McKnight in Shining Armor by Tami Hoag Read Free Book Online Page A

after the chimpanzee incident, or the stripper incident. Being confronted by a herd of dairy goats surely should have done it. Yet here he was, asking her out.
    She had to hope he would give up soon—before she grew too used to looking at him. It was just so obvious to her that there was no room in her life for an affair with a man like Alec McKnight, or any other kind of man for that matter. How could it not be obvious to Alec as well? Hadn’t he seen enough?
    Alec watched her worrying her soft lower lip with her teeth, obviously hoping he’d take the hint and back off. Not a chance, Kelsie, he thought, determination rising in him. “How about this afternoon?”
    “Work, bills, raking, repairing goat damage to Mrs. Magruder’s yard, and laundry.”
    “You said laundry twice.”
    “I have a teenage daughter and a nine-year-old son; of course I said laundry twice.”
    Did she really keep such a hellish schedule, he wondered. “When do you take a little time for Kelsie Connors?” he asked softly, his gaze searchinghers for an answer she seemed unwilling to give.
    “Every year I take off three hours to watch the rerun of
The Sound of Music,”
she said, unreasonably annoyed at his probing. Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone instead of adding another problem to her already complicated life? “Alec, I wasn’t putting you off when I said I don’t date. I don’t date. I don’t have the time or the energy for it. I have too many things to do to go out with you tonight or any other night.” She pushed herself to her feet.
    Jeffrey stuck his head out the door. “Mom, when are we gonna eat? I’m
starving
!”
    “I’ll be there in a minute. Go make yourself a piece of toast.”
    Alec stood up, dusting off the seat of his sweat pants. “I’d better be going.”
    Kelsie ran a hand through her tangled hair and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I took your head off, Alec. My temper’s running on a short fuse today.” Probably because she’d spent the whole night alternatingly dreaming erotic dreams about him and worrying about how not to have arelationship with him without ruining her slim chance to do business with Glendenning. “Would you like to stay for breakfast? I owe you that much for helping with the goats.”
    Alec shook his head, his mind busy working on the puzzle that was Kelsie Connors. “No, thanks,” he said absently. “I have some things to do this morning. I’ll see you later.”
    “Bye,” she said, disgusted with herself for feeling so sad as she watched him walk away. He might call her again, but she doubted she’d see him. It seemed she had been successful in discouraging him. Why didn’t that make her happy?
       She had turned him down yet again. A sensible man would have thrown in the towel right then and there, Alec told himself as he walked the ten blocks to where he’d parked his car. Why waste time chasing a woman who wasn’t interested? Because she was interested. He’d seen it in her eyes, in the way she blushed when he smiled at her. Dammit, he’d tasted it in her kiss!
    Was she playing some kind of game with him?If he decided to reconsider using her client in the Van Bryant campaign, would she suddenly find the time to go out with him?
    He wouldn’t do that. He would not compromise his professional integrity to get a date even if she did have the sexiest eyebrows in the upper Midwest.
    Alec slid behind the wheel of his BMW, disgusted with his cynical train of thought. Not every woman wanted to use him as a rung on the professional ladder, he reminded himself. He should be ashamed for being so suspicious. Kelsie Connors was as far removed from Vena DiMarlo as Minnesota was from Mars.
    Of course, he had reason to be suspicious, he thought as he started the car and headed north toward the suburb of Minnetonka. He could remember with painful clarity how completely Vena had fooled him. She’d seen him coming a mile away—a generous guy in a position to get her a big break in