“You look like you’ve been sucking on sour lemons for the past hour,” she said as she stopped in front of him.
He grinned. “I was thinking about how ugly your shoes are.”
She looked down at her golden feet and then back up at him and gave him a soft smile, showing off a pair of identical dimples. “They’re something, aren’t they? I don’t think they’d be so awful if my feet weren’t the size of small boats. I wonder if I could use them as Jet Skis? Maybe I could glide across the water on my bare feet.”
Her smile did something to her face, lighting it up, making her appear so innocent. Something made him want to step closer. “I’d join you. I’m working with size fifteens myself.”
“Ah.” She looked down at his feet, and then her eyes made a slow trek up his body before settling on his face. A knot formed in his stomach. “You know what they say about men with big feet?”
“What?” He waited for a dirty joke to pop out of her mouth. Under all that nice-girl exterior he knew there was a bit of naughtiness inside Cherri Rudy. He was surprised to find he was anxious to see it come out.
“Horrible dancers.” She carefully watched his face. “They step all over your feet.” She placed her hand over her heart and feigned shock. “You didn’t think I was going to say something else, did you?”
For a moment Colin was distracted by the placement of her hand, which lay very near her creamy exposed cleavage. “No.” He forced his eyes upward. Then took a step back for good measure.
He had no business looking at Cherri like that or wanting to get to know her naughty side. She was a girl. Unworldly. Immature. Young. It didn’t matter that her curvy figure, intelligent eyes, and mature air told his hormones something different. Twenty-two was twenty-two. Plus Mike and Ellis treated her like she was their kid sister. To him she was strictly off-limits.
He glanced at his watch. It was time to get the hell out of Dodge.
“You don’t have to stay for my benefit,” she said softly, making him feel like the lowest piece of shit. “I’m surprised you lasted this long.”
“I don’t want to leave, love. I was just checking the time.”
“Liar,” she said without heat. “I’ve been watching you all night. You’ve checked your watch twelve times.”
“You were watching me?” He grinned at her again. “All night?” He placed his hand on her bare shoulder and immediately regretted it. Didn’t you just talk to yourself about being appropriate? Ass. Her silky skin was cool under his rough palm, and it caused him to wonder if it would feel the same under his lips.
“Yeah, well, it’s hard not to notice the giant sulking Irishman alone in the corner.”
“I wasn’t sulking.”
She folded her arms under her breasts, pushing them up into his eye line. “You weren’t mingling.”
Steady, old man, he warned himself. Keep your eyes in your skull. She has no idea that doing that makes you want to jump out of your skin. “Neither were you, if you had time to ogle me all night.”
“I hate parties,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to come to this one.”
“But this is your party, with your friends. You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself.”
“I know.” She gazed at the floor and then gave him a sad smile. “Just because it’s my party doesn’t mean I stop being a social misfit. Ellis was so sweet to throw it, but those girls”—she gestured absently behind her—“are not my friends.”
“They’re not?”
“Of course not. Skinny bitch goddesses don’t hang out with the enormous artsy kid. But they were in my education classes for the past four years so Ellis thinks we’re friends.” She frowned. “I sound like a whiny brat. I’m glad Ellis loves me enough to throw me this party. Let’s change the subject.”
“Not yet.” She wasn’t enormous. She spoke about herself like she was queen of the Amazons. She wasn’t anywhere near that. He gave her soft shoulder a squeeze. There was an insecurity, a slight sadness that hung over her. It made him uncomfortable. “I’m glad you said those girls aren’t your friends.”
“You are?” Her emerald eyes widened.
“Yes, the laugh on that tall brunette sounds like a choking hyena, for fuck’s sake. I had to stop myself from stuffing a cork into her mouth.”
“You mean you don’t find Bridgette’s laugh intoxicating?”
“No, but I do think a man needs to be intoxicated to tolerate it.”
She laughed—not a giggle, but a rich sound that came from her belly and twisted his in knots. “Damn, I lost a bet with myself. I thought she might be someone you’d like to— What do you Irish people say? Shag?”
“Shag her?” He shook his head. “Not my type.” There was only one girl in the room he could imagine tumbling with in bed and it wasn’t the brunette with the big mouth.
That was a dangerous thought.
He took a step away from her. “Listen, love, I really am beat. Would you be mad at me if I took off?”
“Well, that depends.” She crossed her arms under her breasts again, causing them to plump nicely. “Did you bring me a present?”
“Of course I did.”
She flashed her dimples at him. “Then you are free to go. But first let me hug you good-bye.”
“No,” he said abruptly. He had hugged her once before. He knew what she felt like. He knew her warmth would linger with him all night.
“No?” Her face fell slightly, and he realized what a colossal asshole he was being.
“I don’t think I can. The vision of you in that other dress is still haunting me.”
She gave him an exaggerated frown. “You’re supposed to say that I was breathtakingly beautiful in the other dress.”
“I can’t, love. It soured my stomach.”
“Ass.” She threw her arms around him and kissed both his cheeks. “Thank you for coming, Colin. I’m glad you did.”
