“She’s quite the animal,” he said, brushing hair, dirt and flowers from his clothes.
“She is.They’re all rescues.Mrs.Fuhrman has a big heart.”
He heard the woman usher the dogs back inside.On the other side of the house, the lawn mowing resumed.
“About that coffee that you’ve been so carefully protecting…”
“No one said it’s coffee.”
“It is,” she insisted.“You’re a smart man.You wouldn’t bring a cup with that logo and not have the elixir of life in it.And it’s mine.Right?Tell me it’s mine.”
How could he not want to wrap up the moon and give it to her?He offered her the cup.“I think it’s only half full at this point.”
“I don’t care how full it is.”She accepted it and took a long drink.“You could spoil me.Three days in a row with great coffee?”
“Sorry I don’t have a biscotti in my pocket.”
“Suzy-Q would have ferreted it out.And, I apologize for the wild welcome.That didn’t go quite the way I’d thought it would.”
“It was memorable, and I’ll be thinking of ways you can top it.”
Her mouth parted.
“Show me,” he said.
Her eyes darkened, almost imperceptibly.
“Inside.Now.”
Their gazes locked.Yeah, she understood, recognized what was happening here, if not on a conscious level, then on an instinctive feminine one.
She finally looked away and turned toward the house.He picked up her shoes for her.They had those little cutouts at the front that would show off her painted toenails.Until today, he couldn’t have said that he’d ever noticed anything other than a spiked heel, but these took sexy to another dimension.
Inside, the house was cool, and he took the time to turn the front door lock to keep out neighbors and four-legged friends.
He dropped her shoes in the entryway alongside a pair of running shoes then followed her into the kitchen.“Mind if I wash up here?”
“That’s fine.I have a lint roller to clean your slacks and jacket.”She put her cup on the counter.“Be right back.”
By the time he was finished washing and drying his hands and face, she’d returned, holding out the promised roller.He thought about accepting then changed his mind.“Why don’t you do it?An act of your submission.”
She hesitated for a second.He saw a hidden doubt in her eyes but then she seemed to come to terms with it.She’d have a dozen objections, he knew.But they were just that, objections, nothing real.
Finally, she nodded.
“Start with the jacket.”Now he was glad he’d worn a lightweight blazer, despite the weather.No telling the damage Suzy-Q would have done to a shirt.
Lara, with her entirely unique scent that reminded him of the promise of summer nights, moved toward him.
She looked up at him for a second.He liked the differences in their sizes.It made him feel even more protective over her.
Without a word, she lifted a lapel and rolled the sticky tape over it.She took her time moving to the next.
He enjoyed how deliberate she was.She continued to move over the rest of the material, ensuring every dog hair was gone.
“Pants, too?”she asked, her tone a bit hesitant.
“Yes.”
