SOLAR SIZZLE

Copyright © September 2004,
Joan Bramsch

ISBN: 0-934334-18-8

All rights reserved

Published by
JB Information Station

E-Published simultaneously worldwide.

Produced in the
United States of America

 

When flame-haired Casey meets sexy Shawn O'Brien of Alternative Energy International, it is definitely NOT love at first sight. Shouting at the man from the top of a roof isn't exactly the best way to make a good first impression! Yet Shawn can't shake his feelings of intrigue with the lovely president of McDermott Construction. Her feisty challenge to his determined pursuit provides the reader with laughter, tears, excitement and satisfaction as their stormy affair takes them to the sizzling heights of glowing passion. A most satisfying read, as this one is HOT!

Chapter 1

"I’m telling you, you’ve installed those solar panels on the wrong side of the roof!" The tall man looked up with an angry scowl.

"And I’m telling you, you don’t know what the heck you’re talking about," yelled the young female from above. She was bundled against the cold in a heavy, red plaid lumber jacket. A bright woolly cap pulled down over flaming curls framed a face flushed crimson from the elements and uncontrolled fury. "We don’t make mistakes!"

The bareheaded man shook his fist at the sky. In his hand was a long slim cylinder. "I’ve got the damn specs right here, and I can prove you’re wrong," he yelled back. "Where’s your boss so we can get this settled? You’re obviously too young to carry any authority." And what was a girl doing up on a roof anyway? he wondered, irritably.

The girl bounded toward the edge of the roof and leaped onto the sturdy two-story aluminum ladder, coming down like a fireman, sliding along the rails in her speedy descent. The man, flabbergasted but impressed, watched her agile performance. When she landed sure-booted onto the frozen ground, she whirled to march angrily toward the man who stood fuming several yards away. Just then a tall young man came running around the corner of the house and caught the frenzied swinging dynamo by the shoulders.

Casey!" he lamented. "What the devil’s gotten into you? You haven’t lost your temper like this in years."

"He’s the devil who’s gotten into me." She pointed an accusing finger at the stranger. "He’s trying to tell me that we don’t know what we’re doing. And I’m about to prove to him that he’s the one who’s wrong." Her leather-gloved hands rolled into tight little fists. "Let me go, Mike." Her throaty low tone signaled her serious intent.

Mike kept his hold on the squirming figure. "You can’t take him on, Casey," he cajoled. "He’s too big for you."

"The bigger they are…" Casey shot back, darkly.

The man in question walked to the wrestling duo and glowered down at Casey before turning his attention to the red-haired man who was holding the smaller figure in check.

"Are you the boss?" His voice was more controlled now. "We’ve got some mistakes to straighten out even though your young gofer thinks she knows it all." He threw a condescending look at the red-faced girl.

Pinning Casey against his side with his left arm, Mike thrust out his right hand, laughing gently as if at a private joke. "Perhaps we’d better begin again. Let me introduce myself. I’m Mike McDermott."

The stranger took Mike’s hand in a firm clasp, his face still unsmiling, but certainly not as angry as he had been. "And I’m Shawn O’Brien with Alternative Energy International, the manufacturer of the solar panels you’ve installed incorrectly on this roof." He sliced another chilling glare at the young girl still held hostage by the stronger man.

Mike’s face broke into a wide grin. "Ah, a fellow Irishman! Glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. O’Brien."

"Probably Shanty Irish!" muttered Casey.

"You’d better tell this little runt to shut up," cautioned Shawn sternly. "She’s going to have to eat her words. If she were working for me, she’d have been fired long ago. How do you abide such insolence?"

Mike threw back his head and laughed heartily. "Easy, Mr. O’Brien," he replied. "You may very well be the one who has some words to swallow." Still hanging on for dear life to the fuming figure beside him, he confided startling information. "I’d like you to meet the president of McDermott Construction." He thrust the small person in front of him, but did not loosen his hold. "This is Casey McDermott, my boss."

"You’re the boss?" The man snorted in disbelief. "Why…you’re nothing but a sassy kid!" He shoved his fingers through his thick wind-blown hair, feeling his raging temper escape his iron control. "How could my company have gotten tangled up with a lame-brained outfit like this?"

"I’m gonna kill him, Mike. Let me go," seethed Casey in her low froggy voice. She pulled with all her might against the large hands that held her easily.

