Best of Virgins Bundle

by Cathy Williams

  He hesitated. She’d shocked the patriarch of the Webster family. Now that’s something the old Katie never would have done. Nor would she have done that kiss earlier.

  Just when she thought Edward Webster would either turn into a statue or walk away, he bent down in his designer suit and Italian shoes and drove two nails home, without wasting a stroke or denting the wood. That was a lot better than she’d done all day. Virtually every piece of wood in this place bore a dimpled circle from where Katie had completely missed the nail.

  “You shouldn’t be doing that.” Matt hurried over and took the hammer from him. He put a hand under Edward’s elbow and supported him as he got to his feet. “I’m sure your doctor’s orders don’t include building a house.”

  Matt turned to Katie. “My father had a heart attack three weeks ago. He’s supposed to stay home and rest.” He eyed Edward.

  “Oh, God, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know—”

  “It’s been a long time since I did that,” Edward cut in, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Must be twenty years since I picked up a hammer.”

  “And if Mom hears about this, it will be twenty years before you do it again.” Matt tucked Katie’s hammer into his tool belt.

  “I’d forgotten what it’s like to build something with my own two hands.” Edward gripped the two-by-four and smiled, lost in a reverie. “You know, I built the first house your mother and I lived in.”

  Matt’s jaw dropped. “You did?”

  Edward’s voice dipped to a lower pitch, the memories drifting from him in tendrils. “It was a tiny thing, just a two-bedroom ranch on a slab. I worked on it every weekend and after work. Took me the better part of a year, even with your grandfather and Uncle Charlie helping.”

  “You did?” Matt repeated.

  A soft smile Matt hadn’t seen in years lingered on his father’s face, smoothing away decades. The father he knew never reminisced about the past or about building houses. But here Edward was, doing exactly that. His animosity toward his son had also temporarily disappeared, replaced by a man Matt actually felt he could talk to. That had to be the biggest shock of all.

  “After that, you were born and I bought Webster Enterprises,” Edward continued. “I never had time to build anything again.” He patted the stud. His gaze sharpened and he gave one last look at the post before dusting off his hands and turning away. “I guess it’s like riding a bike. You never really forget.”

  “I didn’t know that about you.” Matt leaned against the framework.

  “You never asked.”

  “I didn’t think…” Matt began, realizing then that they were repeating their first conversation, but with the roles reversed. “You surprised me, Father.”

  “Well,” Edward cleared his throat. “I better get back before your mother starts to worry. I just wanted to see what you were doing.”

  Matt joined his father, walking slowly with him away from the house and down the dirt driveway to the gleaming silver Mercedes. As they approached the car and distanced themselves from common ground, the détente between them ebbed away.

  Matt opened the door and held it while Edward lowered himself to the leather seat. “You’re probably not supposed to be driving either, right?”

  Edward scowled and waved his hand in dismissal of medical science. “The doctors want me tied to that house for weeks. A man can’t live like that. I’m not planning on running the Boston Marathon. I just wanted some fresh air.”

  “And to check up on me.”

  He planted his hands on either side of the steering wheel and nodded. “Yes.”

  “Father, I’m thirty years old. I’m too old to run around town tipping cows and busting mailboxes.”

  “That doesn’t stop me from being your father, Matthew.” He slid the key into the ignition and started the car. “I’ll see you at the house.”

  “When it’s okay with your doctor…” Matt hesitated before finishing a sentence he’d never started before.

  Edward looked up, his hand on the gearshift. “Yes?”

  “…and if you want to, you’re welcome to help with the house.”

  His father blinked twice, then nodded. “I’d like that, Matthew.” His voice sounded hoarse with emotion. Impossible. Edward Webster had no soft side. He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Damned heart medications have me acting like a loon.” He fingered the keys on the ring. “Forgot the house key again. I hope your mother hasn’t left for her committee meeting yet.”

