She was having so much fun!
And the entire time, rational voice did not once rear her ugly head to spoil the party.
In fact, Janet was worrying. What had happened to her conscience? Where was that stern, practical voice that had followed her throughout her life, constantly telling her why hard work was good and fun was bad? Had impish voice bound and gagged rational voice and left her for dead in the basement of Janet’s id?
But she wasn’t worried enough to excavate rational voice. She was enjoying the respite.
She awoke on Sunday morning to bright sunlight spilling through the window of the houseboat and the glorious smell of Gage on her skin. She stretched in total happiness, then turned her head and spied the clock.
No, why, it was Sunday afternoon! She hadn’t slept past noon since she’d worked the night shift as an intern. She almost scrambled from the bed, but Gage reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Stay, linger,” he said. “No hurry.”
“Bathroom.”
“Oh, okay, but then come right back.”
“You got it.” Giggling helplessly, foolishly, Janet dashed to the bathroom and glimpsed herself in the mirror.
Who was that woman?
Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed, her hair sexily mussed. She grinned. She looked like a woman in love.
Love! Love?
Her heart did this crazy, erratic little dance at the notion.
Janet’s in love, impish voice sang to the tune of Rickie Lee Jones’ ‘Chuck E’s in Love.’
No wrong. She was not in love.
“Jan-et,” Gage coaxed in a singsong.
At the sound of him calling her name, goose bumps sprang up her arms. She hurried from the bathroom to find him lying in bed, striking a provocative GQ-type pose with the covers thrown back.
Her blood heated.
He crooked a finger at her. “Come here, my sweet.”
She went.
He was hard and ready. He reached for her. “My darling,” he said, affecting a Latin accent. “It seems years have passed since we were together.”
Then they were making love again.
Afterward, Janet lay in the curve of his arm, shaken by the depth of her emotions.
Okay, so they’d had stupendous sex—well, actually, it had been way more than stupendous, but the word for it didn’t exist, not even in an unabridged dictionary—that meant nothing had changed between them. They weren’t really engaged, nor were they going to be. They had simply shared a wonderful weekend together. Best to leave it at that.
Right?
But why, why, why? impish voice whined. I wanna wake up every day and find him in my bed.
You should have thought about the consequences before you so freely debased yourself, rational voice sniped, roaring back to life in full bitch-on-wheels mode.
Funny, Janet thought, how rational voice sounded an awful lot like her father. She’d never noticed that before.
It’s more than sex and you know it. You’re in love with him, admit it, impish voice begged.
She swallowed hard. Could she really be in love?
She turned her head and saw that Gage had been studying her intently.
Oh gosh. He was so handsome.
And hot, impish voice added. Don’t forget he’s hotter than all the Hollywood hunks rolled into one.
He traced a finger down the bridge of her nose. “You’re doing some heavy-duty thinking. Wanna talk about it?”
He already knew her so well! It was exciting and flattering and scary.
She shook her head. They’d had a great time, but it was over. Finished. Kaput. Their lost weekend had ended. The actual world of work and responsibilities waited.
Janet felt uneasy. The spell Gage had woven over her unraveled when she thought of facing civilization again. People and their expectations. Her father wanted a famous son-in-law. Her mother wanted grandbabies. CeeCee and Lacy wanted a triple wedding ceremony. Dr. Jackson wanted the paparazzi to go away.
But what did she want?
Janet looked over at Gage lying beside her, propped endearingly up on one elbow.
Her heart tripped.
She wanted him.
And not just sexually. She wanted to laugh with him and cry with him. She wanted to have adventures with him and love him within an inch of her life.
He winked at her, his eyes shining with a sweet, teasing light as he softly brushed his fingertips over her belly button. Involuntarily, she shivered.
Ohmigod, it was true. She loved him.
Her eyes widened at the realization. But she couldn’t love him. She mustn’t be falling in love. Not now. Not with her colleague. She was just starting her career and it meant everything to her. She didn’t have time for this. Didn’t have room in her life for him.
Fear had her turning away from him, rolling out of bed, searching for her clothes.
“Hey,” he whispered, “where you going?”
“It’s Sunday afternoon,” she croaked.
“So?”
“We’ve got to be at work in the morning. I’ve got laundry to wash, and it’s going to take us a couple of hours to get back to Houston and…”
“Slow down, you’re talking ninety to nothing.” He spoke soothingly, calmly, as if something monumental hadn’t changed between them.
His placidity drove her crazy. Couldn’t he see what was happening? Didn’t he know how awful this was? They’d sworn they wouldn’t hurt each other, but no matter how you sliced it, it involved pain.
Gage reached out to knead her shoulders, and she groaned inwardly at his touch. How easy it would be to collapse back into bed with him and lose control all over again.
Lack of control had landed her in this mess.
Ah, but his fingers...
“You’re upset,” he said perceptively. Too damn perceptively if you asked her. “Talk to me.”
“Upset? Who me? I’m fine. Fine,” she repeated. She pulled away from those maddening hands that sent fire rampaging through her. “Have you seen my underwear?”
“Janet don’t run away from this. From us.”
“Running away? Who’s running away?” she denied with every ounce of energy she possessed. “I’ve just got things to do. Places to be. Can’t spend my complete life lounging around in bed with you.”
She found her panties halfway across the
