The Family Man - By Trish Millburn Page 0,5

gave Sara a hairy-eyeball look from behind her rimless glasses. “When was the last one?”

Sara opened her mouth to answer but then realized she didn’t know what to say.

Ruby tapped her forefinger against Sara’s hand. “My point exactly.”

“Horizon Beach doesn’t exactly have a huge dating pool.”

“Maybe your parameters are too strict,” Ruby said with a twinkle in her eye. “Loosen up a bit. It’s dating, not lifetime commitment.”

As Ruby turned to leave, Sara bit down on a reply that she knew what she wanted, so why should she waste time with guys who didn’t fit the bill?

And Adam Canfield so didn’t fit the bill.

Chapter Two

Adam’s street was quiet and dark when he rolled in to his driveway after work. Of course, it would be at nearly two in the morning. The only sounds that met his ears when he stepped out of the car were the distant waves and the hum of air conditioners.

This wasn’t the first time he’d arrived home at this hour, but being on the opposite side of the bar added a great deal to his fatigue level. Not to mention way too many questions from patrons when they’d found out he was the one who’d dived off the pier after that kid. How many days until Zac came back?

Okay, he needed to suck it up and just deal because Zac and Randi deserved a nice, long honeymoon after everything they’d been through. Arson, false accusations, damn near getting killed.

Sure, it was odd having his best friend be a married man now, but damned if he wasn’t happy for him. He guessed it would be nice to know you could go home to someone who loved you every night, sleep in late tangled in the same sheets.

That image pulled Sara Greene back into his thoughts. Ugh. He needed to get some sleep, not get worked up about a woman he’d already decided not to pursue. He rubbed his hand over his face and headed toward his front door. But a noise from the side of the house caused him to stop and listen. When he heard it again, he edged along the front until he reached the corner.

Movement at the back of his property caught his eye. It looked like someone hurrying from his backyard into that of his neighbor on the next street. He crossed the lawn to the point where he’d seen the shape, scanned his neighbor’s property, but saw nothing. Considering he was way too tired to give chase even if he did see someone, he retraced his steps to the house.

His doors were locked, but he still searched the house to make sure no one was inside or that anything was missing. After a few minutes, he was satisfied whoever had been out there hadn’t broken in. Good, because he was too exhausted to deal with cops and police reports for the second time in a day. He just wanted to fall into bed and sleep for twelve hours. Too bad he only had five.

He pitched his sweaty T-shirt into the laundry basket in the corner, but when he started to take off his shorts he remembered the business card in his pocket. He pulled it out and sank onto the side of the bed. Sara Greene’s phone number taunted him, seeming to pulse an invitation to call it.

For a moment, he considered his prowler might have been young David Taylor. Then he would have a legitimate reason to call Sara. But with nothing to support his wild theory, he tossed the card onto his nightstand and flopped back on the bed, his feet still on the floor.

Why was his brain refusing to let go of her image? Sure, she had dark, shiny hair, dark eyes and nice curves, but he’d seen her several times before and not reacted this way.

Had to be fatigue. Or some crazy nonsense like the lure of the unavailable.

Or the fact she’d leapt off the pier after him to save a child. He might want to steer clear of women who put themselves in danger, but it evidently didn’t mean he couldn’t be wildly attracted to one in the aftermath of that danger.

As his eyes drifted shut, he imagined what it’d be like to run his hands through her hair and kiss her lips. That image accompanied him as his consciousness gradually gave way to sleep. The feel of her silky hair, the wetness of her kiss, some flowery smell that seemed to cling to attractive women, the