Again Mike laughed, cautioning the man with an upraised brow. "I don’t know what you said, but I haven’t seen my boss this angry in years, and I’ve known Casey all my life. You see," he explained, his eyes twinkling, "this little person is my big sister and she’s spent most of her life around construction. She’s got a degree in structural engineering too," he added proudly as he pulled the thick stocking cap from his sister’s head, revealing a mass of long fiery hair that tumbled down around her shoulders in a flame cloud. "See? She’s a woman." He hugged Casey warmly. "And real smart for her size."

"Oh, no!" Shawn’s exclamation came out in a hoarse whisper. Shock paled his tanned craggy features and momentarily replaced his fury.

"Oh yes!" interjected Mike. "My sister is a competent businesswoman, and if you’ll give her half a chance, she’ll be able to straighten out this misunderstanding in short order."

He stood like a rock beside her. His six feet two inch frame dwarfed by a full twelve inches his sister’s slender form camouflaged beneath layers of heavy work clothes. The two were united, waiting for the stranger’s next move.

Shawn took a deep breath and leveled a direct visual arrow at Casey. "Let’s try this one more time, shall we?" He quickly unrolled the blueprints of a house and pointed in a cutting gesture to the roof section. "You see?" He tapped the fluttering sheet of paper emphatically. "These plans call for the installation to be on the front of the roof and not on the back slope."

Casey glanced at the top of the plans, then gave Shawn a withering stare that would have cowed a lesser man. "You’ve got the wrong specs, Mr. O’Brien." Her voice was flat with disgust.

"Oh, no, you don’t, Ms. McDermott," he shot back. "The plans say 333l Bluebell Lane and that’s the number of this corner dwelling."

Without saying another word, Casey marched toward the street and pointed to the cross-sign located there. "Can you read, Mr. O’Brien? Or has your company excused that skill? A.E.I. should know better than to check up on an established and competent organization like ours. I repeat, McDermott’s Construction doesn’t make mistakes!"

Shawn strode over to the street sign while Mike trailed behind, smiling merrily. "Bluegrass Drive!" His face took on the glow of a sunset.

"The streets in this subdivision running north and south are labeled ‘drive’. The streets named ‘lane’ run east and west," Casey explained impatiently. "Tomorrow we’re scheduled to do the house in your specs, and the panels will be mounted as the plans indicate." She stood with her booted feet spread wide in an indignant stance, her small gloved hands balled on her narrow waist. "Now…what do you have to say to that, Mr. O’Brien?"

"I say ‘pass the salt.’ I’ve got a lot of words to eat." Shawn grinned sheepishly, looking rather like an errant boy. "I made a big mistake…and I apologize."

He extended his hand to her as his lips curved into a wide smile. His onyx eyes sparked with some unshared delight when he surveyed her smooth flushed skin and pleasing features. He paid close attention to her large emerald eyes and her pert little nose that was still tipped skyward in disdain. His vision narrowed perceptively when he caught the pout of her untouched, but naturally pink, full mouth.

"Friends?" he murmured softly, taking her hand between his two larger ones.

Even though Casey was still bridling at his first churlish words and harsh manner, her feminine senses were equally aware of Shawn O’Brien, the man. He was a bit shorter than her brother, muscularly built with very powerful hands and the neck and shoulders of an athlete. Her computer-like brain stored information at a rapid clip.

She looked at his face, rugged and tanned, and his brazen black eyes fringed with a thick layer of dark lashes. His mouth was firm, the lower lip hinted at his volatile and perhaps, sensual nature. Those snapping, coal eyes were enhanced further by expressive, straight brows. Above, a broad intelligent forehead was topped by luxuriant midnight curls. One ringlet had been blown forward and gave his features a more boyish allusion than the rest of his face revealed.

He must be in his late-thirties, Casey guessed, momentarily caught in her visual examination, allowing her temper to cool to manageable proportions. Her jade eyes locked with Shawn’s in a futile attempt to thwart his practiced charm. What he had in mind, she had an ironclad rule against -- fraternizing with business associates. Then she cleared her throat and pulled her hand from his firm hold.

"Apology accepted, Mr. O’Brien."

"Call me Shawn." His voice was a velvet request. "And incidentally, I own AEI, lock, stock, and barrel."