He shut his eyes for a moment, savoring how her lush body felt pressed against him as she lingered. For those few seconds that empty feeling in his chest evaporated as his hands came up to settle on her soft waist. “You’re welcome.”
He opened his eyes before she let go. Mike’s gaze clashed with his. His best friend shook his head slowly, his message so clear that it didn’t need to be spoken.
She’s not for you.
He knew that. She was off-limits with a fucking capital O. So he stepped back, giving Cherri’s hand one last squeeze before he left the house.
* * *
Cherri pulled her scarf more tightly around her neck as she headed down her third deserted block. Durant was a beautiful eclectic little town, even in winter, with its snow-covered, tree-lined streets filled with colorful houses and funky buildings. If she had a more poetic soul, she might say the town resembled a modern Christmas card. But she wasn’t feeling very poetic that day. She wasn’t able to bask in the beauty that was her hometown. She was too freaking annoyed. And it was too freaking cold. Only two degrees. There were no people around. Hell, even the squirrels had hightailed it someplace else, and yet she was roaming the streets in search of the world’s naughtiest dog.
“Rufus,” she called sweetly for the forty-seventh time since she had left her house, even though she was feeling slightly murderous. “Come back, sweetie pie. I’ll give you a cookie.”
She had plenty of them. Her pockets were bulging with treats. Dog biscuits on one side and the expensive strawberry-preserved human cookies in the other.
Bring both, Baba had said. See which one he likes better. Or maybe I should fry you a steak to take to him.
All of this for a dog. Baba’s dog. Who had escaped the house.
Again.
For the third time that very cold week.
Sometimes she wanted to say the hell with it and let the dog wander home on his own. And he would come home on his own, too. Rufus was that smart. Some mornings she would go out to get the newspaper only to find him sitting on the front step waiting to be let in.<
br />
And he always looked up at her as if to say, Yeah I got out. What are you going to do about it?
She was pretty sure he was visiting Mrs. Walton’s German shepherd, Sharona. But she didn’t want to think about Rufus’s doggy booty calls at the moment. She only hoped she didn’t get a call one day asking her to pick up her share of the puppies.
Rufus, you are the father!
But she couldn’t let Rufus wander home on his own today. She couldn’t risk anything happening to him. He was Baba’s love. A huge eighty-pound husky–Lab mix who shed everywhere, stole food from her plate, and pooped way way too much.
“Look on the bright side,” she muttered to herself. “You can walk off all that damn cake you ate at your party last night. Or maybe your fat will just freeze off. Rufus!”
She stopped at the corner deciding which route she should take. To the left was the park with the huge lake Rufus often liked to visit. He loved being surrounded by kids, by people who would bask in his great dogly beauty. But to the right was the little Mexican café with the garbage that Rufus so loved to dig through. She hoped to God that Rufus hadn’t gone there again. The owner threatened to send him to the pound if she found him digging in the garbage one more time. And as much as Cherri would love to be relieved of the responsibility of walking, feeding, and cleaning up after the pain-in-the-ass dog, she couldn’t because Baba loved him. Loved him from the moment they’d found him abandoned in the Dumpster near their house.
Despite his super-naughtiness Rufus was a good guard dog and kept Baba company when Cherri worked all day. She needed him to keep her company now. She had to be at work in twenty minutes. She had to find the damn dog soon.
She decided to head toward the Mexican restaurant. There wouldn’t be many kids at the park. It was too cold, and Rufus probably knew that. “Rufus,” she crooned. “Rufus. If you come here right now I promise I won’t toss you into the nearest river. Come on, boy, where are you?”
“Need any help?”
Cherri whipped around to see Dr. Sean Brightworth, oldest son from Durant’s richest family and Rufus’s vet, standing in the doorway of a small blue house.
Crap.
Her cheeks burned, the embarrassed warmth actually welcome on the frigid day. There was something about the handsome vet that made her nervous, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It could be that he seemed to know that they sometimes fed Rufus fried chicken for dinner instead of his dog food. Or it could have been the way he looked at Cherri. Like he was trying to see inside her. Whatever it was, it made her kind of jumpy. “Um, no. Nope I don’t need any help.” Even to her own ears she sounded stupid.
“Really?” He raised one of his dark brows at her, looking at her again, knowing she was a big fat liar liar, pants on fire. “You sure? I thought I heard you calling Rufus.”
“I wasn’t,” she lied again, worried that her nose was going to start growing. Rufus had a reputation around town. The police, fire department, and every person who lived within five blocks of her had a tale about her dog.
And none of them were good.
She didn’t want her vet to be a witness to her bad pet-owning skills, too. He might report her or something. “I said doofus. Yeah, that’s right. Doofus. I was scolding myself for forgetting to call the oil guy yesterday. We’re nearly out of the stuff.” She shivered for effect. “And it’s going to be a cold one tonight.”
“Oh?” He stepped out of the house, his eyes traveling down her body, just taking her in.
Okay. That was something that he had never done before. Her cheeks burned just a little bit more.
“I have plenty of heat here. If you want, you could spend a few hours here this afternoon. Maybe I could make you some dinner?”
She looked at Dr. Brightworth for a moment. Tall, handsome, rich, forty-two-year-old Dr. Brightworth.
