Even as the last song of the night coasted toward its conclusion, she didn’t want the night to end. She couldn’t imagine ever feeling so good ever again. Not only did Adam prove a good dancer, but he’d also kept her laughing with his observations of the other people in the room, how they might look in beachwear.
He didn’t say anything funny now though. Instead of focusing on his words and dance steps, she became hyperaware of the movements of his body against her. The reined-in strength, how his arms curved around her back, the subtle slide of his suit against her dress, his warmth and clean, male scent.
Oh, God, she had to get home, away from him. She battled the crazy notion that she was halfway to falling for him already.
“I need to be getting home,” she said as she pulled back from him with regret.
“Yeah, me, too.”
She didn’t think he had any pressing reason to get home. Maybe he’d come out of the same lovely fog she’d been in all evening and remembered that she wasn’t the type of woman he wanted to be with. Instead of turning into a pumpkin, maybe at midnight she went back to just being a cop to him.
She shook the thoughts away and focused on the light touch of his hand at the small of her back as he guided her out of the ballroom, across the glassed-in hallway and into the parking lot.
“Where are you parked?” he asked.
She pointed in what she hoped was the right direction, though she wasn’t positive she could think straight past the whirling of her insides. She didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to face the fact that she’d never be held in Adam’s arms again. Why did it matter so much?
They arrived at her car before she was ready. She closed her eyes, steeled herself before turning toward him. “I had a nice time tonight. Thank you.”
“I did, too. I kind of liked being the guy who got all the jealous looks.”
“I think you’re probably used to that.”
“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t true tonight.”
“They’re just not used to seeing me in a dress.”
He gave her a devilish smile. “Good thing or they’d never get any work done and Horizon Beach would go to hell.”
“Or maybe they were wondering why I’d agreed to go out with a guy who is so incredibly full of it.”
He took a step closer. “You really do look beautiful tonight.”
She lowered her eyes, feeling so out of her element. “Thank you.”
Moments stretched between them, and Sara wondered if he was going to kiss her, if she’d let him. No, that was a really bad idea. Walking away now was hard enough. If she kissed him, she didn’t know if she’d be able to continue saying no. If she could convince herself that maybe there was a Mr. Perfect hidden somewhere in Adam Canfield.
She worried that she possessed the same fault her father had—loving someone who didn’t love you back.
What was she thinking? She didn’t love Adam.
“I better get home, pick up the girls,” she said.
He nodded, though she saw something in his eyes, a hesitance that tempted her to believe he didn’t want to go any more than she did. With more willpower than it’d taken to get through the police academy, she turned toward her car door as she said, “Good night.”
But she couldn’t open it, didn’t even try.
Why do you always deny yourself? Just because you go out with him doesn’t mean you have to marry him. You’re still young. Have some fun.
She wanted to scream at the voice in her head, but it won. Her lonely heart won. Sara spun around as Adam was turning to leave. She took two steps, bringing herself next to him, and raised herself to bring her lips to his.
PURE, DEMANDING ADRENALINE surged through Adam when Sara’s lips took his. Only a fraction of a second passed before he accepted what she was offering and gave back more of the same. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her slightly so he could feel all her delicious curves against him.
She tasted like the chocolate-covered strawberries she’d eaten earlier. He’d envied the fruit when he’d watched her lips wrapped around it. Now he caught its flavor and deepened the kiss even more.
Sara moaned into his mouth, and his body reacted as a man’s does. He couldn’t get close enough to her. He wanted her in bed, now. But some speck of common sense rose up through the haze of lust, told him that pushing her that far would just make her run away. And damn if he was letting her do that. Not when she felt and tasted so good.
When they paused long enough to breathe, he smiled against her soft, wet lips. She didn’t feel like a no-nonsense detective now. Maybe he could kiss her well and long enough to make her forget that dangerous job of hers.
“That was unexpected,” he said, teasing her as he liked to do. Something about flustering pretty Sara Greene made life worth living.
She breathed, heavier than normal, against his lips. “Sorry.”
“Do not apologize. I liked it.”
