by Lori Foster
Time stretched out with neither of them confirming or denying that.
Until finally, an eternity later, she nodded. “Yes. It felt like more.”
Her hand opened on his chest, the touch now familiar, bringing all those other touches to the forefront of his mind. She’d been bold, curious, and she’d burned him up.
He covered her hand with his own. “To me, too.” So many times he’d regretted not getting her name or contact info. At the time, both of them had enjoyed the anonymity and the relief of distraction.
He’d realized too late that he wanted more, because she’d already gone. Now that he knew her better and understood what an anomaly it was for her to indulge in a one-night stand, he understood why she hadn’t stuck around.
“Will it freak you out to know I thought about you a lot?” Her thick lashes swept down, hiding her eyes, and her voice was barely a whisper. “Every night, but sometimes during the day, too.”
He wasn’t freaked out at all. Just the opposite. “Glad to know I wasn’t alone in that.” Another kiss, this one longer, deeper. Hot. He licked his tongue along her bottom lip, then just inside. Her lips parted more, and he sank in, hungry, needing this. Needing her.
She moaned.
“It’s okay,” he told her as he readjusted, aligning his body to hers, drawing her closer. “It’s just a kiss.”
“Just a kiss.” Her arms came around his neck and, helping with the embrace, she went on tiptoe.
Time slipped away. If he wanted her to work with him—and hell, yeah, he did—he needed to iron out a few details before customers started showing up.
Again cupping her face, he ended the kiss by small degrees, then drew her head to his chest. He gave himself a few seconds to catch his breath and clear the fog of lust before he said, “If I could make another suggestion?”
“Another?”
He liked her braid. It was a little loose, a little sloppy. He ran his hand along the length and enjoyed the silkiness of her hair. “The first being that you work with me.”
“Oh, yeah. That.”
“Yes, that.” He took a step back to see her but kept a hand flattened to the wall beside her head. “And if you agree, then how about we start over?”
She shook her head. “With what?”
“Yesterday is the first day we formally met.” And now he had an opportunity to know her, really know her.
Along with her million family members.
Fighting off a laugh ripe with embarrassment, Lisa covered her mouth and whispered, “We did that without even knowing each other’s names.”
Liking her laugh—liking her—he said, “I know.”
She snickered. “’Course you do. You were there.”
“There, and very actively participating.” Backing up so that he wouldn’t pressure her again, Gray leaned a hip on the ice cream case and smiled at her. “I didn’t need your name. But everything else...” His smile faded. “I needed the rest of it in a bad way. So thank you. You don’t know it, but you turned me around.”
Inching closer, she asked, “What does that mean?”
Hard to explain, especially since he didn’t entirely understand it, but he gave it a shot. “I was...” He wouldn’t say lost. That sounded real pansy-ass. “...at loose ends.” And struggling to get my head on straight. But again, that made him sound far too weak. “I needed a change, but I’d been resisting and fucking brooding about it and if you hadn’t showed up I probably would have gotten shitfaced and then gotten up the next day and carried on as usual. But after you...”
Those big, dark eyes watched him with gentle curiosity. “After me?”
“Everything felt different. Me, my situation.”
“What situation is that?”
He shook his head. No way would he lay the heavy stuff on her. Not now, maybe not ever. “I was ready for a change of pace, and so here I am. But I had no idea I’d find you here, too.”
She tipped her head and that silky braid fell over her shoulder, the tip resting against her breast. “Shohn and Adam said you were a cop?”
“Yeah.” He’d thought to retire from the force when he hit his midsixties. Not with an injury. Not with rage consuming him. Not with his best friend gone forever.
Now very near, Lisa asked, “Not anymore?”
He shook his head again, but that didn’t suffice, so he said, “No.”
Her eyes went softer, darker. She touched his arm. “You’re from Chicago?”
“No, but my partner was.” He pushed off the case, moving away from her and the comfort he didn’t deserve, giving her his back. “I’m originally from Cincinnati. I was only in Chicago for his funeral.”
He didn’t hear Lisa move, but he felt the light touch of her small hand on his back. “I’m sorry.”
Done with that subject, Gray turned to face her and gestured at the shop. “The hours are flexible. Minimum wage to start, but I’m open to promoting you if things work out.”
Her lips twitched. “Wow, such a...great offer.”
“You’ll be working with me most of the time.”
“There is that.”
She considered it a perk? Because he sure as hell did.
As if thinking it out, she began to pace. “Like you said, my family is everywhere, and never, not in a million years, would they ever think I’d do...what we did.”
“That just means I know you better than most.” He’d already told her it was their secret; she’d either trust him on that or not.
“In some ways, you do. But for the most part, we’re still strangers.”
Didn’t feel that way to him. “We could do a trial run. Take a week or two just to get to know each other.” He didn’t need that, but it looked as though she did. Patience, he reminded himself.
Her expression perked up. “A trial run? For the job?”
“For us,” he explained. “I’d be completely hands-off. That is, unless you say otherwise.” Dead serious, he admitted, “The second you say you’re ready, I’m full go. But until then, for all anyone will ever know, we just met.”
