Read Kiss and Tell for Free Online Page A

restless, and the last thing she wanted right now was to listen to Elliot drone on and on about his latest business dealings.
    What she wanted to do was find that man who’d kissed her. And then what? Well, she’d probably start by kissing him again.
    Out in the hallway, the front door squeaked open and then shut. “Identify yourself,” Simon called cheerfully.
    “It’s only me.” Marsh carried his briefcase and doctor’s bag into the kitchen, his jacket over his arm. “Are you expecting someone else?” He glanced at Leila. “You got some sun today.”
    “You look awful,” she said.
    Marsh was positively drooping with exhaustion and heat. His hair was damp, curling slightly at the ends. He’d taken off his tie and was unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt as he sank down into a chair on the other side of the kitchen table. “I give you a compliment, and you tell me I look awful?”
    Leila made a face at him, then stood to pour him a glass of iced tea. “Since when is ‘You got some sun today’ considered a compliment?”
    Marsh frowned. “Is that what I said?” he mused. “Sorry.” He took the glass from Leila, and their fingers accidentally brushed. “Thanks.” He set the glass down in front of him. “I meant to say you look lovely this evening. More so, even, than you usually do.”
    He smiled, and Leila knew he was smiling at the astonishment he could see in her eyes. Since when did Marsh give her such lavish compliments?
    Simon added a variety of spices and sauces to the already sizzling stir fry. “Are you here for good, or are you going back out again?”
    Marsh took a long sip of his iced tea. “I’ve got one more trip over to the Kavanaughs’, to check on the new baby, but not till later tonight.” He took a deep breath and let it out quickly. “Good Lord, I can’t get by on two hours of sleep any longer. Remind me to go to bed before dawn tonight.”
    “Why don’t you take a nap?” Simon suggested.
    “And miss what’s-his-name’s arrival? Definitely not.”
    “Elliot,” Leila said. “He has a name, and it’s Elliot.”
    Marsh gazed across the table at Leila, who was drawing circles in the condensation from her glass. She glanced up and met his eyes, and to his surprise, she blushed and looked away. Blushed? Since when did Leila get embarrassed around him? Angry, yes. Annoyed, most likely. But embarrassed? That was strange.
    Lord, but she did look lovely tonight. Her wild array of golden curls were cut in a short cap around her face, creating a perfect frame for her eyes. And what eyes! They were a beautiful violet shade of blue Marsh had never seen before on a living, breathing human being. And those eyes could hold the warmth of the sun, dancing and sparkling with a happiness that was truly contagious. They also had the power to freeze him with one crystal, icy look. But filled with tears, laden with sadness, Leila’s eyes could bring him to his knees.
    Her smile was the same. Wide and infectious, her smile embraced everything and everyone around her, letting the entire world in on the joke. It seemed amazing to Marsh that lips so delicate and elegantly shaped could curl upward into such an unabashedly joyful smile.
    Of course, he’d always imagined that kissing Leila’s lips would be rather like kissing a fairy princess—exquisitely light and delicate. And kissing her had been exquisite, but in a different sort of way. It had been deep and rich and sensual and utterly, thoroughly soul shattering.
    One kiss, and all of the secrets he’d been hiding from himself for so long had been exposed. He loved her. He was in love with this wonderful, gorgeous,
maddening
woman. Yes, he was in love, and he had been for years.
    Two kisses and Marsh knew the true meaning of the word euphoria. Because she loved him, too. Leila
had
to love him, too. There was no way on God’s green earth she could kiss him like that and not at least feel something for him.
    But he had been wrong. She