Read MacKenzie's Lady for Free Online

the man that he'd been the main attraction in several dreams that would have been banned in Sweden? When was she going to learn to think before she spoke?
    His soft laugh held pleasure but no mockery. This time when his hand slipped to rest lightly on her shoulder, Holly didn't stiffen. Her mouth curled up in reluctant amusement. It was funny, even if the joke was on her. Besides, the fact that he had gone to the trouble of finding her was evidence that the attraction was not only on her side.
    "Sleazy?" he murmured teasingly. "I thought I looked rather stylish."
    "You didn't look like the kind of a guy that a woman takes home to meet her mother. Are you really a cop?" She was unaware of how much her tone revealed. She wanted to believe he was telling her the truth, wanted an excuse to like him.
    "Scout's honor. I'm really a cop."
    Holly let herself relax completely, returning his smile with a wide dimpled grin, her brown eyes sparkling with relief.
    "Now that I've established a respectable reputation, I was hoping you'd have dinner with me."
    "Tonight?" Her voice rose on the question, revealing her surprise.
    Mac gave her an apologetic smile. "I know it's short notice but I only tracked down where you worked today. I was hoping you'd be impressed by my diligence and go out with me."
    Holly hesitated only a moment. It was short notice and she was tempted to tell him that she had other plans.
    "I'm hardly dressed for going anywhere nice." Her words were an acceptance and he rewarded her with a devastat-ingly sexy smile.
    "I'm not exactly dressed for L'Ermitage myself." His eyes skimmed appreciatively over the slim gray skirt and pale pink blouse. "I know a place where we can get the world's greatest hamburgers. Real hamburgers, not pieces of cardboard covered with Thousand Island dressing."
    "It sounds fantastic." She settled back into the seat with a comfortable sigh as he put the car into gear and backed it out into the street. Maryann would say she was crazy, but Holly couldn't remember the last time she had felt so secure. She watched his hands on the wheel, admiring their broad strength. Something inside her insisted that she trust him.
    They spoke very little during the short drive to the restaurant. It was an easy silence, odd for two people who had known each other such a short time. But then Holly felt as if she had known him forever.
    The restaurant was crowded. A harassed-looking waiter in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts showed them to a table and took their order. Holly looked around at the semi-South Pacific decor and smiled. Only in Southern California would one find a restaurant with giant plastic birds sitting on perches that hung suspended from the ceiling.
    She glanced across the table at Mac, wondering if he shared her amusement. Her eyes met his and slowly the smile faded. The warmth in those electric blue depths made her heart falter for an instant. She swallowed, trying to fight the intense surge of desire that washed over her, leaving her skin tingling in its wake. She dragged her gaze away from his, skimming her eyes over his strong features. There was a deep tuck in one lean cheek. In a woman it would have been called a dimple, but she couldn't imagine applying so feminine a term to this very masculine man.
    "Your scar's gone!" she blurted out, finally realizing why his face had looked different earlier. It had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since she'd seen him standing in the rain outside her car.
    He shrugged. "Makeup. People don't notice your face much if there's something to draw the eye away from your features. If you'd been asked to describe me, what would you have remembered first?"
    "Your eyes. They're beautiful," she answered without thinking. Those eyes had appeared in far too many of her dreams.
    "Thank you." His voice was muffled, and peering at him in the dim lighting, Holly was almost positive that the color in his cheeks was darker than it had been. "You just ruined my lecture and