Carly Phillips - Simply Sexy

She'd asked herself what would, looking inside herself for answers. She'd always been curious about human nature, drawn to people and relationships. Like Emma, she'd even indulged in matchmaking with her brother, Jake, and his wife, Brianne. She'd decided to use her people skills and her childhood habit of writing and documenting ideas, and put them to good use.

And now she had her column. "But my outlook is fresh and new since moving to Ashford," she said, meaning every word.

Emma nodded. "Good thing you packed up and moved on." She studied Rina with eyes full of wisdom.

"Amen, sister." Rina grinned and hit Emma's hand in a high five, laughing at the older woman's spunk.

Rina had no doubt Emma had seen a lot in the decades she'd lived, and she'd obviously learned how to get the most out of every person she met and opportunity she saw, a philosophy Rina had adopted too from the minute she'd decided to sell the penthouse and move on. So what if she'd had to pull a few strings to get this job?

Corinne's father lived in the same retirement community as Rina's parents. Of course, Corinne's father was much older than Rina's parents, but in Florida, if a man had teeth and the ability to walk upright, golfing and bridge buddies formed. When Rina learned that Corinne had taken over her husband's newspaper, she picked up the phone, the two women hit it off, and Rina had herself a job. One she wouldn't hold on to if she wasn't successful.

But she would be.

"Ah. More silence. You're thinking. That's okay. As long as you speak wisely to yourself, that's what counts." Emma broke into Rina's thoughts. "But if you should want to share your thoughts, I'd be more than happy to listen."

"You're so nosy." Rina glanced at Emma with all the warmth she felt toward her. "Not to mention perceptive."

"Live as long as I have and you'd better have learned something," Emma replied with a wink. "Now, I want to hear more about your upcoming series. Did I mention that I admire your gumption?"

"Not lately," Rina said wryly.

Ignoring the writing implement tucked behind her ear, Emma picked up a pencil and tapped the eraser against the desk. "Catching a man is so much more complicated today than in my youth. Instead of pinching cheeks for color, you swipe on blush, and in place of tissues, I hear the water bra is all the rage now." She paused for an obvious inspection of Rina's attributes. "And though you're a natural beauty, it would help you with the competition if you used some enhancement, too."

Rina shook her head. The older woman was unbelievable.

"What do men want? Pfft," Emma said. "You'll never know because they'll never tell." She waved a regal hand in the air, dismissing the notion out of hand.

"I don't want them to tell me, I plan to use my powers of observation to figure it out. Methodically." Rina pulled out the list she'd compiled from the folder on her desk. "And it's not just appearance. It's also in how a woman acts, walks and talks." She swiveled her hips for effect.

"More movement," Emma suggested.

Rina sashayed her waist and ended with a rendition of Britney Spears that would do any twenty-year-old proud. From across the room, one of the remaining layout editors, who was just putting on his jacket, applauded.

Rina grinned and bowed. "You see? Attitude makes a difference," she said with a nod. "The question is, what's more important? Attitude or intellect? Wouldn't a smart man want a woman with whom he can carry on a breakfast conversation?" she asked Emma.

"No. Men want arm candy."

Rina cocked her head to the side. "Come on. They can't be that shallow a species."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Get with the program, Rina. All men want a woman they're proud to display on their arm. It's the male ego, dear."

"That's true." Much as she hated to admit it. Take her deceased husband. After their marriage, he'd ostensibly fired her as his legal secretary, giving her a life of luxury most women would die to live. In exchange, he'd wanted a stay-at-home wife, one who was comfortable entertaining guests and who dressed well so he was proud to have her by his side. "You do have a point."

"And trust me," Emma said. "The reason you're still flying solo after being in this town for three months is because you're doing nothing to enhance your appearance."

Rina put a hand to her unflattering bun and grinned. "I know."

"Forgive me, but I simply don't understand." Emma shook her head, her look of confusion obvious. "I can see your potential. I've offered to have my limo driver take us to Bloomingdale's for a clothing makeover, offered to have my stylist come do your hair. You refuse. Care to tell me why?"

"Corinne hired me to bring life to the paper with my series idea. I can only do that by giving my readers personal experience. So I started by establishing myself in town as a quiet, inconspicuous woman."

Emma pursed her lips. "Go on."

"I've been researching from day one here. Recording men's reactions to this Rina." There hadn't been much interest in the woman who wore baggy clothes and no makeup, one who possessed a mild-mannered personality. Although Colin's heated gaze more than made up for the other men's lapses. "So now I'm going to alter my appearance and actions, and see what kind of changes men react to. So I can impart firsthand wisdom to my readers."

"You're going to strut your stuff." Emma grinned. "I like that."

"You would."

"Can I help it if I've got my finger on the pulse of male-female relationships? Why, just look at Logan and Cat," she said, referring to her wealthy grandson and his beloved wife.

Rina knew Emma credited herself with that pairing.

"Then there's Grace and Ben. If only they didn't live in New York," Emma said wistfully. "You'll meet Logan and Cat at the Christmas party Saturday night, but you'll have to look up Grace next time you return to New York for a visit."

The older woman also took responsibility for her granddaughter Grace's marriage to the detective Emma had hired to look out for her in New York City. Rina suspected that both of her grandchildren would have succeeded without their grandmother's help, though Rina had to admit, they wouldn't have met without Emma's meddling.

"So we're talking a random sampling of men?" Emma asked.

