At last the ringing ceased and a breathy, sexy female voice answered.“Hello.”“Charity?”There was a long, hesitant pause at the other end. “Mike?”“Yeah.” He didn’t need to hear Charity’s voice, not now when he’d done everything in his power to push her out of his mind. She was history. A flame that had flickered brightly, singed him, then disappeared, the way most flames did. He shouldn’t have expected anything more.“Is everything okay?” Her voice was soft, whispery, concerned.“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” And he didn’t want to spend a long time talking to her so she’d be on his mind again as well. “Is Jack there?”“I’m here by myself. Everyone else went to the Atkinsons’s for dinner.”Mike collapsed in a kitchen chair, forced to talk to Charity because no one else was around. He cupped his hand around a steaming mug of coffee and knew he should just ask for her help and get the conversation over with, but temptation got the better of him. He liked her voice.
