Calder Promise by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online

under his breath, strictly for his own hearing, “Better get a grip on yourself, old boy.” Louder, he replied, “Be right there.”
    With more reluctance that he cared to acknowledge, he turned away from the fountain and loped back to the Porsche. Trying to be as levelheaded as she appeared, he popped open the trunk and removed a blanket robe that was always stashed in the boot.
    She was waiting for him when he arrived at the designated spot.
    “Here.” She stretched out a hand to him, the coin held between two fingers. “Better take this before I accidentally drop it.”
    He took the coin from her and slipped it in his pocket, then reached down and caught hold of her hand. Her skin was wet and icy cool to the touch. Sebastian waited while she found a toehold. At a signaling nod from her, he hauled her out of the pool. She stumbled and fell against him.
    Automatically his arms went around her to catch and steady her. A dozen impressions registered at once: the slippery wetness of her skin and the roundness of her breasts pressed against his chest; the clean scent of her hair and the faint smell of chlorine; and the look of almost rapturous relief in her upturned face.
    “Lord, but you feel warm.” Her voice had a slight quiver to it that seemed to echo the first shivers that trembled through her.
    “And you are cold and wet,” Sebastian declared.
    She laughed in her throat. “I know. They really should heat that pool.”
    “I doubt if the Italians thought it would be used for a late-night dip,” Sebastian chided dryly.
    “They should have.” Her reply was accompanied by an exaggerated shudder.
    The temptation was there to use his body to thoroughly warm her. With more than a degree of regret, Sebastian lifted the folded blanket robe off the wall with one hand while continuing to hold Laura close.
    “It’s a bloody shame to do this.” He shook out the folds and draped the blanket around her shoulders, drawing it together in front.
    Laura caught hold of the edges and pulled them snugly across her front, overlapping the edges. “And here I thought you’d put your jacket around me. This is much better.” Even as she shivered, there was laughter dancing in her eyes when she glanced up at him. “I didn’t expect you to be so practical.”
    “Bianca is the practical one. Truthfully, I have never understood why she keeps a blanket robe in the boot. And I am certainly not going to question it now. Come on.” He wrapped a steering arm around her and guided her toward the Porsche. “Let’s get you in the car.”
    Halfway there Laura halted. “My clothes.” Careful not to loosen the blanket, she stuck out one finger and pointed in their direction.
    When Sebastian went to fetch them, Laura continued to the car and waited by the passenger side.
    “I feel like one of my uncle’s relatives,” she said as he opened the door for her.
    “Beg pardon?”
    Seeing his puzzled look, Laura explained, “Logan is part Sioux Indian and the local sheriff.”
    An eyebrow arched in amusement. “You clearly have a colorful family tree.”
    “And you haven’t even heard the stories about my sod-busting great-grandmother or the one about my father being born out of wedlock,” Laura teased, holding tight to the blanket as she climbed into the car.
    “As I said, colorful.” A small smile crooked his mouth. After she was comfortably ensconced in the seat, he deposited the bundle of clothes on her lap. “Shall I put the top up?”
    Laura shook her head. “Don’t bother. The hotel isn’t very far from here.”

Chapter Three
    T o Laura’s amusement, the doorman’s expression didn’t so much as flicker when she stuck a high-heeled foot out of the Porsche and stood up, swaddled Indian-style in a blanket while clutching her evening clothes. She waited by the hotel steps for Sebastian to join her, head up and the slightest hint of a naughty smile touching the corners of her lips.
    She tipped her head to him. “You are