It was hard to miss the fondness in her voice when she spoke about her parents, Jesse thought. It was clear that she loved her family.
“Marja, my younger sister, still hasn’t flown the coop. But it’ll probably happen anyday now.”
“And your sisters are all doctors,” he marveled, thinking that was an incredible feat.
Tania nodded. “Every last one.”
“Your parents must be exceptionally well-off.”
Tania laughed. “Not hardly. At least, not in the way you mean. As far as money goes, they both worked their fingers to the bone, putting us through school. And it was understood that the second each of us graduated, we were to help the next in line.”
Finished, he moved back his plate. “That’s an interesting take on the domino theory.”
“My parents are interesting people,” she responded. Tania paused to take a sip from her water glass to clear her palate.
Jesse wondered what it was like, being part of such a seemingly harmonious unit. What it felt like to have people to count on, people to turn to. “I’d like to meet them sometime.”
Tania studied him for a moment. That had more than just a transient sound to it. But then, men said all sorts of things while they were orchestrating scenarios that hopefully guaranteed that they’d be in someone else’s bed by evening’s end.
She inclined her head. “Maybe you will—sometime,” she qualified. She glanced at her plate and realized that she’d finished eating. “My God, I had no idea I was that hungry.”
“You certainly did justice to it.” He liked seeing a woman who wasn’t afraid to eat, who didn’t feel compelled to pick at her food as if she were dissecting something toxic for a science project. “Would you like some dessert?”
She had a sweet tooth that demanded tribute whenever it could, so she nodded. “There’s still a little room just under my rib cage,” she decided. “The perfect space for ice cream.”
“Ice cream it is,” he promised. Jesse had only to raise his hand.
The next moment the waiter was hovering over their table again, ready to bring in dessert.
After dessert was savored and he had paid the check, they left the restaurant. When he began to hail a cab, she stopped him.
“It’s such a nice night, let’s just walk. It’s not far,” she reminded him.
“All right.”
In a disarming gesture, she slipped her arm through his. “I like the city at night. It’s subdued, elegant. The pulse isn’t quite so frantic and people don’t seem to be in as much of a hurry at night as they do in the daytime.”
There was a reason for that. “That’s because everyone only has thirty-eight minutes for lunch,” he pointed out. “And a list of errands to run at least the length of their arm.”
She laughed. “You have a point.”
The warmth that seeped into her via the contact was subtle. It took a moment before she was even aware of it. She released his arm and then promptly felt awkward. Not that she’d taken his arm in such a familiar way but that she’d let it go in the next heartbeat.
If he noticed anything strange, Jesse gave no indication.
“I don’t live far from here,” she told him, forcing a cheerful note into her voice.
“I’m not afraid of walking,” he assured her. “Sometimes the only exercise I get is walking.”
She turned her head to look at him. “And other times?”
It was a loaded, leaded question. She waited to hear his response.
“And other times I get it from the gym. One of those thirty-day, free-trial deals. If I’m not satisfied with the results by then, I can get my money back.”
Her eyes swept over him and she smiled. She’d seen him without his shirt on and could honestly say that he had a body other men would kill for. “I don’t think you’ll be getting your money back anytime soon.”
He grinned. “Why, thank you.”
She could feel the effects of his smile going straight through her gut. “Wasn’t a compliment, just an observation,” she pointed out.
Her building was just up ahead. How had they gotten here so soon? It was as if the minutes had just melted into one another, melting away faster than snowflakes landing on a radiator.
Taking a long breath, she stopped walking right by the building’s doorway. “Well, we’re here.”
“Not yet,” he contradicted. “We’re not officially ‘here’ until I bring you to your door.”
Where was this panic coming from? It had been going so well, too. But there it was, with sharp, pointy little cleats, making holes in her. She tried not to sound as if she was nervous. “That’s not necessary.”
His smile was reassuring. Some of the nervous flutter left her stomach.
“That all depends on which side of the testosterone you’re on.” Holding the door open for her, he followed her inside. The elevator was to the right and it was waiting for them. He pressed the button and the doors opened. “See, it’s an omen. I was supposed to take you to your floor.”
She made no reply. Instead she pressed the button for the fifth floor. When he glanced at her, there was a new expression in her eyes. Wariness? Why? He did what he could to make her comfortable.
“Don’t worry, I won’t ask to come in,” he assured her softly.
“I wasn’t worried,” she said a bit too quickly. The doors opened and they got out. Shoulders slightly stiff, she led the way to her apartment.
It was a lie, Jesse thought. A concerned look had crossed her face. She seemed slightly distracted. Had someone forced himself on her? Pushed his way in at the end of a date and that made her leery of everyone who came in the guy’s wake?
He wanted to ask, but knew that would only make her more tense.