  Matt fished his house key out of his pocket and held it out. Edward’s hand trembled when he took the metal piece, but then he barked a goodbye and put the car in gear.

  Katie came up and laid a hand on his shoulder. “That was a nice surprise—your father stopping by.”

  Her touch stirred something in him, something both warm and coolly soothing.

  “It was nice. He’s not the same man he used to be.”

  “Yesterday, you said the same thing about yourself.”

  He chuckled. “You’re awfully wise for someone so beautiful.”

  She turned a pretty shade of red, like apples with their first blush of color. Katie was too young for him, too innocent, too…too perfect. He’d tried damned hard to resist her, but it wasn’t working. All day, he’d purposely avoided kissing her, working as hard at keeping their “deal” platonic as he had at tearing down the old framing on the house. So far, he’d only been successful with the lumber. If staying away from Katie were a graded assignment, he’d have a big fat F.

  “Well,” she said, “you’re running out of time for help. I have to get back to the store in a little while.”

  “Then let’s get back to work.” But instead of loping up the hill to the house, Matt lowered his mouth to Katie’s and captured her again.

  Riding back to her apartment on Jane was not as much fun as it had been this morning. Once Matt dropped her off, their day would end and she’d have to go to work. For the first time, Katie wanted to play hooky from A Pair of Posies.

  She wanted to stay with Matt. Yet, even as she inched forward on the bike, plastering her torso to his back, she was telling herself that she shouldn’t get any closer to this man, physically or otherwise.

  He’d already made it clear he was a no-commitment guy. She’d fallen for one of those before and didn’t want to repeat that mistake. Yet every minute with Matt wrapped her tighter in an emotional cocoon that demanded a price she didn’t have the heart to pay.

  It was useless to resist—her heart had stopped listening to her mind ever since he’d kissed her.

  Much too soon, her apartment came into view. Matt pulled up to the curb and cut the ignition. With a sigh, Katie slid off the bike and removed her helmet. She glanced up at the yellow-and-white Victorian building that housed her apartment. She should be in there, getting ready for work. But suddenly, entering that empty apartment seemed to be the saddest thing she could do.

  “Thanks for your help.” Matt took her helmet and clipped it to the back. “It’s nearly two. You have to get to work, and…” his hand grazed her cheek. “And if I stay, I might forget we’re only pretending at this.”

  “Are we?”

  “Hmm…I’m not so sure.” He grinned. “Let’s try it one more time and see.” He brushed his lips over hers. Again. And again.

  The man was a magician. His kisses released feelings she hadn’t even known she had, like doves from under his sleeve. His tongue swept the recesses of her mouth, teasing hers back, urging her to do the same. She pressed her chest to his, nearly clawing at his back to get closer, taste more, have more. More of what, she couldn’t say.

  “You’re going to be late,” he murmured. “Very late.”

  Before she could think twice, Katie blurted out, “Will you walk me to my door?” And then, because she didn’t want it to seem that she was inviting him into her bed—even she wasn’t sure she wasn’t—she added, “Sweet Pea usually gets his afternoon walk around now and I’m afraid he might mista
ke me for lunch.”

  Matt chuckled. “He did find you appetizing this morning.”

  “Must be my eau de steak.”

  “Something like that,” Matt murmured, leaning down and starting again, this time with her neck. “Mmm…you are delicious. Done to perfection.”

  She heard the squeals of playing children from the house down the street. “I think we should get inside before the neighbors see us.”

  “What’s the worst that could happen? Everyone thinks we’re crazy about each other?” He grinned. “Isn’t that the goal? To make people believe we’re engaged?”

  “Yes, it is.” But Katie’s heart was heavy. She no longer wanted to pretend, didn’t want his kisses to be part of a “deal.” She wanted Matt for real. And just like Steve, he wasn’t interested in anything permanent. “I’m sure the neighbors get the point.”

  “Okay, I’ll be on my best behavior then.”

