Her Charming Heartbreaker by Sonia Parin Page B

of the
truth will satisfy you,” he mused. There had to be something in the
town drinking water to make the women of Eden so stubborn and
determined. For the second time, he’d managed to spook Claire away.
Who in their right mind turned down an all expenses paid trip
overseas? Not to mention a personal invitation from Jon Kendrick.
Claire Muldoon had been the first person his father had thought
about when he’d regained consciousness. Any woman would give their
eyeteeth to be in her shoes.
    Eddie wagged her
finger. “That cone of silence you’ve got happening is not going to
work with us. We have ways of making you talk.”
    “It’s amazing,” he
said, “You’re functioning at a less than normal capacity and you
still manage to do a splendid job of wearing me out.”
    She gave him an impish
smile and rubbed her hands. “Juicy details coming right up.”
    “Oh, no. I might look
defeated but I’m not beaten yet. My pride is on the line. What sort
of man would I be if I kiss and tell?” Theo mentally kicked himself
and wished he could withdraw the comment. These women were too
sharp to miss a beat. If he’d been alone with Eddie, he would have
thrown all reason and common sense out the window.
    The thought sounded
like a bugle call, rallying his troops. He smiled to himself and
sat back letting the idea take shape and gather momentum as it
marched through the main street of his mind. Yes, he would have
pulled her against him and kissed her and if that didn’t make her
forget what she’d been talking about, then he would have kissed her
again. He’d seen it happen in so many movies surely it could work
in real life—
    “Do I have something on
my mouth?” she asked, “Oh, please tell me I’m not dribbling.” She
snatched a napkin and gave her lips a brisk wipe, in the process
making them look plumper, more inviting.
    If temptation came by
any other name, Theo thought it would have to be Eddie Faydon. And
if he spent any more time with her…
    He tried to shift his
attention away from her mouth, but he’d have better luck trying to
entice a kid away from an eat all you want candy store.
    If he kissed her…
    Would she moan with
pleasure or laugh with glee and excitement for what would
follow?
    “Theo? Are you still
with us?”
    “I don’t really know
how to answer that.” He had both their attentions. “I haven’t been
myself lately. I’ve recently experienced something unexpected and
it’s thrown me off kilter.” That had to be the reason why he kept
losing track of his purpose here.
    “That’s something we
hadn’t considered,” Joyce said. “He’s escaped from a funny
farm.”
    Eddie laughed. She’d
pushed her sunglasses back in place so he couldn’t see her eyes,
but he’d bet anything the laughter didn’t reach them, and it would
have nothing to do with her night of indulgence.
    As enticing as she was,
Eddie Faydon was not part of his plans. Now, he only needed to
convince his body…
     
     
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    “You don’t seem to
understand the severity of the situation,” Theo said in response to
Claire Muldoon’s raised eyebrow. He’d spent the better part of the
afternoon sitting on her front porch waiting for her to arrive and
he was prepared to sit there all night until he got a reasonable
answer out of her.
    After his breakfast at
Joyce’s Café, he’d returned to the pub. He’d called the hospital
for an update and had ended up having a brief conversation with his
father. He’d sounded crestfallen. Almost defeated. So, Theo had
lied saying Claire had been out of town and was expected to arrive
within the next couple of days.
    Claire closed her car
door and, folding her arms across her chest, she strode up to him.
“You can’t be here.”
    He rose to his feet. “I
need to know why you won’t get on a plane and—”
    She shook her head.
“I’m sorry for what happened to Jon. I suppose I could call him and
have a chat, for all time’s sake. But I can’t