The Last First Kiss (Harlequin Special Edition)

by Ferrarella, Marie

  “—our mothers, yes. I get it.”

  She patted him on the shoulder, a teacher proud of her slow but determined student.

  “Doesn’t matter how slow your mind works, Dave, as long as it eventually comes through.” She was surprised when he started to get out on his side. “Where are you going?” she asked with just the slightest hint of wariness in her voice.

  Slight or not, Dave picked up on it and it changed all the ground rules. She’d looked flustered for that one unguarded second. She was afraid, he realized. Afraid that he was inviting himself over. It wasn’t hard to figure out what she was thinking after that. That, once inside her apartment, he’d try to press his advantage.

  The thought placed the ball back in his court, making him far less leery and a great deal more relaxed. “Your father taught you how to work on cars, mine taught me that you always walk a lady to her door after a date.” A smile played along his lips. “I guess that would apply to you, too.”

  “Very funny,” she answered. “So about our next ‘date,’ I think I’ve got the perfect place. Our mothers have a standing date for the Orange County fair each year—the first Saturday the fair’s open. That’s this coming Saturday.” Her grin was wide. “I thought we’d join them.” Then it faded a little as she said, “It’ll require lots of hand holding. Are you up to it?”

  He wasn’t twelve anymore. There was no stigma attached to holding a girl’s hand. Even hers.

  “If I have to, I have to,” he replied, trying to sound convincingly put out.

  But the parameters had changed suddenly and drastically with that experimental “first-kiss syndrome” she’d sprung on him. He knew now that he never should have proposed “getting it out of the way.” It was far better to be attracted to her and wonder if there was anything to the attraction than to actually go through the steps and find out.

  Because now there was no room for doubt. He was attracted to her. A great deal.

  And that, he knew, was definitely going to be a problem, at least for one of them.

  “I’ll get my shots,” he said as they came to a stop before her front door.

  “You do that,” she told him. Getting her key out, she paused before putting it into the lock. “You don’t want to come inside, do you?”

  Actually, he did. Very much so. Which was why he couldn’t.

  “I’d better be getting back,” he told her evasively, not answering outright. “I’ve got an early shift tomorrow,” he tacked on for good measure.

  She nodded. Relieved.

  And yet…

  There is no “yet,” Kara silently argued. If she was feeling anything, it was just her, throwing herself into this part. There was nothing between them and there wasn’t going to be. If she was lucky, she would get through this charade intact without giving in to the temptation of killing the man. She knew it was just a matter of time before the desire to put him out of her misery returned to tempt her mercilessly.

  “Okay, then, I’ll be in touch.” She saw the look of surprise on his face. “About the fair,” she prompted. Had he forgotten already?

  “Oh, right. Okay.”

  It was time for him to get moving, Dave told himself. Time to point his feet toward his car and start walking back to guest parking. Why he felt as if he’d just stepped into glue that was holding him fast was something he didn’t quite understand. It couldn’t be because he wanted to remain in her company for a couple more minutes, that would be too ridiculous for words.

  So why was there no other part of him moving except for his lips? “Um, thanks again for getting that game for Ryan.”

  “You don’t have to thank me,” she told him, and she meant it. Then, before Dave could respond, she added, “The look on Ryan’s face was thanks enough.”

  Goose bumps were beginning to claim her flesh, traveling up and down the length of her bare arms. She blamed it on the night air, although it really wasn’t all that cool.

  “See you,” she said cheerfully, then launched herself into her apartment and shut the door behind her before she did something stupid, like pull him in after her. Or kiss him again.

  Dave stood there on her doorstep, looking at the closed door for several moments. For a split second, he contemplated knocking and asking to come in under some pretext or other. But then decided against it.

  He’d been up too long and sleep deprivation was making his mind wander into strange, incomprehensible areas, tempting him to go against his own better instincts. Never mind that while in medical school and then during residency, he’d pulled back-to-back-to-back shifts that would have worn out the average robot. This was his excuse and he was sticking to it.

  “See you around,” he said to the door and then turned and walked away.

  Kara had remained on the other side of the door, torn. Listening. Aware that he hadn’t walked away and struggling with the very strong temptation of opening the door and pulling him in. Only the realization that it would have been a very huge mistake kept her from doing it.

  The future, from where she stood, looked a little rocky. Of course, she could just decide to abandon this whole charade, but she knew that her mother was not about to give up now that she’d gotten her toes wet in matchmaking waters.

  She might not be aware of any biological clock ticking, but apparently her mother, somehow newly equipped with super-hearing, was. And if her mother wasn’t stopped in her tracks now, who knew who the next candidate she came up with might be? Better to nip this in the bud now.

  All of this angst would be moot if only kissing Dave had been like rubbing her lips along a dead fish. Then all her problems would have been solved and she wouldn’t be feeling as attracted to him as she was.

  “Oh well, like the flu, this too shall pass,” she told herself out loud.

  For the time being, though, she forced herself to put it out of her mind.

  “So it’s working,” Lisa declared.