"Then I owe you an apology too." She had no idea how sensuous her low wispy voice sounded. "I really have a difficult time holding my temper…" She raised her flashing eyes to spear him with a challenging dare, then smiled impishly. "When I know I’m right!"

Shawn worked to control his reeling senses. Try as he might to ignore his emotions, he had to admit to himself that he was attracted to this pint-sized, flaming-haired hellion. Where did she get all her spunk? he wondered, still somewhat shocked by the quick change of identity from sassy little girl to vibrant contrary woman.

"You don’t scare easy, do you?"

Before Casey could take up Shawn’s challenge, Mike stepped between them, putting his arms across their shoulders. "Now isn’t it just grand that this little misunderstanding has been straightened out?" He smiled brightly, eager to keep the two off another collision course because he had seen each of them visually measuring the other. "Why don’t we go back to the office for some coffee? I don’t think St. Louis has had such a cold spell in ten years."

"I doubt if Shawn has the time, Mike," contradicted Casey. "He must have a million things to do."

"On the contrary, Casey -- you don’t mind if I call you Casey, do you?" He smiled warmly when he noted the quick shake of her head that made her wind-blown titan hair catch sunbeams in its net of curls. "I’ve come into St. Louis specifically to meet you. Now that I’ve taken over AEI, I want to make sure our contractors are still happy with their original agreements," he explained. "I also need to be assured that I want to continue working with the firms already on line.

"I just flew in from Memphis after the unsavory business of breaking relations with the company down there." He grimaced. "What a mess! Sloppy installations ruined landscaping from stampeding incompetents, and some very angry clients. And I don’t blame them." He jammed his fists into his coat pockets. "That kind of irresponsible work is reason, in large part, why AEI had been going downhill before I assumed control. I’m determined to stop it." His chin lifted, his dark eyes snapped with energy. "I want only the best…and I mean to have it!"

Casey tensed as she watched what she silently termed Shawn’s soapbox tirade. "Is that a threat, Mr. O’Brien?" Her voice was deceptively soft and level, her senses coiled, waiting for his answer. But she was put completely off balance when he once again aimed a dazzling smile in her direction.

"Not at all, Ms. McDermott." He answered smoothly, using the same formal address. "Just because we got off on the wrong foot -- because of my error, I hasten to add, due no doubt to my bad experience in Memphis -- that doesn’t infer that your company isn’t the best in this area."

"Well, shall we go then?" interrupted Mike, blowing on his hands to show how cold he was, standing in the chill wind.

"Okay." But Casey wished she didn’t have to spend more time with the disconcerting Mr. O’Brien. "We’ll go back to the office and have our discussion. But I can tell you now," she said, boldly glaring at Shawn. "We can do it all…and we do it right!"

"I’ll bet you can, too," Shawn observed beneath his breath after Mike hurried to put the ladder on the truck.

"I beg your pardon!" Had she been less rattled, she might have seen the humor in her opposing emotions -- vulnerable and wary.

"I said, I’ll follow you." He answered as if he were repeating himself but an arrogantly raised brow told her otherwise.

"Come on," ordered Mike on his return. His words created puffs of white vapor in the air. "Let’s get going."

He grabbed Casey’s arm and ran with her to the heavy-duty truck parked on the side street. He’d seen the signs of another argument brewing and he wanted to stop it, though it might have made for interesting listening. He suspected that his pint-sized, stubborn sister had finally crossed swords with someone whose temper matched her own. But it was too darn cold to find out!

Shawn jogged effortlessly to a sleek black sports car parked behind the truck. When he opened the door, he called in a distinctly provocative voice. "This is rented and a little more racy than its driver."

"I doubt that!" Casey shot back, laughing, raising an arrogant brow of her own as she climbed up into the cab of the red truck. His easy laughter at her retort signaled with unerring accuracy that the gauntlet had been thrown down; the lines of battle had been drawn. And she simultaneously rose to his challenge and wavered apprehensively at the possible repercussions.

Mike accelerated along the highway, making sure Shawn was following. Then he looked over at his sister, taking in with one swift glance, the determination of her profile. "He likes you," he teased softly.

"Well, the feeling certainly isn’t mutual!" she huffed, her eyes flashing emerald sparks. "Of all the misinformed human beings I’ve met, Mr. Shawn O’Brien tops the list." Her censure gained momentum. "The gall of that man! Without even listening, he tells us we’re wrong…and that I should be fired! Humph!"

