Kate Hoffmann: The Drifter

She reached for the zipper of her jacket and slowly drew it down. “Aren’t you going to tell me how much you want me?”

Charlie held his breath as she stripped off everything but her bra and panties, the same bra and panties she’d shown him via videophone. “I’ll never stop wanting you,” he murmured, reaching out to smooth his hand along her thigh. “So, Evie, what exactly does this mean? What did you come all this way to tell me?”

She smiled. “I want a life with you, Charlie. I want you there when I open my new restaurant in Seattle. I want you to taste my recipes for my new cookbook and I want you to stand in the wings while I tape my first show. I want to start our business together. I want to travel to all the places you mentioned and more. We’ll eat our way around the world. And I want to-”

Charlie pressed his finger to her lips, then softly shushed her. “Just say it, Evie. Be brave and just say it.” He drew his hand away from her face.

“I love you, Charlie.”

He knew it was a moment he’d remember for the rest of his life. All the details would come back to him years from now-the wind flapping at the tent, the scent of her hair, the way her skin felt beneath his fingertips. “And I love you, Eve.”

“We’re going to have a wonderful life together, Charlie,” she said. “With lots of adventure. And I think we should start that life right now.” She pushed him down on the cot, then crawled on top of him.

“Bring it on,” Charlie said with a laugh.

ANGELA WEATHERBY STARED at her computer screen, trying to decide what was wrong with the beginning of the fifth chapter of her book. She’d been doing so well. The Charmer, the Drifter. But now, she’d run up against a wall-and the memory of a man who’d once been the object of all of her most vivid fantasies.

Max Morgan. The most gorgeous man she’d ever met. They’d gone to high school together in Evanston and then attended the same college. And until her junior year at Northwestern, he’d been the only man she’d ever loved-even though it had been from afar.

They’d spoken just once. Angela had been assigned a story for the college newspaper about a “beefcake” calendar that one of the frats was selling to benefit a local charity. Max Morgan had been the subject of the interview. Even after all this time, she couldn’t remember a single thing they’d said to each other. After reviewing her tape, she’d been mortified at how foolish she’d sounded. It was no wonder a guy like Max would have never noticed a girl like her.

Angela sighed softly. Fast-forward five years, to a night that had been burned indelibly into Angela’s mind. She’d made a blind date and was scheduled to meet the cousin of a coworker at a popular sports bar. Instead, she’d looked across the bar and found Max Morgan staring at her.

He’d been in town, his team playing a three-game series with the White Sox. He’d been surrounded by women, but he’d looked across the bar and their gazes had met…and held. He’d smiled, a silent invitation for her to come and talk to him. But Angela had been so nervous, she’d turned away. And when she looked back, he’d moved on to another girl.

“The Sexy Devil,” she murmured.

She’d always wondered what made a guy like him tick. He could have any woman he wanted. He’d dated models and actresses and heiresses. He’d been on the front covers of men’s magazines and the tabloids. Max Morgan was the quintessential bad boy, the kind of guy every woman wanted to tame. If she could get an interview with him for her book, then maybe she’d be able to gain some interesting insights into all smooth operators.

Angela smiled to herself. Wow, she’d really managed to rationalize that. In truth, she was curious. Curious to see if he remembered her. Curious to see if she still felt an attraction to him. Curious to see what kind of man Max had become.

But she’d made a few mistakes trying to get inter views for some of the earlier chapters in her book. She’d never been able to connect with Alex Stamos. Constant phone calls hadn’t worked. So she’d decided to try a more aggressive approach with Charlie Templeton, tracking him down in Boulder. But that hadn’t worked either.

This time, Angela was going to try a bit of subterfuge. If Max had been attracted to her once, then maybe he’d be attracted again. She’d just have to find a way to meet him. She picked up an invitation she’d received recently for a charity event sponsored by a Chicago Children’s Hospital.

“Hosted by major leaguers Max Morgan and Kirk Caldwell,” she said to herself. She knew exactly where he’d be in two weeks. And she planned to be there, too.

“You will not believe this,” Ceci said, poking her head in Angela’s office door. “I just got a note from a woman who wrote a profile for our site and she and the guy she profiled are moving in together. And guess who the guy is?”

“Considering we have tens of thousands of profiles on our site, that’s going to be a bit difficult.”

“You’ve met him,” she hinted.

“Max Morgan?”

“No!” Ceci cried. “Wait. You know Max Morgan?”

“No,” Angela lied. “Well, I know of him. I don’t know him like…you know…”

“Charlie Templeton,” Ceci said. “The guy you tried to interview out in Colorado. I guess he’s ready to settle down and this woman wants us to take the profile down.”

“What did you say?”

“I said we could take her comments down but the others would stay up.”

“What did she say?”

“She said fine and hung up.”

Angela leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. “This is weird. I try to interview both these guys and they’ve both suddenly found the perfect women. What are the odds of that?”

“I guess it just proves my point,” Ceci said. “Even though you don’t want to believe it, men can change.”

Angela looked at her friend and business partner. “Maybe,” she murmured.

After Ceci left the room, Angela returned to her computer, staring for a long moment at her manuscript. Then, she opened her favorite search engine and typed in Max Morgan’s name. A photo of him escorting a famous model to dinner came up first.

“You’re next, Max Morgan. If I’ve suddenly got the power to turn smooth operators into devoted partners, then I’m coming for you next.”

Kate Hoffmann began writing for Harlequin Books in 1993. Since then she’s published sixty novels, primarily in the Harlequin Temptation and Harlequin Blaze lines. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys music, theater and musical theater. She is active working with high school students in the performing arts. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her two cats, Chloe and Tally.