Jinxed!

“Like what?”

“A flat tire-”

“Me, too.”

Another odd tingle shivered down her spine. “My dishwasher broke.”

“My refrigerator died.”

“Some kid must have put a red crayon in the dryer at my apartment complex’s laundry room, and I ruined an entire load of clothes.”

“The dry cleaner lost all my suits and dress shirts.”

“Sales have been off at the store.”

“Two clients decided not to renew their leases.”

Lacey slowly set her purse on the floor. “Let’s see…the timer on my stove quit and I burned two batches of cookies. The heel broke off my favorite pair of sandals at the supermarket and I fell into a display of oranges, knocking a bunch of them down on me. I locked myself out of my apartment, dropped my mail in a mud puddle and…” had several highly erotic dreams about you “…had a couple of weird dreams. You?”

“My microwave suffered some sort of hiccup and spewed leftover moo shu pork all over my kitchen. Sasha suddenly decided that she liked the taste of leather and chewed up every pair of shoes that I own. I locked myself out of my house, and my neighbor who has my spare key naturally wasn’t home. Sasha also gnawed a couple holes in my mail.”

Stunned, she stepped back several paces and leaned her hips against his desk. “Okay, that’s bizarre.”

“Yes, it is,” he agreed.

She attempted a laugh. “At least you didn’t have any weird dreams.”

“Oh, I had dreams. But I don’t think weird is the right word to describe them.”

“What is?”

His gaze, which had remained steady on hers up until now, cruised slowly down to her feet then back up again. “Erotic.”

She suddenly felt as if she stood in a ring of fire. Before she could think up a reply, he pushed off from the door and walked slowly toward her. “Wanna guess who was prominently featured in my X- rated dreams, Lacey?”

She had to swallow to find her voice. “Carmen Electra?”

He made a sound like a game show buzzer. “Wrong answer.” He didn’t stop walking until less than an arm’s length separated them. Lacey curled her fingers over the edge of his desk to keep from giving in to the overwhelming temptation to touch him.

“You,” he said, his eyes filled with a heat that all but singed her. “You were the woman in my dreams.”

Even though her better judgment told her to shut up, curiosity got the better of her and she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Did any of your dreams involve a nineteenth-century pirate ship?”

He nodded slowly. “I was the captain.”

Her heart began to pound in slow, hard beats. “You kidnapped me from my ancestral home.”

“Because you belonged to me.”

A heated flush engulfed her. “You cut off my gown. With your knife.”

“You liked it.”

“I had nothing else to wear.”

“We both liked that.”

“You made love to me,” she whispered.

“Every chance I could.”

“Every chance you could,” she agreed. Another wave of heat swamped her as images from her dreams flashed through her mind. Of Evan over her, under her, deep inside her, his hands and mouth everywhere…relentless…

His gaze searched hers. “Maybe the other stuff could be explained away by coincidence, but the fact that we had the same dream? That just convinces me that my idea is sound.”

“What idea?” she asked, hoping it had something to do with making that dream come true. Every cell in her body wanted to reach out and grab him, but she was afraid that once she touched him she wouldn’t be able to stop. Was that why he hadn’t touched her? Was he afraid of what would happen if he did? Was he suffering from the same “should I, shouldn’t I?” dilemma as she?

Instead of telling her his idea, he said, “I paid Madame Karma a visit today.”

She couldn’t hide her surprise. “You did? Why?”

“I wanted to talk to her about my sudden run of bad luck. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised, and told me it was because I was fighting fate. She predicted that you’d suffered a similar series of unfortunate events. Based on what you’ve told me, she was right.”

“Did she have any suggestions?”

“As a matter of fact she did. She told me the only way to fix my cursed karma was to stop fighting fate. And the only way to do that was to spend time with you-which would also fix your karma problem. So that’s my idea. That we spend some time together. Worst-case scenario is we won’t be any worse off than we are now. Best-case scenario is we’ll undo our karma curse and our lives will return to normal.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in any of that karma or fate stuff. Called it a bunch of nonsense.”

“I didn’t believe in it, and I’m not sure I do now. But there’s no denying the oddball things that have happened to both of us since Saturday, and I’m at a loss to explain them. Frankly, I’m exhausted from this spate of bad luck and am willing to try just about anything-no matter how off-the-wall it sounds-to end it.”

“Including spending time with me?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s certainly not the most romantic offer I’ve ever received.”

Instead of looking abashed, he appeared amused, which she found highly irritating. “Do you want a romantic offer?”

“Certainly not. You’re not at all my type.”

He folded his arms over his chest and shot her a quizzical look. “Not that I’m arguing that point, because, to be blunt, you’re not my type, either, but what is it about me that you find…unacceptable?”

Lacey studied him for several long seconds, debating how honest to be with him, then decided what the hell? No point in sugar-coating anything. He’d been blunt with her, and it wasn’t as if she were trying to impress him.

“I’ve always avoided getting involved with soulless clones. I see them every day. They come into Constant Cravings at the crack of dawn for their caffeine fixes, already talking business on their cell phones, tapping on their laptops, completely consumed with their work, never taking a moment of downtime. I see them sitting in the courtyard at lunch, hunched over reports, never so much as looking up to enjoy the sunshine.” She shrugged. “You’re one of them.”

He didn’t say anything for nearly half a minute, but she could tell by his frown that he was considering her words. Finally he cleared his throat. “There’s nothing wrong with having goals and working hard. In trying to succeed.”

“I agree. But I think there is something wrong when all your time and energy is devoted to your career and every other aspect of your life becomes just going through the motions. When success is measured only in terms of getting ahead professionally. When people and relationships and participating in life cease to matter.”

“And you think I’m one of these soulless clones?”

“Yes.”

“That’s pretty harsh.”

“Did you want me to lie?”

“No. But I think you’re wrong.”

“Really? I’ll prove I’m right. Close your eyes. And no peeking.” After he’d complied, she asked, “What’s depicted in the painting on the wall behind your desk?”

A frown bunched between his eyebrows. “There’s a painting on the wall behind my desk?”