  The minute she’d walked into her house, the phone had started ringing. It was no surprise that Paulette was on the other end of the line. Paulette always did have timing down to a science, and this time she was calling, Lisa assumed, to crow about how successful her plan to get their children together had turned out.

  “Of course it’s working,” Paulette answered with no small display of confidence. “I knew it would. Kara wants to teach me a lesson. I mean, teach us a lesson.”

  This, Lisa thought, had to be the fastest that Paulette had ever lost her. “Excuse me?”

  Paulette laughed and proceeded to explain. “I know my daughter. She has this radar that puts her on the alert if something is a little off. In this case, the request for that game tipped her off.”

  “But Ryan really wanted it,” Lisa pointed out. That hadn’t been a ruse. “You saw his reaction at the party when he unwrapped it. He was overjoyed.”

  “Yes, but you have to admit that my coming out and asking Kara to deliver the game to Dave at the clinic because it was closer for her than for me was rather obvious.”

  Lisa had thought that herself initially, but her friend’s enthusiasm had made her overlook that point. “If it was that obvious and you knew that she was going to see right through it, why did you do it?”

  “Because I knew she’d react this way.”

  She could hear the smile in Paulette’s voice. “What way?” she asked, frustrated. “You know, until this minute, I didn’t think I was in jeopardy of coming down with Alzheimer’s so early, but now I’m not so sure I’m not already mired in it.” Drawing in a long breath, Lisa braced herself. “Paulette, what are you talking about? I’m not following you.”

  “I know it sounds kind of involved,” Paulette allowed patiently, “but neither one of us has simple kids. Consequently, we’re engaged in a mental chess game. The only
way to get Kara and Dave together is to make them want to outsmart us. Challenge them. Especially Kara. And I was right.”

  If you say so, Lisa thought. Out loud she asked, “Okay, so do you have any idea what they think they’re doing?”

  “Does spring follow winter?” Paulette asked.

  “With you I wouldn’t bet on it,” Lisa answered.

  Paulette laughed. “Our kids are pretending to hit it off so that eventually they can break up dramatically—undoubtedly somewhere within our hearing range. The thought behind that—I’d stake my life on it—is that we will feel so bad that things didn’t work out between them and that they wound up in emotional pain because of us, we’ll swear off meddling in their affairs for the rest of their lives.”

  “In other words, once this little three-act play is over, we’ll be back to square one and they’ll be no closer to a relationship with each other—or anyone else—than they were when we started,” Lisa concluded glumly.

  She was about to ask what the point of going through these paces was if that was to be the outcome, but she never got the chance.

  Paulette laughed quietly at the summation. “Not if I’m right.”

  Lisa sighed. “Okay, I admit it. I’m the slow one,” she said, not believing it for a minute. “You’re going to have to explain what you mean by that.”

  “What I’m counting on is that they’re both going to get so involved in pretending to fall in love, they won’t see it coming.”

  Exasperated, Lisa enunciated each word slowly. “See what coming?”

  “That they really are falling in love.”

  Paulette was taking a great deal for granted here, Lisa thought. She wasn’t nearly as confident about the outcome as her best friend seemed to be. “And you think this is a sure thing.”

  “Yes,” Paulette cried with feeling. “They’re perfect for each other. We both know they are. Besides, I saw the way they looked at each other when one thought that the other wasn’t looking. There’s definite electricity going on there.”

  “Hopefully not enough to kill them,” Lisa murmured under her breath.

  “Okay, I can see you definitely need convincing. I was saving this for last.” She paused for effect, then delivered her crowning glory. “Father Jack saw them.”

  It was, Lisa decided, like pulling teeth. Except that Paulette really seemed to be enjoying this. “Saw them what, Paulette? Saw them what?”

  “He saw them kissing. Your son was kissing my daughter. Or my daughter was kissing your son. Either way, lips were locked, and there was no one around to serve as an audience. Which meant they were acting on their feelings, not putting on a show for us.”

  Lisa wasn’t so quick to celebrate. She’d always been the more practical one in their friendship. “Maybe they thought there was an audience. Or maybe they were practicing.”

  It was obvious that Paulette didn’t think either point was valid, but she let them slide, saying, “I don’t care what the excuse is, as long as they wind up in love. You look best in green, by the way.”

  That had come out of nowhere. “Thank you, but why are you telling me this?”

  “So that you know what color dress to wear for the wedding,” Paulette explained cheerfully. “A mint-green dress. Cocktail length,” she added. “I’ll wear baby blue.”

  Lisa could only laugh. There was no arguing with Paulette when she got like this. All she could do was go along with it and fervently pray that her friend was ultimately right. Because she really did want to see Dave and Kara together.

  Chapter Nine

  The doorbell rang.

  Damn it, he’s early. Figures.

  Luckily, this time so was she.

  Nonetheless, Kara felt her pulse flutter a beat before she opened her front door. She told herself she was being stupid. This was Dave, someone she’d technically known for most of her life. When she got right down to it, she couldn’t remember not knowing him.

