Forbidden Pleasures by Bertrice Small Read Free Book Online Page B

country so great,” Emily spoke up. “We’re such a wonderful mixture of peoples and cultures.” She was glad she had asked the Seligmanns to help her defuse what might have been an awkward evening.
    When they had finished almost everything Emily had prepared, she and Rina cleared the table for the dessert while the two men sat talking.
    “God, he has such charm,” Rina said, scraping the plates for the dishwasher. “He looks like a Celtic prince, and that delicious hint of Ireland in his voice.” She sighed.
    “He’s very nice,” Emily murmured.
    “Huh?” Rina replied, looking closely at her younger companion. “Oh, my! You’re attracted to him, aren’t you, Emily Shanski? Well, why not, says I?”
    “I don’t even know him,” Emily protested. “We just met on Tuesday. We’ve spoken once on the phone, and today is Friday.”
    “You’ve got an itch for him,” Rina accused her with a grin. “I’ve known you most of your life, Em, and I’ve never known you to be attracted to any man. There have been times I’ve wondered if you weren’t gay, like Aaron.”
    “I haven’t got an itch, Rina, and I’m not a lesbian,” Emily responded. “I just haven’t had time for men, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be like Katy and Joe. Have you any idea how hard it was for me in high school, with most of the same teachers they had had always watching, always waiting for me to fall from grace?”
    “They never knew your mother had fallen from grace, as you so dramatically put it, until she was graduated, and at Wellesley,” Rina said. “Thanks to your grandmothers your impending arrival was quite the surprise to everyone in Egret Pointe.”
    “That’s what made it so hard for me,” Emily replied. “Katy fooled them. Was I fooling them? Why do you think I worked so hard to get out of here, and into college?”
    “Water under the bridge,” Rina said. “You’re a best-selling author now with a hot new editor. He isn’t married. You’re both fancy-free. Hell, if I were you I’d lay him!”
    “Why does everyone keep saying that to me?” Emily wanted to know.
    “Who else said it?” Rina asked.
    “Savannah. I talked to her the other day. He was her editor in London, and I wanted to know more about him,” Emily answered.
    “And?” Rina’s look of curiosity was so blatant that Emily had to laugh.
    “To quote Savannah, the women flock to him like flies to jam, but he likes to pick his own friends,” Emily said. “I doubt I’m his type.”
    “I think you’re just his type. He’s Irish, for heaven’s sake. They like their women intelligent, good cooks, and just a little helpless at the right moments. You can play helpless, can’t you, sweetie? Where’s the dessert?”
    “Fridge,” Emily said. “I am not helpless, Rina.”
    Rina Seligmann opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a large glass bowl. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of having him between your legs, because I won’t believe you. A woman would have to be made of stone to look at that man and not want him. What is this?” She looked suspiciously at the bowl she was holding.
    “Chocolate trifle,” Emily answered. “I couldn’t make up my mind between mousse and trifle. So I made chocolate lady fingers, and mousse for filling with the sliced strawberries.”
    Rina began to laugh. “Yep, you’re hot for him.”
    “How can you say that?” Emily wanted to know. It was embarrassing to be so damned transparent. Did Michael Devlin see what Rina saw?
    “The double chocolate is a dead giveaway,” Rina replied.
    Emily blushed furiously. “Do you think he’ll notice?” she asked nervously.
    “Nah,” Rina reassured her. “But you do know he likes you, don’t you?”
    “Rina, we’ve just met,” Emily said exasperated.
    “Look, sweetie, if there is one thing I understand, it’s men. I know, I know. I’ve been married to Sam since I turned twenty, but I still know human nature. It isn’t how long