“Good to know,” he murmured as they stopped before a door he assumed was hers.
There was that smile again, she thought, watching it unfurl on his lips.
Feeling it unfurl within her, as well.
Chapter 6
One moment his smile was affecting her insides, turning them upside down. The next moment it touched her on the outside as Jesse brought his mouth down on hers.
Tania was conscious of everything within the immediate vicinity. Conscious of the roots of her hair all the way down to the tips of her toes, which were curling within her shoes. Warmth spread out from their point of contact to all parts of her, threatening an immediate meltdown. She felt his hands as, still kissing her, he gently framed her face.
Felt her own heart slip into double-time as the kiss deepened.
She struggled not to be swept away.
Ordinarily she was the one who set the pace, she was the one who knew when a kiss was coming, or when anything physical was going to transpire, because she initiated it. She was the one who called the shots. Always. But this time, she had barely gotten to the starting point before the gun was fired and the race had begun. She wasn’t ready.
Deeply ingrained survival instincts pleaded for her to pull away, to stop this until it could transpire on her terms. But something else, something even stronger, something lost and needy, whispered, “Continue.”
She didn’t like the way she felt.
She loved the way she felt.
Her head spinning, she was both dizzy and exhilarated. The upshot being that she was hopelessly confused. So confused that rather than follow her instincts, instincts that had kept her safe for more than ten years now, Tania wove her arms around Jesse’s neck. And continued.
She told herself she could handle this as she sank further into a kiss that offered no escape hatch, no way out, only a path further down into a fiery, all-consuming furnace.
Her lips moved over his, taking him with her into the inferno. If she was going to be incinerated right here on her own doorstep, she damn well intended to leave an impression on him.
Jesse couldn’t catch his breath.
He was right. There was chemistry here. Enough chemistry to blow up an entire building if he
wasn’t careful. She numbed his mind and made him fervently wish he hadn’t told her that he wouldn’t ask to come into her apartment. Because he wanted to come inside her apartment, wanted to make love with her slowly, with feeling. Wanted to have his hands slip along a body he knew in his gut was soft and firm and inviting.
Desires collided with reason. Something told him that he needed to go slowly with this woman who could set him on fire simply with the sweet taste of her mouth. Not because Ellen had spooked him when it came to women, but because this lady doctor seemed to want to take it one measured step at a time.
She would be worth the wait.
The ringing noise intruded, cramming its way into his consciousness until he realized what it was. Taking a deep breath, Jesse reluctantly moved his head back and looked at her.
“You’re ringing,” he said, his mouth still so close that, as he smiled, she could almost feel the movement of his lips. “I’d take it as a compliment, except that I think it’s your cell phone.”
Her brain felt as scrambled as a hot pan filled with stir-fried ingredients. Dazed, she tried desperately to focus, to understand what he was saying. The ringing abruptly ceased.
“My phone?” Tania murmured, looking up at him. The trap she’d tried to set for Jesse had snapped shut around her instead. She wanted to go on kissing him, wanted to continue basking in the sensations he created for her.
And then Tania’s brain finally engaged. “Oh, my phone.”
Taking another long breath, Tania fumbled at her waist, searching for the cell phone she kept clipped there. Just as her fingers closed over it, about to remove the now silent phone so she could see who’d called, the door to her apartment opened.
The movement had Jesse looking in that direction. A redhead with green eyes stood in the doorway, the doorjamb framing her. If she was surprised, she hid it rather well. Amusement entered her eyes and when she smiled, her mouth moved in exactly the same way that Tania’s did.
Her voice was almost melodic. “Tania, you brought home takeout.”
And she took a closer look at him. Jesse knew recognition when he saw it. It wasn’t his most comfortable moment, but then, it was something he told himself he was going to have to put up with for a while longer, until some other New Yorker did something print-worthy and took his place.
“You look very familiar,” the redhead said. “Do I know you?”
Tania took the opportunity to pull herself together. When Jesse didn’t answer immediately, she glanced at him. He seemed a little uncomfortable, as if he might think it presumptuous to say that Natalya recognized him from the newspaper or from a sound byte that had aired on TV.
He was shy, Tania thought. Somehow, that made her feel better, although for the life of her, she couldn’t have explained why. “This is Jesse Steele, Natalya—” Tania got no further.
Her green eyes widened with admiration and pleasure. “The guy who tackled the jewelry store thief, right? My sister sewed you up. You must like her work.” And then, before he could comment, Natalya grew serious for a second. She glanced over her shoulder into the apartment. Even as she did so, there was a murmur of voices. “Um, Tania, if you’d like him to come in, I can move everyone into my room.”
Tania’s eyebrows drew together. “Everyone?” she echoed. “Who’s everyone?”
