Table of Contents
Title Page
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Please enjoy the following excerpt of SWEET TO YOU, available February 5th, 2014:
A Summerville Novel
Fire and Icing Book Two
By Jessie Evans
Too hot to handle…
Faith Miller has faith in two things—her surrogate firehouse family, and her own two hands—and she needs a man in her life like a fish needs a bicycle. Growing up watching her mom get used and discarded by one deadbeat boyfriend after another has left Faith jaded, and determined not to fall into the same trap. But when Mick Whitehouse moves back to Summerville, Faith’s happy, single life is turned upside down. The hunky carpenter is a far cry from the little boy she used to wrestle with on the playground in elementary school. Mick’s all grown up, tempting as sugar coated sin, and determined to seduce Faith into forgetting all her rules.
One kiss under the mistletoe and Mick Whitehouse knows that he wants Faith Miller. Bad. After years of lukewarm relationships with the wrong kind of girls, Mick is powerfully drawn to Summerville’s only female firefighter, and determined not to let her push him away. Beneath Faith’s tough exterior is a heart of gold, and the chemistry between them is four-alarm hot. But just as he convinces Summerville’s most confirmed bachelorette to take a chance on love, an old girlfriend waltzes into town and drops a bombshell in Mick’s lap.
As Faith and Mick come to terms with the shocking news, Faith must choose: let fear of repeating her mother’s mistakes send her running, or have faith in the man she’s come to love?
Other sexy, contemporary romances by Jessie Evans
The Summerville Novels
Always a Bridesmaid Series
BETTING ON YOU (Always a Bridesmaid Book One)
KEEPING YOU (Always a Bridesmaid Book Two)
WILD FOR YOU (Always a Bridesmaid Book Three)
CATCHING YOU (Always a Bridesmaid Four-Short Story)
TAKING YOU (Always a Bridesmaid Five-Novella/Short Novel)
Fire and Icing Series
MELT WITH YOU (Fire and Icing Book One)
HOT FOR YOU (Fire and Icing Book Two)
SWEET TO YOU (Fire and Icing Book Three)
PERFECT FOR YOU (Fire and Icing Book Four-Short Story)
SAVING YOU (Fire and Icing Book Five-Novella/Short Novel)
Cupid Island Novellas (Short Novels)
AUDITIONING YOU (Cupid Island Two)
A Cupid Island Christmas Anthology by Jessie Evans, Lila Ashe, and Ruby Laska
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyright © 2013 Jessie D. Evans
This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Cover image by freya-photographer for Shutterstock. Cover design by Bootstrap Designs. Editing by Edited Ever After Editorial.
Chapter One
Mick Whitehouse had it bad. So bad that not even a gorgeous redhead with big, blue eyes, legs for miles, and a dress so low-cut it practically offered a hand-written, engraved invitation to stare at her cleavage could make him stop thinking about the girl who’d walked away.
Run away is more like it.
After they’d kissed in the garden at the Fireman’s Ball, Faith Miller had broken a short distance sprint record in her hurry to get away from him. And then the next morning, while Mick was still in bed, dreaming about her sinfully addictive lips, Summerville’s only female firefighter had been splitting town. She’d taken two weeks vacation—an unprecedented occurrence, according to her boss, and Mick’s sister’s fiancé, Jake—and vanished.
Mick had no idea where she’d gone. He only knew he couldn’t stop thinking about her and the night he’d held her beneath the mistletoe. Faith had felt so perfect in his arms and responded to his kiss with such unrestrained passion that for a few, blissful minutes she’d banished the memory of his last girlfriend from his mind—a feat Mick had been trying, and failing, to accomplish since moving home eight months ago.
Mick craved that forgetfulness even more than he craved the way Faith made his blood rush and body ache. He wanted to cover her mouth with his, pull her tight against him, and disappear into the heat they generated together.
He wanted Faith, and no other girl would do.
He’d tried to forget her. He really had. First with Betsy, then Therese, and now, Nina…whose chest had to be in danger of frostbite in that tiny blue dress with only a light sweater pulled around her shoulders. Why wasn’t she wearing more clothes? At the very least, she should have on a winter coat.
Wishing a hot girl in a revealing dress was more covered up. What is wrong with you?
“Thanks for coming out,” Mick said, smiling at Nina, ignoring his caustic inner voice.
There was nothing wrong with him, nothing a date or four with Faith couldn’t cure, anyway. If she hadn’t run off, he could have already convinced her to go out with him and be halfway to being over her by now. He didn’t want a long-term relationship or the associated angst; he just wanted to get Faith out of his system.
“Thanks for dinner,” Nina said as they stopped in front of Icing, the bakery Mick’s older sisters had opened on Main Street. “I had so much fun tonight.”
“Me too,” Mick said, fishing for his keys in his pocket, making a mental note to touch up the paint around the door the next day, after he finished the kitchen remodel he was working on south of town.
