Remember the Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page A

had a moment before, and the tiny lines etched around his eyes deepened with his smile. "And it's also obvious that we can't cook and talk at the same time. Why don't you put the wine on the table and I'll bring these in a minute."
    Their conversation resumed as soon as dinner was on their plates in relative safety.
    "What kept you so late tonight?" Kyle asked, absently reaching for the pepper.
    It wouldn't do to say "nerves," so she just mumbled, "Work," and took another bite of her salad.
    "Aren't things slacking up yet?"
    "You said you didn't want to hear about it," she reminded him mockingly.
    "Maybe I changed my mind."
    "Well," she drawled, returning his grin, "if that's the case . . ."
    It took no further prodding for Toni to begin an animated replay of everything that had happened during the week. The office had been in near chaos when she'd taken over, but things were finally taking shape. Though she'd had a few problems with one of the account managers who was refusing to pull his weight, matters were now moving quite smoothly. She loved her work and the pleasure she took in it was quite evident. More than that was apparent to Kyle though. Kyle never approached a situation without weighing all the possible consequences. At least he hadn't until now. This morning he'd temporarily abandoned that philosophy.
    Without allowing himself to question his reasons, he'd cut out on his last meeting and caught the earliest flight he could get back to Seattle. All he knew was that he wanted to see Toni, and when she hadn't shown up until almost eight o'clock, he'd been furious. Not with her. With himself. Toni had always represented the type of woman he never got involved with, but his compulsion to see her, to be with her, had obscured all rationality.
    Sitting on the front steps for over two hours had helped restore the logic that had eluded him earlier. They were just friends. Nothing more.
    And he'd make darn sure things stayed that way.
    Thank God she'd thought that he was upset over the seminar. If she'd had any idea of the crazy thoughts that had been tormenting him all week, she'd probably tip that proud little chin up and call him a pervert. It was obvious enough that she still thought of him as something of an older brother.
    For the life of him he wished he could feel that same nonthreatening attachment to her. But the woman sitting across from him now seemed so different from the one he'd remembered. She still teased him like she used to, but all resemblance to that malleable young woman stopped there.
    He'd never really noticed her voice before, how sultry it sounded. Enjoying the sound of it, enjoying watching her, he didn't even realize how intense his gaze had become.
    He could have been eating filet mignon or sauteed cardboard for all the attention he was paying to his food. He was too busy savoring the grace of her hands as they punctuated a thought, the tilt of her head when she appeared thoughtful, the way her captivating blue eyes narrowed when she homed in on some obscure nuance of a transaction. Her eyes weren't really blue at all. They were aquamarine. Had he ever really noticed the jewellike flecks of green in them before?
    His eyes moved slowly over her face and up to the silken coil of her hair. He tried to remember how she used to wear it, but couldn't. All he recalled was that it had been short. Collar length maybe? Now he wondered if those long tresses, caught up so chastely in that thick roll, were as soft as they looked. What would she do if he asked her to take it down?
    He smiled to himself, imagining her reaction to such a request, and tried to concentrate on what she was saying.
    But all Kyle could think about was that Antoinette Collins had turned into one very intelligent, incredibly sexy woman.
    He'd never even met the guy she was going out with tomorrow night, but he was dead certain that he wasn't going to like him.
    ". . . and I think you would have done the same thing," Toni concluded,