"I think the lady doth protest too much," her brother mocked. He reached over and patted her knee. "Come on, Sis, admit it. The guy turned you on."

"He did not!" Her face turned scarlet before she had any inkling she was going to blush. "He’s…he’s arrogant. Besides, he’ll only be here for a day or two." Agitated, she stuffed her carrot top curls back under her knitted cap. "I’ll be civil to him for the sake of our business and that’s all. He better not have any other ideas in his handsome head."

Mike chortled happily. "So! He did get to you."

"Mich-ael!"

"Well, you just said he was handsome, Casey."

"Lord, Mike, will you stop?" But she could feel a little smile tug at the corners of her pink mouth. "Any woman with eyes in her head would see that he’s attractive but that doesn’t mean I like him."

"Whatever you say, Sis," he countered in a teasing voice. "Whatever you say."

He pulled the truck into the parking lot, waiting to open his door until Shawn had parked his car beside them. Together, the three walked into the office, each breathing deeply of the warm interior, fragrant with the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee.

"Hi, you guys." The woman was a slightly younger version of Casey. "Did you get the job finished already? Coffee’s on." Her alert eyes rested for a moment on the new face in the crowd. "I don’t think we’ve met," she said pleasantly, smiling up at Shawn’s tall presence.

"I believe we talked on the phone earlier," said Shawn, silently noting the familial similarity.

Mike bent over to plant a warm brotherly kiss on the woman’s cheek. "Hi, love. I’d like you to meet Shawn O’Brien, the new owner of AEI." He turned to Shawn. "And I’d like you to meet my middle sister, Maureen Malone, wife of John over there acting like he’s working, and mother of six-year-old Katie, the light of her Uncle Mike’s eye. Maureen is our office manager," he explained further. "Generally speaking, she tells us all where to go!" He laughed at his own joke.

Shawn favored her with a warm smile. "It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Maureen." Then he walked past Mike and Casey to shake hands with her husband. "John. May I say you have a beautiful wife?"

"You may." John sent a loving smile toward his attractive spouse. "And she’s intelligent too," he added, bringing his six feet plus frame upright and chuckling softly. "After all, she married me!" He easily dodged a wadded paper missile.

Shawn walked leisurely around the office and stopped finally at the waist-high divider near Casey. Their bodies almost touched when he too leaned against the sturdy partition. He gazed at Casey as he casually folded his arms across his chest. "Are the four of you the entire McDermott Company?"

"No," Casey replied, trying to keep her voice level. "We have two more men who work in the warehouse and help with larger jobs -- John’s brother and our cousin."

"Ah, a little nepotism!" Shawn teased beneath his breath, his eyes instantly drawn to the cloud of flaming hair released from its woolen prison when Casey angrily pulled the cap from her head. Unaccountably his fingers flexed, wanting to play with the soft curls. "Do all the McDermott’s have red hair?" he asked abruptly.

Defiantly she stood to face him, pulling herself to her full height, yet still barely able to meet him eye-to-eye in his relaxed position. "To reply to your first observation, Mr. O’Brien, we are a family company and we find family members our best and most productive workers. And yes, all McDermott’s have red hair."

Neither was aware of the startled glances exchanged by the other three in the room.

Maureen stood quickly. "How’s about that coffee now?" Assuming the role of hostess, she immediately served the strong brew in heavy earthen mugs. "Take off your coats and stay awhile," she ordered, laughing.

Not ready yet to give up the good fight, Casey began again. "I’ll bet you have dozens of cousins and nieces…and all kinds of relatives working for you," she challenged.

"Or a wife?" Shawn countered smoothly, making Casey look up with a jerk, almost spilling her steaming coffee.

In an instant she regained her composure. "I was only making an observation."

"I have no family."

Casey saw a flickering shadow of sadness cross his handsome features. Then it was gone.

Smiling, he continued. "No family at all. No mother. No father. No sisters or brothers, and consequently, no nieces or nephews. And," he ended, darting a wicked grin in Casey’s direction, "definitely no wife." He looked out at the gathering twilight as if his mind had wandered far away. "I’d give a lot to be a part of a family, one like yours."

"You mean you were an orphan?" Mike spoke softly.

Shawn nodded his head. "Since I was three-months-old when my parents were killed in a seaplane crash. The good Sisters at Guardian Angels Orphanage in Hilo, Hawaii raised me."

