One Taste

by Cari Quinn

  “And what she won’t.”

  “And what she won’t,” he agreed, wondering why none of his usual rules applied here. Maybe because Kiki had never asked him for anything. A lot of the women he’d known over the years had claimed to only want a good time, but within days, they invariably began leaving pieces of clothing strewn around his bedroom. Then the comments about what they’d do “next summer” would start.

  Maybe people thought he was indiscriminate, but he didn’t mislead women. Unfortunately, most of the women he’d dated hadn’t been quite so honest with him.

  Then there was Kiki. Though she spilled herself on the page and gave him her body, she’d yet to leave even a piece of lint in his apartment. She didn’t sleep over unless he practically begged, and God knows, she never referenced their future. In fact, she was quick to remind him how their time together would be over soon.

  They’d never gone on a date. Never even shared a meal.

  “Are you busy Saturday?” he asked suddenly, before he could overanalyze the impulse.

  She cocked her head. “Why? Want to get an early jump on the book that day?”

  “Well, it might be a good idea, since I’m starting back to work next week. I’ve used up my vacation time, and besides, the book’s going along better than I ever expected….” He trailed off, knowing he was stalling. “I thought we could go out.”

  Her laughter didn’t exactly alleviate his nerves. “For what?”

  “What do people usually go out for?” he snapped. “To have dinner. See a movie.”

  “You’re serious.”

  “I’m serious. And if you tell me that wasn’t part of our agreement, neither was—”

  He took a breath. Easy. Just because what was happening between them had spooked him didn’t mean he had to rile her up, too. If what he was feeling was one-sided, he’d prefer to discover that on his own rather than have her slam him in the face with it.

  After drawing in another deep breath, he tried again. “Since you refuse to let me pay you, I’d like to take you out somewhere nice. Look, we were friends before this.” What they would be afterward was where his mind tended to dwell lately, but she didn’t need to know that. Yet. “Where we go, what we do is up to you. C’mon,” he said when she pursed her lips. “I’m getting my stitches out tomorrow. Let’s celebrate.”

  She smiled. “Okay.”

  The breath he’d inhaled rushed out. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” She circled her arms around his neck and nibbled on his lower lip. “There’s a new Italian place near—”

  When her cell phone interrupted her, she blinked in the general direction of her purse on the couch. “What time is it?”

  He did a double take at his watch. Why did the hours seem to fly when they were together? “Just past six.”

  “No way. Did it really take that long to write the nookie? Damn, sex just sucks you right in.”

  She scampered up, giving him a prime view of her heart-shaped butt as she snatched her phone. “Dad. What’s up?” She cast a look in Vincent’s direction, then glanced away. “I’m, uh, not at home. I’m at Lynsay’s.”

  Vincent tuned out her conversation. As good as he was feeling, what was the use of getting pissed off that he became a woman every time Kiki spoke to her father?

  He narrowed his eyes, catching snatches of what she was saying whether he wanted to or not. See, there were other things he could get pissed about. That she intended to accept the position that would virtually eliminate most of their long evenings together, for one.

  But he didn’t stomp away or act like a “cranky pants” as she’d been known to call him. Nope, he stayed completely calm and cool. Collected. Mostly.

  She hung up a couple minutes later and sat down across from him, inching closer until their knees bumped. “Don’t say it,” she murmured, holding his lips closed. “I know you think I’m selling out for peanuts. But a girl’s gotta live on more than her credit cards and stale tortilla chips.”

  He turned her hand so he could kiss her palm. “Not arguing with you.”

  “How come?”

  His gaze wandered from the tips of her mussed dark hair to her thoroughly kissed mouth on down to tonight’s bellybutton ring, a tiny pearl. “He was a fool, Kiki.”

  He knew she understood his topic shift, but she didn’t blush. Nor did she squirm under his perusal. “I’m not going to say something hokey, no matter how much I want to right now.” She stroked a fingertip over his stubbled jaw, a smile tugging at her lips. “But if I’m thinking that you make me feel beautiful, does it still count?”

