Now You See Her by Linda Howard Read Free Book Online

She felt a moment of kinship, and her lips curved upward, too. “I guess your tolerance for bullshit is as low as mine,” she said, her smile widening into a grin, and he laughed. It was an honest-to-God, throw-your-head-back laugh, and damn it, even that made her insides start jumping around again.
    â€œI thought you were going to run right through the glass, you were in such a hurry to get out of there.”
    â€œI don’t know who is worse, the senator or his wife. They both gave me the creeps.”
    â€œThat was pretty obvious, to everyone but them. Kai was trying to make himself invisible, but at the same time he didn’t want to leave in case he missed some fireworks.” Richard’s tone turned neutralwhen he mentioned Kai, and Sweeney wondered if he knew about Candra’s affair with her assistant. That could certainly be the reason for the divorce; Richard didn’t look like a man who would tolerate infidelity or try to “work through it” with marriage counseling sessions.
    The first warning sprinkles of rain abruptly turned into a downpour, sending pedestrians scurrying for doorways or taxis; umbrellas bloomed like mushrooms. Sweeney loved the sound of rain anyway, but today it was particularly evocative, making her heart pound the way it did whenever she heard cello music or taps. A delicious chill suddenly prickled her skin, and she hugged herself.
    â€œEdward, turn on the heat, please. Sweeney is cold.”
    â€œOf course, sir.”
    â€œI’m not really cold,” Sweeney denied, without knowing why. Her constant coldness was somehow embarrassing, a weakness she didn’t want to acknowledge. “Listening to the rain gave me goose bumps.”
    â€œYou were shivering. Do you want to put my coat around you?”
    There it was again, shaking her insides as if the San Andreas Fault ran right through her. He had been watching her closely enough to notice a small shiver. She didn’t know which was more disturbing, that realization or the flood of warmth she felt at the thought of being draped in his coat, his body heat being transferred to her, his scent surrounding her. The warmth was welcome, but thereason behind it wasn’t. At least her fascination with the commercial had ended when the ad was over. This strange awareness would end, surely, as soon as she got out of the car and away from Richard, but until then she had to guard against doing something stupid, like throwing herself into his arms. Wouldn’t
that
raise Edward’s eyebrows! It would probably raise her own, because if anything was out of character for her, throwing herself at a man ranked at the top of the list.
    â€œSweeney?” Richard prompted, waving his hand in front of her again. He was smiling again, too. She wished he would stop doing both. One was annoying, and the other was downright disturbing.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œDo you want my coat?” He was already shrugging out of it.
    â€œOh—no, thank you. I’m sorry, my thoughts wandered.”
    â€œI noticed.” He smiled again, his dark eyes slightly heavy-lidded. Despite her refusal, he draped the coat over her.
    She almost moaned in delight. It was just as she had imagined, so toasty warm she thought she might melt. She snuggled into the coat, pulling the fabric high around her face and unconsciously inhaling, drawing his scent into her lungs like a smoker taking the morning’s first drag.
    â€œI had to do something to cover up that sweater,” he said by way of explanation, his tone amused.
    â€œIt’s cursed. I’m going to burn it when I get home.”
    â€œDon’t bother. It’s what’s underneath that’s doing the damage.”
    Oh, God. He felt it, too.
    The realization was like a punch in the stomach. She froze, unable to look at him, afraid of what she would see in his eyes. This wasn’t just an aberration inspired by the red sweater. This