Rina nodded. "Anyone and everyone, including the deliveryman. And the pizza guy is particularly cute." Not that he'd been attracted to Rina and her plain, unflirtatious side, but the time had come to change her attitude. Because not only was this series her journalistic debut, but it also marked her return to the social scene.

She was ready to begin flirting again, testing her wiles on the opposite sex. The best part was that she'd been able to use her daily life as research since she met men at the coffee shop next door and at the bar favored by her downstairs neighbor, Francesca. Frankie, for short. They both rented apartments in a Cape house Rina had heard about from Corinne. One look and Rina had fallen in love with the house and made friends with Frankie, whose favorite pastime was discussing dating in Boston. They shared information, and Rina's ideas flourished. She'd already outlined her series and written most of the first week's draft.

With work put aside, she could focus on her private life. And Emma had been right on when she'd called Rina horny. She hadn't been with a man in years and she was finally open to the concept of monogamous sex. She wasn't ready for a relationship, but a satisfying fling appealed to her new independent streak and resolve to live life on her own terms.

"Any ideas who should be your first guinea pig?" Emma asked, obviously referring to Rina's column.

Rina, on the other hand, contemplated what kind of man she'd like in her bed. "A dark-haired, blue-eyed Mr. Perfect," she said dreamily. An attentive man who catered to her every need and desire.

"Afternoon, ladies." As if she'd conjured him, dark-haired, blue-eyed Colin Lyons appeared near where Rina stood. She hadn't noticed him come in, but she was very aware of him now.

She inhaled and smelled the musky scent of his cologne and her stomach curled with delicious warmth. She told herself it had to be the thought of sex that had her hot and bothered, but she knew she lied. Just looking at Colin elicited a definite chemical reaction inside her body, obviously short-circuiting her brain.

"Hello, Colin. I take it you were at the hospital again?" Emma asked, knowing Colin had visited Joe every afternoon since his arrival the day of the publisher's stroke.

Colin nodded.

"How is our dear Joseph?" Emma asked.

"Resting more comfortably today."

"That's wonderful. I know Corinne's worried about him," Rina added, joining the conversation and trying to act polite, not like the oversexed female he inspired her to be.

"Corinne's got a lot to be worried about," he muttered, then turned to Rina. "But I appreciate you asking. I'll be sure to tell Joe you care," he said, his voice warm.

As usual, his attention set off a tingling reaction. "Emma asked about Joe first," she reminded him, trying to deflect attention from herself. Surely Joe would rather hear about Emma's concern than an employee he hadn't even met.

"She did. But so did you, and as Joe's family, I appreciate it." A smile tilted Colin's lips into a lopsided grin, and Rina forgot to breathe.

A former local newscaster, he had the chiseled features television adored, dimples and a gleaming white smile made more charming by the slight overlap of his two front teeth. Razor stubble darkened his cheeks, and that hint of musky aftershave enhanced his potent allure. Her gaze traveled downward. Even his fisherman sweater and worn jeans added to his rugged appeal.

"See something you like?" he asked, arms folded across his broad chest.

"Everything," she said, immediately biting her tongue, but it was too late. The word had escaped.

Caught, she flushed and quickly transferred her gaze to Emma. Rina tried to look innocent. She really did. But when Emma nodded Colin's way and murmured, "I agree he's hot, but put your tongue back in your mouth," the slight flush in Rina's cheeks started to burn.

"You'll have to forgive Rina. She's off balance," Emma said to Colin. "And I can't really blame her, considering." She propped an elbow on her desk.

"Considering what?" Colin spoke to Emma, but his blue-eyed gaze never left Rina's. He hadn't stopped staring since her blunt admission.

Emma sighed. "Young people. You never take time to look around you and appreciate the scenery."

Oh, if Emma only knew how wrong she was, Rina thought wryly, realizing Colin's eyes had small laugh lines surrounding them, a sexy attribute that added character to an already amazing face.

"Look up, children. You're both standing under mistletoe," Emma said with glee. With a huge smile on her face, Emma pointed up.

Rina groaned, and Colin, one eyebrow raised, followed Emma's lead to look at the ceiling. Sure enough, the green sprig hadn't moved, changed or fallen to the floor. And neither had Rina since the time Emma had called her over to Colin's desk.

She'd been had. A notion the older woman verified when she not so subtly picked up her purse.

"Well, Colin?" Emma asked. "Aren't you going to follow tradition?"

Rina knew from experience life rarely doled out second chances. Standing under the mistletoe with Colin was a one-time opportunity. She'd been doing a lot of talk about living a new life and starting over.

She glanced up at the mistletoe that teased her and tempted her to follow her most erotic impulses. Emma obviously caught the sexual undercurrents that had been running between Rina and Colin since day one.

No sense trying to hide them now.

"I wonder," she whispered softly, for Colin's ears only. Taking advantage of the new, liberated Rina, she leaned forward, closer to Colin and those super-sexy lips. "Do you have the nerve?"

FROM THE CORNER of her eye, Rina saw Emma slip out the door.

"Emma's gone," Colin said. He sounded as stunned as she felt at this sudden turn of events, and his voice held a husky, low timbre that resembled rough whiskey.

"And she definitely left some excitement in her wake."

"Is that what you'd call it?" He studied her shamelessly, as if taking her measure. Looking for what, Rina couldn't be sure, but with each passing second, those blue eyes seemed to see inside her.

To read her mind. If he could, he'd know she took this tradition seriously. Now that Emma had put the idea in her mind, she wanted to know what it would feel like to be kissed under the mistletoe. Right now. By Colin.