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  “Yeah. I couldn’t see myself growing up in a place like this.” He glanced around and shuddered. “Too many damn things to break.”

  She laughed, relieved he wasn’t comfortable, either. “Why can I see you throwing a ball in the house and getting grounded?”

  He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Because I’m a bad boy?”

  His voice was deep, his breath warm, and a rush of air trickled over her skin and her stomach fluttered, settling low with damp heat.

  “I like bad boys,” she murmured, and his gaze dilated with desire. Then, because they were in public, she stepped back and looked around her. “This isn’t a place to raise kids, that’s for sure.”

  “Kids, huh?”

  As soon as the words escaped, she’d wanted to snatch them back, the notion too intimate to discuss with the man who made her libido jump. Who had her thinking illicit thoughts, like what it would feel like to run her hands through his windblown hair and warm her chilled body by cuddling naked with him. And when those blue eyes stared into hers, she had a hunch he saw the feelings and heard the thoughts she’d imagined but hadn’t spoken aloud.

  She shrugged, trying to keep things light. “What can I say? This place doesn’t exactly inspire the image of hearth and home.”

  Rina wasn’t sure if she’d ever remarry, let alone have children, and considering her current fear of emotional involvement, the prospect seemed unlikely. But Jake and Brianne planned for kids and Rina wanted to be an aunt who had sleepovers and provided fun and a safe haven, not a place where they had to tiptoe and be quiet for fear of breaking something.

  She glanced around once more, taking in the Christmas decorations. An exquisite tree sat in the corner and red satin bows covered the circular staircase. Her New York apartment had once been wrapped in similar red satin, she thought, remembering. A professional Robert had hired chose the holiday decorations for the penthouse. To make her life easier, he’d said. In order to impress friends and clients, she’d thought. And Rina had missed the down-to-earth Christmases she’d shared with her family.

  “Take a look,” Colin said, pointing to the elves in green serving hors d’oeuvres.

  Rina laughed, her mood lightening. “The party theme seems more down-to-earth than the decor or the furnishings, if that makes any sense.”

  “That’s because the caterer is as down-to-earth as you can get. Emma’s granddaughter-in-law owns a company called Pot Luck. That’s how they met, and she’s been doing the parties here ever since. They’ve been together ever since, too.”

  “Sounds as if you like her,” Rina said.

  He nodded. “I do. Cat’s special.”

  “I see.” She didn’t like hearing him gush about another woman’s charms, not one bit. Not even if said woman was married to his friend.

  “Do you? Actually, Catherine Montgomery is very much like you.” A smile twitched at his lips, but before he could say more, Emma padded up to them in her gown and ballet-type slippers at a near run. Considering the gleaming marble floors, Emma possessed amazing agility for a woman her age.

  “There you are! And not a minute too soon. I need you to hide me,” Emma said.

  “Excuse me?” Rina couldn’t have heard right.

  “Hide me. I’m being followed by a lecher.”

  Colin rolled his eyes and laughed.

  “Gran, you get back here,” a male voice called as a good-looking man with dark hair joined their growing group.

  “Hey, Logan,” Colin said.

  “Logan, Emma’s grandson?” Rina asked. Though now that she studied him, she recognized him from the photos on Emma’s desk.

  “The one and only. Who’s this pretty lady?” he asked Colin, but his gaze remained locked on Rina.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks at his compliment and her newly acquired professional instincts rushed into high gear. Logan Montgomery had manners and a wedding ring on his hand. Still, Rina couldn’t discount the approval in his gaze when he studied her. She’d seen the same admiration in the eyes of the parking attendant when he’d helped her out of Colin’s car. Attitude plus appearance equaled attention, Rina thought, and made a mental note to mention the dual impact in her next column.

  Before her manners deserted her, she turned back to the people surrounding her. “I’m Rina Lowell.”

  “I’ve heard so much about you.” Logan took her hand. “Gran here adores you and I can see why.”

  “Why, thank you, Mr. Montgomery.” She fluttered her lashes at Logan and graced him with a smile.