Sara tried to lower her gaze, but he didn’t let her. He lifted her chin, bringing her eyes to his. Then he kissed her again. Gentle, thorough, amazing. She made him feel like all the nerves in his body were hardwired and plugged into an electrical outlet. His skin burned and he wanted nothing more than to rip off his suit, her dress, then press his skin against hers.
Calm down. He broke the kiss but only moved a fraction of an inch back, pushing away all the reasons not to ask the question on the tip of his tongue. “Go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”
She moved toward him ever so slightly, as if she couldn’t resist, but then she pulled away.
“I can’t. I shouldn’t be away from the girls two nights in a row.”
The mention of the kids should have dampened his desire for her, but it didn’t. Odd.
“Fine. But I’m going to keep asking. You’re not getting away with just one night.”
She opened her mouth to say something but stopped. He imagined the tug-of-war going on inside her head between her practical, responsible self and the part that wanted to tell caution to screw off.
To make his viewpoint on which side should win clear, he leaned forward and kissed her again. “Maybe I can think of something we can do so you can wear those shoes again.”
She made a cute little flustered sound before opening her car door. “Good night.”
He smiled wide as he stepped back enough for her to slide into her car. His desire thrummed as that sexy red dress rode up her legs before she jerked it back down. Man, he wanted to crawl in that car with her.
He was halfway home before common sense broke through his haze of sexual fantasies. What was he thinking? Going out with her once was one thing. How stupid was he to want to go out with her again, to get closer to her? Hadn’t he been down this road before?
He cursed, knew that he should avoid Sara instead of pursuing her. He had a long history of single dates with women. Why should this be any different?
Because none of them had made his body nearly combust when they’d kissed them.
Not even Jessica.
“MUST BE SERIOUS THOUGHTS you’re thinking.”
Sara jumped at the sound of Captain Pierce’s voice on the other side of her desk. Too late, she realized she’d been staring out the window replaying those kisses with Adam for what had to be the millionth time. A flush crept up her neck, prompting her to look down at the paperwork in front of her so she didn’t have to face her boss.
“Just brainstorming the Crayton case,” she said, thankful she’d been looking at the notes on the robbery only minutes before.
“Any new leads?”
“No, unfortunately.”
“Hopefully, someone will slip up and try to sell some of those pieces of jewelry. Speaking of which, wanted to thank you for helping Mom find her earring Saturday night.”
“I didn’t find it. Adam did.”
“Yes, Adam. You two been going out long?”
Sara looked past the captain toward where Keith and Shawn sat at their respective des
ks. “Did the guys put you up to this?”
The captain looked surprised by her question. “No, why?”
“Oh, nothing. And no, a one-time deal.”
“Too bad. I think Mom already has the two of you walking down the aisle.”
Sara nearly choked. “Not hardly.” Though the image wasn’t as farfetched as she’d once thought.
Oh, God, who was she kidding? His kisses made her skin flame and tingle, and he no doubt was awesome in bed. But marriage material? Unlikely.
And yet she continued to think about him and how she’d given in to impulse and kissed him. The memories wrapped her brain in knots as she packed it in and went home for the day. She didn’t even notice him sitting on her side deck until she was a few feet away from him.
“Oh, hey,” she said, her heartbeat banging away at her eardrums. “What are you doing here?”
“I remembered how much your little one liked pizza, so I thought maybe you’d agree to go out with me if we took the girls to Freddie’s.”
She didn’t manage to hide her surprise. “You want to go out, with all three of us?”
“Well, I want to go out with you. They’re just the chaperones.”
She searched for a reason to say no, but gave up when it proved too difficult. When was the last time a guy had thrown her like this? “Give me a few minutes to change and go get the girls.”
“They’re already inside getting ready. Ruby said she thought it was a great idea. I like your neighbor, by the way.”
“I’ll bet she did,” Sara said under her breath as she went in the side door of her house.
She followed the sound of laughter to Lilly’s bedroom. Ruby stood behind Lilly, French-braiding her hair.
“We’re having pizza, Mommy!”
Sara crossed her arms and eyed Ruby. “So I heard.”
Ruby didn’t look the least bit sorry when she met her gaze and winked.
