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the movement," he drawled.
"Being chaste is sexual liberation, in my book," she replied. "You'd be amazed how many women in
my graduating class practiced abstinence."
"In high school, I gather," he said absently, tracing the length of her hair with his hands.
She almost corrected him, but then, she really mustn't destroy the illusions he had about her as a
domestic. "Yes. In high school."
He moved closer to her, his lean body a sensual provocation that made her breath catch.
He laughed softly. "Care to test the hypothesis?" he murmured softly.
"I work for you," she repeated, playing for time.
"So?"
"So it's not wise to mix business..."
"...with pleasure?" He caught her waist and drew her close. "It's been a while since I found a woman so
desirable," he whispered, bending to her mouth. "Experience bores me. You,"
he bit off against her soft lips, "are a challenge."
"Thank you, but I don't want to be," she whispered, trying to pull away.
He lifted his head and searched her eyes. "No curiosity about the great unknown?" he taunted.
"No desire to treat it as a sophisticated game," she corrected abruptly.
He hesitated, but only for an instant. His lean hands contracted and then released her. He went back to
his chair and sat down. "Touché," he said with a curious glance. "All right, Meredith, I'll sit here and
eat my sandwiches and we'll pretend that we're still strangers physically."
"Good idea," she approved. She reached down for her half-empty coffee cup and put it in the sink.
He was halfway through a sandwich when she excused herself and went to fluff up the pillows in the
living room and put magazines and books back in their places. Leo had left things strewn about
before he'd gone to the Brewsters'.
She was glad, because it gave her a valid reason not to sit next to Rey with her emotions in turmoil.
By the time she'd gone back to the kitchen, Rey had finished his sandwiches and coffee and was
coming out the door.
"You're safe," he drawled. "I'm going to change and get to work in the study. Where's Leo?"
"Having supper at the Brewsters' house," she told him. "He said he'd be early."
"That means he'll be late," he mused. "Janie Brewster will have found twenty excuses to keep him
talking to her father. She's one determined young lady, but Leo's equally determined.
He doesn't want ties."
"Doesn't that sound familiar?" she murmured wickedly.
His eyes slid up and down her body in a silence that teemed with tension. "I never said I didn't want
ties," he corrected. "I said I didn't want marriage. There's a difference."
"Don't look at me," she said carelessly. "I don't have time for relationships."
"Of course. All that cleaning must demand a lot of you," he said deliberately.
She flushed. He had no idea what her life was like on a daily basis, and she wanted very badly to tell
him. But he was so almighty arrogant and condescending that he put her back up.
She wasn't going to tell him a thing. He'd find out soon enough.
She put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "And what's wrong with being a housekeeper?" she
demanded, going on the offensive. "Where would you and your brother be right now if there weren't
women you could hire to bake and clean for you? I guess you'd have to get married then, or learn to
cook, wouldn't you?"
He glared at her. "I could cook if I wanted to."
"You're the sort of man who makes a woman wish she didn't have a culinary skill to her name," she
said icily. "You are so 'lord of the manorish', Mr. Hart!"
"It isn't a manor," he pointed out. "They have those in England. We call this a ranch."
She glared at him.
He grinned. "You really do rise to the bait beautifully," he murmured, and something flashed in his
dark eyes. "The sandwiches were good," he added.
She looked surprised. "Nothing but ham and a homemade sauce," she faltered.
"You do that a lot with food," he remarked gently. "I like the way you experiment with dishes. I even
like the way you garnish the plates. You make things look appetizing."
She didn't realize that he'd even noticed. "I learned that from a dietician," she said without thinking. "If
food is decorative, sometimes it makes up for bulk."
He smiled quizzically. "You can't decorate biscuits," he teased. "But you make really good ones."
"Thanks." She smiled back. “I’ll tidy up the kitchen if you're through."
"I am. Don't stay up too late," he added and his eyes were suddenly bright with mischief.
"You need plenty of rest so that you can make biscuits for breakfast!"
"Okay. I'll get an early night." She laughed and went on past him to the kitchen.
He stared after her for several long seconds with an expression that he was glad she didn't see. He
liked the taste of her. That hadn't been wise, kissing her that way. He was going to have to make sure it
didn't happen again. He didn't need complications.
Nothing was the same between Meredith and Rey after that day. They were aware of each other. It
wasn't blatant, but she could feel tingling in her spine when Rey was in a room. It was instinctive. Her
eyes followed him like puppies, and she flushed wildly when he caught her at it and gave her that
amused, wordily glance.
Leo noticed, too, and it worried him that Rey was encouraging Meredith. He knew Rey too well to
think he'd had a change of heart toward his bachelor status.
"You're leading her on," Leo accused his brother one evening when they were alone in the study with
the door closed. "Why?"
Rey gave him a surprised glance. "You make it sound like a crime to flirt with her."
"In your case, it is," his brother said flatly. "You're a rounder. She isn't."
Rey shrugged. "She's not exactly off limits," he told his brother. "Not at her age."
"And what do you have in mind? Seduction?" Leo persisted irritably. "She's already been damaged
enough by what happened with her father. The bruises are barely healed, and the mental scars are still
there. Don't play games with her."
"Aren't you self-righteous all of a sudden?" Rey shot back angrily. "You've been stringing Janie
Brewster along for weeks, and we both know you don't have any intention in hell of getting serious
about her. All you want is first chance at that damned seed bull they're thinking of selling! Does she
know?" he added maliciously.
Leo's eyes began to glitter. "Janie is a child," he said furiously. “I pick at her, and not because of any
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