Especially not forthatman. Her mouth should be watering because of the donut in her hand, not because sunlight was catching every ridge and dip of Connor Stone’s toned body…and the metal detector. Whatever he was doing with that.
Rachel sighed, raised her other hand to the baker in parting, and left the shop. In her professional estimation, she was spending too much time thinking about Connor Stone and too little time getting her own life under control. Although she had made some progress in that area, she thought!
She had a promising second date soon. She’d started conducting one-on-one interviews with Maddie and her richer, more famous clients, those who couldn’t just date anyone, to ensure even greater compatibility through a psychological assessment. It helped to know two people personally so they could tell whether they were compatible or not. And it was good to finally be working again.
Rachel felt like she was doing something meaningful once more: She was helping people find love. She was finding a piece of herself. Not like the last six months, when she hadn’t been able to practice because her license was under scrutiny. God, she just hoped the nightmare would soon end and she could start over. It wouldn’t really be worth telling her siblings about it until it was all over, right?
She’d see Lucy tomorrow. They were going to do yoga on the beach with Maddie...but that would be too soon to tell them.
Rachel!a voice in her head snapped at her, sounding an awful lot like Maya.
Yeah, yeah.
“Finding the love of other people’s lives must be a lot of fun, if it leads to frown lines before nine o’clock,” a dark voice said, and Rachel stopped abruptly.
She lifted her eyes and looked straight at a glistening collarbone. Damn. She should have been paying more attention. Ignoring someone was so much easier when you knew precisely where they were at any given time!
She jutted out her chin and pointedly focused her gaze on the bead of sweat rolling down Connor’s strong neck and onto his muscular chest. She had never considered a life as a sweat bead a desirable one, but right now, it didn’t seem like the worst fate.
Oh God. Had Connor beendoublyright? Did she really need an invigorating orgasm?
“One frowns when thinking,” she explained patiently, ignoring the heat spreading through her lower abdomen. “I know the concept is foreign to you, but you should givethinkinga try! I’d give it five out of five stars any day.”
To her annoyance, Connor smiled mischievously. “No, thanks. I’ve been doing pretty well withdoingso far.” He leaned forward and examined her forehead critically. “And it causes fewer wrinkles.”
Oh, the jerk. Rachel had to stop herself from smoothing her frown lines with her fingers, deciding instead to gracefully change the subject. “Are you ready for the next date? I have a date on Friday at Galette — the French restaurant. It was his idea. I like thinking men.”
“Naturally, so they have more wrinkles than you.”
She snorted. “Who’s the shallow one here? By the way, he’s a cameraman, wants kids, loves to spoil his woman…”
“Oh, please, tell me more,” Connor said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe he’s right for me too. What time are you meeting?”
“Seven. The perfect time to…”
“Wonderful.” He smiled broadly. “I’ll be there. I’ll find a date by then.”
She stared at him, her mouth gaping, a latent unease filling her chest, as if a swarm of wasps inside her had suddenly become angry. “Um, that wasn’t an invitation for a double date.”
“Hmm,” he remarked, unimpressed. “Then you were being vague.”
Now he sounded like Maya.
“Besides, it’s only fair,” he continued unperturbed. “The test will be more accurate if we have exactly the same conditions for falling in love. Don’t you think?”
His smile was far too innocent for Rachel’s taste. The bastard was planning something, but she certainly wasn’tafraidof him.
“All right,” she replied. “You should bring your metal detector too.”
“No. It’s shy.”
She snorted. “What exactly are you doing with it?”
“I was involved in a shootout yesterday with two kids, the Dalai Lama, and a guide dog. I was searching the beach for my bullets. They were a gift from Lucifer.”
She bit the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling or, heaven forbid, laughing. That might send the wrong signals. “Funny.”
He raised one shoulder. “I am merely living up to my reputation.”
