The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

still be sitting at home, staring at a computer screen."

    Jared framed her face with his hands, his expression turning serious. "What's your home like? A snazzy little apartment in Seattle?"

    "I like it."

    "How long have you lived there?"

    "Since my husband went off to devote himself to his talent."

    "What was he like, this ex-husband of yours?"

    "He's a man who has the soul of a poet. A writer of great undiscovered literary potential, or so he told me."

    "Why did you marry him?"

    "Good question. When we were first introduced we were both aspiring writers. I thought he was sensitive, intelligent and supportive," Kate said slowly. "And he was. At first. He liked the fact that I had a full-time job and could support him while he devoted himself to his writing. But then I got published and he didn't, and he blamed me for his failure and things went downhill from there. I now realize, of course, that he was really weak, neurotic, self-centered and a whiner. Goes to show how one can change one's opinion of a person, doesn't it?"

    "Where is he now?"

    "I'm not sure. Last I heard he was hanging out at an elite writers' colony, reading his poems to other writers who all agree with him that the only reason they're unpublished is because the world does not appreciate true genius."

    "Miss him?"

    "No." Kate smiled. "And I know he doesn't miss me. Toward the end of our relationship, I had gotten tired of coddling his overinflated ego and even more tired of dealing with his nasty little remarks about my writing. I'm afraid I turned a tad shrewish."

    "I'm shocked. You? A shrew?"

    "That was how Harry saw me."

    "Probably because he didn't know how to deal with you," Jared said easily. "So your ex turned tail and ran, hmm?"

    "Packed his bags and walked out after making a suitably dramatic farewell speech. I cried for about fifteen minutes, and then my friends Sarah and Margaret came over and took me out for champagne and pizza. They told me I was lucky to see the last of good old Harry, and within forty-eight hours I knew they were right. But it took a while to put it all behind me."

    Jared nodded soberly. "Harry was not the man for you."

    "Truer words were never spoken." The man for her existed only between the covers of her books and here on AmethystIsland, Kate reflected silently.

    Jared grinned. "On the other hand, be sure you remember what you yourself said earlier."

    "What's that?"

    "Unlike your ex-husband, I am perfect. Your very words."

    She laughed softly. "I'm not sure you can hold me responsible for that remark. I was under the influence of a lot of raging hormones at the time."

    "If that's the way you're going to be about it, I'll just have to enrage your hormones until you say it again." Jared shifted, rolling her beneath him. "And again and again."

    "We could be here all night."

    "That thought had occurred to me." He lowered his head and took her mouth.

    A long time later Kate sighed and snuggled close. "Perfect," she murmured.

    The next few days passed in a haze of passion and laughter. Kate went snorkeling in the cove with David, toured the island with Jared and his son in a Jeep, ate papaya and impossibly fresh fish and spent every possible stolen hour in the arms of her dream lover.

    Those hours had to be grabbed when they were available because Jared, Kate soon learned, in addition to being a father, was a very busy man. His schedule was unpredictable and usually very full. One moment he was going over special banquet arrangements with his food and beverage manager and the next he was dealing with a crisis involving the pool filter machinery. Kate sought him out one afternoon and discovered him helping his staff fold a huge stack of towels in the resort's hot laundry room.

    "The assistant housekeeper's daughter is having her baby. She went over to Ruby to be with her and two of the laundry room staff went along. They're all family. None of them made it back this morning, so we're short-handed," he'd explained tersely, folding a towel with precision.

    "Want me to give you a hand?" Kate asked, picking up a fluffy white towel that bore the Crystal Cove crest.

    Jared blinked in surprise and then grinned broadly. "I'll take any help I can get."

    "Just be sure you also take a few bucks off my room bill for today, okay?"

    "You bet. Want to flip a coin for the day's tab? Double or nothing?"

    "Not on your life, Hawthorne. Unlike everyone else around here, I only bet on a sure thing."

    The