But, this hadn’t been home for many years. “I guess so.”
She walked to the tiled counter and began lifting the rest of the things out of the box. He shoved the fridge door closed and pressed his back against the counter again. She sensed his eyes on her, following her movements. Inside, her nerves jumbled. Why wasn’t he leaving her alone? “Don’t let me keep you from whatever it is you want to do tonight.”
His voice deepened. “You’re not.”
Oh, boy. Heat rose up her throat. She gulped air and then turned to him, hands on hips. “Casey?”
He shrugged like an innocent school boy. “What?”
She blinked, but kept her mouth clamped shut. She turned around to sort her utensils and lay everything out.
“You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
The sound of his footfalls approaching tightened her stomach. “Either that, or you just don’t like me at all.”
This conversation was headed nowhere good. “I...like you, Casey.”
The warmth of his hands seeped into her shoulders. He applied enough pressure to gently turn her around. She faced him now but kept her eyes trained on his shirt collar.
“Prove it,” he said softly.
If only she could resist him. But when his hands slipped to her waist, she leaned toward him. Another gentle tug and she was brushing her chest against his. Her lids snapped up and she found the sexy mouth she’d been admiring close to hers, his breaths warming her cheeks, the subtle scent of male cologne wafting in the air. He tilted his head and she eyed the firm slant of his jaw. Her heart spun out of control.
“I’m going to kiss you now, Susanna,” he whispered over her lips.
He was like a gentle breeze blowing over her on a hot summer day...welcome and impossible to refuse.
He inched closer. She held her breath and closed her eyes. Then warmth touched her lips, his mouth a gentle crush of potency and desire. A tiny moan escaped her and blood rushed to her face. How utterly embarrassing it was, but wonderful too. Memories rushed into her head. She remembered his kiss. And the strength that seemed to pulse around him. His stubble scraped against her cheek and something powerful dredged its way to the surface. She had to kiss him back, to give as much as she was taking.
She pressed her lips to his and a deep guttural groan rose from his throat. The sound rang in her ears and her chest swelled. He tightened his hold on her waist and brought her closer. Automatically, she lifted her arms and circled his neck. He was strong and solid, bracing her as she leaned heavily against him. Stolen moments flew by as the kiss deepened. There were a dozen reasons why this was wrong, why she shouldn’t be in his arms, kissing him, but there was one very good reason why she should.
She needed to know.
And now she did.
She’d hoped to be disappointed. Hoped that her fascination with Casey was over and done with. She’d hoped the taste and feel of him wasn’t as exciting and intoxicating as she remembered.
But it was heaven, just like the first time.
Her body sagged. So much for hoping.
His hands were in her hair now, his tongue gently probing her mouth. She opened for him and he plunged inside, wrecking her even more with delicious sweeps. Her heart pounded fast, faster. She relished the feel of his arousal against her.
Without warning, he pulled his mouth away. Her gaze lifted to his. She already missed his warmth, the touch of his mouth on hers. Desire darkened his eyes and she drank it in, questioning him silently.
“I don’t want to hurt you again, Susanna,” he rasped over her lips.
How could she let this moment go? “Then don’t,” she whispered.
His brows furrowed and he shook his head. For a second, she thought it was over, until Casey’s day-old beard brushed the side of her cheek again and his mouth came over hers, sweeping her into another kiss.
Every nerve inside her body pinged. His potent kisses opened her eyes to what was missing in her life. She kissed him back, her emotions stirring, resurfacing from a place long ago buried. She wondered what the heck was happening to her. She had no resistance against Casey. Her willpower was shot. Sure, she’d dreamt about him kissing her again, but the reality was much more exciting and totally frightening.
Casey pulled his mouth away and this time she saw finality in his eyes. “Damn it,” he said softly. “What am I doing?”
His forehead thumped hers gently and he sighed.
“I don’t know,” she said quietly, her heart beating like crazy. What was he doing? Was she the convenient girl next door or was it something more?
