He grinned and arched one brow, villain-style. “Are you trying to back out of feeding me turkey meatloaf?”
“No. I didn’t say that.”
“If you need a break from cooking, I’ll pick up dinner for us.”
Us?
“No way. You’re not getting out of it that easily. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, right on time. Was that Lana Robards I saw you talking to on your porch?”
What a dumb question. Of course it was Lana. Who else had four-year-old twins in this neighborhood?
“Yeah, she saw me sitting out front and came by to introduce herself. She sells real estate and gave me her card.”
“How nice.” Susanna slammed the door shut and averted her eyes. Lana would probably take up jogging next. Susie gave herself a mental slap. What was wrong with her? Lana and her husband had moved in at the end of the street a few years ago and shortly after got divorced. Lana kept the house, while her husband moved into another neighborhood close by. Through that time Susanna had developed a cordial friendship with Lana. Life as a single mother of twins wasn’t easy for her and neither was juggling joint custody of her kids.
Casey tucked his hands into his trouser pockets. “Her kids are cute.”
“Darlene and Darryl are a handful, but they are adorable. They’re coming to Ally’s birthday party on Saturday. I’m hoping they’ll become friends.”
“Birthday party?” Casey’s tone changed. He rocked back on his heels. “You’re having a party?”
Susanna snapped to attention. She hadn’t meant to blurt that out. “Yes. I didn’t mention it to you because, well...let’s face it, why would you want to come to a three-year-old’s birthday party.” The man hung out with high-powered people, business execs and country superstars. Ally’s princess party would hardly fit the bill.
His gaze shifted to the little girl petting Charger and giggling as if life hadn’t dealt her a bad blow. “If the three-year-old is Ally, I’ll make an exception.” He smiled, a charmer that sucked oxygen out of her system. Why did he still have the power to do that to her? And why wasn’t he busy on Saturday? Didn’t women know what a catch he was?
Lana Robards did.
So do you, Susie. You dummy.
“Oh, well if you want to stop by, please feel free to—”
“I’ll be there.”
* * *
Casey brought in the last box of staples and baking utensils Susie had left at his house today and placed it on her kitchen table. “Here you go. Did Ally go to sleep?”
“As soon as I shut off the lights, she went right out.”
“That’s good.”
“I still can’t believe I forgot my baking supplies at your house.”
“Not a problem,” he said, watching her wipe her hands on a dishtowel. She’d just finished the dishes after giving Ally a bath and getting her down to bed. Susie’s days were long, and something tugged inside him, seeing her working so hard, piecemealing a business that would have a better chance to succeed if she had a shop of her own.
Soft overhead kitchen light put a glow around her. She was as pretty as any woman he’d ever dated and had a lot to offer a man. Audrey told him she didn’t date and that was baffling to him, but somehow a relief as well. He frowned as his thoughts drifted to last night and the way she’d kissed him.
He wanted to kiss her again. To wipe away the weariness in her eyes and ignite her body the way he had last night. Deliberately he’d kept his mind away from the night he’d made love to her, trying to forget his indiscretion and the pain he’d caused her. But watching her move around the kitchen now, her auburn hair falling over her shoulders in messy disarray and seeing her green eyes focus on laying out the tools of her trade for tomorrow’s baking, that’s all he could think about.
She’d been young and inexperienced, but by the way she’d responded to him, her body fluid and giving, he hadn’t guessed she was a virgin when he’d taken her. Not until afterward when the evidence had been apparent and she’d admitted it to him.
Crap. But after all that he still remembered how good it felt to be inside her. How soft her skin had been, how sweet her lips tasted. He watched her busy herself around the kitchen and remembered it all.
She lifted out a bottle of red wine from one of the boxes. “What’s this?”
“For you. In case you want to take a break and have a glass with me tonight.”
She read the label on the bottle. “Mmm. Sounds like heaven, but 4:00 a.m. comes really early in the morning.”
“Is that my cue to leave?”
Her eyes lifted to his and she blinked a few times. “No. I wasn’t hinting at that. You know what? Actually, I’d love to have a glass of wine...with you.”
He moved closer to her and took the bottle from her hands. “You have a corkscrew?”
“I have one somewhere.” She fished inside a few drawers and came up with one. “Here it is.”
“You get the glasses and I’ll do the pouring.”
Two wineglasses appeared on the counter in front of him. After uncorking the bottle, he poured the wine and picked up both glasses. “Where?” he asked her.
“How about outside on the patio? It’s a nice night.”
“You lead the way.” Casey followed her outside, his gaze wandering from the top of her shoulders, down along her back to her perfectly shaped butt. What was up with him? He couldn’t get the vision of making love to her out of his head.
She sat on one end of a small three seat patio sofa, the cushions worn and faded. The sofa faced out toward the backyard. There was a crescent moon and the night was warm, but not uncomfortably so. He handed her a glass and then took a seat on the opposite end. Only a few feet separated them, but it was enough space to keep his hands to himself and his body from reacting to her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip of wine. “Mmm, this is good.”
He sipped from his glass too. “Thought you might like it.”
