The Eligible Suspect. Jennifer Morey

was a work desk, with a partially finished necklace with a stone pendant waiting for the next impulse to create.

      Savanna made jewelry along with her pottery. And that wasn’t all. Along the far wall, windows ran above a long counter, a sink with a farmhouse faucet and a stove on one end, trays of cooled candles on the other with some work space in between. The cabinets below were left open and the shelves were filled with pots, wax and wicks, oil-based dyes, scents and a variety of jars and bases. A closer look revealed materials to make soap as well.

      He turned to go back to the living room and saw Savanna standing at the entrance, long dark red hair in a ponytail and those amazing eyes fringed by thick lashes. Her plump lips and petite, sloping nose made her all the more of a man magnet. She seemed uncertain as to how she felt about him invading her personal space. It sort of dimmed his sparking attraction.

      “You have quite a few hobbies,” he said, covering his fascination.

      She looked at him a moment longer. “Dinner is ready.”

      He followed her back to the kitchen, where she’d set up sturdy paper plates on the kitchen island. She’d already dished out pork chops with sautéed fruit, red onions and banana peppers on top and some kind of salad.

      Savanna opened the microwave and brought over a bowl of steaming mashed potatoes. He didn’t care if they were out of a box.

      He looked up at her and smiled his thanks.

      She smiled back. “I wasn’t expecting company, least of all a hungry man.”

      “I wasn’t expecting to be company.” But here was as good of a place to hide as any.

      While he piled potatoes onto his plate, she put a glass of water in front of him and sat next to him, putting down a bottle of sparkling water. She began slicing her pork chop and ate daintily and slowly, frequently glancing over at him and occasionally taking a swig from her bottle of water. Most people who drank that stuff put it in a glass. She drank it like a beer. He almost chuckled.

      “You like living alone, don’t you?” He said it more like an observation.

      She put her water down and smiled. “What gave me away?”

      “You seem—” he glanced down at the bottle of water “—set in your ways. In a good way.” Was he digging himself a hole here?

      “Well, when you make it to my age without getting married, it’s bound to happen.”

      Unable to stop himself, he said, “I find it very hard to believe you’ve never been married.”

      She put her fork down. “Well, I haven’t.”

      He watched her drink some more water, uncomfortable with him, not trusting in the least. “Why not?” Someone as beautiful as her wouldn’t stay single long. Or was her remote address an issue?

      Setting her water down, she looked at him. “It didn’t work out.”

      “So there was someone serious?”

      Instead of answering, she picked up her plate and took it to the sink.

      Korbin followed. The more evasive she was the more her mystery made him think of more questions. He put his glass down on the counter and his paper plate on top of hers while she made washing forks and knives take longer than necessary.

      “Why did you quit motivational speaking?” Did her relationship that didn’t work out have something to do with it?

      With an unappreciative glance, she took the paper plates to the trash can inside a cabinet door. Then she leaned back against the counter with her hands draped over the edge. Her flannel shirt stretched over her breasts, drawing his eyes. The material was too thick to see much detail. Taking in her long, slender legs, he all but drooled over the apex of her fit thighs.

      When he finally looked back at her face, he met the fiery blue of her eyes.

      She had some secrets of her own, or subjects that were off-limits.

      “Sorry,” he said.

      “I was engaged once,” she said. “He found someone else who had more to offer.”

      He hadn’t expected her to answer and suspected she hadn’t, either. Their building curiosity was mutual, it would seem.

      “Was he blind or just stupid?” he asked.

      That softened her. A tiny smile poked the corners of that succulent mouth. “Both, I’d have to say.”

      “Did he lose interest after you showed him the prenup?”

      The way she blinked said it all. He’d guessed right.

      “I’ve had that happen to me before.”

      Instant warmth transformed her face when he said that. She breathed a laugh and smiled at him, straight white teeth flashing. He almost forgot what had brought him to her deserted road. This pull between them was getting strong.

      He didn’t ask her if she loved the man. Obviously, she had. And obviously, she’d stopped speaking about inspirational things because of it. Did her hobbies fill the void left behind?

      “You said you were married once,” she said. “Did she sign a prenuptial agreement?”

      He supposed he should have seen that coming. “No. I never asked her to.” Niya had looked like a blond-haired Barbie doll but inside she’d been the genuine article. She was the kind of woman who didn’t know how beautiful she was. Korbin had to tell her all the time, or she wouldn’t believe it.

      They had struck it off so well that Korbin had put off telling her about his parents. She’d grown up in a small Midwestern town in a working-class household. She had one brother. When he had finally told her, she’d been disappointed. She’d been angry with him for keeping it a secret. She hadn’t spoken to him for a week afterward. He’d never had a reaction like that from a woman, and it had made him love her all the more.

      He’d pursued her relentlessly. Called. Stopped by the house she rented with another student. At last she’d agreed to see him again. He’d been forthright and honest with her in all things from then on. They’d fallen madly in love. It was unreal.

      And then...

      “I’m sorry,” Savanna said. “I don’t like it when people ask me about my engagement and...” She didn’t finish. “I shouldn’t have pried like that.”

      And what? What had she been about to say? If he asked, he’d be prying the same as she had. And then he’d be obligated to reveal more of his own past. That made his mind up. Talk of Niya was best avoided.

      “What other hobbies do you have?” he asked instead.

      “Come on.” She started for the kitchen entrance. “I’ll show you.”

      He trailed her through the living room to the stairway. Underneath the upper-level steps, more led to a basement. At the bottom, a huge rec room opened. There was a bar and a huge television with theater seats. Shelves on both sides of the TV were full of movies and video games.

      Savanna passed that, then turned on a light that illuminated the other half of the room. But the light didn’t come from above, it came from a miniature town set up on a big table. A train track wound its way around, crossing a river and going over a road. There was a hill of houses overlooking the town. All of the buildings had lights and there were even stoplights that worked and cars that followed another track around town.

      “You did this?”

      “A little at a time.”

      “You’re like a boy.” He laughed. “This is great.” He walked around the table. There was even a mine.

      After studying every detail of the setup, Korbin saw her watching him with a soft smile. She loved how he appreciated this.

      “You’d be a bad fit for city life,” he said.