Kit And Kisses Read Free

pink lips.
    His heart galloped and he gripped the ladder tighter.
    She crossed to him, gingerly guiding her battered sneakers over the plastic covering on the hardwood floor, avoiding strips of torn wallpaper. Motioning to the stepstool, she smiled. "As you can see, I need the ladder before I break my neck."
    "You should have waited," he said, his voice surprisingly gruff.
    She lifted her chin. "For what? I want to get this stripped so I can get to work."
    Holding the ladder in one hand, he moved the stepstool to a corner. "A remodeled room won't do you much good if you break your neck."
    Her silence met him as he opened the ladder, placing it where the stepstool once stood. Terse words shortly followed. "No one tells me how to live my life, Mr. Corey."
    When he faced her, her blue eyes were defiant, her stance defensive. "Not even if it's for your own good?"
    Her hands waved through the air and she picked up strips of paper and stuffed them into a waste can standing near the archway. "I've heard that one before, and it doesn't cut it. My good is rarely someone else's concern."
    "Are you saying no one cares about you?"
    "Of course not. Eric and Maggie do. Maggie and I are closer than any sisters could be. What I'm saying is I mistrust people's motives when they're concerned about my good."
    As she passed him, he caught her arm. "What motive do you think I have?"
    He stared into her blue eyes, watching annoyance leave and confusion take its place as she answered, "I don't know."
    He touched a strand of loose hair along her cheek and felt her tremble. "I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. It's as simple as that." Knowing he was standing too close, restraining himself from touching more than her hair, he took a step back and nodded to the CD player. "You have a great voice."
    She looked a little dazed. He felt somewhat off balance himself. After a moment, she said, "Thank you."
    "Do you sing professionally?"
    She laughed. "No way. As close as I get is Karaoke Night at The Music Box. Ever been there?"
    He recognized the name of a club he often heard mentioned in the store. "I've been there once or twice. But not for that."
    "I was practicing for tonight. Eric and Maggie are going to stop by. You could come and give me moral support." Then, as if the invitation had been given before she had time to think better of it, she asked, "Do you have a delivery slip for me to sign?"
    He took the slip from his pocket and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed and Grey caught the flicker of awareness in her eyes right before she turned and headed for the kitchen, murmuring, "I'll get a pen."
    He followed her to the large kitchen. A gigantic spider plant hung above the sink. Bright yellow walls seemed to bathe the room in sunshine. A rattan table for two set with colorful placemats sat next to the refrigerator. A cream-colored loveseat faced a small television housed on stacked orange creates. Magazines lay scattered on the floor beside the loveseat.
    Movement caught Grey's eye. In front of the open door lay two cats, a gray tabby and a black and white long-hair. The tabby lay flat on his back, his four paws swaying in the air. The long-hair stretched his paws before him, blinked at Grey, and thumped his tail.
    Grey smiled. "Have you lived here a while?"
    "I rented it after I finished college. When Maggie finished, she moved in with me. Then a few years ago, she decided she'd trade apartment living to invest in a house.
    "She and Eric haven't been married long, have they?"
    "It'll soon be a year."
    Grey glanced again at the living room. "The landlord doesn't mind you remodeling?"
    Kit fished in a drawer, shuffling aside papers and a ruler. "Not if I pay for it. I've wanted to do it for a while, but..." She shrugged.
    Kit didn't seem like the type to put off what she wanted. He wondered why he didn't see any living room furniture except the loveseat and television. "Are you going to leave the wainscoting on the bottom half?"
    "No. What do you