Heating up the Holidays

“It’s not as if you just met him yesterday. He’s been coming in here for the past three months. And those six, maybe seven orgasms tell me you know him pretty damn well.”

“I don’t know him well enough to confuse lust with anything that resembles love.”

Jayne shook her head and made a tsking sound. “Honey, I knew Tim was the guy for me three minutes into our first conversation. We were engaged two months later and married three months after that. That was five years ago and I’m so deliriously happy I can barely stand it.” She reached out and took Toni’s hand. “I know you’re not looking for a boyfriend, but the truth is there’s no good timing when it comes to these things. I certainly wasn’t looking when Tim came along. Do you want my opinion?”

“Is there any point in me saying no?”

“Nope,” Jayne said with a grin. “Listen-the right guy won’t take away your independence. He’ll enhance it. Maybe Brad isn’t the right guy, but I think that any guy who turns you on so much that you lose count of your orgasms and who makes you turn green at the thought of him touching another woman warrants another date.”

“I didn’t turn green,” Toni lied. “And it wasn’t a date.”

“Honey, you were greener than our fake Christmas tree. And it was a date-obviously a damn good one, too.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Toni said, ignoring the sinking sensation in her stomach. “He seemed perfectly happy to accept my decision not to see him again.” Right. And the feeling cramping her insides right now as she spoke those words was relief. Yeah. Relief. Whew. What a relief.

“Maybe he just didn’t want to argue about it then.” Jayne’s gaze fixed on something beyond Toni’s shoulder. “Seems we’re about to find out.”

Toni turned and her heart jumped at the sight of Brad walking across the street toward the shop. He carried a long rectangular white box, just like the ones she used to pack long-stemmed flowers.

“This should be interesting,” Jayne said, and there was no missing the smirk in her voice. “I’ll be in the back, starting on the anniversary bouquet.”

“Don’t you dare leave me-”

“Alone with that gorgeous, sexy, six-or was it seven?-orgasm man?” Jayne broke in. “Yeah, I’m a monster. You can thank me later. Just remember-there’s nothing wrong with having a one-night stand twice.”

No sooner had Jayne disappeared into the back of the shop than the door opened and Brad walked in. Their gazes met and although Toni tried her damnedest to appear nonchalant, she wasn’t certain she succeeded. Looking into his eyes, a myriad of images from last night played through her mind. Their soapy hands caressing each other in the shower. Warm water cascading over them as she braced herself against the cool tiles and pushed back, arching her spine to take him deeper. His body on hers. Hers on his. Him thrusting deep inside her. Her crying out his name-

“Hi,” he said.

She blinked away the sensual memories and pulled in a much-needed breath. “Hi.”

He crossed the tiled floor and set the long white box on the counter separating them. “What’s this?” she asked nodding toward the box.

“For you. I wanted to give you flowers, but…” he looked around the shop then back at her “…it seems you already have plenty of those. So I improvised.”

Dammit, she didn’t want to be charmed. Didn’t want to feel this bubble of giddy pleasure gurgling inside her. “It looks like a flower box,” she said, sliding off the bright red ribbon. “Did you visit the competition?”

He reached out and ran one fingertip down her cheek. “You don’t have any competition, Toni.”

Everything inside her did something that felt suspiciously like melting. She wanted to call a time-out. Give herself a few minutes to regroup. To steel herself against him. It simply wasn’t right how he turned her to mush like this.

Not trusting her voice, Toni opted to remain silent. She removed the lid, separated the layers of white tissue paper and stared. At twelve long-stemmed roses made from-

“Chocolate,” she murmured, looking at the glistening candy flowers mounted on extra long lollypop sticks.

“Somehow roses remind me of you.”

Warmth rushed into her cheeks. Before she could think up a reply, he continued, “I figured since you deserved roses and like chocolate…” His words trailed off and she looked up to find him staring at her with a serious expression. “I know I agreed to just one dinner, to just one night, but after last night…I want more.” He reached out and took her hand. “I think, at least I hope, you do, too.”

God help her, part of her did want more. The lonely and he’s-so-sexy-and-funny- and-charming-and-sexy part of her wanted another night like last night. Who wouldn’t? But her cautious side, the part that needed to live for herself and concentrate on her fledgling business told her that she was playing with fire. And with a firefighter no less-the one profession she’d vowed to avoid at all costs.

“Toni…” He entwined their fingers. “I’ve gone on lots of dates but never one like last night. There’s something between us, something I’ve never felt before. I felt it the first time I looked at you.”

“That was lust, Brad. I’m sure you’ve felt that plenty of times.”

“But not like that. It was lust but more. And I’m old enough and experienced enough to know the difference.”

“I told you…I don’t want a boyfriend.”

“I didn’t particularly want a girlfriend, but here we are.”

Toni’s heart was thudding so hard she wondered if he could hear it. In light of his honesty, she couldn’t in good conscience give him any less. “The problem is…I’m scared. I really don’t want…this. Not now. Please try to understand-I’ve spent the last few years fighting to reestablish myself, first after the end of my disastrous firefighting career and then after finally pulling away from my smothering family. I’m finally on my own. I don’t want to give that up. And I have a business that needs all my attention. I can’t ignore my responsibilities.”

“I don’t expect you to give up anything. Wouldn’t want or ask you to ignore your responsibilities. One of the things I like about you is that you aren’t a clinging vine. And if it makes you feel any better, I’m scared, too.” He lifted her hand and touched his lips to the backs of her fingers. “How about we be scared together?”

Toni tried to summon her willpower, but couldn’t seem to find it. Which was scary and frustrating and downright annoying. She finally heaved a resigned sigh. “You know, I don’t want to like you.”

“I don’t want to like you, either.” One corner of his lips quirked. “Especially if you aren’t going to like me back. Problem is, I do like you. A lot.” He reached out and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, an intimate gesture that made her heart stutter. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

“You already asked me that this morning.”

“And you said no. Which is why I’m asking again.”

“You didn’t argue about it this morning.”

“That’s because cowboy wisdom taught me that there’re two ways to argue with a woman-and neither one works.” He shot her a devilish grin that dissolved whatever was left of her knees. “So instead of arguing, I figured I’d just ask again.”

“Just one more little dinner?”

“You’ve got to admit, the first little dinner went pretty damn well.”

Did it ever. She had to face facts-maybe there was a woman on the planet who could say no to another date with this guy and his chocolate roses, but she wasn’t that woman. What harm could one more date do?

“Okay. One more little dinner. Do you like pasta?”

“Love it. You want to go to an Italian place? Francini’s on Moore Street is very good.”

“Actually, seeing as how we couldn’t wait to leave the restaurant last night, what would you say if I asked you to eat at my place? I’ll cook.”

He treated her to another one of those slow, devastatingly sexy smiles. “I’d say I’ll bring the wine.”

8