A Sure Thing?

unexpected unsettles me. And you… well, you're not what I… expected.' His hand lowered to his side, then he stepped back, and she released a breath she hadn't even realized she held.

'Thank you, Jilly,' he said, still studying her face, as if trying to solve a great puzzle. 'I really appreciate you loaning me your laptop. Believe me, I am well aware that not everyone would be so generous.'

'You're welcome. See you later.' With a quick smile, she left the room, walking swiftly toward the elevator, anxious to put as much space between her and Matt as possible. And even more anxious to get outside where it was cold, because she was feeling an uncomfortable warmth-warmth that had nothing to do with the resort's heating system and everything to do with her roommate. Yes, the farther away she stayed from Matt, the better off she'd be. But what on earth was she going to do tonight when they would once again have to share a bed?

* * *

Matt watched the door close behind Jilly. When it clicked shut, he tipped back his head, closed his eyes, and groaned.

This was so not good. Damn it, from the moment he'd walked into this room last night, his world had gotten turned upside down. And every time he managed to set it back on his axis, she did something else to throw him all off-kilter again. Like wear black satin lingerie to bed. And leave her long hair down. And accentuate her gorgeous lips with kiss-me red. And loan him her laptop.

Would he have done the same for her if the situations had been reversed? As much as he'd like to tell to himself that he'd have chosen the highroad, in his heart he knew he wouldn't have. While he wouldn't do anything to directly sabotage Jilly, he definitely would have taken advantage of her misfortune-a realization that left a bad taste in his mouth. Especially when it hit him that only a year ago, before he'd been stabbed in the back by Tricia and his former best friend, he most likely would have acted as Jilly had. Probably. At least he liked to think so.

But Jilly had made that generous gesture with little or no hesitation-despite the fact that she 'didn't particularly like him.'

Humph. 'Well, I don't particularly like you, either,' he muttered. He certainly didn't like that she had him tied up in all these damn knots. And he definitely didn't like that her generous gesture was making him examine his own behavior and realize it was coming up short. And he really didn't like the disturbing suspicion that maybe he didn't dislike her at all.

He blew out a long, frustrated breath. Just as she'd suspected, he had come back to the room to see if she was here, to see if she was the reason Jack had rescheduled their meeting. And when he'd found her in the room, he was far more relieved than he cared to admit. The thought of her seducing Jack Witherspoon bothered him a hell of a lot more than it should have-on a gut-wrenching, personal level it shouldn't have.

He was feeling things for Jilly that he wanted no part of. Heat. Desire. Admiration. Things he'd vowed never to allow himself to feel again for a co-worker. He knew where that led. Never again. He needed to remember his vow: No more fishing off the company pier. He needed to concentrate on Jack Witherspoon and ARC. And he needed to forget all about Jilly Taylor.

Then his gaze fell to the bed… the bed they'd be sharing in only a matter of hours. Damn. That was going to make it very difficult indeed to forget about Jilly Taylor.

* * *

Shortly after one o'clock that afternoon, Jilly walked up the long, curved driveway leading to Chateau Fontaine. She'd spent a few head-clearing hours walking a half mile up the road to the quaint town, strolling through the cozy shops, then enjoying lunch and a cappuccino at a cafe. The snow had stopped, and the cold, still air had done wonders to clear the Matt Davidson-induced cobwebs from her brain and shift her priorities back into some semblance of order.

Cool, aloof, and professional would be her watch words for the remainder of the weekend. Clearly her hormones were suffering from some sort of glandular imbalance brought on by nine months, three weeks and nineteen days of neglect, which explained this ridiculous, unwanted physical attraction to Matt. Well, next week that would change. She'd call an emergency summit meeting with Kate and together they'd set about finding her an acceptable man-or two-to date. Once her social life started humming again, she'd forget all about Matt.

As if the thought of him had conjured him up, she saw Matt making his way from the parking lot toward the hotel. Slowing her pace, she looked him over. One hand was jammed into the pocket of a black ski jacket. In the other hand he held a white plastic bag that proclaimed he'd visited The Computer Warehouse. Faded jeans hugged his long legs, and snow crunched beneath his sturdy brown Timberland boots. He looked big and strong and sexy and-she shook her head to adjust her runaway thoughts. And completely… undelicious. Yup, that's what he was-the exact opposite of delicious.

He must have felt the weight of her regard, because he turned and their eyes met. His steps slowed, but then he shifted his direction and walked toward her.

Her stupid heart rate kicked up a few beats per minute, and her hormones perked up their ears. She shot her hormones an inward frown and told them to take a hike.

'Don't tell me you're still out here from this morning,' Matt said as he neared her. 'I've only been outside for a few minutes and already I feel like a Popsicle.' He pulled his hand from his pocket, cupped his fingers near his mouth and blew to warm them.

Jilly's wayward gaze wandered over his dark, windblown hair, and she clenched her fingers inside her gloves to squelch the urge to brush back a wayward lock that fell over his forehead. Ruddy color from the cold stained his cheeks, lending him a very outdoorsy, masculine appearance. He looked incredibly appealing, and all the resolutions she'd just spent the past three hours making evaporated like a puff of steam.

Darn it, why did this particular man have to be so damn attractive? He shifted his feet, drawing her gaze down his long legs. Yikes. Last time she'd seen a guy fill out a pair of jeans that nicely had been… never. Her thought processes derailed, and her mind executed a mental striptease, peeling off his heavy coat and sweater. Whew, he sure looked good. She imagined sliding those Levi's down his long legs, then slipping off his boxer briefs-with her teeth.

A feverish flush washed over her, no doubt generating enough heat to melt the snow beneath her feet. She was going to look pretty stupid standing out here in a big puddle of water.

'Penny for your thoughts.'

Her gaze jerked up to his, and she stilled at the speculative interest simmering in his eyes. Damn. Bad enough to indulge in such unacceptable fantasies, but it was bury-your-head-in-the-snow embarrassing for him to catch her indulging.

She attempted a laugh, inwardly cringing at the shaky sound she produced. 'I, uh was just imagining how good you'd look…' naked '…covered in snow.' Yeah, that's the ticket.

He cocked a brow, his gaze filling with a wicked gleam and alternating between her and the pile of snow near his feet. 'Funny, I was thinking how great you'd look all covered with snow.'

'Oh, yeah? Wanna put that theory to the test?'

He stroked his chin. 'Hmmm. An intriguing invitation, and one I think I'll take you up on. And seeing how nice you were about loaning me your laptop, I'll even let you win.'

'You won't have to let me win. I'm gonna whip your butt.'

'Okay. But after that we're gonna have a snowball fight.' A slow smile curved his lips and her heart tripped. Pointing to the deserted area beyond the parking lot, he said, 'Shall we take this to yon empty field?'

'Lead on, sucker-uh, I mean, oh wise one.'

He chuckled and they walked toward the parking lot. Glancing down at his bag, she said, 'I see you found a computer store.'

'Yup. Bought the software I needed. I was on my way up to the room to install it.' He looked down at her, his eyes serious. 'Thanks again for the laptop loan. That was really decent of you.'

'I'm sure you don't mean to sound so surprised that I'd do something decent. How'd the presentation go?'