Twilight's Encore by Jacquie Biggar Read Free Book Online

enough without having Ty glowering every time she stepped into the same room.
    Her hand fanned out, encompassing the house and surrounding yard. “So this is it, your kingdom?”
    His mouth quirked and a hint of that dimple she lo… liked so much, made an appearance. “You remember that, do you?”
    She remembered everything.
    “Of course. You never shut up about it. I think Jared and I must have heard at least fifty times about how much you wanted out from under your brother and sisters shadow. How, one day you were going to have your own little kingdom where you would call the shots.” She smiled at the memory. “You always did hate being the youngest in your family.”
    Ty snorted. “Can you blame me? My sisters are beautiful, smart, and well-liked. And Jack… Jack has a Goddamn hero complex. First he became a football star, and now he’s the sheriff of our hometown. How’s a guy supposed to compete with that?” He turned away and strode toward his front door; obviously sorry he’d said anything.
    Katy hurried to catch up. “It’s not supposed to be a contest, Ty. Your family is pretty amazing.” Then, when he glanced back at her with a thanks-for-nothing eye roll, she added, “But, so are you.” She reached out and clasped his forearm. “Seriously, you are. You’ve never given yourself enough credit. What about all the endeavors you’ve accomplished, don’t they count for anything?”
    She squeezed his arm and drowned in the deepening blue of his gaze. Her heart gave a little kick, suddenly conscious of how close together they stood. The muscles under her palm flexed and her breathing quickened. She dropped her hand as if it were on fire and took a step back.
    “Anyway, enough preaching. Show me your house.”
    “Katy.”
    Ty made a move toward her, stopping the air in her lungs, but then he shook his head and turned away to unlock the door. He flicked on the lights and moved aside to let her enter first. As she slid past, Katy glanced up and then away, her skin growing hot at the hunger glowing in his eyes.
    She gave herself a stern talking to even as she took in the beauty of his home. Though it possessed a masculine stamp with the oversized furniture and dark colors, Ty had made himself a perfect sanctuary to come back to after a long day’s work. The walls were a soft pastel blue, a good foil for the walnut flooring. A bay window at the far side of the room looked out over a private fenced yard, a bricked patio, and a Jacuzzi tub.
    She could all too easily picture Ty stepping out of that steaming pool toward her. Katy’s temperature rising as he strode toward her, water dripping off that powerful, sexy, bare body. She would offer to help dry him, inch by spectacular inch. Her hands tingled with the imaginary sensation of smooth skin and rippling muscles. Her tongue…
    A cough from behind had Katy spinning from the glass, her face a bright red.
    Ty looked at her quizzically for a moment before pointing to another door. “The bathroom’s through there if you’d like to freshen up. I’m just going to take Tiger here and get her settled in the porch.” He rubbed the kitten’s head. “I’ll start dinner, and then we can have that talk.”
    Katy nodded and turned away, grateful for the reprieve. She closed the bathroom door and flipped the light switch. A flushed face and hectic eyes stared back at her from the beveled mirror. She bent and splashed cold water from the brass faucet over her heated cheeks.
    This had to stop.
    The diamond solitaire winked at her under the bright lights, reminding her of her obligations to another man. And why was she suddenly thinking of her marriage to Jeff as an obligation? Why did her father hire Ty and bring him back into her world? She’d done fine without him all these years. Really. Her hard won career was taking off. She had a beautiful condo near the beach. A gorgeous fiancé. Life was great.
    So don’t screw it up.
    Great advice. Now if she’d only