Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold, 15) - Softcover

Mallery, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 037377768X ISBN 13: 9780373777686

Verlag: HQN, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery welcomes readers back to Fool’s Gold, where a one-time fling could become the real thing.…

Felicia Swift never dreamed she’d hear a deep, sexy voice from her past in tiny Fool’s Gold, California. The last time Gideon Boylan whispered in her ear was half a world away…on the morning after the hottest night of her life. Her freaky smarts have limited her close friendships, and romance, but she came to Fool’s Gold looking for ordinary. Gorgeous, brooding Gideon is anything but that.

Black Ops taught Gideon that love could be deadly. Now he pretends to fit in while keeping everyone at arm’s length. Felicia wants more than he can give—a home, family, love—but she has a lot to learn about men…and Gideon needs to be the man to teach her.

As these two misfits discover that passion isn’t the only thing they have in common, they just might figure out that two of a kind should never be split apart.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that shape women's lives―family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations," and readers seem to agree―40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live. She’s passionate about animal welfare, which shows in the many quirky animal characters she has created.Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband and adorable poodle. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

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Two of a Kind

By Susan Mallery

Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Copyright © 2013 Harlequin Enterprises Limited
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-373-77768-6

CHAPTER 1

Rational thought and a working knowledge of hand-to-hand combat were uselesswhen faced with the villainous power of the American house spider.

Felicia Swift stood immobilized in the corner of the warehouse, aware of theweb, of the arachnid watching her, no doubt plotting her downfall. Wherethere was one female American house spider, there were others, and she knew theywere all after her.

The logical part of her brain nearly laughed out loud at her fears. In her head,Felicia understood that spiders did not, in fact, travel in packs orscheme to attack her. But intelligence and logic were no match for a truearachnophobe. She could write papers, prepare flow charts and even doexperiments from now until the next appearance of Halley's Comet. She wasterrified of spiders and they knew it.

"I'm going to back away slowly," she said in a soft, soothing voice.

Technically, spiders didn't have ears. They could sense vibration, but with herspeaking quietly, there wouldn't be much of that. Still, she felt bettertalking, so she kept up the words as she inched toward the exit, always keepingher gaze locked firmly on the enemy.

Light spilled from the open door. Light meant freedom and spider-free breathing.Light meant—

The light suddenly blacked out. Felicia jumped and turned, prepared to do battlewith the giant mother-of-all-spiders. Instead she faced a tall man withshaggy hair and a scar by his eyebrow.

"I heard a scream," he said. "I came to see if there was a problem." He frowned."Felicia?"

Because the spiders weren't enough, she thought frantically. How was thatpossible?

Fortes fortuna adiuvat.

She tried to rein in her unwieldy brain. Fortune favors the brave? That washelpful how? She had spiders behind her, the man who took her virginityin front of her, and she was thinking in Latin?

Felicia sucked in a breath and steadied herself. She was a logistics expert.She'd never met a crisis she couldn't organize her way out of, and todaywould be no exception. She would work from big to small and reward herself bydoing the Sunday New York Times crossword in less than fourminutes.

"Hello, Gideon," she said, bracing herself for her hormonal reaction to thisman.

He moved closer, his dark eyes filling with emotion. She had never been all thatgood at reading other people's feelings, but even she recognizedconfusion.

As he approached, she was aware of the size of him—the sheer broadness of hisshoulders. His T-shirt seemed stretched to the point of rippingacross his chest and biceps. He looked lethal but still graceful. The kind ofman who was at home in any dangerous part of the world.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

By here, she assumed he meant in Fool's Gold and not in the warehouse itself.

She squared her shoulders—a feeble attempt to look larger and more in control.Similar to a cat arching its back and raising its fur. But she doubtedGideon was going to be any more intimidated by her than he would be by a hissingtabby.

"I live in town now."

"I knew that. I meant what are you doing in this warehouse?"

"Oh."

An unexpected response, she thought, suddenly less sure of herself. A result ofthe spider encounter. Their powers were far-reaching. She'd plannedto avoid any contact with Gideon for several months. Here it was less than fiveweeks into her plan and they'd run into each other.

"I'm working," she said, returning her attention to his question. "How did youknow I was in town?"

"Justice told me."

"He did?" Something her business associate hadn't mentioned to her. "When?"

"A few weeks ago." Gideon's mouth curved into a smile. "He told me to stay awayfrom you."

His voice, she thought, trying not to get lost in the memories of what the soundmeant to her. While olfactory recollections were thought to be thestrongest, a sound or a phrase could also shift a person back to another time.Felicia had no doubt she could easily be transported by Gideon'sscent; right now she was most concerned about his voice.

He had one of those low, sexy voices. As ridiculous as it sounded, thecombination of tone and cadence reminded her of chocolate. Now his voicewas a vibration she was sure the spiders could get behind. She should—

Her chin came up as her brain replayed his statement.

"Justice told you to stay away from me?"

Gideon raised one powerful shoulder. "He suggested it was a good idea. Afterwhat happened."

Outraged, she planted her hands on her hips, then thought hitting Justice was afar better idea. Only, he wasn't there.

"What happened between you and me isn't his business," she said firmly.

"You're his family."

"That doesn't give him the right to get in the middle of my personal life."

"I didn't see you trying to find me," Gideon pointed out. "I figured you werecomfortable with his ... intervention."

"Of course not," she began, only to realize she had been avoiding Gideon, butnot for the reasons he thought. "It's complicated."

"I'm seeing that," he told her. "So you're okay?"

"Of course. Our sexual encounter was over four years ago." She had no idea ifhe'd guessed she'd been a virgin or not and didn't see any reason tomention it now. "Our night together was ... satisfying." An understatement, shethought, remembering how Gideon had made her feel. "I'm sorryJustice and Ford broke down the hotel room door the following morning."

Gideon's expression changed to one of amusement. It was a look Felicia was usedto seeing, and she knew it meant she'd somehow missed anobvious social cue or taken a joking comment literally.

She held in a sigh. She was smart. Scary smart, as she'd often been told. She'dgrown up around scientists and graduate students. Ask her aboutthe origins of the universe and she could give a fact-based lecture on thesubject without having to prepare. But interpersonal interactions wereharder. She was so damned awkward, she thought glumly. She said the wrong thingor sounded like a space alien with bad programming, when allshe wanted was to be just like everyone else.

"I meant are you okay now," he said. "You screamed. That's why I came in."

She pressed her lips together. For possibly the thousandth time in her life shethought how she would gladly exchange thirty IQ points for just a smallincrease in social awareness.

"I'm fine," she said, offering what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Couldn'tbe better. Thank you for coming to my rescue—however unnecessarythat was."

He took a step toward her. "I'm always happy to help out a beautiful woman."

Flirting, she thought, automatically monitoring his pupil dilation to see if itwas real or simply politeness. When a man was sexually interested, hispupils dilated. But it was too dark in the warehouse for her to be sure.

"What made you scream?" he asked.

She drew in a breath. "I saw a spider."

One eyebrow rose.

"It was large and aggressive," she added.

"A spider?"

"Yes. I have issues with them."

"Apparently."

"I'm not stupid. I know it's not rational."

Gideon chuckled. "You're many things, Felicia, but we're all aware that stupidisn't one of them."

Before she could figure out what to say to that, Gideon turned and walked away.She was so caught up in the way his jeans fit his butt that shecouldn't think of anything to say, and then he was gone and she was alone...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: HQN
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 037377768X
• ISBN 13: 9780373777686
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 384
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Product Safety Manager; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; HarperCollins, Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin 1; D01 C9W8; Irland