  “You’re quite welcome.”

  “And you’re quite married,” Colin muttered and not so discreetly slid his grasp to her hand, disengaging Logan’s grip and marking his territory.

  She tried to tug her hand free but he held on fast. “I didn’t know you were the jealous type,” she said under her breath, suddenly enjoying his possessiveness.

  “I didn’t know that about him, either.” Logan laughed.

  And though Rina recognized good-natured ribbing between friends, she had the unexpected urge to protect Colin from any jokes directed his way. “I’ve heard so much about you from Emma, too. Where’s Catherine? I’ve been looking forward to meeting her.”

  “Her company, Pot Luck, is catering this party.” Pride filled his voice, and it was obvious no woman could compete for Logan Montgomery’s affection except his wife. “She’s going crazy keeping things running smoothly, but as soon as she comes out of the kitchen, I’ll bring her by.”

  “Please do.” It was a lucky woman who had not just her husband’s love but his approval to do or be anything she wanted. Catherine had both, and even without knowing the other woman, Rina was glad.

  “As for you, Gran…” Logan turned to his grandmother.

  “I’d hoped you’d forgotten all about me,” Emma said, a wistful note in her voice.

  “Stan Blecher wants to take you to the Boston Pops and you can’t keep running off and ignoring the man. He’s a federal court judge, and much as I don’t get swayed by status, you can’t be rude. You’ll dig a hole for the Judge and for yourself,” he said pointedly.

  Rina sensed the friction and undercurrents between grandmother and grandson but wasn’t sure of the cause. As if sensing her unasked question, Colin leaned in closer. “Emma has problems with her son. Logan asked me to get Emma a job with the paper so that the Judge wouldn’t put her in a retirement home,” he whispered.

  “You got Emma a job?” Rina asked, surprised by the news.

  “He did it as a favor. Because my son’s a stuffed shirt.” Emma sniffed, her regal nose in the air, yet her caring tone proved she loved her only child anyway. “But his colleague’s a lecher.”

  Logan shook his head. “Not accurate, Gran. His last name’s Blecher and you’re just being rude. Now come back inside before Dad gets wind of this.”

  “Oh, all right. But I’m going to redirect his attention, of that you can be sure.” Emma placed her weathered hand on Rina’s cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here. We’ll talk later.” She sashayed away with grace, her dress trailing on the floor behind her.

  “I should go watch out for her,” Logan muttered. “I’ll find Cat and we’ll meet up again soon,” he promised Rina, then disappeared into the crowd.

  Rina smiled. “I love Emma and Logan’s family dynamics. And as for your connection to them, I didn’t know you’d gotten Emma her position at the paper.” She met his gaze, knowing it was impossible to hide the respect she’d just gained for him and not caring if he saw.

  “Are you saying you didn’t know I had a kind streak?” His husky voice reverberated in her ear.

  “Not any more than I knew you had a jealous one.” She just now realized he still held her hand in his grasp, his thumb tracing erotic circles inside her palm. She shivered, unable to control the impulse.

  “I enjoy your sense of humor, Rina. And I enjoy you.”

  And she enjoyed him. Too much, she thought. Though she’d already chosen him as
the man with whom she’d set herself free, she still needed to protect her heart. No matter how charming, the man was a wanderer capable of leaving on a whim.

  Already she knew Colin wouldn’t be a man easy to forget. “I need a drink.”

  “Cat makes a delicious punch. Come on.”

  After finishing a glass of sherbet-and-champagne-laced punch, Rina relaxed. She held another glass in her hand and, with Colin close by her side, she was enjoying the party. “So tell me more about getting Emma that job.”

  “What’s to tell?” Colin shrugged. “About a year ago, Logan called and asked me for a favor. Everyone adores Emma, so I talked Joe into hiring her.”

  “You did more than that. You saved her from her meddling self.”

  He merely shrugged, obviously unwilling to admit that he had a caring nature, one that extended beyond Joe, beyond family. With each new fact she learned about Colin, she discovered an intriguing side, making her want to know more.

