The Eligible Suspect(19)

                With an unappreciative glance, she took the paper plates to the trash can inside a cabinet door. Then she leaned back against the counter with her hands draped over the edge. Her flannel shirt stretched over her breasts, drawing his eyes. The material was too thick to see much detail. Taking in her long, slender legs, he all but drooled over the apex of her fit thighs.

                When he finally looked back at her face, he met the fiery blue of her eyes.

                She had some secrets of her own, or subjects that were off-limits.

                “Sorry,” he said.

                “I was engaged once,” she said. “He found someone else who had more to offer.”

                He hadn’t expected her to answer and suspected she hadn’t, either. Their building curiosity was mutual, it would seem.

                “Was he blind or just stupid?” he asked.

                That softened her. A tiny smile poked the corners of that succulent mouth. “Both, I’d have to say.”

                “Did he lose interest after you showed him the prenup?”

                The way she blinked said it all. He’d guessed right.

                “I’ve had that happen to me before.”

                Instant warmth transformed her face when he said that. She breathed a laugh and smiled at him, straight white teeth flashing. He almost forgot what had brought him to her deserted road. This pull between them was getting strong.

                He didn’t ask her if she loved the man. Obviously, she had. And obviously, she’d stopped speaking about inspirational things because of it. Did her hobbies fill the void left behind?

                “You said you were married once,” she said. “Did she sign a prenuptial agreement?”

                He supposed he should have seen that coming. “No. I never asked her to.” Niya had looked like a blond-haired Barbie doll but inside she’d been the genuine article. She was the kind of woman who didn’t know how beautiful she was. Korbin had to tell her all the time, or she wouldn’t believe it.

                They had struck it off so well that Korbin had put off telling her about his parents. She’d grown up in a small Midwestern town in a working-class household. She had one brother. When he had finally told her, she’d been disappointed. She’d been angry with him for keeping it a secret. She hadn’t spoken to him for a week afterward. He’d never had a reaction like that from a woman, and it had made him love her all the more.

                He’d pursued her relentlessly. Called. Stopped by the house she rented with another student. At last she’d agreed to see him again. He’d been forthright and honest with her in all things from then on. They’d fallen madly in love. It was unreal.

                And then...

                “I’m sorry,” Savanna said. “I don’t like it when people ask me about my engagement and...” She didn’t finish. “I shouldn’t have pried like that.”

                And what? What had she been about to say? If he asked, he’d be prying the same as she had. And then he’d be obligated to reveal more of his own past. That made his mind up. Talk of Niya was best avoided.

                “What other hobbies do you have?” he asked instead.

                “Come on.” She started for the kitchen entrance. “I’ll show you.”