Read Double Dealing (2013) for Free Online Page A

leave, and he reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. When she faced him again, he couldn’t think of a thing to say. Her body was stiff, and he let go of her arm. She didn’t move away. In desperation, he finally said, “About the estate …”
    Immediately, the flustered Rae was gone, and he knew the mention of the estate had been a mistake.
    “What about the estate?” she asked in a cool voice.
    “It’s not important,” he said, shrugging his shoulders in dismissal.
    She raised her eyebrows. “Now, why don’t I believe that?”
    Jed sighed. It was his own fault for bringing up the subject. He decided he might as well have put a sign on his back that said ‘Kick Me.’ “It really wasn’t important, Rae. Just that there’s no dispute of ownership. The estate’s yours.”
    “Nice of your company to accept that little fact,” she murmured, and stepped back into the ballroom. “But I expected to hear that from you days ago.”
    She turned and walked briskly away. Jed stepped out of the alcove and hurried after her. Taking her arm again, he walked along with her. She didn’t pull away. “You really ought to hang around sometime and finish a discussion, Rae. We hadn’t even gotten to the kiss yet.”
    She stumbled, then quickly recovered. “It was only a kiss. Men and women kiss all the time. Happens every day.”
    “If you think that was
only
a kiss, then you haven’t been kissed nearly enough,” he said, grinning at her. “Don’t worry, though, I’m sure we can remedy the situation.”
    “I’ve been kissed plenty of times!” she exclaimed in outrage, as her cheeks flushed with color. She drew a visible breath in an obvious attempt to hold her temper. “Forget the kiss—”
    “No way, lady.”
    “Jed!” She waved a hand. “What is your company going to do for a site now?”
    Trying to find the right words, he hesitated for a long moment. “I’ve been authorized to look for a new one.”
    She stopped and he was forced to stop with her. Turning, she stared at him for an equally longmoment, before asking, “And what happens if you don’t?”
    Barely aware of the crush of people passing by, he could almost feel a deep chasm opening between them. “Rae, let it go. For tonight, just let it go.”
    Her green-gray eyes reflected first confusion at his words, then understanding, then hurt. “You’ll be coming back to me, if you don’t find another site for your condos, won’t you? Nothing I said made a difference. You still want the estate.”
    “The company does.” Jed willed his gaze to stay on hers. “I’ve been busting my backside for the last two days, trying to find a new site for the complex. I had no problems with Merriman. He was willing to sell. You’re not. If I don’t find a site, I have no option but to come back to you. I told you once before that it was the perfect place for the complex, and my boss still feels that way.”
    “It’s that damn deep water,” she muttered, the disgust obvious in her voice. “The way everybody acts, you’d think the place was the fountain of youth or something. Well, bring on your high-pressure sales tactics, Jed Waters. But I’m not selling!”
    She started to walk away again, and he pulled her back. “Oh, no, you don’t. I get the last word this time, Rachel Barkeley. I had to do some fast talking to get Atlantic to agree to look for another site. Right now, I’m the best thing you’ve got going for you. Whatever happens, you remember that. And once the business is over, you better get ready for the real fight, so remember this.”
    Ignoring the gasps of the people closest to them,he pulled her against him and planted a thorough kiss on her surprised lips. Finally, he let her go.
    He hid a grin of satisfaction as he walked away.
    Shaken, it took Rae several precious seconds before she could get her brain in gear. She realized she’d never before been so caught up in a kiss. Two kisses. And from Jed. Then his words sank in,