Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts Page B

deciding to give as good as she got, skimmed her fingertips over the back of his neck. “And let you know.”
    When the song ended, and the next picked up on a blast of sound and speed, she eased away. “I have to go.”
    â€œWhat?” He leaned down so she could shout in his ear.
    â€œI have to go. Thanks for the dance.”
    â€œI’ll walk you out.”
    Back at the table, he pulled out some bills while she gathered her things. The first step outside into the cool and quiet air made her laugh. “Well, that was an experience. Thank you for adding to it.”
    â€œI wouldn’t have missed it. It’s not very late,” he added, taking her hand.
    â€œLate enough.” She pulled out the keys to her car.
    â€œCome by the boatyard tomorrow. I’ll show you around.”
    â€œI might just do that. Good night, Phillip.”
    â€œSybill.” He didn’t bother to resist, simply brought her hand to his lips. Over their joined fingers, his eyes locked with hers. “I’m glad you picked St. Chris.”
    â€œSo am I.”
    She slipped into her car, relieved that she had to concentrate on the task of switching on the lights, releasing the brake, starting the engine. Driving wasn’t second nature to a woman who had depended on public transportation or private car services most of her life.
    She focused on reversing, on putting the car in drive to make the turn onto the road. And she firmly ignored the faint echo of pressure on her knuckles where his lips had touched.
    But she didn’t quite resist glancing in the rearview mirror and taking one last look at him before she drove away.
    Phillip decided that going back into Shiney’s would be absurdly anticlimactic. He thought about her as he drove home, the way her eyebrows arched when she made a point or enjoyed a comment. That subtle and intimate scent she wore that told a man that if he’d gotten close enough to catch a whiff, maybe, just maybe, he’d have a chance to get closer.
    He told himself she was the perfect woman for him to invest some time in getting closer to. She was beautiful; she was smart; she was cultured and sophisticated.
    And just sexy enough to make his hormones stand at attention.
    He liked women, and missed having time for conversations with them. Not that he didn’t enjoy talking with Anna and Grace. But let’s face it, it wasn’t quite the same as talking with a woman when you could also fantasize about taking her to bed.
    And he’d been missing that particular area of male-female relationships just lately. He rarely had time to do more than stumble into his apartment after a ten- or twelve-hour workday. His once interesting and varied social calendar had taken some large hits since Seth had come to the family.
    The week was dedicated to his accounts and consultations with the lawyer. The fight with the insurance company on payment of his father’s death benefits was coming to a head.The resolution of permanent guardianship of Seth would be decided within ninety days. The responsibility of dealing with the mountain of paperwork and phone calls that sprang from those actions was his. Details were his strong point.
    Weekends were consumed by household duties, the business, and whatever had slipped through the cracks during the week.
    When you added it all up, he mused, it didn’t leave much time for cozy dinners with attractive women, much less the ritual of slipping between the sheets with those women.
    Which explained his recent restlessness and moodiness, he supposed. When a man’s sex life virtually vanished, he was bound to get a little edgy.
    The house was dark but for the single beam of the porch light when he pulled into the drive. Barely midnight on Friday night, he thought with a sigh. How the mighty have fallen. There would have been a time when he and his brothers would have been out cruising, looking for action. Well, he and Cam would