  With just those words and that smile, his annoyance dissolved. His concern didn’t, but they could discuss that another time. Preferably one when he didn’t have to work to keep his own hokey grin off his face.

  “Yeah, that breaks the cliché meter in two, my sexy little romance novelist.” As he leaned in for a kiss, his gaze veered to her cherry tattoo. “That’s just ridiculous.”

  Her playful laugh broke his concentration. “It’s not nice to stare.”

  “Not my fault. How’d you get it, anyway?”

  “A dare, too many tequilas, and a broken engagement.” She trailed her nail around the plump fruit on her inner thigh. “Lynsay and I went out the night after my almost-wedding, and she got me trashed, like any best friend should. She told me I needed a tattoo to celebrate my liberation from rat-bastard men, so we visited her cousin’s tattoo parlor. I was so drunk I barely knew what I asked for.”

  “Did she think you were crossing to the other side?”

  “No.” She laughed and rubbed her nose against his. “Lynz knows how much I like men, except when I hate them.”

  “So how come she never introduced us?”

  “Probably because she warned me away from you, after I mentioned—” She stopped, flushing. “Never mind.”

  “Chicken.”

  “Fine. I told her I had a crush on you.” Her throat bobbed. “Just a small one. No big deal. Not even a blip.”

  He enfolded her in his arms, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder. “I had a crush, too.” He brushed his lips over a hank of pink and blond hair. If she tipped her head the right way, the dark became light. Another movement and some of the lighter strips disappeared. Highlights were a truly marvelous thing.

  And he was truly gone over her.

  “And it wasn’t a blip,” he added, wondering if she heard the quaver in his voice. Not really caring if she did.

  Kiki didn’t speak, but her mouth curved against his neck.

  “What do you say we take a shower then I make you some breakfast?”

  He expected an argument, but she only kissed his jaw. “What time do you have to be at the doctor’s?”

  “Ten.”

  “Okay. I’ll hang out and drive you over.” She arched a brow. “Breakfast, huh? Chocolate milk and Wheaties?”

  “You’ll see.” He rose and clasped her hand. “Funny, you didn’t ask what the shower will consist of.”

  She grinned. “That’s because you’re right. I am smart.”

  Spending an hour in the shower, long after the water ran cold, sent Kiki’s appetite into overdrive, and not just for food. She doubted she’d ever sate her hunger for him. And she was too happy to even care.

  Dressing took another half hour, since they pulled as many clothes off each other as they added. She smothered a laugh. No wonder they’d devoured their breakfast of bacon, sausage, and eggs over easy.

  He’d blown off her questions about when he’d learned to cook. That wasn’t unusual. With the way things were going, she was grateful he had a few thorny spots. Last thing she needed was to tumble any deeper into the rabbit hole.

  But even with their extended shower play and leisurely breakfast, they arrived early at the doctor’s, which only gave him more time to brood. That was putting it lightly. He paced; he pushed his hands through his hair; he stared into the distance. Most tellingly, he didn’t say two words to her. But she did
n’t ask. She knew better.

  Which was why it shocked the hell out of her when he started to speak during the ride back to his apartment.

  “I know you’re wondering.”

  She adjusted her grip on the wheel. He’d let her drive his Jeep, and she’d caught him grinning as she pressed it for more speed. He seemed to smile so often now, probably almost as often as she did.

  “About the doctor thing,” he continued, gazing straight ahead. “Why it’s…difficult for me.”

  “Your business,” she said, adjusting the vent. He’d argued when she’d bumped the heat up to high, before giving in with a long-suffering sigh.

  “Okay.”

  She shot him a sidelong glance. Maybe she’d overplayed the disinterested card. “But if you want to talk, I’m willing to listen.”

