One Touch of Moondust Read Free

I have to sign a lease?”
    â€œWhat for?” he asked. “You’ve already told me you have every intention of breaking it.”
    It was an unexpected plus. There would be no arguments when the time came for her to move back out.
    â€œAnd we’re strictly roommates? You haveyour own room. I have mine. We share the kitchen. Right?” An image of the tub popped into mind. “We have a schedule for the kitchen,” she amended.
    Apparently the same provocative image lurked in his mind, too, because he grinned. “If you say so.”
    She took another look around the garden, then held out her hand. “Then I guess we understand each other Mr.…?”
    He enfolded her hand in his much larger one and held it just long enough for the calluses and warmth to register against the chilled softness of her own flesh.
    â€œReed,” he said in a slow, deliberately provocative way meant to emblazon the name on her memory. “Paul Reed.”
    She swallowed hard. “And I’m Gabrielle Clayton.” It came out sounding disgustingly breathless.
    â€œGabrielle, huh? Quite a mouthful for such a little bit of a thing. Why don’t I call you Gaby?”
    She felt her control slipping away and inserted the haughty edge back into her voice.“Gabrielle will do just fine. Ms. Clayton would be even better.”
    â€œSo, Gaby, when do you want to move in?”
    She gave him an icy stare. It was going to be a very long month. Or two. “As soon as possible.”
    â€œWill Friday be okay? I should be able to get the basics taken care of by then.”
    She supposed if she was about to walk straight into danger, it was better to get it over with. “Perfect,” she said without the slightest tremor.
    â€œOne last thing,” she said as she went to the foyer. “For as long as we’re sharing the place, we split the rent fifty-fifty.”
    â€œThat’s really not fair. I’m inconveniencing you. I’ll take care of the first month. After that you pay the full rate.”
    She toyed with the temptation, then dismissed it. Being in this man’s debt could lead to all sorts of potentially explosive misunderstandings. “Fifty-fifty.”
    He shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
    â€œAnd the same with the utilities.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œAnd you call me Gabrielle.”
    He grinned. “We’ll have to work on that one.”
    He followed her onto the front stoop and watched as she started down the steps. She felt his gaze burning into her.
    â€œHave a nice week,” he said just then. The husky note in his voice sent a delicious shiver down her spine before he deliberately taunted, “Gaby.”
    Paul Reed, she decided as she marched off to the subway station, was a very irritating man. Since that was the only real certainty to come out of the morning, she was stunned that she’d put up so little fuss about living with him even on such a temporary basis. She was not an impetuous woman. While working on Wall Street had demanded a certain amount of risk-taking, her decisions were always well-informed, not reckless. So why on earth had she agreed to move in with a man like Paul Reed, a man who made her usually sensible head spin? During the subway ride back to Manhattan, she told herself he’d caught her in a weak moment, with little money and a lease that was about to expire. She even blamed it on the zinnias.
    Now, after a blast of cool air and a little distance, she was thinking more clearly. That knot of uncertainty in her stomach was sending a message. She ought to listen to it. She would call and cancel their agreement. No, forget calling. His voice would sizzle across the phone lines and she’d agree to something else ridiculous. It was far more sensible not to show up. It would teach him a valuable lesson about good business. He should have insisted on a lease. He should have asked for references,