The Black Sheep's Inheritance. Maureen Child

quietly and she looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. “Small minds are always looking for something to occupy them. If you live your life worried about what they’re saying, you won’t do anything. Then they win.”

      “I really hate this,” she murmured. He did have a point, but this was the first time in her life that she was the subject of gossip. She’d led a fairly quiet existence until she’d taken the job with J.D.

      Sage was looking at this from an entirely different angle. The truth was, as a Lassiter, he was insulated from the nastiest rumors and innuendos. He didn’t have to worry about what people were saying about him, because his career was already made, and he had a powerful family name behind him. Besides, how bad was it to have people discussing how incredibly gorgeous you were?

      No, this was different. If people were talking about her, it could affect her work. Her life. If the nursing agency she worked for got wind of any of this, they might be reluctant to send her out on other assignments—and that made her cringe. On the other hand, if she simply accepted J.D.’s generosity, she could make her own way. Though she would still, as a nurse practitioner, have to work through local doctors and hospitals.

      “My head hurts,” she muttered.

      He laughed and it was such a rich, surprising sound, it startled her. Looking up at him, she saw that his eyes were shining and the wide smile on his face displayed a dimple she was fairly certain didn’t show up very often.

      “You’re thinking about this too much.”

      “It’s very hard not to,” she told him, shaking her head. “I’ve never been in this position before and I’m not really sure what to do about it.”

      “Do what you want to do,” he advised.

      Want was a big word. She wanted a lot of things. World peace. Calorie-free chocolate. Smaller feet. Her gaze drifted to Sage’s mouth and locked there. And she really wanted to kiss him.

      As that thought settled into the forefront of her mind, Colleen cleared her throat and tried for heaven’s sake to get a grip. Honestly, she’d been alone so long, was it really so surprising that a man like Sage Lassiter would tangle her up into knots without even trying?