She leaned her head back and sighed. Her eyes closed. “I wanted to pay the electrician today, but he said it was taken care of. I want to reimburse you.”
“No need. He’s on the clock and works for Sentinel. He gets paid whether he’s at the job site or somewhere else. It was no big deal. Besides, you paid him in Sweet Susie muffins, I hear.”
“My oven is working again...so to me it’s a big deal.”
“Glad it worked out.”
“Thanks to you, I didn’t miss one of my deliveries today.”
“You paid me back with dinner.”
She turned to look at him. “I would question that, but you had two helpings of meatloaf.”
“Yeah, I struggled to get it down.” He smiled into his glass.
Her mouth formed a silent O and after a pause, her sweet laughter filled the stillness surrounding them. He chuckled and leaned back against the sofa, stretching out his legs. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed being with a woman this much.
“The wine was a good idea.” She took another sip and he watched her delicate throat move as she swallowed. “I don’t get much time to relax these days.”
“Can’t imagine why not.”
Her eyes lifted quickly with a flash of defiance. “I’m holding my own. It’s not so bad.”
“That’s important to you, holding your own. You’re more independent than I remembered.”
“You only knew me as a kid. I’ve grown up since then.”
He took a leisurely gaze over her body. “I’ve noticed.”
Color rose up her cheeks and she paused. Then she dipped her head back and poured the rest of her wine down her throat. Turning to face him, she asked, “What have you noticed?”
Silently, he cursed. Those questioning green eyes were killing him. She was so pretty in t
he moonlight. Why in hell did he have to speak his thoughts out loud?
He began to shake his head. “You don’t want to know, Suse.”
“Maybe I really do.” She put out her empty glass, waiting for him to refill it.
He lifted the bottle, glanced at her and then poured an inch and a half of wine into her glass.
She noticed his meager ration and lifted her brow. “Still thinking of me as a kid?”
If only he could think of her that way again, but brutal honesty poked him in the ribs. She was a woman now and he was struggling to keep his mind focused on anything but that. The more time he spent with her, the more he was tempted. Living steps away from her and seeing her everyday didn’t help matters.
“Well, Casey?”
“Susanna, you’ve obviously grown up to become a beautiful woman. Independent, smart and nurturing.”
Her expression softened and a bright glow entered her eyes. She scooted closer. Damn, his mouth was getting him into trouble. Casey had enough experience with women to know what that look meant. He went on, “But you work too hard. You deserve a life of your own. You’ve been giving and giving and taking nothing in return. Your stubborn pride won’t allow anyone to really help you.”
She blinked and then her mouth turned down. “I’m prideful and stubborn? Thanks for the brotherly advice I don’t need.”
Brotherly advice? That got his spurs jingling. “Well, what do you need?”
Seconds ticked by as she stared him down, her eyes packing a wallop. She sighed several times and he noticed her breasts rising and falling as they clung to her tight Sweet Susie’s T-shirt. His groin pulsed and he went very still, willing himself to stay cool and collected.
Her eyes remained on his, daring him to back down. He wouldn’t, of course. He was a competitor, or at least he used to be before he’d been broken. Old habits died hard.
“What I need for starters is another glass of wine.” She shoved her glass under his nose and that ended the staring contest.
Casey pursed his lips. This wasn’t going well. He picked up the bottle from the glass-top table and splashed red wine into her glass again. “Here you go,” he said matter-of-factly. “You know, you asked me for my opinion.”
“You told me I didn’t want to hear it. That’s a surefire way to hook me. I think you knew that.”
“Maybe.” He refilled his own glass and took a giant gulp, cursing his sister for her brilliant idea and cursing himself for going along with it. How do you help a woman who doesn’t want your help?
She shook her head and sipped wine, as if it was the sustenance she needed to continue this conversation. “And maybe I wasn’t expecting a lecture from you.”
He leaned forward, holding his glass with both hands and swirling the wine in circular waves. “What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. Then she sighed. “That’s not entirely true.” She turned in her seat, adjusting her butt against the corner of the sofa. “Why did you kiss me yesterday? Was it just curiosity?”
Casey squeezed his eyes shut briefly and gritted his teeth, then peered into his wineglass. “Partly.”
“You can’t stand it when women don’t like you?” she asked.
“If you didn’t like me when we kissed, then I’d want to be around when you do like me.”
“At least you didn’t tell me it was a mistake.”
He kept quiet on that one.
“Never mind.” She began to rise and Casey extended his arm, taking her wrist gently.
“I couldn’t stand it that you didn’t like me.”
She stood above him and stared into his eyes. Revealing the truth wasn’t easy. Touching her, too easy.
“Because I’m Audrey’s friend and you wanted—”
“No, damn it. No. That’s not it.”
“Because you wanted my absolute forgiveness? I told you I’m over it.”
He shook his head. “Not it, either.”
What could he say? That he was on a mission to help her start up her business? To make her life easier for the short time he lived next door? That would go over like a lead balloon. But the lines began to blur in his head as to why he was touching her, wanting her genuine forgiveness. Hell, he wanted more from her in every way and it was dangerous ground he treaded.