“I do know one thing for sure. You’re sweet, Susie.” He gave her a heart-melting smile and then turned and walked toward the door, throwing a quiet “good night” over his shoulder.
* * *
Casey sat on his bed, his feet planted on the carpet and his eyes winking open as morning light invaded his bedroom. Mick Jagger’s voice ground out “Satisfaction,” an oldie now. Casey reached over and pushed the Off button on his radio alarm clock. It was early, around 6:00 a.m., and Charger, who usually nudged him off the bed, was nowhere in sight.
The pleasing scent of vanilla permeated the air and reminded him he had a woman baking in his kitchen this morning. Funny how he’d come to associate those sweet smells with Susanna. Last night flashed in his mind and he remembered kissing her. “Oh, man,” he muttered. Why’d he gone and done that? He put his head down and rubbed the back of his neck. A little voice in his head told him because she was pretty and sexy and because he couldn’t stand thinking that she didn’t like him and didn’t want him around. The more she’d tried to get rid of him, the more stubborn he’d become.
On a scale of one to ten, that kiss was an eleven. It was a damned near perfect kiss that got his juices flowing. “Damn it,” he muttered. He should kick his own ass for being a darned fool. He should’ve just walked right out of the kitchen last night and not stirred up trouble.
He might have blown it, just when he was making headway with Susanna.
Twenty minutes later, after showering, shaving and dressing, he ambled down the hallway. As he reached the kitchen doorway, his eyes were riveted to Susie’s cute backside—seriously fitted into tight blue jeans—as she worked at the counter. A Sweet Susie’s lavender apron was hitched around her neck, with another bow tied just above her butt. Don’t be a fool, Casey. He forced his gaze off her backside and toward the cooling muffins and cupcakes taking up space on his counter. Delectable, homey smells filled the room.
“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning.” She didn’t take her eyes off the cupcakes. Using a cone-shaped thing, she made even swirls of icing around the cake top until they formed a white creamy peak and then moved on to the next one. It was a form of art and she was the artist. She managed to frost the rest of the cupcakes on the counter in a matter of seconds. Casey stood immobilized watching her work. “Vanilla?”
She shook her head. “Cream cheese frosting. Have a taste,” she said. “Take anything you like.”
He had last night and liked it way too much. “Okay, thanks.”
He grabbed an unfrosted muffin instead of a cupcake and took a big bite. “Mmm,” he said, “tasty. Let me guess, banana something.”
“Banana-zucchini. Doesn’t seem as though they would work together, but it’s actually a great combination. The flavor of the banana and the texture of the zucchini make it a good seller.”
Casey polished off the muffin in three more big bites. “I’ll make coffee. Want a cup?”
She nodded. “Sounds good.”
What was with her anyway? Cool as a cucumber, she didn’t mention one word about last night. He expected weirdness. He expected recriminations. He expected some sort of reprimand. He had his
defense all planned out; now it didn’t appear that he needed to worry about it.
She began mixing up another batch of batter in a large bowl, carefully measuring out her ingredients. Her work would be cut in half if she had the proper equipment in a shop of her own. She wouldn’t have to half-ass her business and could grow it to a much larger scale. She just needed the right tools. A dozen thoughts entered his head on how he could help her accomplish that. But now wasn’t the right time to broach the subject.
He pulled the coffee out of the pantry and measured it out. Setting the coffeemaker to brew was a kitchen task he had mastered. One of the few. The machine grumbled and huffed and within seconds, steamy rich java trickled into the pot. The aroma, mingling with sweet pastry scents, rivaled the best cafés in the county.
The coffeemaker settled into a steady drip, drip, drip. Casey grabbed two mugs from a cabinet and set them down near the machine. “How’d you sleep?”
“Good.”
“And Ally?”
“She was thrilled to have the puppy in the room with us. She conked out, right after...after I came to bed.”
