Blue Mist of Morning Read Free Page B

hallway, stopping to open the
second door on the right.
    Anne's room was delightful. Pecan-paneled, with plush
apricot carpeting and apricot-sprigged muslin curtains that matched the
bedspread on the huge mahogany four-poster, it was warm yet spacious.
Ellie pointed out the door to the adjoining bathroom, and after she
left to show Mike to his room, Anne happily stripped off her clothes
and treated herself to a warming bath.
    Twenty minutes later, relaxed after a soak in the hot
scented water, she left the bathroom, wrapped in a huge body towel.
Finding her suitcase had been placed on the wooden chest at the foot of
the bed, she shed the towel, shivering slightly as she slipped into her
bra and panties. Taking her cue from Ty's casual attire, she put on
jeans also and a soft ivory velour shirt. As she stepped into
comfortable suede espadrilles, she tried once more to confine that
wayward tendril of hair, but it was a futile effort. As the silken
strand fell forward again to tickle her cheek, she shook her head and
left the room, then drew in a sharp, startled breath as she nearly
collided with Ty who was about to enter the room directly across the
hall from hers.
    They both stopped short. Anne grimaced apologetically.
"This just isn't my day. Sorry," she said softly, lifting her eyes to
meet the clear blue of his.
    He didn't answer. Eyes narrowing, his gaze drifted slowly
over the alluring, distinctly feminine curves of her body, covered, but
not concealed, by the jeans and velour shirt. Anne tensed under his
slow examination, wondering what on earth he could possibly find so
interesting about her appearance.

Chapter Two

    After several long seconds of Ty's intent scrutiny, Anne's
skin began to tingle with uncomfortable warmth. Luckily, before a
revealing blush could actually flare in her cheeks, a sudden commotion
downstairs claimed Ty's attention.
    "Ty, oh, Ty darling," an unpleasantly strident female
voice called out. "You're not hurt, are you? We saw the Mercedes in the
ditch on our way up here. What in the world happened?"
    "Obviously Kirt decided to bring Millicent Beaumont along
for the weekend," Ty said unnecessarily, turning back to look at Anne
again. "Shall we go down together?"
    "I… well, no, I've forgotten something," she
answered haltingly. "But I'll be down in a few minutes." When he nodded
perfunctorily and left her, she hurried back into her room, hastily
pulling her shirt off over her head. Convinced Ty had been staring at
her because he didn't think jeans were appropriate attire for an
executive secretary, she changed to a neat black skirt and white
blouse, then replaced the espadrilles with low-heeled black kid pumps.
    Sitting down at the vanity, she checked the neatness of
the golden coil of hair on her nape, then wrinkled her nose at her
reflection in the oval mirror. She wasn't looking forward to the
weekend. Millicent Beamont and Kirt Callen weren't her favorite people.
She had dealt with Millicent on two occasions in the office, and the
woman had always assumed a cool, supercilious demeanor, almost to the
point of being snobbish. Tremendously wealthy and active in Washington
D.C.'s highest social circles, she seemed to think herself too fine to
be friendly to a mere secretary. Separated from her husband, she
flitted from one high-society partner to another. Kirt Callen was a
fellow member of the elite, so it wasn't surprising that they were
together this weekend, though Anne wondered if Millicent might be more
interested in Ty Manning than in Kirt. Still, she didn't really dread
the weekend because of Millicent Beaumont. Her snobbishness wasn't
unduly upsetting.
    Anne's dislike of Kirt Callen, however, had nothing to do
with snobbery. At first glance, he seemed charming, but it didn't take
a great deal of perception to soon realize that his ego was as huge as
the grand mansion his father had left him. And he was far too inclined
to play up his swinging playboy image. Worse yet, he had