The Second Time by Janet Dailey

had moved so quietly she hadn’t been aware he’d followed her.
    After he had quoted a price well within range of what she could afford to pay, he added, “So we won’t have to waste time haggling over the price, I’ll drop it another two thousand.”
    “Sold.” It was totally a reflex movement that prompted Dawn to extend a hand to shake on the deal.
    Slater just looked at it, then slowly raised hisglance to her face. White and trembling from this deliberate affront, Dawn held her head high, falling back on pride now that all else had failed her. But moisture gathered in her eyes to blur her vision and there was a traitorous quiver of her chin.
    “Damn you,” she cursed hoarsely, and swung away to grip the edge of the counter. “And damn you for being a man. You’re schooled from the cradle not to show your feelings. And girls are encouraged to cry when they’re hurt. It isn’t fair,” Dawn protested in a choked voice, and brushed impatiently at a tear that slipped off her lashes. “What happened? Last night I thought—”
    “Do you think one night with you can make up for the thousands I spent alone?” He bitterly hurled the angry words to cut off her sentence.
    Her head jerked as if she had been slapped. But the demand served to check her tears. “No, I don’t.” Her voice lost its husky waver although it remained tight. “It happened too soon. I should have known it did. You’ve hated me for so long. Not even you can reverse directions overnight.” The corners of her mouth curled into a sad, laughing smile. “There’s something in that old saying about ‘the cold light of day,’ isn’t there?”
    “Maybe it’s myself I’m not liking very much this morning,” Slater offered grimly. Dawn turned slowly to look at him and discover what he meant by that statement. He moved closer, stopping when his legs brushed against hers, ineffect pinning her between himself and the counter. “I had sworn if you ever came back, I wouldn’t have anything to do with you. I wasn’t even going to give you the time of day. It lowers a man’s opinion of himself when he learns he hasn’t the strength to resist the temptation of a woman’s body.” Self-derision deepened the corners of his mouth. “And I’m too old and too experienced to claim that you seduced me. I was more than willing—I was eager.”
    “Now you’re sorry.” That’s what hurt.
    “I don’t know what I am,” he declared with a grim shake of his head. “One minute I want to hurt you before you can hurt me, and in the next, I just want to love you.”
    Dawn wished he wasn’t standing so near. She didn’t want to feel the muscled columns of his thighs or the slight thrust of his hips. It was all too evocative and intimate.
    “I’ll tell you what,” she began. “Until you decide which way you want it to be, why don’t you go back on the wagon?” She stepped sideways to end the contact with him although her senses continued to clamor from it. “In the meantime, we’ll keep everything on a strictly business level.”
    “That’s roughly what I was going to suggest,” Slater said, and didn’t sound too happy that she had proposed it first.
    “About the house—how long will it take to have the papers drawn so we can close the sale?” Now that she had changed the subject, Dawn stayedwith it. “There’s no need to discuss terms. I’ll pay cash.”
    “Of course,” he murmured dryly. “I can write up the contract today, but you’ll need the abstract examined and brought up to date.”
    “How long before I can take possession?” she asked.
    “As far as I’m concerned, you can move into the house this afternoon if you want. All the paper work and deeds should be ready within a week.” Slater paused, studying her a second. “You don’t have to buy the house. It’s just sitting empty. You and Randy are welcome to live in it—for as long as you want.”
    “For nothing?” Dawn was certain there had to be some kind of