His Seductive Proposal. Maureen Child

the last cup of coffee sipped. Kieran summoned the waiter, asked for their check and waited, fingers drumming on the tablecloth, for Olivia to return from a trip to the ladies’ room.

      As he watched her make her way between the carefully orchestrated maze of tables, someone reached out a hand to stop her. Olivia’s face lit up, and the next thing Kieran knew, his lover was being kissed enthusiastically on the mouth by a tall, handsome man in a dark suit.

      Feeling his temper rise, Kieran got to his feet. Olivia didn’t even look his way. Now she was hugging the mystery guy and patting his cheek. The waiter had the temerity to block Kieran’s field of view for a few seconds as he provided the bill. Kieran scribbled his name with leashed impatience on the credit card slip and started toward the couple on the far side of the room.

      “Olivia?”

      She stayed where she was, only now the fellow had his arm around her waist. By the look of things, Olivia’s admirer was dining alone. And in the meantime, trolling for other men’s girlfriends?

      Kieran tamped down his annoyance. “Am I missing the party?” he asked, not managing entirely to squelch his pique.

      She reached for his hand. “Come meet someone, Kieran. This is my dear friend, Jeremy Vargas. We’ve known each other forever. We used to be in school together on the MGM lot. He’s here in New York rehearsing for a stint in a Broadway play… during a brief lull between shooting a string of great movies. Jeremy, this is Kieran Wolff, my…” She stumbled, licked her lips and trailed off.

      “Olivia and I are seeing each other.” Kieran shook the man’s hand, taking in the firm grip and easy smile that said Jeremy Vargas was confident and in no way threatened by Kieran’s glower. “Nice to meet you,” Kieran said, lying through his teeth.

      Vargas might be a stage name, because Jeremy didn’t appear to have a drop of Latino blood. He was the quintessential Hollywood golden boy, blond hair, blue eyes and a killer smile.

      Olivia recovered and beamed her approval back and forth between the two of them.

      Jeremy continued to embrace Olivia. “It’s a pleasure, Kieran. You’ve snagged a great girl.”

      “A great woman.” Was he the only one who noticed the note of over-familiarity in Jeremy’s voice? And did Jeremy know about Cammie?

      Olivia finally freed herself from the other man’s proprietary hold and stood beside Kieran. “I wish we’d known you were here. We could have shared a meal.”

      Like hell. Kieran suddenly remembered where he had heard Vargas’s name. He was mentioned in the article about Cammie’s birthday party… as Olivia’s date.

      Intellectually Kieran knew that Olivia hadn’t been a nun for the past five years. She was a passionate, gloriously beautiful woman. But seeing with his own eyes that other men weren’t blind to her beauty put a sour taste in Kieran’s mouth.

      One day soon, when Olivia was ready to expand her white picket fence, perhaps with a second baby on the way, she wouldn’t have any trouble finding men to line up for the role of husband and father.

      Kieran brooded on the way back to the hotel. Damn Jeremy and his inopportune arrival. “Have you and Vargas dated?” he asked abruptly, tormented by the fact that she had an entire life apart from him.

      “He’s like a brother.” The blunt response shut him up. After that, Olivia was mostly silent. Kieran wasn’t sure if she was sleepy from too much champagne or if she was remembering all the reasons she wanted to keep him at arm’s length.

      In their hotel room, he paced, stripping off his jacket and tie, and swallowing a glass of ice water, hoping it would cool him down. Olivia removed her earrings. When that innocent tableau turned his sex to stone, he knew he was in trouble.

      He cleared his throat. “Are you ready for bed?”