Wishing for a Miracle by Alison Roberts Page A

turn the sound into a cough. Fortunately, Dale arrived on station at precisely the same moment.
    They were free to go where they liked and start their time away from work. Mac caught up with Julia as she walked to the car park.
    â€˜What comes up?’ he muttered. ‘You like playing with fire, don’t you?’
    â€˜I was just testing.’ Julia gave him that mischievous grin he was coming to love. ‘It worked, didn’t it? Angus could tell something was going on and now he just thinks you’re mean and I’m a girl.’
    She wasn’t a girl. She was a woman. The sexiest, most desirable woman in the world. No, there was no going back now. No chance that Mac could turn away from the path he’d stepped onto when he’d confessed his attraction.
    â€˜I can be mean,’ Mac growled. ‘I probably will be, if we don’t get the hell out of here to some place we can stop pretending we don’t want to rip each other’s clothes off.’
    He watched the way Julia licked her lips as though they were suddenly dry.
    â€˜Your place or mine?’
    Â 
    Julia’s place was the obvious choice.
    Private. Discreet.
    Mac shared an inner-city apartment with Angus and even though they worked opposing shifts and only saw each other on days off, it felt far too close to work and the possibility of being discovered.
    That this was going to be a secret liaison added a dimension to both the connection and the excitement and it seemed more than enough to tip Julia’s anticipation into nervousness. Or maybe it was because every time she glanced in her rear-view mirror she could see the big, dark shape of Mac’s vehicle shadowing hers.
    The intention of this journey resonated in every cell of her body. It became harder to concentrate. Hard to take a deep enough breath. By the time she pulled to a halt beside the overgrown hedge surrounding her rented cottage, Julia had decided she must be crazy.
    She had to work with this man. What if this was a disaster? If he found her a disappointment in comparison to that mystery blonde? If someone at work did find out and she was sent home in disgrace? Was the risk really worth it?
    Then Mac was beside her and she was fumbling with the key to the cottage and his hand closed over hers and just held it.
    Calming her. The way his solid strength always calmed any nerves she might have when facing a job. Julia took the first deep breath she had managed in quite some time. Felt his presence and automatically found courage again. Looked up and saw understanding in Mac’s eyes. Heard the same kind of unspoken conversation they had become so adept at.
    We don’t have to do this.
    I know.
    We won’t, if you don’t want to.
    I do. I want to. Do you?
    You know I do.
    Nervousness kicked back into anticipation. Awareness of Mac’s presence ignited into a desire so fierce Julia didn’t notice that she rose to stand on tiptoe to meet Mac’s lips before his head had completed its dip.
    A soft kiss.
    A promise.
    And then Mac took the key from her hand and unlocked the door.
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    Something changed the moment the front door of the cottage closed behind them.
    Whatever it was between them was unleashed and free to roam.
    The heat and urgency in Mac’s gaze sent a tremor down Julia’s spine. The tiny hallway of her house made him seem so much bigger. His hair was dark and tousled and his eyes darker than she’d ever seen them and so intent there was no hint of a smile on his face. It made him look…dangerous.
    This was dangerous.
    Never mind any complications with work. She could get hurt. Badly. She could find that any chance of the future she hoped for was destroyed because she’d never find anyone who could make her feel like this again. That was terrifying—the thought that she might be sacrificing future happiness for something that could only be temporary. If it was—and she just knew it would