The bakery had only been open a week, but it was already a Summerville hot spot and had the chipped paint to prove it. Almost every morning, there was a line out the door as people queued up to get their favorite cookies, pastries, bread, and cakes before Icing sold out for the day. Last Saturday had been the worst.
By tomorrow morning at eight, there would be people milling around outside, visiting with each other as they waited for the shop to open, making way too much noise for anyone to sleep in.
Which was as good a reason as any to end this date early.
Mick yawned pointedly before pulling Nina into his chest for a quick—platonic—hug. “See you at the New Year’s Eve party on Sunday. Drive safe.”
He figured that was the end of his latest failed date, but unfortunately, Nina didn’t seem to get the message.
“I could come up for a while if you want,” she said, angling herself between Mick and the door. “I’d love to see your new apartment. It sounds like fun living above a bakery.”
Mick silently cursed himself for moving out of his parents’ house, where he’d been living with his sisters while his mom and dad wintered in Florida. True, his sisters had been driving him crazy, especially when they started planning Naomi’s wedding, and the entire living room began looking like a marriage bomb had exploded, every available surface covered with wedding magazines, lace, and repulsive penis-shaped Jell-O molds for the bachelorette party. Still, he had to admit that sometimes their date-repelling qualities came in handy.
Right now, for example, he could have counted on Naomi and Maddie to scare Nina away. Not intentionally, of course. They weren’t like that. There was just something about the presence of a guy’s sisters that tended to intimidate girls—especially when one of the sisters was a famous celebrity chef. Thanks to the Sister Scare-Off Factor, Mick hadn’t been with a woman since his older siblings moved back to Summerville.
In his more rational moments, Mick told himself going without sex for two months was the reason he couldn’t get Faith out of his mind. In his less rational moments, he suspected he had a crush, a bad one, the kind that wouldn’t be banished by time, distance, or dates with otherwise perfectly desirable women.
“I don’t know, Nina,” he said, taking a step away from the door. “It’s pretty messy up there.”
“I don’t mind. I know how guys are,” she said in a flirtatious voice.
A few weeks ago, Mick would have been eating that flirt up with a spoon and asking for seconds, but now it only made his stomach churn.
“Seriously, I just moved in. Half my stuff is still in boxes.” He turned to glance at the firehouse across the street, silently wishing Faith were working so he might have a chance at spotting her silhouette through the second floor window. “Maybe some other time?”
“Sure. No worries,” Nina said, though she sounded disappointed. “Walk me to my car, then? I get nervous walking by myself.”
“Of course,” Mick said, though he didn’t see why she would be nervous.
He could see her car from where he stood. She had parked on Main Street, less than ten feet from his front door, under a streetlight, across from the fire station where five of Summerville’s biggest and burliest were keeping watch over the firehouse. She couldn’t be safer, and Mick couldn’t help thinking about what Faith would do in a situation like this.
Faith was as fearless as she was irresistible. Even when they were kids, Faith had been the kind who could take care of herself and anyone else who had the poor judgment to mess with her. Faith would probably tell him to scram and jog home alone down Summerville’s darkest streets, never once fearing for her safety.
The thought made Mick smile as he stopped next to Nina’s car. He knew some guys had a problem with strong, independent women, but Mick couldn’t imagine anything sexier. After the hell Bridget, his last girlfriend, put him through his senior year of college, as far as Mick was concerned—the stronger the woman, the better.
And the sexier.
For the last twelve days, Mick’s dreams had been nonstop montages of Faith’s long, shapely legs, deliciously toned arms, and soft, full lips.
Twelve days, which meant only two more days until Faith was back in town.
Two more endless, impossible days…
“So, do you have a date for Melody’s party?” Nina asked, fidgeting with her purse instead of unlocking her car. “If not, maybe we could go together.”
Mick cringed inwardly. He hated this part. He hated letting girls down easy.
Once upon a time, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal—he and Nina had only been on one date, and they’d made each other no promises—but Bridget had taught him that breaking up wasn’t always easy to do.
The first time he’d tried to end it with his ex, she’d gotten so drunk she’d ended up in the hospital having her stomach pumped. The second time, she’d cried in front of his apartment building for four hours straight, making such a scene and getting so soaked from the rain that Mick had finally given in and gone downstairs to carry his tragically fragile ex-girlfriend up to his room.
The third time, she’d threatened to kill herself. He’d tried to get her help, but Bridget had refused to talk to the college counselors. She’d said she would slit her wrists if Mick didn’t give her another chance and, knowing Bridget the way he did, Mick believed her. Trapped, Mick had agreed to reconcile, and they’d dated the last two months of their senior year.
Mick had felt like a prisoner the entire time. By the time graduation rolled around, he was so miserable and exhausted and plain sick of being held hostage that he’d left the ceremony early, loaded his stuff into his truck, and hit the road with his graduation gown still on over his jeans and T-shirt.
Ten hours later he was pulling into Summerville with a new cell phone number and a new lease on life, determined never to look back, and never to be sucked into that kind of destructive relationship ever again.
