Sinfully Sweet

formed lips somehow managed to look soft and firm at the same time. Like something that both angels and the devil himself had fashioned purely to see if a heavenly/wicked ideal could be achieved-and they’d met with spectacular success. Like the chocolate, his mouth seemed to beckon her with the same seductive chant: Taste me, taste me.

She jerked her gaze back up to his, then licked her own lips in an effort to get them working since they’d apparently forgotten how to form words. “The puppies…they’re, um, fine. Great. Safely secured inside my house.”

He wiped his brow with an exaggerated gesture. “Whew. My backyard just breathed a sigh of relief.”

Then he smiled, a sort of lopsided grin that in spite of not being perfectly symmetrical was somehow utterly… perfect. A smile that creased a pair of sexy dimples in his cheeks that her fingers-and lips-positively itched to explore.

Everything female in her stood up at attention and quivered.

“What brings you to Sinfully Sweet?” he asked.

She leaned a bit closer-certainly not to get a whiff of him-but to confide in a conspiratorial whisper, “I’m afraid I have a weakness for chocolate.” She leaned back and suppressed an oooooh of pleasure. He smelled great. Clean. Fresh. Masculine. Delicious.

“A weakness for chocolate, huh? Doesn’t everyone?”

She laughed, proud that she managed to sound so cool when she felt like she stood over a barbeque spit. “You, too?”

“Fraid so.” Something that looked decidedly heated and hungry and, well, admiring, flickered in his gaze. “Among other things.”

Whoa. If she didn’t know better, she’d say her sexy, nerdy neighbor whose smile had damn near stopped her heart was flirting with her. She instantly discarded the annoyingly pulse-quickening thought. The last thing she needed was any more useless Daniel-induced fantasies running naked through her mind.

Er, make that just running through her mind.

Right. Because naked was not a word she should even be thinking while Daniel was around. Of course not. Why, with the guy sitting in front of a computer screen all day, he probably looked all soft and squishy naked.

Although…

Her eyeballs stole a surreptitious glance down his form. His rolled back shirt sleeves revealed some very nice forearms. And his chest looked strong, his shoulders wide and sturdy. And the way he filled out those jeans, well, there didn’t appear to be anything soft or squishy about that.

Before she could ponder further on the fascinating fade patterns on his Levi’s, she looked up and met his gaze-a gaze filled with an expression that made it clear he knew he’d just been majorly ogled.

Embarrassment erupted hot tingles under her skin, and she pressed her lips together to keep from blurting out something that would cause the medical examiner to list “Died of Acute Mortification” on her death certificate. Something like I wasn’t really ogling you. I was just trying to picture you naked.

Silence swelled between them for several long seconds, with Carlie cursing the ridiculous effect this man had on her. No one had ever thrown her into this tongue-tied/babbling state before, and damn it, she didn’t like it. When a soft feminine voice behind her said, “Good morning,” she gratefully jerked her gaze away from Daniel and turned, feeling as if she’d been thrown a lifeline to keep from drowning in the Pool of Humiliation.

A petite, attractive woman who appeared to be in her early fifties, wearing a white apron with Sinfully Sweet embroidered across the top, smiled at them.

“Welcome to Sinfully Sweet,” the woman said, her brown-eyed gaze filled with warmth and what appeared to be lively speculation as it bounced between her and Daniel. “I’m Ellie Fairbanks, the owner, and I’m delighted you’ve come for the grand opening. May I help you?”

Carlie smiled in return, thankful that her mental acuity had returned now that she was no longer looking at Daniel. “I’ll have two of everything,” she said.

Ellie’s melodic laugh combined with the deep rumble of Daniel’s chuckle. “Are you shopping for Valentine’s Day?” Ellie asked after quick introductions had been exchanged. “A special something for that special someone?” Again her gaze bounced between her and Daniel. “Perhaps a special something for each other?”

Heat suffused Carlie’s cheeks. Ack! Clearly her ogling of Daniel had been so obvious that even the store owner had picked up on it. “Not for each other,” she said in a rush, throwing out the denial before Daniel could, in an effort to salvage what little bit of her pride still remained. “We’re just neighbors.”

“Right,” Daniel said, moving to stand next to her. From the corner of her eye she saw him push up his glasses. “Just neighbors.”

“And we won’t even be that for much longer, since Daniel’s house is for sale and he’s moving in a couple of weeks,” Carlie blabbed, her mouth running amok as she suddenly abandoned tongue-tied and morphed into blathering dolt. She again pressed her lips together to stem the lava- like flow of words as she could easily envision herself saying something to Daniel that would force her to move-to another continent. Like You’ve had me since the minute I laid eyes on you, and that sexy, dimpled smile just clinched the deal. Wanna come over for a warm massage and hot sex?

“Well, I’m glad you decided to visit Sinfully Sweet before you moved, Daniel,” Ellie said with a smile. “If you enjoy our chocolates-and I’m sure you will-we can ship your favorites to your new home.”

“Sounds great,” Daniel said. “And the shipping services are just what I need today since I’m looking for a birthday present for my mom. Something out of the ordinary.”

“You’ve definitely come to the right place. I’m certain we can find something you’ll like.”

“Daniel probably needs something for his girlfriend, too,” Carlie said, the words sneaking out before she could clamp her runaway lips. Double ack! She took a quick look around, praying she’d discover some other lip-flapping fool in the store she could blame for those words, but sadly her prayer went unanswered. That being the case, she didn’t even bother to hope for the floor to open up and swallow her.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Daniel’s softly spoken words had Carlie turning toward him so fast she risked whiplash.

“You don’t?” she and Ellie asked in unison. Ellie sounded surprised and curious. Carlie noted she also sounded surprised. And positively breathless.

He shook his head. “No.”

“But you did,” Carlie said.

“Yes.”

“So you broke up.”

“Yup.”

A bolt of heat, along with an odd sensation that felt like her hormones applauding, rippled through her. Still, why were men so frustratingly monosyllabic? Getting information out of them was like trying to drag a sausage through a needle hole. Good grief, didn’t men know that women thrived on details?

The urge to fire out a barrage of questions along the lines of “Who had broken up with whom and why?” trembled on her lips, but she managed to contain them. What difference did it make?

Yeah, her inner voice agreed. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that he’s no longer taken!

“What about you, Carlie?” Ellie’s voice broke into her reverie. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Carlie looked at the shop owner but was very much aware of the weight of Daniel’s stare as she hesitated. Six months ago she could have said yes. But then Paul had issued an ultimatum, and she’d chosen the “or we’re finished” option. She’d never regretted her decision, but she couldn’t deny that she missed having a man in her life to share things with. Like movies. And meals. Conversation. Laughter. Sex.

She shook her head. “No. No boyfriend.”

Ellie’s beaming smile encompassed both her and Daniel. “Well, as you’re both unattached, you’ll qualify for our special Valentine’s Day dinner prize with your first purchase.” After explaining the rules, Ellie said, “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your perfect match and win.”

“I’d like that,” Carlie said. Certainly a date would be nice after the dry spell she’d experienced the past few months. But she had the sinking feeling that with the way her luck had been going lately, if she won, her “perfect