“Morning breath,” she muttered.
“Can I feel you up instead?”
She spluttered out a laugh. “No.”
“Damn, you’re no fun.”
Julia sprang out of bed before she weakened. “Do you want coffee?”
“Is the pope Catholic?”
“Why yes. I believe he is.”
She pulled on a comfy pair of sweats, and after hesitating, removed her sleep shirt and replaced it with a T-shirt. Out in the kitchen, she made a quick call to check on her mother and started the coffee. The coffeemaker was soon gurgling, and she stopped to wonder if she’d made a mistake in sharing her bed. No, she decided. She’d slept better than she had in months. While she waited for the coffee, she ran through some of her morning stretch routine.
Ryan joined her in the kitchen. Without asking, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, tugging her against his chest.
“I thought we were confining ourselves to friends-only,” she said.
“Nope, I never agreed to that. This is wooing, baby. I intend to persuade you to my way of thinking.”
“Do you have any suggestions for promo for the club?” Not the smoothest change of subject, but she’d run with it. “I need to complete everything this week and get moving on the advertising.”
“Coward.”
“I’m in work-mode now,” Julia said. “That’s got to be my focus.”
His blue eyes narrowed a fraction. “I’m up for the task.”
“I don’t want you to look on me as a challenge. I have to concentrate onMaxwell’s.”
“Of course you do. I’ve written a theme song for your club. You could play it when you’re introducing dancers or something. Use it as a signal to the audience that something is about to happen.”
Julia stared at him, warmth twining through her. “You wrote a song for me?”
“You’re my inspiration. Even when your name escaped me, I dreamed about you. Your face and your pretty blonde hair filled my sleep.” He ran his fingertips over her cheek.
God, he was so sweet. Unable to think of what to say or to fight her desire any longer, she said, “We’ll have sex. Tonight.”
Yeah, that would sort out her waffling. A little hot and heavy sex would sort out everything.
“Gotta go,” she said, not giving him a chance to answer. “I will be in and out of the club today, plus I have the girls coming to practice dance routines.” Finished, she snapped her mouth shut and ran for cover, the weight of his stare following as she disappeared back into her bedroom, her heart spooked into erratic beats.Well,she thought on reaching the safety of her bedroom.Nothing like laying down a challenge.
“I’ve booked a hen’s party for the week after next,” Susan greeted her. “I didn’t think you’d mind if I suggested it to my cousin.”
“Great!” Julia said. “I guess I should buy a diary to keep track of our bookings.”
Maggie dragged herself through the door of the club. Her pained gaze swept their faces before settling to glower at Julia. “Tell me you have stiff muscles too.”
Susan’s groan was heartfelt. “Thank goodness. I thought it was just me. Julia’s not limping one bit, so I was trying to pretend I’m fine. I had to roll out of bed this morning, and I took five minutes to get moving.”
Christina walked gingerly through the double doors, wincing with every step, and Julia had trouble restraining her chuckle.
Julia glanced from one friend to the next. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about sore muscles. I still go to dance classes two or three times a week.”
“It’s not natural, twisting a body into graceful arcs,” Maggie grumbled. “I had to get Connor to give me a massage—”
“Don’t rub it in,” Christina said. “Some of us don’t have a handy man.”
