Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,135

Ned right, but it did make seem less wrong.

"You know what I got to say to that." Darren got up from his chair. "I thought we were going to lunch."

"Sure, let’s go." She would carry the scene at the mailroom with her for a long time. Knowing she hadn’t meant to cause Ned pain didn’t make her feel any better about it, but at least it had made her think.

Chapter 6

Shoppers crammed the mall from one end to the next. Lila began to regret her decision to come at all. She hated being forced to press up against people she didn’t know, and long lines at the cash register made her crazy. If she hadn’t already scoured every specialty shop in downtown Harrisburg for the perfect gift to give her sister as congratulations on the gallery opening, she’d just turn right around and go home.

"Let’s make a break for it!" Tom pointed to a spot in the crowd that had magically cleared.

For such a large man, he moved with the grace of a dancer. Grabbing Lila’s hand, he wove them in and around the other shoppers until he had pulled her into the slightly less crowded food court. Spotting an empty table ahead, he dove for it and nearly knocked over a teenage couple more intent on seeing how many body parts they could press together than on watching where they were going.

"Sorry," Tom told the young man, who merely shrugged. "C’mon, Lila, let’s sit down and have something to eat. I’m starved."

"My treat for putting you through all this."

"All what?" Tom looked around the crowded mall with mock surprise. "Being part of a stampede is my idea of a good time."

She laughed. She laughed a lot when she was with him. It was just the way he made her feel.

"Thanks for coming with me. I really want to find Rivka something special."

"Any reason to spend some time with you is good enough for me." Tom leaned over and brushed a kiss against her lips.

Lila knew she was grinning like an idiot, but couldn’t help it. The past two weeks with Tom had been like something out of a movie. When work or other commitments prevented them from meeting for dinner, he invariably called her before going to bed. They’d spoken every day for two weeks and had never run out of things to talk about.

"What can I get you?" She wanted to kiss him again, but was well aware of the crowd around them. It wouldn’t do to get carried away, and she knew herself too well. She didn’t have a whole lot of self-control where Tom was concerned.

He wiggled his brows lasciviously. "You know what I like, baby."

Lila rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know what you like. But what do you want me to buy you for lunch?"

"Cheeseburger, fries, soda. The heart-attack special."

"Hold down the fort. I see a couple of mall crawlers over there eyeing this seat."

"I’ll guard it with my life." Tom spread out his hands as though to cover the entire table. "Hurry back. I’m so hungry I could eat a bowl of lard with a hair in it."

Lila screwed up her face in disgust. "You have such a way with words, Tom."

"Thanks."

"Modest, too."

Tom grinned an aw-shucks smile. "You’ve got me pegged, Lila."

She was pretty hungry herself. Shopping did that to her. She made her way through the throng, heading toward Mr. Burger. Though she tried to stay away from junk food, Tom’s order had suddenly got her mouth watering. She gave the order to the paper-capped teen behind the counter, adding a chocolate milkshake instead of a cola for herself.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," she said wryly, mentally calculating the calorie load. "Or more like four or five pounds."

While she waited for the food, Lila glanced back to where Tom sat. He was no longer alone. A tall, auburn-haired woman now sat across from him. As Lila watched, the woman laughed, tossing back her head until her gorgeous hair flowed halfway down her back.

A tiny sense of unease crept into Lila’s stomach. She shook it off. She bumped into people she knew all the time at the mall. Tom had obviously just met someone he knew.

And knew rather well. A sudden sick sensation flowed over her. The redhead leaned across the table to lay her hand across his. From Lila’s angle she couldn’t see Tom’s reaction, but the other woman’s face was clear as spring water. The redhead was smiling and