, she’d be forced to go to him.
    With one leg slung over the seat of the bike and muscular arms folded across his chest, there sat the man she’d idolized since they were kids. Her heart drummed a frantic beat. Beneath the five-o’clock shadow and shaggy dark hair was a glimmer of the serious boy who had done his homework at her grandmother’s kitchen table.
    Obviously unaffected by her arrival, Sam resumed his apparent study of the building’s rear wall. It would take the patience of Job for her to readjust to this town. Life moved at a snail’s pace and the uniform of the day was jeans and a T-shirt bearing an advertisement. Sam seemed to be no exception.
    â€œI suppose I should thank you for your consideration.”
    â€œForget it,” he assured her. “Being considerate of you is pretty low on my list.”
    She winced as the comment hit its mark.
    â€œActually,” he continued, “I wanted to see the condition of the alley side first.”
    â€œThat’s a good idea,” she recovered, glancing down the length of the building. “I have the keys to the back entrance.”
    A fast rifle through the black clutch produced the cluster of keys.
    She stepped toward the security door, then hesitated as Sam shifted his weight off the bike. He gestured for her to continue the lead.
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    He followed, his nose detecting a delightful scent as he watched with genuine approval. He noted how the afternoon sun glinted off her copper hair. Here and there, strands had worked free and the natural curls leapt to life.
    Uninvited, the vision of a little girl’s curly red hair against a kitchen’s sunny window invaded his mind’s eye. He heard the spray of an aerosol can and smelled lemon furniture polish as his mother dusted in the next room. She checked on him from time to time, making sure he finished his homework while she completed her cleaning duties.
    Homework wasn’t half as much trouble as Miriam Elliott’s pesky granddaughter, but she’d grown on him as a kid and invaded his heart as a teen. He shrugged off the familiar moment and refocused on the steel door where his flame-haired nemesis struggled to throw the heavy bolt.
    â€œHere, let me.” He reached for the keys, tapping Tara’s hand in a signal to move.
    She jerked her fist against her body as if he’d soiled her.
    So that’s how it’s gonna be. You probably think I’m just a dirty mechanic. Okay, Rusty. Works for me.
    He turned the bolt, pushed the door wide andstepped through first. A few feet inside the building he paused while his pupils adjusted to the darkness. Though the place was swept clean of the former tenant, spiderwebs indicated many months without attention. Possibility permeated the cavernous, empty space.
    He faced Tara, interested in her reaction to the building.
    â€œThis place always reminded me of a dungeon,” she complained. “The best light exposure is upstairs. There should be more to work with on the second floor. Maybe we’ll use this main floor for storage.”
    â€œAnd what is it you plan to store in here, if you don’t mind telling