When Lightning Strikes Twice (40 page)

By the time they’d returned the especially active and fractious Austin and Dustin to their mother, and put Brady to bed, Rachel’s internal monologue about the Pedersen injustice had substituted as a discussion with Quint. She was tired of thinking about Pedersen, she’d wasted too many of her brain cells on that employee-harrassing car salesman already. Quint was welcome to keep the cad as a client!

He poured each of them a glass of wine and sat down with her on the sofa. She noticed how tired he looked, dark circles under his eyes, and she lightly ran her finger along one, frowning.

“You have to go to bed early tonight. You’re exhausted.”

He smiled. “Only if you’ll go with me, Rachel.” He slid
his hand slid along the length of her inner thigh.

Rachel captured his hand and held it still in her own. She’d forgiven him for Pedersen, but there were still a few other matters to be dealt with. “You know, Dana was right, you could’ve called to let me know you were going to north Jersey today.”

“I should’ve, but I left before six. I thought you would be asleep. And I would’ve called you later this afternoon but by then, I knew you were mad. After my chat with North Jersey Power, I wasn’t up to a fight with you.”

“Your chat with North Jersey Power was—less than cordial?”

“A lot less. Lucky for me, I was still energized by my rage over Frank’s latest escapades, so when I went in to meet with the execs and they tried to stonewall me, I went nuclear—like one of their plants. By the time our meeting was over, they were convinced they’re dealing with a madman. In that same mood, I visited with the insurance people.”

“And terrorized them?” guessed Rachel.

“Pretty much. I see a seven-figure settlement in the works for Ken and Marcia Polk. It seems that nobody wants to go to trial.”

“No wonder! You are a formidable opponent.” Rachel smiled slowly. “I can certainly attest to that.”

“I don’t want to be your opponent in any way, Rachel.” He kissed her temple and gazed into her eyes. “Can’t we combine our resources? Cormack and Son is actually just one Cormack. Despite the name, my father hasn’t been a partner in the firm since I came to Lakeview. The first thing I did when I arrived in town was to buy out his equity interest. I’ve been paying him a salary because he has no ownership in the practice.”

“Which means when Frank is sued—which he certainly will be after last night—your firm can’t be touched.”

“No. Or his house. The second thing I did was to put the deed to that house in Carla’s name only. It can’t be seized to pay for Frank’s blunders.”

Rachel played with his long fingers. “Retitling houses for women seems to be a specialty of yours.”

“One of them. Now about the law firm … I’d like to add a name to Cormack. Your name.”

“You mean, like Saxon and Cormack? Or Cormack and Saxon?” Rachel shook her head. “I can’t do that to Aunt Eve and Wade, Quint.”

“I was thinking more like Cormack and Cormack. A husband-and-wife team. And I wouldn’t mind being associates with the Saxons, if they don’t mind.”

She stared at him. “Are you—”

“Asking you to marry me? Yes.” He lifted her onto his lap. “Say yes, Rachel, and don’t list a hundred reasons why we should wait. I don’t want to wait, I don’t need to. I love you, and I always will.”

“I have no intention of trying to talk you into waiting. I said ‘yes’ to everything the first time I went to bed with you,” Rachel confessed. “Although I probably didn’t realize it then.”

“I knew I wanted to marry you even before we went to bed,” Quint claimed. “The night you showed up on my doorstep with Brady in your arms.”

“That competitive spirit of ours is truly phenomenal.” Rachel laughed. “But how about this? I knew I wanted to marry you when—when—” She paused, searching for a suitable incident for this revisionist courtship.

“When the verdict was handed down in the Pedersen trial?” suggested Quint. “I saw the fire in your eyes in the courtroom that day. I thought it was homicidal fury but perhaps—it was love?”

“Yes.” Rachel agreed. “It was love.”

“You just hadn’t realized it then.” Quint kissed her, ending the friendly argument.

Dear Reader

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Affaire de Coeur
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Contemporary romance fans are sure to love SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE by debut author Rachel Gibson. A sassy charm school graduate is on the run—from her own wedding. She’s rescued by a sexy guest but never dreams that, nine months later, she’ll have a little bundle of joy—proof of their whirlwind romance. And when he barges back into her life, complications ensue—and romance is rekindled.

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Lucia Macro
Avon Books

AEL 1197

Other Contemporary Romances by
Barbara Boswell
from Avon Books

W
INNING
W
AYS

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

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Copyright © 1997 by Barbara Boswell
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97-93787
ISBN: 0-380-72744-7

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EPub Edition © AUGUST 2012 ISBN: 978-0-062-24324-9

First Avon Books Printing: December 1997

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