  Nothing had changed, she argued silently, except maybe that he’d gotten taller, but then, so had she. Increased height was absolutely no reason for her pulse to skip a beat.

  Stepping back, she opened the door wider. Dave was on her doorstep, looking ruggedly handsome in jeans and a Wedgwood-blue T-shirt—did he know that was her favorite color?

  Oh, c’mon, Kara, how could he know that?

  There was also an odd expression on his face as he looked at her. Was it just her, or was it getting warmer? The weatherman hadn’t said anything about breaking records today. But there was no denying that she certainly felt hot.

  “You’re staring,” she admonished.

  Damn it, he was, Dave upbraided himself. But she was wearing denim shorts. Incredibly short denim shorts—and had somehow managed to grow several more inches of leg than he remembered her having. The icy-blue halter top that accented her taut midriff and small waist didn’t exactly help keep his body temperature down any, either. Where was it written that skinny little brats could grow up to be sexy as hell?

  Dave blinked to clear his head and refocus his eyes. “Sorry,” he murmured, “didn’t realize I was staring. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Anticipating our date?” Kara asked cheerfully, tongue-in-cheek.

  Or, at least, she meant for him to think she was being flippant. Truth was, she’d had less than her usual amount of sleep herself for that very reason. She told herself it was because she wanted to pull this off properly in order to ultimately teach her mother and his a lesson, but there was a part of her that wasn’t really buying her own excuse. There was something about Dave, this new, improved model, that was definitely getting to her. Especially after she’d made the mistake of locking lips with him. Now all she seemed to do was think about that kiss. It was definitely getting in the way of her being her blasé self.

  “Extra shift at the E.R.,” he told her. It was a white lie, but there was no way for her to check that out and it was a handy enough excuse to hide behind. He hadn’t counted on her reacting with concern.

  “You want to reschedule?” Kara asked him. He expected her to say something like “Gotcha!” but she looked dead serious. “The fair’s here for another twenty- eight days.”

  No, he didn’t want to reschedule. For a number of reasons. Not the least of which was that he’d psyched himself up to spend the afternoon and possibly the evening as well in her company.

  He had no idea how she would react if he admitted that to her—most likely it would result in her torturing him one way or another—so instead he said crisply, “Don’t want it hanging over my head.”

  Her smile slipped away. “Fine,” she retorted.

  Served her right for trying to be thoughtful and put his needs first. Things like that were just wasted on someone like Dave. “By all means, let’s get this over with.”

  She grabbed her oversize purse and walked out in front of him.

  Giving him what amounted to the best view he’d had in a very long while.

  Half an hour later, thanks to a decrease in morning traffic, they were meeting both their mothers at the entrance to the fairgrounds.

  The two women were already there, waiting for them, which came as no surprise to Kara. She’d expected as much. Her mother waved with the enthusiasm of an Indy 500 starter signaling the beginning of the famous race.

  May the better side win, Kara said to herself, smiling at the two women.

  “Lisa and I talked about it, and we don’t want you two to hang back just for us. Enjoy yourselves,” she urged with feeling. “Take in some of the rides. You’ll make more progress without us tagging along, dragging you down. We can all meet for lunch,” Paulette suggested, going on to name one of the booths specializing in barbecued spare ribs and a few other things guaranteed to make a cardiologist
weep. “Say about one?” She looked over her shoulder at Lisa for confirmation.

  “One’s fine with me,” Lisa responded, picking up her cue. She smiled at Kara, then at her son. “How about you two?”

  “Whatever you want, Mom,” Dave replied. The easygoing response had Paulette smiling as she looked back at her best friend.

  “I always thought he was such a good boy.”

  Kara felt herself bristling. “Mom, in case you haven’t noticed, Dave’s not a little boy anymore. He’s grown up. We both have,” she emphasized. That she was suddenly championing Dave surprised even her.

  Her mother looked completely unfazed by her argument. “Doesn’t matter how old you get,” the woman maintained. “You’ll always be my kid.”

  Kara rolled her eyes, then turned toward Dave, who was acting like a spectator rather than a participant, she thought irritably. She took his side, why wasn’t he taking hers?

  “Why do I feel as if I’ve just had a curse placed on me?” she asked wryly.

  Her mother seemed to take no offense. “Because you’re as rebellious as I was at your age. Takes standing on this side of parenthood to understand what I’m feeling.” There was deep affection in her eyes as she ran her hand along her daughter’s cheek. “You will someday,” she predicted. Then, reverting back to her bubbly self, she concluded, “Until then, go, have fun.”

  “You’re being kind of hard on her, don’t you think?” Dave asked once they were walking away from their mothers.

  She didn’t like him pointing out her faults, especially when it seemed as if he was taking her mother’s side. “Did it ever occur to you that I might have to be? If I’m not, she’ll have me in a bib, a bonnet and a high chair in under an hour.”

  He moved slightly to the side to avoid a group of five heading in another direction. The fairgrounds were already fairly crowded, he noted. “If that were the case,” he pointed out, “she wouldn’t be trying to get us together for the purpose of marriage, now, would she?”