Playing For Keeps Read Online Free PDF Page A

or want in return and what he absolutely refused to accept and tolerate.
    Malcolm liked the man he now was. He was proud of his accomplishments. He was a great father and he knew that one day he’d be a dynamic partner for the right woman. But as far as Malcolm was concerned “one day” was a long way away and not something he saw himself giving any immediate thought to. Nor did he have any interest or desire in discovering who that right woman was, even if it was by happenstance. But in spite of that proclamation he still couldn’t for the life of him get thoughts of Cilla Jameson out of his head.
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    Cilla peeked out of the window of her new condominium. The couple who lived two doors away were arguing in the parking lot, she not happy with something he had done. They had been screaming back and forth at each other for the last ten minutes. As they stood beneath the lights that illuminated the outdoor space it was easy to see the frustration that painted both of their expressions. When the man finally stormed off, leaving his female companion standing there in tears, Cilla felt for both of them. But watching them reminded her of why she didn’t do relationships. Her own personal experiences had taught her that most never ended well.
    She stole a quick glance to the grandfather clock that decorated her front entrance. It was late and she should have been in bed hours ago. It was going to make for a difficult time when her alarm clock would sound at five-thirty A.M. She blew a deep breath as she moved from the window into her kitchen to fill a glass with water.
    Minutes later she eased her body back into bed, drawing the sheet and covers up to her shoulders. She suddenly thought about the evening she might have missed at that jazz club, having thought it better that she stay home and not take Malcolm Cobb up on his invitation. She clutched the sheets as she thought about the man. It had taken more than an ounce of fortitude not to give in to the curiosity that had kept him in her thoughts. But then she remembered the old adage about curiosity killing some cat and she knew that no good could have come from her going. At least that was what she’d been telling herself since she’d gotten home from work, determined to justify the regret she was suddenly feeling.
    Her head waved from side to side. She should have gone. She had wanted to see Malcolm Cobb again. She wanted to talk to him, to laugh at his jokes and to see him on his own turf. If nothing else, she was intrigued by the flutter of desire she felt during their encounter, wondering if there was any sustenance to it or if it was just a fleeting feeling. She was suddenly kicking herself for not following her instincts. Second-guessing herself surely had not served her well because here she was, wide awake, alone, and thinking about a man who had managed to capture her attention. Wondering what might have been.
    Second-guessing her instincts had never served Cilla well and she knew it. She had second-guessed her last relationship only to discover that every suspicion she had about John Parker had been even worse than she imagined. She’d suspected infidelity. She hadn’t banked on a wife and three kids, the discovery a complete devastation. She had also second-guessed her relationship with that college frat boy, the blond, blue-eyed banker’s son, an admitted pot-smoking horticulturalist. She thought he was a slacker while they were together, but after Colorado’s legalization of the organic buzz, he’d become a multibillionaire overnight. Now he and her former college roommate were living the good life on three continents. Second-guessing herself had never boded well and Cilla was determined to stop. For once in her twenty-nine years she was determined to follow her intuition to see where that led her. The more she thought about Malcolm, the more she reasoned she didn’t have anything at all to lose.

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