She set the bowl on the mixing stand and turned it on low. The ingredients swirled around—chocolate this time, a thick fudgy concoction that clung to the blades.
He poured coffee into mugs and slid one over to her. It didn’t look as if she had time to sit down with him, so he didn’t ask. “Thanks. I brought cereal over for Ally. You’re welcome to have some too, if you’d like.”
“Maybe later. My electrician will be out here to look at your oven this morning.”
“You got a hold of him already?”
“Yeah, I texted him five minutes ago.”
She shut the mixer off, her eyes finally meeting his. “Thank you.”
He didn’t see condemnation in her gaze. She didn’t utter scolding or harsh words. Maybe she’d enjoyed the kiss as much as he had, or maybe she wanted to forget it ever happened. Neither option overjoyed him.
“What time do you think he’ll be by?” she asked, releasing the bowl from the mixing stand and deftly drizzling batter into the tins.
“In about half an hour. Does that work for you?”
She gave it some thought, her eyes roving over the counters, calculating. “I’ll make it work. I need that oven fixed.”
She lifted her coffee mug and formed a sweet little pout with her lips. She blew puffs of steam in his direction and he imagined it was her hot breath reaching out to him.
He grabbed his cup and took a hasty gulp. Hot liquid singed his tongue and he sputtered. “Ouch! Damn it.”
Susanna’s eyes rounded. “Did you burn your tongue?”
Her focus on his mouth didn’t help the scorching pain. “You could say that,” he snapped.
Her lips twitched. “I’m sorry, but I thought you knew how hot the coffee was.”
“I wasn’t paying attention.” He was too busy noticing how hot she was. And it burned him. Literally. Susanna wasn’t what he expected. She was more. And now he had the memory of kissing her to deal with too.
“Want a glass of water?”
What he wanted was out of Audrey’s harebrained scheme. It was a noble idea to secretly help Susanna get on track with her business and get her bearings in raising Ally. Lord knew, he wanted to, but things were getting a little complicated and that could spell trouble. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Susanna again. “No. I’ll live.”
Susanna went back to work on her pastries. “Are you taking your run this morning?” She fit her hands into two oversize mitts and then bent to set the pans in the oven.
His gaze was drawn to her butt again. He had to stop letting it do that. He put his eyes back in his head. “No, not today.”
“But don’t you run every day? I hope my being here isn’t disrupting your life.”
She had no idea. “I made a promise to someone.”
“Who?”
“Ally. Don’t you remember? On the drive home last night, she asked if she could take Charger for a walk with me this morning.”
“Oh, well, yeah, now I remember.”
“You gave her permission.”
“Sorry?” she squeaked.
“Don’t be. I’m not in a running sort of mood today.”
“Is it your...” If her eyes could reach around to his broken back, they probably would have. His back gave him some grief every day, but he’d learned to live with it.
“My tongue. Hurts like the dickens.”
* * *
Susanna relaxed her shoulders as soon as Casey walked out of the kitchen. She deserved an Oscar for her performance this morning. Her pretending that all was right with the world had worked. Casey seemed to be expecting a battle or at the very least, a reprimand. When she didn’t rant like a maniac about those soul-inspiring kisses last night, the question in his eyes had disappeared and he’d settled into his comfort zone. When he’d burned his tongue, she’d seen a moment of the old Casey, the gruff, rough around the edges, unpolished guy she’d remembered from her childhood. He’d been a bear raising Audrey, and Susanna had heard the brunt of her friend’s complaints. This favor-doing, generous, puppy-rescuing guy was a mystery to her. Maybe his injury had changed him. The accident had been life-altering, taking the career he’d loved away from him.
It was also a mystery why he’d kissed her. She’d spent a good part of last night trying to figure it out and had come up empty. Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing; the mood had just struck him. But oh, that kiss had curled her toes and hummed through her body for hours afterward. It was high on her list of the best things in life, rivaling Godiva chocolate, Dom Pérignon champagne and a win on Cupcake Wars.
