Anything for Her - By Janice Kay Johnson Page 0,41

at her mother, felt as sulky as Sean had last Sunday.

Because a rebellious part of her knew damn well her mother didn’t really want Allie to talk to her, not when the subject was the past. What she also truly didn’t want was Allie ever talking to anyone else about it—ever. And for the very first time, Allie wondered whether that was really because of potential danger, or whether there were other reasons altogether to explain why her mom still held on so tight to her daughter.

* * *

NOLAN PARKED BEHIND Allie’s Corolla and sat for a moment looking up at her apartment.

Sunday had been a crappy day for him, although he’d tried to hide how he felt from Sean. The only place they went was grocery shopping. Otherwise, they played one-on-one in front of the hoop, newly hung Saturday afternoon, and romped with Cassie. He’d gone out with Allie Friday night, and made love with her, although he’d hated having to leave her so quickly. Maybe it was stupid pride that had kept him from asking when they could see each other again, but he couldn’t help realizing that he had made all the moves. And he wanted Allie wholehearted, not reluctant. So he’d left without saying anything but good-night.

Then he’d spent Sunday feeling as jealous as if she was out with another man, and he didn’t even know why.

When the phone rang last night, midevening, he’d pounced on it beneath Sean’s astonished gaze. With an effort he had straightened his shoulders and gone for an air of dignity. “Hey, Allie,” he’d said, and murmured to Sean that he’d take Cassie out. So at least he had some privacy when she invited him to lunch today at her place. He’d accepted instantly, and to hell with the day of work he’d be losing, like he had last Monday.

By the time he climbed the stairs Allie had the door open and was waiting for him. She wore jeans today and a skimpy T-shirt with tiny cap sleeves baring slender, pale arms. Her hair was captured in a loose braid. To him, she looked so beautiful, he immediately felt as dazed, clumsy and tongue-tied as he had when he first met her. He didn’t seem to be the kind of man a woman like her would choose, he sometimes thought fearfully, but the vulnerability and loneliness he’d glimpsed in her made him suspect her looks didn’t have much standing in her self-image.

As he climbed those damn steps that, short-rised as they were, tried to trip him up, Nolan reminded himself that he didn’t know that Allie had chosen him. Maybe from her point of view all they were sharing was a brief, casual relationship. Which might be why she didn’t seem all that eager to share every little bit of herself with him.

Yeah, that would make sense—except he didn’t believe there was much that was casual about Allie Wright. And most especially he had trouble seeing her having casual, never mind brief, relationships.

So maybe she wanted to choose him, but something was stopping her. Or maybe she was merely cautious, and he was impatient, he thought with a certain wry humor. A man who carved granite, impatient for results. Now, there was a picture.

He reached the top and touched her cheek. “Hi,” she said softly, and flowed into his arms. With a struggle he kept the kiss more tender than passionate, because he could smell her cooking.

She drew him into the apartment by the hand, apologizing because their days off didn’t coordinate and thanking him for coming anyway.

“No, this is good. I got in a couple of hours of work this morning. And this gives us a day when I don’t have to explain to Sean where I am or what I’m doing. I’ll put in half a day Saturday to make up.” He watched with pleasure as she bustled in the tiny kitchen. “How was the shopping trip?”

“I bought this T-shirt.” She twirled once, doing something completely natural but also complicated with her leg that made the spin something out of the ordinary. “And a whole bunch of other clothes, too. I got carried away.”

“I like the shirt,” he admitted. The pale rose was good with her white skin, and the deep scoop of the neckline exposed the first curves of her small breasts. The front had, hmm, a picture of a bird in flight. He thought. It was kind of abstract. Nolan grinned. It looked like something he might