  Katie started up the steps of the house, vacillating about hoping Matt followed. Earlier, she’d decided not to get involved with him. But after spending the day with him, working side by side and trading jokes along with nails, she’d started to feel differently. The quiet conversations they’d had and the tender way he’d treated her had touched her as had no other man she’d known. Who else would take such time and care with a splinter? Who else would have made sure she took a break and had a drink every hour? What other man had ever kissed her as if she were a precious gift, someone he wanted to please, not someone who was there to please him?

  She’d never known a man like Matt. Now she was inviting him in, delaying his departure. Feeling hope when he’d said the neighbors might interpret their kiss as them being “crazy about each other.” Was there a possibility that he was thinking about something more? Or was she grasping at imaginary straws?

  “Tell me about your store,” Matt said as they entered the building and started up the two flights leading to her apartment.

  “Well, Sarah and I always dreamed of having our own shop,” Katie said, venturing onto the safer ground of talking about the store instead of asking the questions burning inside her. “We saved our money, went to college for business and design. We found the perfect location last April. We figured it would take two more years to save enough for all the supplies we’d need to open. But when Steve dumped me, I used my half of the honeymoon money to finance the startup.

  “In the end,” she said as they reached the final step and walked down the hall toward her apartment, “breaking up with Steve was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “I agree. It left you free for me,” Matt murmured.

  She wheeled around. “And what does that mean? Are we seeing each other? Are we fulfilling a deal?” She swallowed. “Or is there more to it than that for you?”

  Matt could see the apprehension in her gaze. She’d asked a question, but wasn’t sure of the answer. Hell, neither was he.

  Were they seeing each other, in the classic meaning of the term? They were talking, doing the dance of sexual innuendo and flirting glances that eventually led to the bedroom. It was a dance he knew the steps to by heart, one that didn’t require much more of a commitment than an evening between the sheets.

  Katie, however, wasn’t a woman who made temporary commitments. And even if she did agree to a night in his bed, Katie would expect—no, need—more. And as much as he was tempted to try that path again, he couldn’t. The one time he had…the consequences had been devastating. Nearly destroying him.

  He wasn’t strong enough to go through that hell again, even for her, a woman who had intrigued him more than anyone he’d ever met in his life. He was fine with today, with fulfilling the deal they’d made, but after that—

  She was waiting for his answer.

  “We’re together now,” he replied.

  “And tomorrow? Where will you be then?”

  He skimmed his thumbs over her fingers. Her skin was soft, velvety smooth. He imagined how the rest of her would feel, pictured her sliding along his body and slipping onto him, smoothly, easily, achingly perfectly.

  “Still with you, eating breakfast in our pajamas,” he answered, releasing the words throbbing in his mind.

  “I can’t, Matt. I’m not…I don’t give my heart easily. Call me old-fashioned.” Her smile was weak. Yet, in her eyes, the spark of desire lingered. Push. Pull. Even he didn’t know what he wanted anymore.

  “Oh, Katie. What am I going to do with you?” He pulled her closer, dipping to kiss the hollow of her neck.

  She sighed, a wonderful throaty sound that echoed against his lips. “I don’t know.”

  “I can’t change your mind?” He left a trail of kisses along her chin and up to the corner of her mouth. He wanted her to say yes, to give in. He wanted in and out of her life without any damage to himself.

  “No.” The word was exhaled on a shaky breath.

  Say yes. Be with me. He claimed her mouth with his, intending to tease her into agreement. But when their lips met, Katie moaned and leaned into him. “Matt.”

  An explosion of desire rocked him. His hands tangled in her hair, lifting the silky chestnut tresses and letting them slip through his fingers like a waterfall. Her breasts crushed against his chest, her pelvis tilting to his. The only thing stopping them from more was their clothing.

