thin strap and nothing but smooth round shoulder, but it was enough to send his libido into overdrive.
“I know your reputation,” she said slowly, every word husky and inviting. “Harris and . . . others . . . told me, but I already knew.”
The husband again. The way she kept talking about him made him think maybe she had cared for more than Delaney ’s money.
“ How’d you meet him?” He kept his tone soft.
“ You’ve already judged me on my marriage, Tyce, so why would you ask?”
“ Believe it or not, I’ve been known to make errors in judgment. Correct me on this.” One of the errors was thinking that once would be enough with Lisa. He wasn’t sure he’d ever have enough.
She shrugged one smooth shoulder and the robe slipped down another inch. Hiding behind her mug again, she said, “I don’t think so. I realized the other night that I don’t have to defend myself anymore, not to Harris’s friends nor his sons and certainly not to you.”
“ Humor me, Lisa. All I want to know is how a girl from La La ended up here.” He raised his right arm to encompass the massive kitchen. “I’ve heard Franklin Delaney’s side of the story. Now, I want yours.”
Her gaze sharpened. “How well do you know Harris’s sons?”
“ We’re acquainted. I’ve done work for both of them.”
She cooled, looked stiff. “ That explains a lot.” She fiddled with a corner of the magazine. Bent it over then smoothed it flat again. “I can’t imagine why you’d want my version of my life when you’ve already decided to believe theirs.”
He took another sip of coffee to give her time to realize he wasn ’t going to leave things as they were. “You’re assuming I do believe them. Maybe for a short time I did. But not now.”
Her lower li p firmed and her chin came up. “Why? Because of what happened yesterday?”
He didn ’t want to discuss yesterday. The whole episode was just this side of heaven and he’d hardly had time to process it yet. “Just tell me, Lisa. How did you get here?”
The wan smile she gave him softened into memories.
“I left the trailer park that day,” she said, referring to the time she’d left him at the bus stop. “I found another job, a room to rent and got through some business classes. After a while, I landed a job as a file clerk at Delaney Enterprises.”
She propped her chin in her hand. “This is silly. You don’t really want to know–”
“ All of it.”
She cleared her throat. “ One day shortly after I started my job, I was on the executive office floor. I shouldn’t have been up there, but I’d forgotten an important file and didn’t want to get into trouble. I thought I could sneak into the right office and leave it on a desk. Harris caught me and I confessed, sure I was going to lose my job.”
“ Obviously, you didn’t.”
“ Harris was kind and I stumbled over myself trying to say how sorry I was to hear about his wife’s death. But I was young, couldn’t find the words. To relieve my embarrassment, he changed the subject and talked about his car collection. When he showed me the picture he had in his hand I recognized the car as an Austin Healy. He was amazed.”
“ Back in the day, it was just American muscle you loved.”
He caught a g limmer of a smile in her eyes. “Back in the day, I didn’t know anything else. There’s too much roll in a muscle car. I prefer my vehicles to corner well.”
He liked t ight handling too. He grinned. “And then?”
“ He invited me out to his warehouse to see his collection. Three months later we married.”
“ Causing a ruckus in the family.”
“ Harris protected me from most of it, but the last six weeks have been tough.” She looked up. “Harris and I respected each other and, in my way, I loved him. He was kind and I was faithful and Franklin never got over it.”
“ What do you mean?”
She briskly flipped a couple more pages of the magazine. “Franklin wanted to sleep with
“I know your reputation,” she said slowly, every word husky and inviting. “Harris and . . . others . . . told me, but I already knew.”
The husband again. The way she kept talking about him made him think maybe she had cared for more than Delaney ’s money.
“ How’d you meet him?” He kept his tone soft.
“ You’ve already judged me on my marriage, Tyce, so why would you ask?”
“ Believe it or not, I’ve been known to make errors in judgment. Correct me on this.” One of the errors was thinking that once would be enough with Lisa. He wasn’t sure he’d ever have enough.
She shrugged one smooth shoulder and the robe slipped down another inch. Hiding behind her mug again, she said, “I don’t think so. I realized the other night that I don’t have to defend myself anymore, not to Harris’s friends nor his sons and certainly not to you.”
“ Humor me, Lisa. All I want to know is how a girl from La La ended up here.” He raised his right arm to encompass the massive kitchen. “I’ve heard Franklin Delaney’s side of the story. Now, I want yours.”
Her gaze sharpened. “How well do you know Harris’s sons?”
“ We’re acquainted. I’ve done work for both of them.”
She cooled, looked stiff. “ That explains a lot.” She fiddled with a corner of the magazine. Bent it over then smoothed it flat again. “I can’t imagine why you’d want my version of my life when you’ve already decided to believe theirs.”
He took another sip of coffee to give her time to realize he wasn ’t going to leave things as they were. “You’re assuming I do believe them. Maybe for a short time I did. But not now.”
Her lower li p firmed and her chin came up. “Why? Because of what happened yesterday?”
He didn ’t want to discuss yesterday. The whole episode was just this side of heaven and he’d hardly had time to process it yet. “Just tell me, Lisa. How did you get here?”
The wan smile she gave him softened into memories.
“I left the trailer park that day,” she said, referring to the time she’d left him at the bus stop. “I found another job, a room to rent and got through some business classes. After a while, I landed a job as a file clerk at Delaney Enterprises.”
She propped her chin in her hand. “This is silly. You don’t really want to know–”
“ All of it.”
She cleared her throat. “ One day shortly after I started my job, I was on the executive office floor. I shouldn’t have been up there, but I’d forgotten an important file and didn’t want to get into trouble. I thought I could sneak into the right office and leave it on a desk. Harris caught me and I confessed, sure I was going to lose my job.”
“ Obviously, you didn’t.”
“ Harris was kind and I stumbled over myself trying to say how sorry I was to hear about his wife’s death. But I was young, couldn’t find the words. To relieve my embarrassment, he changed the subject and talked about his car collection. When he showed me the picture he had in his hand I recognized the car as an Austin Healy. He was amazed.”
“ Back in the day, it was just American muscle you loved.”
He caught a g limmer of a smile in her eyes. “Back in the day, I didn’t know anything else. There’s too much roll in a muscle car. I prefer my vehicles to corner well.”
He liked t ight handling too. He grinned. “And then?”
“ He invited me out to his warehouse to see his collection. Three months later we married.”
“ Causing a ruckus in the family.”
“ Harris protected me from most of it, but the last six weeks have been tough.” She looked up. “Harris and I respected each other and, in my way, I loved him. He was kind and I was faithful and Franklin never got over it.”
“ What do you mean?”
She briskly flipped a couple more pages of the magazine. “Franklin wanted to sleep with
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