And Lee.
She frowned for a minute, blinking against the glow of dawn that bathed the room in pink and yellow light. The tune he sang was an old one, "Follow That Dream." And as she lay there, loathe to leave the comfort of bed, she felt a curious smile tugging at her lips, and a tenderness she didn't want to feel rising within her.
She had never heard him sing in person before. On the radio, on TV Most of his music was rock, although he did a number of softer ballads. Still, she had never heard him like this.
His voice was as gentle and full of crystal clarity as the piano. It was a tenor, husky and deep. And just as he was an expert with the instrument he played, so he was with that that was a part of him. Bryn mused that certain people were definitely naturals, and for a moment she begrudged him the talent that had been a birthright; then she smiled again and allowed the timbre of his voice to sweep through her and touch her. She couldn't deny that she admired him, was attracted to him...and was also at least halfway in love with him. That thought brought her wide awake. Don't be a fool, she warned herself. Be with him now, since you cannot deny him. But never forget that this is only a strange interlude in your life.... An interlude that dealt with Adam!
Bryn scrambled out of bed and searched the floor for the shirt he had lent her. By the time she found it, she realized that the music had stopped. The house seemed silent.
It took her another several seconds of scrambling around at the foot of the bed to find her underwear.
She didn't bother to run into the other room for her jeans; she was certain they were still alone in the house. She just rushed out of the bedroom and scampered hurriedly down the stairs.
Lee was nowhere in sight in the living room, but she heard a clatter of sound from the kitchen and moved quickly to the swinging doors. She stopped short when she stared at the butcher-block table.
She had been right on one count: Lee was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter as he spoke on the phone.
But she had been wrong to assume that they were alone in the house. Mick was sitting at the table, feet propped on the opposite chair as he sipped a cup of coffee. He didn't seemed surprised to see her, but Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
his dark eyes glistened with amusement as he saw the red flush of embarrassment that rushed to her cheeks.
"Morning, Bryn.Ready for coffee?"
She knew she would look rather absurd if she went rushing back through the swinging doors, so she convinced herself that Lee's shirt did cover her decently and walked on over to take a seat at the table.
"Coffee would be lovely, Mick. Thanks."
He smiled and poured her a cup from the pot that sat in the center of the table. There was a packet there, too, and he pushed it toward her.' 'This is the set of negatives and proofs that gets turned over."
Bryn glanced at him and then at Lee. He was murmuring monosyllables into the phone, but he grimaced dryly at her, and then smiled. It was a nice, natural look of reassurance. She glanced back to Mick, not questioning his understanding of the situation.
"You got them quickly! I never thought Kelly was awake this early, much less open for business."
"That Kelly seems to be a nice kid, and he likes you. We paid him well, but he was willing to do a super rush job even before I offered him a bonus."
"All right," Bryn heard Lee say. "See you tonight. Hopefully everything will go as planned."
He hung up the phone and walked to the table, poured himself a cup of coffee and sat opposite Bryn.
He didn't offer her any explanation about his conversation, but slipped a bare foot along her calf instead.
"You look rested," he said softly. "Do I?" she murmured, her lashes falling to her cheeks."Ummm. In fact, you look great. A little tousled, maybe, but I always did like a bit of a wild look." "Thanks," she murmured dryly.
"Hey, you two.I'm here, remember?" Mick queried. "And I'm not really sure I can handle this! My own sex life has been going all to hell for the past week!"
Both Bryn and Lee stared at Mick, startled. Then they laughed, and when their eyes met again, it was with a mute pleasure and amusement that scared Bryn.
It was too, too easy to like way too much about Lee Condor. She sobered quickly and said, "What now, Lee?"
"You get dressed and we go on over to your place. Mick goes on into work and explains that neither of us will be in, and he and Andrew and Perry get to crack the whip for the day. If I'm playing my hunches right, your phone will ring byten o'clock."
"Do you really think so?" Bryn asked huskily.
"Yes, I really think so."
Mick stood up and stretched, then kissed Bryn quickly on the cheek. "Good luck, gorgeous. I'll be banking on you."