Every Breath You Take (Second Opportunities 4)

He rinsed the razor under running water and glanced at her in the mirror, his mouth quirking in a half smile at her fascinated interest; then he resumed his task. Stroke by deft stroke of the razor, his tanned face, with its chiseled jawline and strongly molded cheekbones, began to emerge from beneath the lather.

Kate watched, but thoughts of the phone call she’d just received from Evan’s secretary soon furrowed her forehead into an apprehensive frown. According to Patricia, she and Evan had worked late into Sunday night, and Evan had finally hammered out a satisfactory out-of-court settlement with the opposing counsel. He’d tried to call Kate from his office to tell her he was catching a 2:30AM flight, arriving at 12:35PM , St. Maarten time, but all he’d gotten was a voice mail message at the villa and on her cell phone. Refusing to leave a voice mail message, he’d slammed his phone down and instructed Patricia to start calling Kate on Monday morning and to keep trying until Patricia actually heard Kate’s voice. I were you,” Patricia had laughingly warned, ’d meet him at the door with a soothing smile and a martini this afternoon. He’s pissed off over not being able to get through to you for two days.” Evan was going to be feeling a lot worse, Kate knew, when she met him at the door with her luggage packed.

Mitchell noted her expression in the mirror. look like a woman with a problem,” he observed conversationally.

’s on his way to Anguilla.”

definitely have a problem.”

’ll have to meet him at the villa and try to explain things there. I don’t know what I should do or say—”

’s a much bigger problem.”

Surprised and a little hurt by his glib responses and seemingly cavalier attitude toward a situation that was going to be very difficult for her, Kate said quietly, “You seem to have all the answers. Do you have any guidance to offer in a situation like this?”

he’s already on his way here, the scenario is set and it’s too late to alter it,” he replied, rinsing off the razor again. “Assuming he and I are both gentlemen, our roles are now fixed and there are prescribed rules to follow. Assuming you plan to be with me from now on, rather than staying with him, the same is true for you.”

Vaguely surprised by his use of an indefinite phrase like you plan,” Kate watched him shave his upper lip, and then she said, what is your ‘gentlemanly’ role?”

am obliged to express a willingness to bow out temporarily so that he can have whatever is left of his vacation with you, along with the opportunity to fight for you during that time.”

’s his role?”

Passing the razor from jaw to cheekbone on the left side of his face, he said, soon as he understands you’re serious about wanting to be with someone else, he is obliged to accept defeat gracefully and wish you well—thus impressing you with what a prince you’re losing while drowning you in guilt and doubt—and then to get the hell out of my way.”

my role is?”

convince him you’re serious in the shortest possible time—measured in hours, not days—and to avoid letting him get you near that nice big bed while you’re doing your explaining and convincing.”

The reason for his curt tone and his reference to the bed hit her, and Kate stared at him. youjealous ?”

yet, but I’m heading in that direction,” he said, making short, quick razor strokes beneath his left ear.

why?” Kate said, trying to hide how shamefully pleased she was by his admission. can’t just break up with him on the telephone or meet him at the airport and tell him there. I need to be at the villa so I can talk to him and let him down easily.”

Instead of responding to that, Mitchell rinsed off his face and asked a question of his own: long does it take to fly here from Chicago?”

eight hours, since there aren’t any direct flights.”

seems to me that encouraging him to fly eight hours to get here, thinking he’s going to be with you for the rest of his vacation, is a curious way to ‘let him down easily.’ ”

It finally dawned on Kate that he was under a mistaken impression, and she quickly clarified the situation for him. phone call wasn’t from him; it was from hissecretary. He had her call me to tell me his flight left at two-thirty this morning, and lands at twelve thirty-five. I didn’t think he’d try to come down here at all when there are only four days left of our vacation. If I’d had a chance to talk to him before he left, I would never have let him come here thinking everything was going to be the same between us.”

’m sorry. I should have known that.”

Kate dismissed his worry with a smile, but she was intrigued by the flattering discovery of her feminine power over him, and fascinated by the rules of conduct that he’d recited with such absolute certainty. Deciding to put both of them to a harmless test, just for fun, she folded her arms over her chest, tipped her head to the side, and pretended to inspect her manicure. those rules you talked about— What would you, as a gentleman, have been required to do if I’d, well, vacillated just a little about breaking up with my boyfriend?”

The studied nonchalance in her voice instantly alerted Mitchell to what she was up to, and he suppressed a smile as he reached for a towel. A stranger to the games that tipped the delicate balance of power between male and female, he was not. “Under those circumstances,” he said mildly, rules are very clear, and very simple: You would be required to telephone me to tell me that, and then I would simply switch roles with him.”

would just accept defeat gracefully, wish me well, and then get out of his way?” Kate asked, disappointed.

Behind the towel, Mitchell’s smile widened to a grin. you sure you want to play this particular game with me, sweetheart?”

don’t think so,” she said warily, and he laughed.

Suffused with pleasure at his endearment, Kate added sternly, don’t let my Orphan Annie curls and guileless choir-girl image fool you; I can hold my own with you.”

have a police record; your choir-girl image is shot.”

Kate laughed and shook her head at him in feigned disgust. He lifted his brows, waiting for a verbal comeback, and when she had none, he gave her a boyish grin of satisfied superiority and turned back to the sink to comb his hair.

Kate glanced at her watch. don’t want him to have to watch me packing, so I need to be finished before one, which is about when he’ll arrive at the villa. It’s a little after eleven now, so I should leave in fifteen minutes.” She glanced down at the bright blue silk shirt she’d knotted at the midriff above a pair of white shorts, and decided to wear pants instead for what lay ahead of her. think I’ll change clothes,” she said aloud as she walked over to the closet. She took out a pair of white pants and noticed that the black dress and shoes she’d worn the night before were missing. you know what happened to the black dress I wore last night?”