“You’d be doing all the giving.”
Heat rolled through him, making his voice gruff. “Believe me, I remember the payoff, and lady, you’re well worth the wait.”
Again her face warmed, but she smiled. “Gorgeous, generous and a charmer, too. How am I supposed to resist that?”
“You’re not. So tell me, Lisa Sommerville. You wanna work for me?”
“You know, Gray Neely, I believe I do.”
“Great.” Hearing voices outside, he strode to the doors and opened them. “You can start right now.”
* * *
THE MORNING WENT off without a hitch. It was, in fact, enjoyable to jump in on one of the busiest days on the lake. As a kid, Lisa had been to the shop so many times that she knew the layout, which hadn’t changed much, caught on quick to restocking and enjoyed her turn at refueling the boats.
It also impressed her how Gray handled things. He was friendly with the customers, making an effort to remember names and relationships, deferential with the elders, patient with the kids and judicious with the flirting hordes of women who descended on him.
Okay, so maybe there weren’t actual hordes. But there were a lot of them, and to her dismay, none of them appeared to need time to think about it. Most of the women were unknown to her, vacationers there for the summer or maybe just a day.
But a few others were women she’d grown up with. Even April and Kady, two of her uncle Gabe’s beautiful blond bombshell daughters, came in.
It was a joke in the family, how her uncle Gabe had been such a handful and a ladies’ man and now all three of his daughters were miniature, more feminine versions of him, which meant they turned heads everywhere they went.
Gray, however, treated them with the same reserved, respectful politeness he used with the rest of the women.
All except her. With her, he smiled more warmly, and more often. And she caught him constantly watching her. Each and every time their gazes met, she felt the heat and need like a growing, combustible force.
Did she dare indulge in another fling with him?
Did she have the willpower to resist?
Later that day, around suppertime, her uncle Morgan’s daughter, Amber, showed up. The opposite of Kady and April, Amber had long, sleek dark hair and amazing blue eyes. Also unlike Kady and April, Amber wore a sundress instead of a bikini. She still looked like a model, and Lisa still felt drab in comparison.
Amber spoke to Gray only for a minute, then swooped in on Lisa. “You’re really working here?”
On tiptoe, straightening the shelf of hats that had been displaced by customers, Lisa nodded. “I really am.”
“For the whole summer?”
Knowing Amber and recognizing that tone, Lisa turned to face her cousin. “That’s the plan, but Amber, seriously, do not start playing matchmaker.”
At that, Gray looked up and, frowning, put aside some receipts and headed toward them.
“But I have the perfect guy! Actually about a dozen perfect guys.”
“No.”
“Don’t be a stick in the mud. You always work and never have time, but if you’re right here anyway, you at least have to meet them.” Holding up a hand, Amber insisted, “I won’t take no for an answer. A casual meet and greet, that’s all. I know! I’ll invite them over to the Sunday family picnic.”
Nearly every Sunday her entire family gathered together. Both her uncle Sawyer and her uncle Morgan had houses near the lake. Her cousin Casey did, too, but his was smaller, not really equipped for the big crowds of her far-reaching clan.
Dreading the possibility of having some hapless guy pushed on her, Lisa turned to Gray and said, “Sorry, but I already promised Gray that I’d work on Sunday.”
Amber’s face fell.
Gray slid right in there. “It’s true. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was a special function.” When Amber gave him a speculative look, he shrugged. “Sundays are busy for us.”
“Hmm.” Amber didn’t look convinced. “We all get together on Sundays. That is, anyone who isn’t busy. Uncle Sawyer sometimes has patients, and Dad sometimes has business out of town that won’t wait. But around Buckhorn, most everyone closes down on Sundays.”
“Not the vacationers.”
“No, they’re always around, and they never think to get what they need before Sunday.” Amber looked from Gray to Lisa and back again. “How many days a week will Lisa work?”
Lisa said quickly, “I like to stay busy. You know that.”
“Mmm-hmm. So...five days?” Amber’s blue eyes measured them both. “Every day?”
Lisa had no idea where Amber was going with this, only that she was definitely going somewhere. How to answer? Very unsure, she said, “Um...yes?”
“Every day. Wow. You really are a workhorse.” Turning to Gray, she added silkily, “Lucky you.”
Gray frowned. “When she needs time off, I’ll do my best to accommodate her.”
“But not this Sunday,” Lisa rushed to clarify.
“No worries.” Looking smug, Amber gave her a hug, turned to pat Gray on the shoulder and on her way out, said, “I’ll see you around.”
As soon as her cousin cleared the doorway, Lisa dropped back against the shelves with a groan.
“Trouble?” Gray asked.
“If you knew Amber, you wouldn’t have to ask.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Gray, innocent and unaware, said, “What can she possibly do?”
CHAPTER THREE
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. For a week. An entire week!
That’s how long Gray had to suffer through seeing each eligible guy in Buckhorn County paraded through his store for Lisa’s approval.