  “There’s my Kiki.” Warmth spread beneath her breastbone as he chuckled. My Kiki. “I don’t want to talk. But I will.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you deserve to know,” he said simply, surprising her again. “I told you about my grandfather.”

  “Yeah. I figured maybe the weeks you’d spent in the hospital then were part of the problem.”

  “Part.” He flicked his vent toward her. “Damn, woman, it’s a sauna in here.” When she said nothing, he exhaled sharply. “I’m not an only child. Not technically. My brother died two weeks after he was born. He was three months premature, and his lungs never fully developed. He never left the ICU.”

  “I’m sorry.” How trite. How inadequate. “So sorry. I can’t even imagine how horrible that was for you. And your parents.”

  “On my father, yes. My mother never knew.” He tapped his knees with his thumbs and returned his gaze to the snowy world whizzing by outside the window. “It was a difficult pregnancy and an even more difficult childbirth. The doctors had told her I’d probably be her only child, but she was determined.”

  “Hard to believe, knowing her son.”

  His brows knitted at her comment. She had a feeling he’d forgotten for a moment that she was in the car with him. “Never thought of it that way, but yeah, we’re more alike than different. Except she was a free spirit. She didn’t like being ordinary, and she was always searching for her big dream.” He danced his fingertips over her knuckles, so fast she barely had time to register the gesture. “Kinda like someone else I know.”

  “Did she find it?” she asked quietly.

  “You know, I think she did. But as much as she loved us, she never stopped wanting more.”

  She forced herself to relax her death grip on the wheel. “What happened?”

  “She made it through giving birth, though some of her vitals were off. By the time they discovered the infection, it was too late. I got to see her once.” He smiled faintly. “Even as sick as she was, she asked me if I was being good in school. And she wanted to make sure I got to see my brother.”

  “She sounds like an amazing woman.” She cleared her throat, trying to push down the tears neither of them needed. “Strong.”

  “The strongest. After she…after they died, my dad fell apart. He couldn’t work and could hardly remember to make dinner, never mind attend parent-teacher conferences. If my grandparents hadn’t stepped in, my grandmother in particular, I don’t know where I would’ve ended up.”

  She pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine. “So that’s how you learned to cook. You were trying to take care of your dad.”

  “Yeah. My repertoire never expanded much beyond breakfast food, unfortunately.”

  “You said you’d been without a mother for twenty-four years the other day.” Her stomach clutched. “So you were six.”

  “Six when they died. Eight when my father had a fatal heart attack. Don’t cry.” Without glancing at her, he held up a hand. “I’m not looking for sympathy or tears. It is what it is, and it happened a lifetime ago.”

  “You think that matters? You only get one family.”

  “I have my grandmother.” He tipped up her chin and thumbed away the tears on her cheeks almost brusquely.

  “And now you have to share her.”

  “Oh, here we go, Psych major.” Judging from his quick grin, he was more amused than annoyed. “Why didn’t you get your degree?”

  She sniffled, feeling foolish. “It wasn’t my dream.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Like my mother.” His smile softened as he climbed out and walked around to open her door. “Since you’ll be working tonight, feel like writing?”

  She thought of all the things she’d been letting slide the last few days. Laundry and housecleaning couldn’t compete with the sexy, smiling man in front of her. “Sure. Vincent? Thanks for telling me.”

  “You made it easy.” She stepped down, and he shut her door. Then he took her hand, pulling her close to his side. “Chop, chop, woman. We have a couple to split up.”

  She laughed at the glee in his voice. “Lead the way.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  They plowed through five chapters in two days. Each night, Vincent dropped hints—casually, of course—that he’d still be up if Kiki wanted to stop by after she got off at eleven. But she just laughed and told him she’d see him on Saturday for their “outing.” Neither used the word date.

  He shook his head. Nope, no issues here.

