Her Sexiest Mistake

'Your car.' His expression was all innocence. 'I was talking about your car. Wait here. I'll call Hope over to help.'

'Yeah, about that…' Mia winced. 'That sucky day I mentioned? It also includes the disagreement we got into this morning. She's not happy with me.'

'Well, it's possible her day has been worse than yours. There's apparently some question of whether Adam is going out with Hope or Amber.'

Mia followed Kevin's gaze to a pretty little blonde, leading a cheer on the sidewalk to attract more cars. She was everything Mia-and Hope-had never been. 'That punk.'

She swiped a hand over her hot, damp face. 'He gave Hope a hickey.'

'I saw.'

Of course he'd seen; he didn't miss a thing. 'I'm going to kill him.'

'They didn't have sex,' Kevin said.

'But she knows we did,' Mia said. 'And she thinks I'm the biggest hypocrite out there.'

'Ah. That makes sense then.'

She looked at him warily and tried not to wilt in the heat. 'I'm not going to like this, am I?'

He sighed. 'She's been telling stories.'

'Runaway stories?'

'More like… lies.'

'Oh, boy. What's she saying?'

'She's just talking, being a teenager, trying to fit in.'

'What's she saying?'

'That she's from some rich family and they've dumped her with you for the summer and you're treating her like Cinderella before the ball. Any of that background stuff true?'

'Are you kidding me? You know it's not.'

His eyes never left hers. 'How would I know? You've never told me anything of your past.'

'Okay, you know what? It's too hot for this. I'm just going to take her home.'

Kevin splashed the hose over her feet, making her gasp with the sudden cold.

She stared down at her silky, strappy heels. 'These are Jimmy Choo's,' she said in shock. 'You can't just-'

He did it again, splashing just a bit higher now, past her ankles nearly to her knees. Water spots appeared on the bottom of her pleasant D &G skirt. 'Hey!'

'Oops.'

Mia narrowed her eyes and took the last step between them, putting them toe-to-toe, and if she'd been a foot taller, nose-to-nose. 'I'll have you know these shoes are expensive.'

'And I'll have you know that haughty tone you use when you're irritated really turns me on. It's sick, I know, but true.'

'You don't want to play with me. Trust me. I always win.'

He flashed a slow and utterly wicked smile. 'Did you know that when you're backed into a corner, your Southern accent shines right through?'

'I'm not-'

'Oh, that's right. We don't talk about that. Or your past. You don't even cop to having one.'

Echoes of Tess saying the same thing went through her head. 'My past is too complicated to discuss in this heat.' She reached for the hose, but he evaded.

'I've got air-conditioning at home,' he said.

'You said you weren't going to answer the door to me anymore.' She again tried to snatch the hose from him, but he pulled back and, in the guise of pointing it at her car, missed entirely.

And nailed her legs, making her gasp again.

From behind them, the kids began to notice and let out a bunch of whistles and woo hoos. 'Water fight!' someone yelled.

That was all they needed to hear. With shrieks of laughter and screams, the kids turned on each other.

In the midst of it all, Kevin took a step toward Mia, a wicked light of intent in his eyes.

She backed up, her butt hitting her car. 'I mean it. Don't you even think about-'

The hose hit her thighs and belly, and laughing, she finally grabbed the hose and pointed it at Kevin's chest, nailing him full blast. He burst out laughing, the sound even sexier than his voice, and then just stepped through the spray toward her. Pulling a total girl, she screamed, dropped the hose, and went running around the Jeep, ducking down on the far side of it.

'Aunt Apple?'

Mia opened her eyes from her crouch by the passenger door and came face-to-face with Hope. Or at least she thought it was Hope. With a cap on and her face devoid of makeup, she looked like a different girl entirely, sweet and pretty. And fairly shocked.

'Are you… squealing?' Hope asked in a disbelieving voice.

'Apparently, yes.' She would marvel over that shocking fact later. 'I'll pay you twenty bucks to sidetrack Kevin so I can get him.'

Hope's eyes widened. 'Twenty?'

'Okay, forty.'

Hope just stared at her.

'Sixty. Come on, Hope. Help me out here.'

Hope shook her head, looking bowled over. 'I'd have done it for nothing, you know.'

'Have I taught you nothing? Aim higher, girl.'

'Yeah.' Hope touched the cap, looking a bit self-conscious. 'I'm, urn, sorry about this morning.'

Mia blinked in surprise, but the girl was gone. She waited a minute, then, assuming Hope wanted that sixty bucks, stood up. No Kevin in sight. Perfect. She tiptoed toward a forgotten bucket filled with soapy water, her heels squishing all the way. Damn him. She took another quick look around.

Still no Kevin. This was too good to be true.

Without warning, she was grabbed from behind and pulled against an extremely wet, warm, hard chest. 'Gotcha,' Kevin said low and husky in her ear, tightening his arms on her as he laughed softly.

Goose bumps rose everywhere, but pride dictated that she struggle. 'When I get free,' she vowed, 'I'm going to get you.'

'Promise?'

'Let go!'

Another soft laugh. 'I don't think so.'

'Let go or I'll…' Hard enough to think when he held her like he did; harder still to maintain her righteous dignity.

'You'll what?' he goaded. 'Make it good now.'

'I'll get Hope to rewire your house so that every time you switch on an appliance, country music blasts at earsplitting decibels throughout your house.'

'Nice one.' But he still held on to her, his arms banded tight around her middle, the fingers of his left hand spread wide and nearly, just nearly, brushing her breast. 'Face it, Mia. I won. And I'm going to claim my prize.'

Her nipples went happy. 'Dream on. There's kids watching.'

He laughed again, and even though she kept squirming, he didn't let her go. 'Not everything is about sex.'

'Between us it is.'

For a beat, he went utterly still. Then he bit lightly on her ear, making her hiss in a breath, and not in pain. 'It's not