Casey heard his words, but could make no response.

John shook his head. "What a touch break."

"How awful," added Maureen, her softhearted concern evident in her tone.

Shawn smiled again, knowing they were wondering what it might be like to be completely alone. "It was a long time ago. Thirty-eight years, to be exact. And since I don’t have a family of my own…yet, I’ve gathered around me some of the finest friends a man could have, and they’re my family now."

"Well, if you had to be an orphan, I guess the best place in the world would be in Hawaii," said Mike. He always looked for the bright side in any dilemma.

"Right you are, Mike," said Shawn, joining him to banish the sad mood. "I found my best friend in the ocean off Hilo when I was about eight years old. I was on an outing with the other kids from ‘Angels’," he explained. "His name is Tom Puka, mostly Hawaiian and some Polynesian, with a family of five sisters and seven brothers. Now, that’s a big family," he added, laughing gruffly. "His parents were good people and welcomed me into their wild clan. Mama Puka always said there was room for one more…and then one more. Tom is my chief engineer at the plant in Tucson. And as long as I let him go home twice a year, he says he’ll put up with the Mainland."

The five drifted over to the comfortable leather chairs at the conference table and sat down. Again Shawn turned his attention to Casey, who had been very quiet. "What about your folks? What are they like?"

"Mom died after a long illness when I was seventeen," she began.

"And that’s why she still thinks she has to be mother hen to her married sister and her almost engaged brother," lamented Mike, covering skillfully any feelings of loss.

"Last year Dad passed on suddenly with a heart attack," Casey continued. She swallowed the lump that still came into her throat when she thought of her father -- her friend and personal role model in business. "We all miss him very much."

"I’m sorry, Casey." Shawn tensed, feeling her pain. "I didn’t know."

She turned to him and smiled poignantly, unaware that her trembling lips did strange things to Shawn’s equilibrium. "No need, Shawn. How could you know? We’re the ones who should feel compassion for you. You never had the opportunity to know your parents while we had many years with our mother and enjoyed our father’s good humor and suffered his flaming temper, I might add, until we were all grown." She grimaced comically at her mention of her father’s temper. "And before you ask, yes, I suppose I’m the one to inherit it."

"I didn’t say a word." But his dancing eyes and lively smile told her he was thinking exactly that. I’ll bet it would never be boring, knowing a woman like her, he mused.

The desire for another verbal duel evaporated with her profound reaction to that disarming smile. She was bewildered by the perverse new feelings churning inside her body. Glancing up, she caught a quizzical benevolent smile from her sister and a teasing "I told you so" smirk directed at her by her brother. John just sat there, looking up at the ceiling as if he were intensely interested in the construction of the building, all the while, humming softly to himself.

Casey made her back ramrod straight and took a deep breath to quell her nervousness and her impatience with her family. She almost collapsed when her sweeping glance collided with Shawn’s smoldering gaze. Refusing to move a muscle, she swallowed hard. "Shall we get on with this meeting?" She used her most serious tone. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Yes, we do, Casey." Shawn’s offhand comment threatened her composure. And if looks could kill, the glare she sent to her brother would surely have done the job as he tried valiantly not to snicker.

Finally Maureen took pity on her sister. "Tell us something about your plans for AEI, won’t you, Shawn?"

It was an effort for him to answer; he liked watching Casey. "Basically our main item right now is our new active solar panel. The time is right to expand this area of our business, what with all the trouble in foreign oil countries. I think we have one of the finest products in America."

"We couldn’t agree with you more," interjected Casey, speaking as the astute businesswoman. "We researched and investigated over a dozen companies before we decided your product was the best on the market."

"I’m glad we agree on something," Shawn teased, but Casey was not to be derailed now. She was talking business.

"Your product is more efficient than any other model on the market today," she continued. "And the design is unique in that the panels track the sun twelve hours every day, giving maximum exposure to solar Btu’s. The added fact that you stand behind your product convinced us to work with your firm," she added. "In short, Shawn, we like your design."

When he thanked her for her kind words, he favored her with another charming smile, and Casey’s fingers reached again for her coffee to fill the quiet moment. If he didn’t stop flirting, she was going to hit him over the head with her cup! she promised herself.

Shawn got her unspoken message and turned back to the group. "What other energy conservation projects have you handled?"

