what he could do with a bonus admission ticket.
He’d been steering as clear of her as he could, and doing a good job of it, damn it, because he knew that somewhere between her uncontrollable hair and her unbelievably small feet he’d find his downfall. But not if he controlled his lust.
It just never had been so damn hard to manage.
After leaving L.A. almost a decade ago, he’d certainly not cut women out of his life. He’d enjoyed them and bedded them with pleasure. But cautiously. Temperately. He hadn’t been looking for high passion, only mutual satisfaction, and he’d found it with women who saved all their passions and their focus for their careers. But Jilly didn’t strike him as the cautious or temperate type.
Bells jangled brightly when he pushed open the door to Things Past. Jilly jumped, her hand flying to her chest as she twirled in his direction.
“Oh,” she said, and swallowed. “We’re closed.”
Her lips matched the bright pink of the dumb hat she wore. “I’m not here to make a purchase, Jilly,” he said. “And the door was open.”
“Well, oh, all right.” She swallowed again. “What are you doing here?”
The air of the store smelled light and sweet, like the scent Jilly brought into Caidwater. The scent that chased away the heavy dread of old memories. “I’ve brought you something.”
“Yes?” she said warily, her pink lips pursing. “What?”
Rory stared at her mouth. He didn’t know why he didn’t mention the dress. He didn’t know why he didn’t just take the box from under his arm and lay it down somewhere, anywhere, and leave. But something about her discomfort in seeing him and her near-truculent suspicion…amused him.
As he approached her, she backed around a circular rack of clothes, toward the door he’d just come through. Yes, for the past two days, ever since she’d lit into him after the canoe incident, he’d been avoiding her. But now he wondered if it wasn’t the other way around.
He halted and his eyebrows rose. “Are you going somewhere?”
Her shoulders hit the plate glass of the door, and she glanced behind her, as if surprised to find herself there. “Uh. No. Of course not.” Her hand turned a lock. “Just, um, locking up. We’re closed.”
“You already said that.” Rory didn’t also pointout that she’d just locked him inside. With her.
Though God knew it was an infinitely appealing idea, it was also one he should be running from. But as he watched her nervously lick her full lips he relaxed a little, enjoying her tension. After a few days of living at Caidwater with her scent, her presence constantly teasing and tempting him, it seemed only fair to give her a taste of her own medicine in her own territory.
He started toward her again and she immediately sidled away from the door. When he changed direction to follow her, his hip brushed against a rack of clothes, and he had to grab the metal rod to save it from going over. The dresses hanging from it continued to swing, though, and a fluttering price tag caught his eye.
“Whoa.” He grabbed the hand-lettered ticket to recheck the dollar figure. “Whoa,” he said again.
That much? He set the box he held on the floor and pushed at the hangers to get a better look at the white, lightweight dress. The thing was decorated with lace on the neck and sleeves and a bunch of other places. Rory noticed there were several similar dresses on the rack. Astonished by how much she was asking for someone else’s castoff, Rory looked over at Jilly. “You sell much of this stuff?”
A little smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “As much as I can find. That’s what’s known as a lingerie dress, and it’s from the early 1900s.”
He frowned. “But it’s still someone else’s old clothes.”
She laughed. “To you. To someone else it’s acollectible antique. To someone in the movie or TV business, it could be a costume.”
The top part of the dress was very full, but the waist
He’d been steering as clear of her as he could, and doing a good job of it, damn it, because he knew that somewhere between her uncontrollable hair and her unbelievably small feet he’d find his downfall. But not if he controlled his lust.
It just never had been so damn hard to manage.
After leaving L.A. almost a decade ago, he’d certainly not cut women out of his life. He’d enjoyed them and bedded them with pleasure. But cautiously. Temperately. He hadn’t been looking for high passion, only mutual satisfaction, and he’d found it with women who saved all their passions and their focus for their careers. But Jilly didn’t strike him as the cautious or temperate type.
Bells jangled brightly when he pushed open the door to Things Past. Jilly jumped, her hand flying to her chest as she twirled in his direction.
“Oh,” she said, and swallowed. “We’re closed.”
Her lips matched the bright pink of the dumb hat she wore. “I’m not here to make a purchase, Jilly,” he said. “And the door was open.”
“Well, oh, all right.” She swallowed again. “What are you doing here?”
The air of the store smelled light and sweet, like the scent Jilly brought into Caidwater. The scent that chased away the heavy dread of old memories. “I’ve brought you something.”
“Yes?” she said warily, her pink lips pursing. “What?”
Rory stared at her mouth. He didn’t know why he didn’t mention the dress. He didn’t know why he didn’t just take the box from under his arm and lay it down somewhere, anywhere, and leave. But something about her discomfort in seeing him and her near-truculent suspicion…amused him.
As he approached her, she backed around a circular rack of clothes, toward the door he’d just come through. Yes, for the past two days, ever since she’d lit into him after the canoe incident, he’d been avoiding her. But now he wondered if it wasn’t the other way around.
He halted and his eyebrows rose. “Are you going somewhere?”
Her shoulders hit the plate glass of the door, and she glanced behind her, as if surprised to find herself there. “Uh. No. Of course not.” Her hand turned a lock. “Just, um, locking up. We’re closed.”
“You already said that.” Rory didn’t also pointout that she’d just locked him inside. With her.
Though God knew it was an infinitely appealing idea, it was also one he should be running from. But as he watched her nervously lick her full lips he relaxed a little, enjoying her tension. After a few days of living at Caidwater with her scent, her presence constantly teasing and tempting him, it seemed only fair to give her a taste of her own medicine in her own territory.
He started toward her again and she immediately sidled away from the door. When he changed direction to follow her, his hip brushed against a rack of clothes, and he had to grab the metal rod to save it from going over. The dresses hanging from it continued to swing, though, and a fluttering price tag caught his eye.
“Whoa.” He grabbed the hand-lettered ticket to recheck the dollar figure. “Whoa,” he said again.
That much? He set the box he held on the floor and pushed at the hangers to get a better look at the white, lightweight dress. The thing was decorated with lace on the neck and sleeves and a bunch of other places. Rory noticed there were several similar dresses on the rack. Astonished by how much she was asking for someone else’s castoff, Rory looked over at Jilly. “You sell much of this stuff?”
A little smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “As much as I can find. That’s what’s known as a lingerie dress, and it’s from the early 1900s.”
He frowned. “But it’s still someone else’s old clothes.”
She laughed. “To you. To someone else it’s acollectible antique. To someone in the movie or TV business, it could be a costume.”
The top part of the dress was very full, but the waist
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