“What then?” she asked, her sweet voice softening the tension in the air.
“Maybe your opinion of me matters.”
His hand still on her wrist, he tugged her closer and rose from his seat. Their legs brushed and her gaze lifted to his. Crickets chirped and the sound of branches rustling in the wind caressed the quiet night. “Casey?”
A wayward strand of hair fell into her eyes. It was always doing that, giving the wholesome sweet girl a sexy edge—another reminder that she was all woman now. Lifting his hand, he brushed the hair onto her cheek. His fingers lingered on the softest skin he’d ever felt. It would be so easy to kiss her again. “Maybe I want you to like me for purely selfish reasons.”
She tilted her head to the side, lowered her eyelids and focused on his mouth. The hungry look on her face nearly blinded him. “But that means...are you going to kiss me again, Casey?” The words, soft and whimsical, slid from her lips.
How could he resist her? He leaned in and touched his mouth to hers gently, giving her time to think it through, giving her a chance to back away. She answered with a little moan and her quiet cooing reverberated through his body like a jackhammer. He locked his arms around her and deepened the kiss, crushing his mouth to hers. Her passion shocked him and the way she curled herself into his body brought forth forbidden memories of making love to her. She was giving and warm and....not for him.
He remembered the reason he was here. It was hard to do, but he broke off the kiss. But he wanted more and couldn’t seem to break away from her completely. He continued to hold her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin. He breathed in her vanilla scent. It made him smile. She was a sweet woman. Casey didn’t do sweet. He didn’t play with a woman’s heart, the way he feared he was playing with hers, yet he forged on. The sooner he got her on her feet financially and any other way, the better. He could leave Reno with a clean conscience.
“Will you do something for me?” he whispered in her ear.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “What is it?”
Still unable to sever their connection completely, he pulled back enough to gaze into her eyes, his hands on her arms now. “Will you come with me tomorrow? I have something I want to show you.”
Her pretty green eyes snapped wide open and a smile teased her lips. “Where?”
He took a swallow. “To look at some property.”
Blinking, she stiffened and leaned back to fully gaze into his eyes. The smile left her face. “To look at property for your new office space?”
“No, not that. It’s something else.”
“What then?”
“I’ll show you tomorrow. I’m asking you as a favor.”
She moved away from him to set her wineglass down on the table. Out of the corner of his eye he caught her frowning. Her sigh rose up to his ears. “You’re not going to tell me?”
“Will you trust me? It’ll only take an hour of your time.”
She glanced at his mouth, then up into his eyes. She was debating, and then finally she said, “Okay, I owe you more than a favor.”
He didn’t think fast on his toes anymore. He should have been better prepared. Or at least, he shouldn’t have almost seduced her before asking for his dumbass fake favor. “You don’t owe me anything, Suse.”
Six
Gazing out the window of Casey’s SUV, Susanna breathed in the new car scent of leather and chrome. She’d always loved the smell, but as pleasing as it was to her sen
ses, her other senses told her she shouldn’t have agreed to this. She’d almost made a fool out of herself with Casey again last night, practically asking him to kiss her. It must have been the lovely dinner and two glasses of wine that got her head all jumbled up. Why had he brought her wine anyway? Was he psychic? Did he know she loved cabernet, had been craving a glass for days and didn’t like to drink alone?
“Does it feel weird not having Ally here?” He drove along the highway leading toward the River Walk area.
“A little. I’ve never left her before.” She didn’t have her three-year-old chaperone to keep her from making another “Casey mistake.” It seemed that whenever she was alone with him, she did something stupid. “Mindy is happy to watch her, she says it’s practice for her mothering skills. And Ally really likes her, so it should be fine.”
Casey gave her a nod and turned into a parking spot on a residential street. She didn’t know the street, but it was close to the River Walk area.
“Here we are,” he said. He killed the engine and got out.
She stepped down before Casey could open the door for her. She was curious about this favor but reluctant to spend any more time with Casey than necessary. She was crazy about him, or just plain crazy. And the more she was with him the worse it got.
“And just where are we?” she asked.
Casey moved beside her and put a hand to her back. His touch sent warmth spiraling up her back and she stiffened her shoulders to combat the glorious feeling. “You’ll see.”
Why was he being so cryptic? She had no idea what was going on. They walked up the residential street and turned the corner onto a busy boulevard. He took her hand then, entwining their fingers, and they walked past Beaut’s dog grooming shop, On the Page antique book store and an adorable children’s clothing boutique called Rainbows. “It’s coming up.” After another ten feet he stopped and turned toward the building. She did the same. Their reflection stared back at her through the empty shop window.
Oh, wow. They looked like a real couple, standing there, holding hands as if they were in love. She tightened her lips to keep Casey from noticing them trembling. Something softened in her heart. If only it were true. But that would never be the case. She couldn’t put stock in Casey kissing her on two separate occasions. To him, it probably meant little. He was a man who’d moved in the fast lane. And she had Ally now to think about. The child needed stability in her life.
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