“Don’t think about it,” she cautioned herself.
Ten minutes later, after boxing her pastries, she walked into the bedroom to wake up Ally. She found her sitting on the dog’s pillow taking up half the space, the pup taking up the other half. When they noticed her, two pairs of eyes brightened, one tail wagged and one little hand gave her a wave. A smile spread Ally’s cheeks wide. What an adorable scene. “Good morning, Muffin.”
“Auntie, Charger came on the bed and woked me up.”
“He’s a regular little alarm clock, isn’t he?”
Ally’s nose crinkled and she squinted. “A clock?”
“Because, he woke you up just in time,” she explained. “We have to get you dressed. One of Casey’s friends is coming over to fix our oven.” She swooped down and lifted Ally up. “Your bath will have to wait until tonight.”
After she dressed Ally and gave her breakfast, she took the last batch of muffins out of the oven, leaving them to cool on the counter, and then searched for Casey. She found him on the sidewalk in front of her house, talking to the man she presumed was the electrician. Holding Ally in her arms, she exited the house and approached them. Both men stopped talking and looked her way.
“Susanna, this is Theo,” Casey said. “He’s the best in the business, can fix just about anything. He’s going to take a look at your oven.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” the man drawled in an unmistakable southern accent. With weathered skin and graying at the temples, he appeared to be in his mid-fifties.
“Thank you for coming out on such short notice,” she said, though the poor guy probably didn’t have much choice with Casey being the big boss and all.
“No problem. I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’ll take Ally and the dog for a walk now, while Theo looks at the oven,” Casey said.
“Sounds perfect.” It was anything but perfect. The damage was already done —Ally was head over heels in love with the puppy. Shifting her gaze to the child in her arms, Susanna said, “Sweetie, you get to take a walk with Charger and Casey. I expect you to listen to him and hold his hand. I
f Casey thinks it’s all right, you can hold the leash for a little while. Okay?”
Ally couldn’t nod fast enough. “’Kay.”
Susanna turned to Casey. “Can I ask you not to go too far? If all goes well, I hope to be making my deliveries soon.”
“Will do,” he said. “Don’t worry about Ally. We’ll be back in fifteen minutes.” He stepped closer, his gaze directed at her child. “Wanna help me get Charger on his leash?”
Ally nearly burst out of her arms as she reached for Casey. He grinned. “I guess that’s a yes,” he said as Susanna transferred her to him. Ally clung tightly to his neck, her happy face peeking out from the top of his shoulders. Watching them walk toward the house made Susanna’s stomach ache. She told herself Ally’s fascination was only for the puppy. She wasn’t falling for Casey.
And neither could she.
* * *
Susanna maneuvered her van through the city blocks of downtown Reno and found the construction site for Zane’s on the River on First Street. She parked the van nearby and eyed the building. It was light wood and slate with wide window panels facing the Truckee River. The exterior design was amazing and appeared completed to her untrained eye. But she spotted a dozen or so workers entering and exiting the restaurant. Casey had said they were putting the finishing touches on the inside.
“We’re here, Muffin. Our last stop of the day.” She released a quick sigh. She was grateful for the extra work, but fatigue was catching up to her and she’d be glad when her day was done.
At least her oven was fixed. Theo didn’t hold out much hope that the old girl would last much longer, but she was up and working for now. Susanna had been so grateful she’d given him a dozen double fudge brownie muffins to take home to his family along with a check for his services. The check he’d refused, saying it was already taken care of—something she’d have to discuss with Casey—but he surely appreciated the muffins.
Climbing out of the van, she opened the back passenger door to unfasten Ally’s car seat and the sound of rushing current moving briskly down the river bombarded her ears. Susanna didn’t come to the River Walk too often; her business was mostly concentrated in shopping areas and office buildings in another part of town. But hearing the mad rush of the river made her smile, reminding her of summer afternoons tubing the Truckee and swimming in the chilly waters as a kid.
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