  He’d made a reservation for them at Harvey’s, the most exclusive restaurant in town. That it offered a small dance floor and live band had helped make his decision for him. Although the music leaned more toward big band than hip hop, he figured Kiki could deal.

  Could he, was the real question.

  By the time Saturday arrived, his cold feet had turned into icebergs. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend time with her. But he prided himself on not leading women on, and a romantic dinner with dancing and, most likely, a bout of even more romantic sex, implied a commitment he wasn’t sure he could fulfill. No matter how much he was beginning to wish otherwise, he just wasn’t built for long-term relationships.

  That fact was slammed home after he spent Saturday afternoon with his grandmother and Alistair. And Alistair’s six sons. And Alistair’s six daughters-in-law. And their children.

  Eighteen children, to be exact, ranging in age from ten to thirty-four. Luckily, only nine had showed up. Then there were the great-grandkids, one of which he’d had to hold.

  He’d never held a baby before. Probably a three-year-old wasn’t considered a baby, but it was damn well close enough.

  While he fought to smile his way through the afternoon for his grandmother’s sake, a terrifying thought occurred to him. Did Kiki want all this? Sprawling family get-togethers. Matching gold bands. Cute little blond toddlers in overalls. The blond toddlers part wasn’t too likely when taking their respective coloring into account, but still.

  His grandmother seemed to love the whole familial scene. Between laughing with the adults and fluttering over the kids, she didn’t stop moving the entire afternoon. He couldn’t deny he liked seeing her happy, so he was glad he’d made an effort to be sociable.

  Until she turned on him.

  “Makes you want one for yourself, doesn’t it?”

  Vincent stared at the destruction around him. The last of the company had staggered out fifteen minutes before, and his grandmother’s once-tidy apartment appeared as if a bomb had gone off in her living room. “One what?”

  “You know very well what I mean, Vincent Armand Buonfiglio. You’re not getting any younger, and once a man reaches thirty, his virility can—”

  “Hold up.” Did not compute. Simply did not. “You think today made me want a piece of this?”

  “I saw you holding Tommy.”

  So the kid with blue Kool-Aid-stained lips had a name. “He crawled into my lap, and I couldn’t very well drop him on the floor while his mother was watching, could I?” He pushed a hand through his hair as his grandmother bustled about, collecting the mess left by thirty pairs of gr
ubby hands. “Just because I’m trying for your sake, don’t get any ideas. I’m not looking to couple up.” He fought off a shudder. “Or reproduce.”

  “Kiki’s a good woman. You need to do right by her.”

  He sank onto the couch. “I intend to.”

  One good thing had come out of today. Being assaulted on all sides by Alistair’s family had proven to him he couldn’t assimilate. If he didn’t slow down this thing with Kiki, next thing he knew, hordes of Wyatts would be swarming around him, and Kiki would be dropping hints about china patterns.

  Not happening. Not in this lifetime or any other.

  Lucille let out a noise that sounded like “Harumph” and shook her rag at him, releasing a puff of dust in his face. “That girl’s in love with you. And you better wake up before you lose her.”

  The quick spurt of joy came first, before reality crowded in. His grandmother couldn’t know how Kiki felt. Besides, he was beginning to think he didn’t want to know her feelings in any case. Knowing his own only made the decision he had to make that much harder.

  He had to be honest with her. That was paramount. He was a bad bet. Maybe she didn’t want to settle down now. But in a couple years, when all her friends were getting married and having babies, she’d get tired of being with a man who couldn’t commit. Better he cut the strings before they tightened into a noose.

  All along, he’d been afraid she would take off before he was ready to let her go. Now he was the one who had to say goodbye. For her sake, not his. He couldn’t stand the idea of leading her on or making her believe for one minute he could be a different man than he was. As much as he wanted to be for her, he just couldn’t pretend any longer.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Gran,” he said, getting to his feet.

  He hated to bail on his grandmother when her apartment was such a sty, but he had to get ready for dinner. And the conversation that would come afterward.