  “I got her a desk job. I didn’t know she’d end up writing a singles column though.” His eyebrows furrowed, aggravation plain on his face.

  She didn’t understand why. “Something wrong with what Emma writes?”

  “It’s just an unusual slant for a newspaper to take.”

  She nodded. “I thought so, too, the first time I heard about what Corinne was doing with the Times.” During their initial conversation, Corinne had explained her vision of using the paper as a means to bring the town together. She believed that in today’s world, people needed more warmth and compassion, and less harsh reality.

  Under her leadership, the Times would advertise where people could meet. Men and women would learn how to relate to one another better when they did mingle at a social event. While the paper would still be reporting some news, the focus would be on people. Listening to Corinne’s excitement, Rina knew she’d found a place to call home.

  Colin folded his arms over his chest. “So how did you come to work for Corinne?”

  “Hors d’oeuvre?” An elf stopped by with a tray in hand.

  The delicious aroma tickled her nose, but Rina was more interested in her conversation with Colin than with the food on the plate. “No, thank you.”

  Colin shook his head and the woman in green took her leave.

  “You were telling me about how you came to work for Corinne?” he prompted, the moment they were alone again.

  “Oh, it’s a long story. Basically, my parents knew hers, and older people like to talk about their children.” She shook her head. “So I heard about Corinne taking over her husband’s paper, thought my writing would interest her and I called.”

  “You pursued your goals,” he said with approval. “Did you always want to be a writer?”

  She shook her head. “No, I took the long route. I used to be a legal secretary. The hours were decent, the pay was guaranteed and so was the overtime. It covered the bills, but I’d always been more a people person than someone who liked being holed up in an office.”

  “That much I can believe.” His warm gaze met hers, mesmerizing her so much it was hard to believe they were still at a party surrounded by people.

  She tipped her head to one side. “I’m hoping that’s a compliment and not a dig at my curious nature.”

  “I admire you, Rina.”

  The husky tone in his voice sent shivers of awareness down her spine. “Thanks,” she murmured.

  “And your writing…”

  “I always took notes, wrote stories. Anecdotes.” She shrugged, remembering. “After I got married, I had a lot of free time to fill pages in a journal.”

  At first, she’d used her new surroundings and her husband’s new friends as subjects. She’d been amused by the for-show marriages she’d witnessed and enthralled by the real relationships, like her parents’, that had lasted for years. Her observations had become humorous slice-of-life stories that kept her busy while home alone.

  “You stopped working?” he asked, apparently truly interested in her past.

  Why wouldn’t he be? She was equally interested in his. “My husband wanted to give me the life he thought I always wanted. But staying home and spending money I hadn’t earned, well, that just wasn’t me.”

  But to please Robert, she’d eventually accepted the lifestyle. After all, most women would have traded anything to be in her position, or so she’d been told at the going-away party the other secretaries had thrown on her last day of work.

  “I can’t see you staying at home and eating bonbons, either.”

  “What can you see me doing?” She wondered how he viewed her.

  He shrugged. “A headstrong, determined woman like you? I can see you dissecting what men want.” His lips twitched in a wry grin. “The question is whether you’ll get it right.”

  “You’re just worried I’ll get inside your head.”

  “You already came close. I read your first article.”

  “And?” she asked, knowing that right or wrong, his opinion was important to her.

  “You made some very valid points. Men are visual animals. We see, we react.”

  “Basic chemistry.”

  He nodded. “Lust.” His voice grew deeper.

  “Not enough for anything meaningful or lasting.” She cleared her dry throat. “Which is why I have to dig deeper.”

  “I’m certain you’ll dig into both men’s and women’s psyches.” His eyes danced with certainty.

  “You think you know me so well?”

  He nodded. “I know I do.” But he frowned, seemingly not thrilled with the notion.

