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going back to Denver soon, and long-distance relationships weren’t easy, but he couldn’t help wanting to get to know her better in spite of that. He felt a sort of…excitement he hadn’t experienced in years. He hoped she’d stay, hoped they could explore the possibilities. If nothing else, they should make the most of the time she had left.
    “What happened to your parents?” he asked.
    She’d been sitting with her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, leaning back on her hands to admire the tree. But at his question, she changed position so she could reclaim her wine. “My father died when I was two. My mother died when I was ten.”
    “That’s too bad,” he said. “How’d it happen?”
    “My parents were older when they had me. They’d been told that my father was infertile. And then, at forty-eight, my mother suddenly conceived.”
    “They must’ve been thrilled.”
    Sampson sat up and barked, but when she scratched him behind the ears, he laid his head in her lap. Matt had never seen the dog take to anyone so readily.
    “I suppose, in some ways, they were,” she said.“But the fact that it was a little late in life probably tempered their happiness, you know? And two years later, my dad died of cancer. Pneumonia took my mom eight years after that.”
    “Is it hard to talk about them?” he asked softly.
    “No, it’s…okay.”
    He didn’t want to bring up any subject that might be painful for her, and yet he wanted to hear the details of her life. “Wasn’t there anyone else in your family who could take care of you?”
    “No. My parents’ brothers and sisters were even older than they were and had finished raising their families. One lived in Belgium. Another was a widow. She tried to take me, but then she fell and broke her hip.”
    She’d indicated it didn’t bother her to talk about her past, but she’d tensed up. He could see it in the way she held her body.
    Despite his determination to give her more time, Matt moved toward her.
    She watched him warily. But when she finally met his eyes, he saw that she wasn’t unaffected by the chemistry between them. He couldn’t tell what was holding her back, but he knew it wasn’t a lack of interest.
    Taking her hand, he began stroking her slim fingers. “So you went to live with Betty.”
    She stared at the places where he touched her, as if mesmerized by his movements. “She was my aunt’s husband’s second cousin,” she said slowly. “When she heard Aunt Rosemary was going to haveto put me up for adoption, she knew it wouldn’t be easy to find a good home for a ten-year-old, that I’d probably be bounced around in the foster system until I turned eighteen.”
    “So she decided to take you in.”
    “Yes.” She shivered as his fingers moved up the inside of her arm. Liking the reaction, he immediately imagined her in his bed, and wanted more. But she was still sending him inconsistent signals. Her body responded eagerly, yet she seemed reluctant.
    “Do you like this?” he asked.
    She nodded.
    “What about this?” Lifting her hand, he caressed the sensitive tips of her fingers with his tongue. Then, one by one, he took each finger into his mouth, gently sucking on it.
    She didn’t answer. But he heard her quiet gasp. She was breathing faster, too. He was willing to bet her heart was pounding right along with his.
    Leaning closer, he brushed his mouth lightly across hers.
    Good. Better than good. He was just going back for another pass, hoping to claim one deep, wet kiss. Her daughter was in the other room. He didn’t want to make Angela uncomfortable; he only wanted to show her what could happen if she gave in to what she was feeling.
    But she pulled away before he could show her much of anything.
    Matt frowned. “You’re not interested?” he murmured in confusion. Surely he couldn’t be that badat reading her responses. He’d never misjudged a woman’s receptivity before.
    “It’s getting late,” she said.