His white shirt was still crisp over a husky though not heavy frame, and he wore the most expensive of suits, pearl gray, custom tailored. He had tossed the suit jacket over one shoulder and loosened his tie; his blond hair was a bit disheveled from the hot afternoon wind, and there was a lazy look in his brown eyes that she remembered well. He took one look at Erica and started laughing, approaching with the wariness of one who had to search to find a place to kiss. With both hands on her waist from behind, he nudged at the strands of hair at the nape of her neck and kissed with a tickle.

“Morgan! You devil!” she scolded, her eyes automatically brightening at the sight of him. “We haven’t seen you in so long!”

“I just can’t believe it! Miss Country Club turned worker! Honey, when you strip down to the essentials…lush.” he praised her appearance, examining with relish and in detail her long legs and feminine figure. “You get better-looking every time I see you, Erica.”

“Well, of course,” she said cheekily, knowing exactly what she looked like next to Morgan Shane in his expensive attire. She was barefoot, her hair was tangled and she wore no bra under a T-shirt that should have been in the rag bag. Still, he had the gift. When she first met him she’d been unnerved by the way he mentally undressed anyone in skirts, and because he’d been Kyle’s closest friend he’d been difficult to avoid. Now she felt only a bubble of amusement at his survey of her, immediately aware that Morgan realized she wore no bra, and that her figure was more than passable. Her ego had been low and promptly climbed two notches. “But what are you doing here, Morgan? Aren’t you a little far from palm-tree country?”

“Shane, Inc. decided to have a little look-see in the Midwest with a view toward expansion. That was the excuse. The real reason was to find out why you and Kyle haven’t surfaced above ground since you came to Wisconsin-and besides, I figured you’d be bored by now with no uninvited strangers dropping by once a month to mess up your plans.”