Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,150

what shade of lipstick she wore or whether she looked good in stiletto pumps. She only had to be herself. If it was enough for him, then it was damn sure good enough for her.

He had left early this morning, determined to get The Foxfire back into operating condition by this afternoon. After so many days cooped up at home, most people would be dying to get out and do something, and Tom wanted to be prepared. He had called all the staff last night to let them know what time to be in and left in plenty of time to head back to his house and change before going to the restaurant.

Lila rinsed off and stepped out of the shower. Though the past three days had been wonderful, she, too, was looking forward to getting out. Tom had promised her lunch today, but she probably wouldn’t see much of him. He devoted a lot of himself to his business, and she respected that. Still, the promise of seeing him even briefly had her heart skipping a beat. She wanted to sing. And, as she toweled off and began dressing to meet the man who had changed her mind about pretty faces, that’s exactly what she did.

Silence met Tom when he entered his house. He’d left Lila sleeping, waking her just long enough to promise her lunch at The Foxfire today. The roads had mostly been cleared, so he was able to jog back to his house in record time. He wanted to shower, change, and grab some breakfast before heading over to the restaurant. It was going to be a crazy day.

Not wanting to wake Emma, he climbed the stairs two at a time as quietly as he could. He’d phoned her last night along with the rest of the staff to let them all know he expected them to show up for work on Saturday morning. Still, it was pretty early. Emma really didn’t have to be in for another couple of hours.

Darkness shrouded the hallway, but Tom didn’t bother turning on a light. He knew exactly where he was going, and…WHAM!

Tom hit someone coming out of Emma’s room. It wasn’t Emma, not unless she’d shot up about five inches and put on forty pounds. The intruder grunted and went down after the impact.

Heart hammering, Tom tried to remember the self-defense techniques he’d learned at the YMCA a few years back. Letting out a thundering yell, he thrust his fists out in front of him and stamped down on the interloper with all his weight. The man on the ground let out a loud yelp of pain.

"If you’ve hurt Emma, I’ll kill you!" Tom roared, keeping his stance. Though he wanted to see who was lurking in his upstairs hallway, the shadows still obscured the man’s face. He didn’t want to get too close to the downed invader in case the man was planning to spring up and hit him. "I may just kill you anyway!"

The hall suddenly lit up like a county fair. Tom blinked in the brightness, opening one fist to shield his eyes from the glare. Emma’s door, directly to his right, had opened, and his niece came flying out.

"Mike!" she shrieked, bending over the prone man on the floor. "Boss! You moron, you’ve killed him!"

To protect the area Tom had stomped, Michel Leroy curled into a tight ball in the hallway. His face was pasty white with a greenish tinge. Emma bent over him and fluttered her hands over his face. When she saw just where Michel had been injured, she glared up at her uncle with undisguised dismay.

"Boss, you stomped him in the nuts," she scolded. "What kind of fair fighting is that?"

Tom was confused. His heartbeat slowed and he lowered his fists. "Emma, he came out at me in the dark. What was I supposed to do?"

"…take a shower." Michel wheezed as Emma helped him sit up. His color was returning to normal, but he still cradled his injured parts tenderly.

"He was going to the bathroom."

"He ran into me." Tom was still in shock about the whole incident. "How was I supposed to know who it was?"

Emma grunted. "You still didn’t have to kick him where it counts. That’s low, boss, really low."

Michel struggled to his feet. His face had gone from greenish white to slowly darkening brick red. Tom realized the man was blushing.

"I apologize." He sounded like a man who’d just had his fingers…or something…slammed in a door. "For coming