Triplets Found: The Virgin's Makeover / Take a Chance on Me / And Then There Were Three

“What about him?” Lissa asked, tracing his eyebrow with her finger.

“Are you going to cancel your dinner plans?”

“Why should I?” she asked.

“Just wondered. That’s all.” He tried to keep the reaction from his face, the furrowed brow, the frown. The surprise. Disappointment, too.

Lissa was going out with the guy anyway?

She brushed a lock of hair from his forehead, her fingers lingering on his skin. “I know you don’t like Anthony, although I can’t figure out why. It’s only a dinner. Besides, you’ll be leaving soon.”

And that meant she’d have another lover waiting in the wings.

Sullivan’s gut knotted. But only because his successor might be Anthony Martinelli. That’s the only reason.

He didn’t want her to go, but what was he supposed to say? I want you to myself?

No way. Sullivan wasn’t into promises and commitments. Not with women.

Not even when the lady looked as good as Lissa and fit so nicely in his arms.

Besides, his work here would be over soon. And if she was taking the affair this casually, all the better for him. All the easier his leaving would be.

So why did he still feel like clobbering the old guy?

Like a masochistic fool, Sullivan sat on the porch of his cottage, waiting for Martinelli’s car to pull up. He still couldn’t believe Lissa hadn’t called off the date. Hell, she’d even left the vineyard office early to get ready.

And here he was—babysitting the darn dog like a lovesick clown.

What kind of deal was that?

In the wee hours of the morning, before she’d left to sneak back into her house, Sullivan had again asked her if the dinner was still on. He’d expected her to tell him she would call Martinelli and cancel. After all, it didn’t seem right to spend the night making love with one man, then go out to dinner with another when the sheets were hardly cold.

“Anthony and I have known each other for years,” she’d told him. As if that negated what Martinelli had up his sleeve.

“We’re just friends,” she’d added.

Oh yeah? Well somebody ought to tell the old buzzard that. Martinelli wanted more from Lissa than friendship.

The puppy growled, then barked and tugged on his new yellow leash, trying to get Sullivan’s attention. Barney wanted to go for a walk near the pond, as they’d done in the past. But Sullivan wasn’t going anywhere.

He preferred to stew on the porch about something that shouldn’t bother him at all.

When a champagne-colored, late-model Lexus pulled up, Sullivan tensed his jaw. He watched as Martinelli climbed from the car and headed to the house, all decked up in a classy suit. Suave and sophisticated. Tall and lean.

The guy looked good for his age. Too good. He probably had a gym in his house. And steered clear of fats and carbs.

Sullivan grumbled under his breath. Maybe he ought to just take the dog for a walk, watch Barney chase one of the old ducks that waddled in and out of the pond.

If Lissa weren’t in danger of falling for another old duck, he would.

Well, hell. Someone had to look out for her. She might have lost her virginity, but she was still innocent, as far as Sullivan was concerned.

He’d unleashed a lamb into the wild, so now it was his responsibility to look after her.

And for that reason, he planned to sit right here until Martinelli brought her home.

Chapter Nine

Lissa peered at her reflection in the mirror and sighed at the sight of puffy, dark circles under her eyes. They really didn’t surprise her. She’d spent most of last night in the cottage with Sullivan, which had left her sexually fulfilled, but exhausted.

She glanced at her wristwatch. Nearly five-fifteen. Anthony would be here any minute, if he wasn’t downstairs already. She probably should have canceled the date with him. And she wasn’t entirely sure why she hadn’t.

Maybe because Sullivan expected her to. And maybe because she didn’t want her lover to think she was making more out of their relationship than it was, or that she expected more than he was willing to give.

There was, of course, another reason she’d agreed to go out with Anthony. Other than that high-school fiasco with Milt Preston, Lissa had never been on a real date before.

Besides, Sullivan would be leaving soon. So where would that leave her? She had a life to think about, a future.

“Lissa,” her mom called from the living room. “Anthony is here.”

She took one last glance at the mirror, then headed downstairs. She’d chosen the same black dress she’d worn to the dinner party, rather than one of the more stylish outfits Jared had purchased. She looked all right—and certainly not like a woman who was having a heated affair on the sly.

A yawn slipped out, as she entered the spacious living room, where her mother and Anthony chatted on different sides of the sofa. She would definitely have to make this an early night.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Lissa told Anthony.

“No problem.” He stood and cast her a charming smile. “You look lovely.”

“Thank you.”

His gaze caressed her and lingered longer than was appropriate for a business dinner. She might have downplayed his romantic interest before, but she saw it now. Clearly. Sullivan had been right—about Anthony’s interest in her, but not about his character.

Anthony Martinelli was a very nice man. Too old for her, she supposed. But a good conversationalist. And handsome.

Who knew what might develop down the road. Wasn’t that why people dated? To learn more about each other? Of course, in Lissa’s case, she still had a lot to learn about herself—at least in affairs of the heart.

She turned to her mother, wondering whether her mom had picked up a vibe that this evening was a date and not at all business-related.

Mom merely smiled at the old family friend. “I hope you two get a chance to enjoy the meal, Anthony. Lissa has been so focused on Virgin Mist that she hasn’t taken any time for herself.”

Apparently, her mother thought bags under the eyes were the result of burning the midnight oil and not from making love until dawn.

“Shall we go?” Anthony asked.

“Do try to have some fun,” her mother said, as she walked them to the door.

“I’ll make sure of it, Donna.” Anthony placed a gentle hand upon Lissa’s back and escorted her out of the house and to his car.