Heart's Desire by Jacquie D'Alessandro Page A

time. Certainly not. He’d known she would someday visit Halstead again, but he hadn’t dreamed that today would be the day. A bolt of panic struck him. He wasn’t prepared for this. For her.
    Yet really, there was no preparation that could adequately shore up his defenses against her. God kn ew he’d been trying for the last decade. One would think that ten years was enough time to exorcise her from his mind. He’d tried valiantly. And failed utterly.
    He blinked to see if she was just a figment of his vivid imagination, but she remained, her eyes, the unforgettable shade of aquamarines, riveted on him. Still, he wasn’t truly certain she was real until her lips parted and she said, “Hello, William.”
    Hello, William. Two words. That’s all it took to damn near knock him off his feet. The sound of her voice swamped him with memories, recollections that both haunted his days and invaded his dreams. Thoughts that no amount of work or alcohol or travel could fade. A tremor rippled through him —part desire, part dread. For as much as he desperately wanted Callie Albright here, he just as strongly didn’t want her anywhere near him.
    Bloody hell, how many times had he imagined seeing her again? More than he could count. Yet not even one of those fantasies had included hi s being caught so unaware. Or looking as if he’ d been dragged behind a carriage—str eaked with dust, his shirt sleeves rolled back, his trousers wrinkled. No, in all his imaginings , he’d been calm and suave, cool and controlled. The very opposite of how he felt right now. Which only proved that life tended not to go the way one planned. Which, of course, he’d discovered long ago. A lesson learned the hard way. At the hands of the woman standing before him.
    As he’d done countless times before, he forced aside the impossible heat and want she inspired and donned the mask of polite friendship he’d adopted around her years ago. Made himself draw a slow, calming breath. Then speak.
    “Hello, Callie.”
    It wasn’t much as far as greetings went, but it was all he could manage. At his words , she broke into a smile, a lifting of her full lips that dented a pair of shallow dimples in her cheeks. Her smile had enchanted him from the first time he’d seen it, when she’d been a mere four years old and he a manly six. She stepped toward him , and as if in a dream, he felt himself move. In a heartbeat , the distance between them was erased. She reached out, and even as his mind screamed at him not to touch her, their hands met. Her gloves didn’t stop her warmth from enveloping his palms, infusing him with a heat ridiculously, infuriatingly intense for such a casual touch. But then, his feelings for her had always been ridiculous. Infuriating. Far too intense.
    And utterly hopeless.
    “It’s so good to see you,” Callie said, squeezing his hands. “You look well.” Her gaze dropped, taking in his disheveled appearance, and heat raced up his neck. Damn it, he was actually blushing . A scowl pulled down his brows, one that deepened when her musical laugh rang out. “Not only well, but just as I imaged — jacketless, with your sleeves rolled up, and sprinkled with dust.”
    God kn ew she looked well. And just as he imagined. Perfectly turned out in a gown he supposed was the latest fashion, trimmed in a combination of ivory and pale blue that accentuated both her porcelain complexion and her amazing eyes. Glossy chestnut curls peeked out from her bonnet, framing a face that quickened his pulse every time he gazed upon it. Pert nose, plush lips, and those dimples that danced with her every smile, coaxing him and everyone else who was fortunate enough to find themselves in her company to grin in return.
    Her gaze flicked over his shoulder to the archway that led to the back room. Then she looked at him again , and he felt the impact of that clear , blue-green gaze right down to the soles of his feet. “I’m guessing I’ve interrupted you