Amber changed it up to keep them guessing, one day coming first thing, then during lunch, once toward suppertime, and so on. Lisa couldn’t plan ahead to avoid her, because she never knew when Amber might show up with the hopeful swain in tow.
Each time Lisa was unfailingly polite to the guy without offering encouragement, while also giving her cousin death stares. The guys weren’t deterred. Not that Gray blamed them.
Lisa was a catch. Although the better he got to know her, the more he realized that she didn’t know it.
The week that Gray had hoped to use to win her over had instead been consumed with Amber’s antics.
On the Monday of the following week, Gray waited for Lisa outside, determined to catch her before she reached the front door and dug into her duties. It was easy to see how she’d advanced in the business world. She wasn’t afraid of hard work, seemed tireless and got things done with little fuss and efficient grace.
He liked it that each day she came to work by boat, even once when it rained. Yes, she was a polished, sophisticated and accomplished businesswoman. But she was also nature’s child, earthy and real, not afraid of getting soaked by a summer storm.
When necessary, she waded thigh-deep into lake weeds, getting mud between her toes. She helped a kid unhook a fish, showed another how to bait his hook, explained the proper attachment of a ski line to a family of five and launched a boat for a vacationer who’d never done it before. Gray had stared in mixed awe and pride as she’d backed the car and trailer down the ramp, put the car in Park and then gone around and released the brand-new boat, using a lead line to position it alongside the dock, then tied it off.
While the owner of the boat, his wife and three kids stood there watching, Lisa pulled the car out and parked it in the lot, returned the man’s keys and waved off his gratitude.
Astounding. And sexy. A take-charge woman got him every time.
Granted, he’d rather she put all that energy and focus to work in the bedroom, or on the kitchen table—hell, the dock at night, with the stars overhead, would suit him just fine.
The better he knew her, the more he liked her. The more he liked her, the more he wanted her.
In so many ways, she surprised him. Good surprises.
In a short time he’d learned that Lisa wasn’t afraid of fish, worms, snakes, turtles or any of the things he was used to women screeching over. However, she kept a respectful distance from spiders. The one time she’d requested he deal with an insect, she hadn’t wanted it killed, just relocated outside.
He loved how she laughed, how she analyzed a shelf before filling it to best utilize the space and how she dusted her hands off on her very perfect rear end.
He even liked how she looked when perturbed, as she sometimes was when she felt people weren’t making safe choices.
This week, he decided, would be different. He’d manage more than small talk. At the very least, he’d steal another kiss. Or two. And if that worked out, well, who knew?
So that Monday morning, Gray waited on the end of the dock, his bare feet dangling in the tepid water. Anticipation thrummed through his bloodstream as he listened to the familiar purr of a motor drawing near.
Lisa was early.
Standing, he stared ahead, sexual tension ramping up, and then he saw the small boat cutting through the glassy surface of the lake. It caused a rippling wake that stirred the reflection of the bright lemon sunrise behind her. Her honey-blond hair glowed with the light of dawn and she looked so sweet, so damned serene.
Damn, he needed to have her again. Soon.
She lifted a hand when she saw him, her lush mouth curling into a smile. While a giant heron soared overhead and carp lazily crested the water, she parked the boat and tossed him a line. He secured the front and she tied off the back.
&nbs
p; Small docks lined the entire shoreline of the marina’s property to accommodate boaters coming in for supplies or gas, or for those who hung out to fish. Lisa had made a habit of parking at the one farthest away. That left them beneath several towering elms that offered shade to midday fishermen.
He extended a hand and Lisa took it, allowing him to help her out of the boat and onto the dock.
Today, with her usual shorts and flip-flop sandals, she wore a peach-colored camisole top that laced up the front and sported a loosely tied bow at the top. The outfit was innocently provocative and made him burn.
Keeping her hand in his, he looked her over with appreciation. “You left your hair loose.”
With her free hand, she touched it, smoothing one side behind her ear. “I envy Amber and Gabe’s daughters. They all have such gorgeous hair.”
Hotter by the second, he said, “As do you.”
A crooked smile showed her uncertainty. “There’s no comparison and you know it. Amber’s hair is dark enough that it has blue highlights in the sun. Kady, April and Brianna are the opposite, blondes so pale it’s hard to believe the color is real. But me, I’m just...wishy-washy dark blonde. And no, I’m not fishing for a compliment, just stating the obvious.”
“Then I’ll state the obvious, too.” He brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “There’s not a single thing wishy-washy about you. I love your hair. How it looks and how it feels.” He kept remembering the feel of it in his hands as he rode her slow and deep, and each time he got semihard. But he kept that part to himself. “Your hair inspires fantasies.”
Her laugh told him she didn’t believe him. “Thank you. It’s not that I’m insecure.”
About most things, he’d agree. But there was something, some hidden uncertainty, when she talked about her family. “No?”
She shook her head. “It’s just that the clan is made up of some really great genes. But that wouldn’t affect me.”
Not understanding, Gray decided it’d be best discussed with more privacy. “Come here.” He led her to a bench halfway up the hill, away from the water that echoed every word. Tugging her down beside him, he asked, “Okay, why wouldn’t it affect you?”