Is he giving me the look? Is he inviting me for … Did he just ask me for a date?
Girl, shut your mouth!
“Oh!” she finally said when her mouth caught up to her brain. “What a kind offer, but I’ve got to be at work soon.”
“Okay, Cherri. But the offer still stands if you need some warmth this evening. You can even bring your grandmother.”
“Thanks,” she said slowly, now utterly confused. “I’ll think about it.”
She waited until he stepped back inside his house before she took off down the street again. She was relieved to be out of his company.
That had been weird. Of course he hadn’t asked her on a date. He’d said she could bring her grandmother, and if anybody could suck the romance out of a situation it would be Baba.
It might have been nice if he had asked her out. Just for her ego, though.
She wasn’t asked out very often. Hell, she wasn’t asked out ever. Her beauty seemed to be lost on guys her own age.
“Guys your age are stupid,” Ellis always told her. “You need a man.”
Ellis was right but now wasn’t the time to lament over the nonexistent state of her love life. She needed to focus on finding her dog.
A loud crashing noise ahead made her jump, and when she looked up she saw a trash can rolling on the ground. “Rufus!”
He popped out from behind a parked car and looked at her.
“Come here right now!”
No, he seemed to say. He stepped on the sidewalk and slowly walked away from her up the block.
“Rufus,” she warned. He looked back at her for a moment but just kept walking. “You little shit.” She went after him, knowing that if he decided to take off there was nothing she could do about it. “I’ll skin you alive and make a dog fur coat out of you. I’ll feed you to the gators at the aquarium. I’ll only feed you brussels sprouts for the next two weeks.”
“Oye, love. That last one there was a bit harsh.”
She turned around to find Colin walking out of a little blue house on the corner. She hadn’t expected to see him so soon after her party. She didn’t want to see him today.
She didn’t need another witness to her crazy.
She quickly surveyed him in his black motorcycle jacket and gray beanie hat and gloves. He was the only person on the planet who could manage to look hot and bundled up at the same time. She felt rather like a pink marshmallow in her winter coat. “What are you doing here?” she blurted rather accusingly.
“Well, hello to you, too, darlin’. I was delivering a piece for a client, if you don’t mind. But I think I should be the one asking you why you’re threatening that poor dog.”
“Poor dog, my ass! He bolted out the door when I went to get the mail and forced me to chase him all over Durant in the freezing cold when I have to be at work in ten minutes and the big jerk has the nerve to walk away from me when I find him. I feed him and bathe him and walk him and he treats me like shit!” she said, feeling very disgruntled.
“Calm down, love.” He walked closer to her and placed his warm gloved hand on her shoulder. “I’ll fetch him for you.”
“What makes you think you can get him? He won’t come to me, and he knows me.”
Colin put two fingers between his lips and let out a loud whistle. “Rufus, my lad. Come.”
And then to Cherri’s surprise the big stupid dog came running toward them. Toward her. Before she could even warn him to stop he jumped on her, knocking her to the ground. And to add insult to injury he saturated her face with gross wet doggy kisses.
“Oh look, lass. He loves you to pieces.”
She looked up at Colin. All six feet three inches of him were shaking with laughter. Colin always seemed to be laughing at her. Of course he was always laughing at her. She was a six-foot-tall walking misfit. As she looked up at him, she could see that the mirth had lit up his face and traveled to his eyes. They damn near sparkled.
He really was extra-gorgeous when he laughed. But it still didn’t stop her from being totally ticked off at him. “You’re an ass, you know. A big stupid ass. Rufus, get off me!”
“
I am an ass.” He grabbed Rufus’s collar and pulled him off. “I’d rather be an ass than lying on mine in this freezing weather. What’s the matter with you, girl? Can’t you stay on your feet?”
She frowned at him as she took his hand and allowed him to help her up. Just yesterday she’d wished she could be small and beautiful and graceful for him. It was a stupid thought. Colin would never see her as the put-together charming woman she wanted to be. She would always be just Cherri, the youngest one of their gang, and a walking accident waiting to happen. The one everybody treated like a little sister. It was probably for the best anyway. Colin was the last guy she should have a thing for. She saw who he dated. She knew his past. He was an eight-cylinder man when she was a two-speed kind of girl.
“Don’t move, dog,” he ordered Rufus, then took Cherri by the shoulders. “You all right, love? You took a pretty hard tumble. I shouldn’t have laughed, but you looked kind of cute on the ground with the dog lapping at your face.”
“Oh, shove it.”
He grinned at her again, slipped his gloves off before cupping her cheeks in his large hands and looking into her eyes.
Damn.
Now she knew why her crush on him seemed to never melt away. He was dreamy.
“What a mouth.” His eyes passed over her lips for a moment. “You don’t even thank me for getting back your mutt.”
“Bite me.”
“Tell me where.” That smile was still in those soft brown eyes, and it mirrored the one on his lips. And she looked at him for a moment thinking she might like to get bitten wherever he wanted to bite her.
What a horny thought!
She knew he was a flirt. She knew sweet words flowed from his mouth like water from a faucet. She knew he was full of shit, but there was something about him that made her all tingly.
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