"Get comfortable," cautioned Mike. "You’re about to hear a long list."

"Shoot!" Shawn leaned back in his chair and sipped at his steaming coffee.

"We’ve done sun rooms, green houses, and passive solar in addition to your active panels." He took a breath. "We’ve also worked with a manufacturer of photo voltaic cells, but they’re exorbitantly expensive and not very efficient. It’s the coming wave though, we think." He glanced at Casey for confirmation. "Making electricity directly from the sun is going to make a big difference in a few years."

Shawn sat forward in his chair and directed his gaze from one member of the roundtable to the next. "What would you say if I told you that within four months AEI is going to have, ready for market, a photo voltaic cell which will produce electricity cheaply and feed it right into the electric meter for credit?" He scrutinized the silent, disbelieving faces around him.

"You’d hook it up with your solar panels now being installed?" John asked, leaning forward himself.

Shawn nodded. "We’re testing it right now at the plant. Everything looks very promising. The stats are bearing out our theory."

Casey secretly doubted his far-flung claims. "How did you break through the high cost of the silicon sand?"

Shawn’s expression was somewhat surprised at her intuitive, straight-to-the-heart question. The woman knew what she was talking about! "We’ve been able to prove that a lower grade sand -- less sterile -- will do the job just as well, and of course, at great savings to the consumer."

"I hope you’ll give us the chance to test it in a colder climate," enthused Mike. "What an opportunity that would be."

"I was thinking, since your company has had so much experience in a significantly short period of time, that I’d ask you to test it first in the nation." He smiled when he heard Casey’s indrawn breath. That had gotten her attention! "I’d like AEI to be the leader in all available technology, not only in solar. But I need a company that can work it all out…then make it happen. Maybe McDermott’s is that company. Tell me more."

John took up the reins of conversation while Casey remained lost in her thoughts. Being first in the nation would really put McDermott’s on the map.

"We’ve installed wind mills and water wheels," said John, counting the jobs off on his strong work-roughened fingers. "We’ve done wood stoves and fireplaces, and bermed walls. We’ve installed insulating shades bringing the glass up to an R14 factor. That’s one of the top measurements in the country," he added, proudly. "And of course, I can’t tell you how many ceiling fans we’ve installed -- hundreds, probably."

"Impressive," exclaimed Shawn, whistling softly. "That’s the reason why I’d like to ask your opinion on an idea I’ve been working on for some months now. As I said, I’d like AEI to be the leader, not only in solar, but in all available technology from caulking air leaks and basic insulation to the more sophisticated, exotic types of hardware. But I need to bring into my company those people able to review a consumer’s needs both in financial and energy specifications…and then, make it happen.

He sliced a glance at Casey who was sitting quietly, digesting all that he’d said. "I understand your firm was responsible for a change in the bracketing mechanism on our panels some months before I took over. It was a fine piece of engineering," he complimented, "and certainly has increased the stability."

"You’re sitting next to the person responsible," boasted Maureen. "My sister, the screwdriver engineer! She can’t ignore any part of anything that isn’t top grade." She smiled proudly at Casey. "I can’t tell you the hours she spent at the drawing board on that bracket, and then the days she spent with the metallurgist at the steel mill across the river in Granite City. She worked on it for weeks. When she was finally satisfied, that’s when AEI heard about it. They began to use it immediately."

"And they don’t break anymore," added Mike, chuckling at his sister’s discomfort at being put into the spotlight.

Shawn turned back toward Casey. "I’m overwhelmed." His face expressed a begrudging respect for her expertise coupled with his growing awareness of her as a woman. "You really can do it all, can’t you, Casey?" His gaze fell to her full soft lips, throwing another log on the crackling fire that was growing untended within Casey’s body. "I’m truly impressed."

Casey fiddled with a pencil that had somehow found its way into her nervous fingers. "I’ve been trying to tell you since the first moment we met that McDermott’s can do the job…and we don’t make mistakes!" She smiled nervously, trying to soften her surprisingly belligerent tone.

"My error," Shawn replied. His words sounded genuinely repentant.

"Actually you made two errors," cut in Mike, eager to share Shawn’s first meeting with Casey. "You thought my big sister and boss was nothing but a little gofer…a kid!"

