Belonging Read Free Page A

unsettling
that he removed his hand first.
    She moved back to her chair, wishing she
weren't quite so conscious of his stare drilling into the slender
lines of her back.
    "I can't tell you how glad everyone is to
have you on board," she told him, schooling her features into a
faint smile as she sat down. "Westridge is very lucky to have
someone with your experience."
    He inclined his head. "I was just thinking
the same thing not long ago."
    A hollow silence followed. As polite as his
tone was, there was something less than friendly about the way he'd
said the words, just the slightest suggestion of sarcasm. She
couldn't help but wonder if he had something else on his mind, a
bone to pick with her perhaps.
    Angie hesitated. She hadn't been looking
forward to this meeting, not really. Even before the incident with
Blair had come up this morning, something about Matthew Richardson
made her uncomfortably aware of each and every thing about him.
Shimmering June sunlight shone through the glass window beside him,
casting the roughly carved features before her into stark relief.
High cheekbones accented a strong jaw line, a thin but firmly
contoured mouth. Dark brows arched over flinty gray eyes. It didn't
take a second look to ascertain that beneath the navy suit were
lean but extremely well-developed muscles—and Angie was trying
very hard not to be quite so conscious of the fact. It reminded her
of days gone by . . . days that were best forgotten.
    But she had learned over the years to know
exactly what she was dealing with. Matthew Richardson possessed an
intensely masculine aura, an aura that hinted of controlled
strength. This was a man who would be at ease, yet in control, of
any situation.
    Strangely enough, however, intimidating was
not a word Angie would use to describe him. Exciting? To other
women perhaps. But not to Angie Hall.
    When she had scheduled this meeting, Angie
intended to talk dollars and cents about the police department's
budget. But when she tried to summon the statistics and figures
that always came so quickly to mind, they were hardly the ones she
expected. Six foot. Narrow hipped with the shoulders of a
linebacker. She had to mentally shake herself to quell the renegade
meanderings of her mind. She dealt with men on a professional level
every day. Was this one really any different? They both had a job
to do, and it was time she did hers.
    "So," she said finally, "I assume you've had
a chance to review the budget material we sent you." The police
department's budget was coming up for ratification by the city
council in mid-July, some six weeks away.
    "Indeed I have, Ms Mayor."
    Ms Mayor? Angie had been called a few things
during her term, some nice, some not so nice, but his address was
slightly irritating.
    Business as usual, she reminded herself.
Brushing the feeling aside, she clasped her hands on the desktop in
front of her. "Any changes or recommendations you'd like to
make?"
    Matt lifted an eyebrow. "Is it too late to
plead for more money?" Her brisk, no-nonsense manner didn't
surprise him. It was on a par with the way she'd handled the press
conference that morning. He had brains enough to recognize an
intelligent woman when he saw one, and he had no doubt she would
demand as much of someone else as she did of herself. Everything
neat, tidy and in its place.
    Exactly the way she looked. Even now, at
three in the afternoon, there wasn't a hair out of place, not a
wrinkle in her clothing, not even a shine on her delicately formed
nose. The perfect woman. For just a moment he was reminded of
Linda, whom he hadn't thought of in years.
    But to his surprise Angie laughed. The sound
was pure and sweet, and so unlike the impression he'd just formed
in his mind that for a moment Matt was startled.
    "That," she commented dryly, "is a question I
think I've heard from every department head. And the only answer I
can give is that the city's budget has been increased over and
above last year's already. Any