  And Rina thought she knew why. Despite the banter, the notion of getting past lust and digging deeper made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t looking for anything more serious than she was. Yet in the short time they’d known one another, he understood her better than Robert ever had. Her husband had loved her and given her everything—except the freedom to be herself. The more time she spent in Ashford, the more time she spent with Colin, the more self-awareness she gained and the more she felt she had to contribute to her work. Not to mention she was coming to enjoy herself. A lot.

  “Tell me something. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that a newspaper has two relationship columnists?” he asked. “I mean, why write what you do for a newspaper?”

  She really didn’t understand what he was getting at. “As opposed to what?”

  He shrugged. “A magazine, maybe? There are plenty of those in Manhattan.”

  “I needed to get away from the memories. To start over fresh. Plus, I had no connections with the publishers there. Corinne was willing to give me a chance. And I liked her vision. She wants to bring people together and is using the newspaper to do it. My writing fits in well here.”

  He exhaled hard. “But you don’t think her vision—the subjects she wants to focus on—is odd for a newspaper?”

  “Slightly unusual, maybe. But then so is the world lately. Besides, many papers have articles and columns in the lifestyle section geared toward relationships or other things.”

  “True. But those papers have an abundance of sections and space. The Times is a small paper. Space is limited. By adding more frivolous things to it, other sections have to go.”

  Rina bit her lip and nodded. “I suppose. But Corinne said the Globe outsells the Times anyway,” she said, speaking of the larger competition. “Which freed her up to try something different. All I know is, I owe Corinne for giving me a new start and a new life. And you can’t imagine how badly I needed that new life.”

  He glanced out into the crowd for a moment. “Rina…”

  She followed his gaze and realized Emma was barreling through the crowd toward them, an older gentleman hot on her heels. “I wonder what she’s up to.”

  Rina barely got the words out, when Emma reached their side, then tripped and knocked her full champagne flute forward. In shock, Rina put up her hand to ward off a spill and ended up tipping the glass onto Colin, too, so they were both covered in champagne.
>
  Rina pulled at the damp shirt, lifting it off her skin. But the damage had been done, and when she released the fabric again, her sheer, lacy bra showed through. The one Rina wore for herself and not for her column and experiment. The one not meant to be seen by the public at large.

  Rina didn’t know who took notice because she was too caught up in Colin’s openmouthed stare as he took in her now-damp, see-through blouse. As if they were alone and not in a room full of people, her nipples puckered in pure female reaction.

  “Oh my, I’m sorry.” Emma began fluttering around Rina, ignoring the man by her side who had to be none other than Stan Blecher.

  Rina lifted her hands to cover herself. “It’s fine, Emma, really.”

  “No, no, it’s not okay. Let me take you up to dry off.”

  “Emma…” the man said, clearly wishing a moment of her time.

  Rina studied the gentleman. He was tall and stood proud, with a full head of white hair and a nice smile. Dentures or real teeth, he cut a dashing figure. “Emma, come on. Give the man a chance,” Rina whispered in her ear.

  “Nonsense. Grace left some old clothes in her closet. I’m sure we can find a top for you to wear. And for you, Colin, Logan has a sweater or two I can surely scrounge up. Come, come.” She motioned with her hands and turned her back on Stan.

  Knowing Emma wouldn’t be deterred, Rina shrugged and motioned for Colin to follow.

  “I’ll be here when you get back,” Stan called.

  “Lecher,” Emma muttered.

  “I think he’s cute,” Rina said on her way up the stairs.

  Emma ignored her. Apparently, like Rina, the older woman preferred to be the matchmaker, not on the receiving end.

  “Colin, this is Logan and Cat’s room when they stay here. Which isn’t often, but still…Feel free to go into the closet and find a shirt.” She opened a door, pushed Colin inside and slammed the door shut behind him.

  “You’re a bulldozer, Emma. And you can’t run from Stan forever. What’s wrong if you have dinner with the man?” Rina asked.

  “I’ve been on my own too long.” Emma paused at the next door in the long hall. “This is a bathroom. Go on in here and I’ll bring you a shirt of Gracie’s, okay?”