Promises by Jo Barrett Page A

nap.”
    Ted stepped closer, taking one of her hands.   “Your thanks is more than enough.”  
    She wanted to move away.   Sort of.   All this male attention after being without much human contact for so many months felt rather nice, but she needed to stop this nonsense.   Handling Travis sapped all her energies.   The last thing she needed was another man stirring her up.  
    Ted placed his other hand along the railing behind her.   “Have dinner with me.”
    The soft smooth tone of his voice and the smell of his cologne teased her senses.   Her thoughts strayed to other things she liked about Ted.   A lot of other things.   That almost-kiss, for one.  
    Oh, boy.   Her libido was definitely working overtime.   First Travis and then Ted.   Someone whom she’d had no real interest in before.   Well, not serious interest.   It had to be his change in tactics.   Instead of being the shy, sweet doctor, he was suddenly in full pursuit and smooth as silk.   Why?
    “Competition,” a small voice whispered.   The way Ted had looked Travis over, measuring him up, explained it all.   What was it with men?   More than one rooster in the yard and their feathers got out of whack.  
    Oh, for crying out loud.   Now I’m making barnyard analogies .   She’d been living in the country for too long.
    “Say yes.   Have dinner with me.”   He rubbed soft circles against her palm with his thumb, hypnotizing her.
    Dumbfounded, she stared into his rich green eyes.   “I don’t know.”
    Her heart beat in an uneven tempo, yet strangely different from the one Travis caused.   Two attractive men, two totally different reactions, both extremely pleasant.  
    He closed the space between them, placing a feather-light kiss against her lips.   She felt like her feet were sliding out from under her.
    Travis was to blame for this.   From the moment he invaded her life, her heart was on permanent flutter, her palms were constantly sweaty, and her knees were as weak as water.   If he hadn’t shown up and thrown her hormones into such a tizzy, stirring up old romantic dreams, she’d know what to do about Ted.   Actually, she wouldn’t have had to doanything.   If it weren’t for Travis, Ted would never have begun this frontal assault.
    “I want to get to know you, Jill,” he whispered, pulling away from her lips.
    Jill?   No, that wasn’t right.   She was Barbara McBride, art dealer and woman in hiding.   As sweet and stirring as his kiss was, she couldn’t risk getting involved.   Not with him, not with Travis, not with anyone.  
    She cleared the longing from her throat.   “I’m awfully busy with my work.”
    “Even you have to take a break sometime.”  
    She liked his quirky grin, but found herself comparing it to Travis’ roguish one.  
    Blast that man for getting her so worked up in the first place.   His constant sexual innuendoes and suggestive comments had her so uptight, she felt like she’d explode with need.   The rat actually seemed to take great delight in driving her crazy.   Heck, she’d probably even think Uncle Joe would look good about now.
    Rocky stirred, pulling her from her mental ramblings.   Standing on the porch, his ears perked up, he studied the front door intently.   Her rat of a houseguest must be awake and was no doubt watching them from the window.   Well, he could watch until his eyes were full.
    “Is it because of your friend?”   Ted’s voice brought her attention back to his handsome face.
    “No.   Yes.”   She sighed heavily.   “It’s complicated.”
    He nodded and put a little more space between them and released her hand, the sweet, shy man resurfacing.   “If things should become uncomplicated, I mean, if you — ”   He paused and exhaled a soft exasperated breath.   “My dinner offer still stands.”
    She placed her palm against his smooth cheek.   “Thank you.   I’ll remember that.”   Lifting up on her tiptoes, she returned