So even though it would be easier to tell Nina “sure” he’d be her date, and pick her up on the way to the party, all while keeping his emotional distance until she got the hint, Mick shook his head. “I think I’ll go solo,” he said gently. “You’re gorgeous and fun, Nina, but I think we’d be better off as friends. If that’s okay with you.”
“Oh, yeah, totally.” Nina laughed and rolled her eyes even as she scrambled in her purse for her keys, obviously ready to make a quick getaway now that Mick had given her the “just friends” talk.
“So, I’ll see you New Year’s Eve.” She threw the words over her shoulder as she slid into her car, already fitting the key in the ignition before Mick could close the driver’s side door.
“See you then.” He slammed the door and stood back on the sidewalk, waiting to make sure she got off safely. When she peeled out into the street without bothering to check her rearview mirror, Mick silently reaffirmed his decision to forgo more than friendship with the redhead. If the beat-up white pickup truck coming down Main hadn’t braked, it would have hit her.
Poor driving was fairly low on his list of deal-breakers, but it was on there. Along with girls who spoke in a baby voice, girls who talked trash about other girls, girls who couldn’t say they were sorry, and girls who communicated solely in text emoticons.
Bet Faith’s never used an emoticon in her life, he thought with a wistful sigh as he turned back toward the bakery to see the white truck pulling to a stop in front of the fire station. A moment later, a blonde in a camouflage jacket and bright orange hunting pants hopped out of the passenger’s side.
Even before she jogged around the front of the truck, giving him a clear view of her gorgeous face, Mick knew it was Faith.
She really was gorgeous—wholesome, All-American girl from her turned-up nose, to her big brown eyes, to that silky hair that fell in long, soft waves to the center of her back—but with an edge. Her plush lips leant her face an inherent sensuality and the sharp intelligence in her eyes had made a dormant part of Mick sit up and take notice. For the first time in over a year, he felt a spark of something more than attraction. He was curious to know what Faith was thinking, what she was feeling, and if she felt as drawn to him as he did to her.
Considering that at this point in his life, Mick wanted no part of a relationship, those feelings should have made him turn tail and head up to his room without another glance in Faith’s direction.
Instead, he grinned like a kid who had gotten everything he wanted for Christmas as he started down the sidewalk.
“Bye, Buddy. Love you. Thanks for everything,” Faith said in her husky drawl, the one that made Mick think of venison stew, old whiskey, and other things you wanted to savor.
Right now it also made his smile transform to a scowl as he sized up the man driving the truck, a guy with blond hair the same shade as Faith’s and a scraggly goatee.
“Anytime, scrapper.” Buddy reached out the window to ruffle Faith’s hair. “You’re always welcome. Hope we get to see more of you this year.”
“Count on it,” Faith said, snagging a backpack from the back of the truck. “Are you sure you can’t stay? I know Jake and Jamison would love to see you.”
“Nah, I’ve got to get back. I’ve missed too much work this week,” Buddy said, already easing off the brake. “But tell Aunt Pressie and the boys hi for me.”
“Will do,” Faith said, a big smile on her face as she waved good-bye to the man Mick assumed must be her cousin—or at least he hoped so.
A moment later she turned back tow
ard the fire station only to freeze halfway around, the smile dropping from her face the moment her eyes met his.
“You,” she said with a disgusted shake of her head, her tone inferring that finding Mick starting across the street toward her was only slightly less disgusting than discovering she’d stepped in a steaming pile of dog doo. “What are you doing here?”
“I live above the bakery now.” Mick forced a smile, refusing to take Faith’s scowl at face value. She’d acted irritated with him at the Fireman’s Ball, too, but she’d also kissed him like his mouth contained the last gasp of air in a burning building.
Things weren’t always what they seemed with Faith, which was part of the reason he found her so damned interesting.
“Great,” she said with a sigh, swinging her backpack over one shoulder. “When did that happen?”
“Last week, right after the store opened.” Mick stepped onto the sidewalk beside her. “And not long after Jake and Naomi got engaged. A lot of things have changed while you’ve been gone.”
Faith snorted in a way that Mick found inexplicably sexy. “Duh. I knew that was going to happen. I knew before anyone. I have a phantom limb that tingles when people are getting ready to get hitched, and it was tingling big time for those two.”
Mick grinned. “A phantom limb?”
“Yes,” she said, standing up straighter, her posture making it clear she wasn’t in the mood to be teased, which of course only made Mick want to tease her more.
“So, where was this limb before it became a phantom, marriage-foretelling limb?” he asked, letting his eyes roam up and down Faith’s body, disturbed to realize that he found her sexier in orange pants and an oversized jacket than he’d found Nina in her skimpy dress. “Was it a third arm, or a third leg?”
“It was a vestigial tail,” she said with a straight face. “And I know you don’t want to come on to a girl who used to have a tail, so take a step back, Whitehouse.”
“I wouldn’t care if you still had a tail, Miller,” he said, ambling closer, until their frosty breath mingled between their faces. “I’d still want to take you out.”
Hot For You Page 1