“That’s all right,” Jesse cut in. “I’ve got to be going. I was just saying good-night.”
Natalya’s amusement returned in spades. Her eyes washed over him appreciatively. “Yes, I noticed.” She flashed Tania a smile. “It’s up to you. I can—”
Tania knew better than to let her sister talk. There was nothing any of her sisters liked more than to playfully embarrass one another and this was perfect fodder for Natalya.
“He was just leaving,” Tania said firmly, even though inside she caught herself wishing that he wasn’t. That it was her sister and whoever comprised “everyone” who were leaving.
“A pity,” Natalya said, giving Jesse one last once-over. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Jesse.” She put her hand out to shake his. Her eyes darted from Tania back to him. “Don’t be a stranger, now. There isn’t always a three-ring circus taking place in the living room,” she promised.
As if to negate her words, two more young women had come up behind Tania’s sister. They both had Tania’s eyes if not her coloring, Jesse noted.
He inclined his head toward Tania and said, “I’ll call you,” before backing away. The next moment he’d turned on his heel, intent on going back to the elevator.
Kady watched the man disappear while Marja craned her neck to get a better view.
“Nice,” Kady commented wickedly, then glanced at Tania. “Who was that?”
“Nobody,” Tania said before Natalya had a chance to tell them.
“‘Nobody’ has a really nice walk-away,” Marja interjected. She turned around to look at Tania. “If you don’t want him, I don’t mind taking some of your castoffs…” Her voice trailed off with a hopeful note.
“He’s not a castoff,” Tania informed her.
Marja pretended to look disappointed. “Then you’re keeping him?”
Tania closed her eyes, searching for patience. “He’s not mine to keep or give,” she insisted.
“Really?” Natalya looked completely unconvinced. “From where I was standing, you two looked pretty hermetically sealed.”
Marja waved her hand at the so-called evidence. “This is Tania you’re talking about, have lips, will travel. She’s an equal opportunity kisser. Her hobby is breaking hearts, remember?”
Tania ignored her younger sister and changed the subject. She directed her question to Natalya. “So what’s this about a three-ring circus in the living room? What’s up?”
Natalya slipped her arm around Tania’s shoulders and gave her a small squeeze, a show of unity in case Tania felt put upon.
“We’re holding an impromptu meeting.” And then Natalya inclined her head so that neither Marja nor Kady, walking ahead of them, could hear. “Go easy on this one, Tania. He looks like a keeper.” Tania shot her a warning look. She wasn’t in the mood to be teased. “Someone’s, if not yours,” Natalya added.
Tania merely shrugged at the unsolicited advice. Her sisters all knew that she was not in the market to do anything beyond being diverted.
“If you say so,” she said dismissively, then looked around the living room. All four of her sisters, Sasha’s husband and Natalya’s fiancé, as well as Kady’s, were there. This was apparently big, whatever it was. Had something happened to one of her parents? Ever since the incident, Tania did her best to present a happy face to her family, but her thoughts always veered to the dark side. “What is going on?” She wanted to know.
The first thing out of Natalya’s mouth set her at ease. “We’re brainstorming,” her sister told her.
A sense of relief swept over Tania. Nat wouldn’t have said that if something was really wrong. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t life-threatening.
Her mouth curved as she glanced at the three men. “And, look, you brought in extra brains.”
Tony Santini, perched on the arm of the sofa where his wife sat, held up his hands in silent disclaimer. “I’m just the driver, nothing more.”
“Here for moral support,” Mike DiPalma, Natalya’s fiancé, chimed in.
“Same here,” Byron Kennedy, Kady’s fiancé, told her.
“And why is there a need for moral support?” Tania wanted to know, looking from one sister to another. “What is it that you’re all brainstorming about?”
Since it was her problem, Sasha spoke up. “Mama’s going a little overboard about this baby. Ever since she found out I was pregnant, she’s been hovering and trying to get me to cut back my office hours.” Sasha sighed. “Cut back my life, really. I think she’s about to surround me with bubble wrap and I’m not even showing yet.” The irony of the situation made her laugh. “You’d think that I wasn’t an ob-gyn.” Tony took her hand in
his in a silent show of support. “There’s nothing about giving birth that I don’t know.”
“Except how to handle Mama,” Kady interjected with a sympathetic grin.
Sasha sighed and nodded her head. “Except how to handle Mama.”
“Seems to me that Daddy should be in on this, don’t you think?” Tania suggested, looking from Sasha to Natalya. “After all, he’s the one who’s survived with her all these years. That should give him a little insight into the matter.”
Natalya looked at her as if she should know better. “Daddy’s insight can be summed up by two little words. ‘Yes, Magda.’ He dotes on Mama and he’s learned to placate her.”
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