Just Curious by Jude Devereaux Read Free Book Online Page B

coming?”
    From the look on his face as they reached the back of the church, Karen regretted her remark.
    â€œChristmas Day,” he said softly, then turned away from her.
    The rehearsal dinner was loud, with everyone talking at once about summers they had spent together and places they had visited. At first Karen looked at her food and listened but didn’t participate in the conversation among these people who knew each other so well. Taggert sat on the other side of the big table, at the opposite end from her, and he, too, was quiet. Every once in a while, Karen glanced toward him and thought she saw him looking at her, but he turned away so quickly that she wasn’t sure.
    â€œKaren,” one of the women said and the whole table quietened. “Where is your engagement ring?”
    She didn’t hesitate before she spoke. “Taggert had bought all the store had, so they’re awaiting a new shipment of diamonds. He buys them by the dozen, you know.”
    The windows of the restaurant nearly exploded with the laughter of the diners, and even Mac laughed as Steve, next to him, slapped him on the back.
    There were calls of, “I think you ought to keep this one, Mac,” and, “It looks as though your taste in women is improving.”
    For the rest of the meal, Karen wasn’t allowed to sit in silence. The two women across from her asked many questions about what she did and where she’d grown up and all the normal questions that people ask. When she told them that Mac was her boss, they were fascinated and wanted to know what it was like working for him.
    â€œLonely,” she answered. “He doesn’t need any of us, except to type a letter now and then.”
    Through all of this, Taggert ate his dinner without saying a word, but Karen could feel his eyes on her and even when Steve leaned forward to say something to him, Mac’s eyes never left Karen’s face.
    It wasn’t until they were alone in “their” room that Karen thought maybe she’d gone a little too far. “About tonight …” she began as he walked past her out of the bathroom. “Maybe I shouldn’t have—”
    â€œGoing to chicken out on me now?” he asked, his face very close to hers.
    Inconsequentially, Karen thought, he has a beautifulmouth. But she recovered herself and stood up straight. “No, of course not.”
    â€œGood. Now, what did you do with my sweatpants?”
    â€œIsn’t it a little late for sports?” she said without thinking, not that it was any of her business what he did when.
    Mac gave her a one-sided smile. “Unless you want me sleeping raw, they’re the only alternative.”
    â€œThird drawer left,” she said as she scurried into the bathroom. When she emerged, swathed in a puritanical white cotton nightgown, he was already in bed, and there was a long, thick bolster pillow down the center of the bed. Slipping into the vacant side of the bed, she said, “Where did you get this?”
    â€œStole it.”
    â€œSo I guess some poor unfortunate is sleeping on a couch without a back cushion.”
    â€œWant me to take it back? You could sleep snuggled up with me or, better yet, we could have a serious discussion about this jar that you want me to—”
    â€œGood night,” she said firmly, then turned on her side away from him, but she was smiling as she fell asleep.

Three
    K AREN AWOKE TO THE SIGHT OF A GORGEOUS MAN WEARING only a thick white towel about his waist, standing before the bathroom mirror shaving. In those few minutes before she awoke fully and remembered where she was, she had a vision of him coming toward her, kissing her, then tossing the towel aside and climbing into bed with her. For just those few seconds she could remember clearly how it felt to have a man in her arms, the size of him, the warmth of his skin, the weight of him, the—
    â€œWant to share that