Shawn paid no attention to Mike’s replay of his humiliating encounter. Instead he leaned over and lifted a silky strand of Casey’s flame-red hair, watching it curl softly around his strong tanned fingers. "And that may have been the biggest mistake of my life, woman." The underlying sensuality of his words captivated her.

Casey felt the heat of embarrassment and, heaven help her, attraction, course through her veins. This was all wrong!

She sighed deeply, knowing that this man was going to be a formidable opponent. He was not at all like Jack, the young man to whom she’d been engaged soon after high school graduation. He’d always been easygoing and pliable. Even when they made love, he invariably bowed to her wishes. Perhaps that was why she’d broken the engagement. He hadn’t been strong enough for her. But she knew instinctively that this stranger, Shawn O’Brien, was the type of man who wouldn’t stop until he got exactly what he wanted. Well, he wasn’t going to get her!

Before she could gather her defenses, he whispered an invitation. "Have dinner with me tonight, Casey. I want to spend some time with you."

She rose from her chair, forcing him to relinquish the tenuous hold he had on her. "I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Shawn." She tried to still the tremor in her voice. "I have a previous commitment." She glanced at her watch before struggling into her heavy lumber jacket, prepared to make her exit.

Undaunted, Shawn stood and faced her, gazing at her wild curls. "Can’t you change your plans?" His smile was tender, yet assured.

Casey felt as if she were about to explode. "Absolutely not!" She bit out the words. And when his teasing eyes softened with gentle understanding, she wanted to scream! He thought she was afraid. Well, prodded her heart, aren’t you?

"I have to compose an acceptance speech for an award we’re to receive next Friday evening," she explained, bridling at his patient expression. "And I think we’ll have to reschedule this meeting for Monday…that is, if you’ll still be in town," she rushed on. "Tomorrow we have the installation at the Bluebell address." She aimed her little dart well and knew she’d hit the target by his upraised brow. "They take a full eight hours to install so there won’t be time after that." She forced her voice back down to normal. "Will you be here next week?"

"Oh, I’ll be here." He shrugged into his expensive beige storm coat. "In fact, I intend to be here for the next four weeks." He continued to smile, a cat toying with a mouse. "Surely a woman of your intelligence doesn’t need to write a short acceptance speech a whole week in advance," he cajoled. "And you do have to eat. Why not have a bite with me?"

His expression was noncommittal, but his eyes held a challenge. Can you meet me halfway? his burning gaze asked.

Casey was painfully aware of her audience. She didn’t like being backed into a corner like this, especially with onlookers who seemed glued to every word. Maureen actually looked like she was holding her breath, Casey thought in exasperation. And didn’t all three of them know her rule? How stupid to expect her to change it now. For him.

"I’m not dressed for dinner," she said, hoping to sidestep his invitation. "Thanks anyway, but I think I’d better just go home." She began to gather her things.

Undeterred, he went on. "Well, there’s probably fifty fast-food places along the highway. Why not go to one of those? Your choice! Burgers, tacos, chicken, barbeque, fish, steaks, Chinese -- what do you say? I’d really like to continue our conference, Casey. And since you are the boss, you’re the one I should be dealing with," he added logically. "Do both our companies a favor and say yes."

Casey’s mind was running at a furious pace. Was he really being so insistent because he wanted to work closely with McDermott’s? Had she misread the glitter of personal challenge in his eyes? Did she want to take the chance of alienating the respect he obviously held for the company? Her face showed all the conflicting questions she was trying to answer. And in those moments Shawn stood relaxed and patient, watching her.

Finally she nodded. "All right, Shawn. I bow to your persistence. We’ll get some burgers and fries…and continue this business conference." She made sure to emphasize the word. "But I can only give you an hour, then I have to get back home."

"An hour should be just about right," he confided, his dark eyes sparkling merrily.

Casey’s heart instantly fell to her feet. Now she knew she hadn’t misinterpreted his duel intent. Why hadn’t she followed her first impression about him? She’d been dating and parrying the advances of interested males for years. Experience had taught her to read the signals. Trying to correct her mistake, she opened her mouth to say she’d changed her mind.

"Can we get good chocolate malts where we’re going? Burgers and fries don’t mean a thing to me without a malt to go with them." He wasn’t going to let her back out!

"Go to Duffy’s," advised Mike, starting to shepherd them to the door. "They make double-thick, double-rich malts. My girlfriend and I go there all the time. Now get going before they get crowded."

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