  He slipped a hand between them and snuck it under the front of her shirt, forgetting they were standing in her hallway and hadn’t even made it into her apartment yet. He cupped her breast through the lace of her bra with his palm, teased the nub of her nipple with his fingers. A perfect fit. Everything about her was perfect, as if she’d been created just for him.

  “Matt…Matt,” she repeated, more firmly.

  “Mmm?”

  She pulled back and grabbed his hand. “I think…” she took a breath. “I think we should stop. This isn’t…it can’t end up the way you want it to.”

  Desire still pulsed through his veins and from the flush on Katie’s face, he knew she shared that feeling. But the lady had said no and she’d meant it. And she was right.

  He backed away, willing his body to stop responding to her nearness. His arousal, hemmed in by his jeans, was a painful reminder of how long it would take for the effect she was having on him to wear off. “I’m not very good at keeping my promise of being on my best behavior, am I?”

  “No, you’re not.” Her smile was forgiving. “It isn’t because I don’t want you…because…I do. More than you know.” She took in a deep breath. “We want different things, Matt. I’m not a halfway kind of girl. For me, being with you halfway won’t be enough. As much as I would like to continue this,” she pressed a finger to his lips and the flame of desire roared to life again, “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  Katie Dole wanted it all. The passion, the romance and down the road, words that would bind them together for more than a few nights. For a lifetime. Those were words that no longer existed in his vocabulary. They hadn’t been there in a long, long time.

  “I don’t think I can give you what you’re asking for.” The words caught in his throat.

  “And that’s the problem.” She sighed. “I don’t want a commitment today. I only want the door to be open. Can you understand that?”

  “Yes.” A long time ago, he’d wanted to walk that same path. But now…“I’m no longer the kind of guy who gets married, settles down in a suburb and has two-point-five kids and a dog. I tried that, it didn’t work.”

  “I’m not saying I want to get married immediately or anything like that. Lord knows I’m still trying to sort out the mess from last year. It’s just that I’m not the kind of woman who can give everything…” She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. “…and be left with nothing. After today, it’s not just pretending for me.” Her voice cracked. “Not anymore.”

  It wasn’t for him either. But he didn’t say that. Another door he kept shut.

  “It was never my intention to mislead you or to let today get out of han
d. But it did.” He stroked his hand along her cheek. “We could have a lot of fun together over the next few weeks, Katie. Would that be so awful?”

  “If I were a different girl, maybe not.” She clasped his hand. “But I’m not looking for a one-night stand. I’m not the kind of woman who takes sex, or love for that matter, lightly. I’ve already been through that game with a guy who wouldn’t stick around and I can’t do it again.” She let go and turned to slip her key into the lock. “I had a nice time today, Matt. A really nice time. But I don’t think I can do this. I tried to, but…I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  “Katie, wait, don’t go.” He touched her arm. With a sigh of regret, she brushed his hand away and stepped back.

  “You and I want different things, Matt. Better to find that out now than three weeks or three years from now. Our deal is off. I wish you well.”

  She opened the door and walked into her apartment, shutting the door before he could enter. He heard her slide the deadbolt into place, locking him out and herself in.

  Chapter Seven

  It was Friday, six days since she’d helped Matt at his house. Every single one had passed without a phone call, without even a sight of him, though she’d heard his name mentioned a thousand times. Speculations and rumors were flying fast and furious, with people stopping by the store to offer congratulations while trying to unearth more gossip about the Devil of Mercy’s alliance with Conventional Katie.

  Her plan had worked—Katie was no longer the pitied, jilted bride; she was hovering on the brink of wantonness. She should have been happy.

  But she was utterly miserable.

  Did she think she could change a man with one conversation? Over a couple of egg sandwiches? To be honest, yes, she’d half hoped Matt would see a relationship wasn’t some kind of communicable disease.

  Obviously, that hadn’t been the case. Matthew Webster wanted to slip in and out of her life as quickly and as unpredictably as a summer thunderstorm. And what a storm he would be, she thought, recalling his touch, the taste of his lips.