FREDDIE’S WAS BUSY as usual. Somehow showing up here with Adam and the girls felt like a bigger step than going to the benefit with him. That was supposed to be one night, one magical night. This continuation of…whatever their relationship was…that wasn’t supposed to happen. She felt tense, like she was waiting for him to suddenly realize he wasn’t interested anymore and run in the opposite direction.
They found a table near the front, right where everyone coming in the door could see them.
Sara stopped and considered her racing thoughts. Why couldn’t she just go with the flow and not analyze everything to death? With a deep breath, she decided to set aside her questions about where this was heading. She knew all dates didn’t have to lead to holy matrimony. Maybe if she went out with Adam a few times, she’d lighten up and find the right guy after all without trying so hard.
What if he’s across the table from you now?
“So, what kind of pizza does everyone want?” Adam asked.
“Pepperoni,” Lilly said with her usual enthusiasm.
“Sausage,” Tana said at the same time.
Adam eyed Sara, waiting for her answer. “Whatever, doesn’t matter.”
He looked at Tana. “What’s her favorite kind of pizza?”
“This gross feta-and-spinach thing.”
“It’s not gross just because you don’t like it,” Sara said. She met Adam’s eyes. “We can go with just a plain cheese. That’s something everyone will eat.”
“Got it.” He headed to the order counter.
As soon as Adam was out of earshot, Tana’s smug grin appeared on her face. “He likes you.”
Sara sat back in her chair and tried to force all emotion from her expression. “We’re acquaintances, friendly. That’s all.”
Did friendly acquaintances liplock like they had in a hotel parking lot? Did they have steamy daydreams about each other?
Okay, so she was the one daydreaming. Guys didn’t obsess like women. She doubted Adam was ignoring his customers at the pier by staring out at the waves and thinking about their kisses.
“Yeah, whatever,” Tana said, managing to sound like she had superior knowledge despite her measly thirteen years.
“And from now on, you two and Ruby need to let me handle my own love life, or lack thereof, okay?”
“I like him,” Lilly said.
Sara opened her mouth, but Adam spoke first.
“Why, thank you, Miss Lilly.” He slid into a chair next to Lilly and put his arm along the back of her chair. “I must say you have good taste in men at an early age.”
Lilly giggled and looked over at Sara. The huge smile and glow of happiness on her daughter’s face melted any lingering objections Sara had about this group outing. How could anything or anyone who made her daughter that happy be wrong?
But what happened when he wasn’t there anymore? Would it break Lilly’s little heart?
Sara pushed away the questions as too heavy for the fun, bustling atmosphere of Freddie’s. Instead, she focused on the scents of bread and oregano, the rousing Italian music filling the space and the meaningful look in Adam’s eyes. Maybe he did think about their kisses after all.
“So, what do you ladies like to do when you have free time?” Adam lavished attention on the girls. If he wanted to maneuver his way into Sara’s heart, this was the way to do it. She tried to focus on the reasons why letting him in was a bad idea, but they kept slipping away from her grasp.
“Fly kites,” Lilly said.
“Well, this is certainly a good place for that,” Adam said.
“Are you a Horizon Beach native?” Sara found herself asking him.
“South Georgia, near Valdosta. Came down here a few years ago to be near the water.”
“What did you do before becoming ‘pier guy’?” She smiled a little, hoping he’d accept her questioning as gentle teasing, not her compiling facts about him, determining if there was any chance he could be the kind of guy she wanted. No, needed. She definitely wanted him, and that could end up being the problem.
The muscles in his face tightened a little. “Was in the army.” He directed his attention toward Tana. “What about you? I’m guessing you like music.” He nodded toward one of her many band T-shirts. Sara felt old sometimes when she didn’t recognize the names. This one said Within Temptation. One of those foreign, symphonic bands with soaring music, Sara guessed.
“You know they’re a band?” Tana asked, her face and tone reflecting surprise.
“Yeah. Even saw them in Germany once. Friend of mine dragged me kicking and screaming, but they were actually pretty good.”
“Ohmygod, you saw them in concert?”
Thus began a grilling by Tana that would rival that by any detective. She wanted to know what songs they played, what they wore, how awesome was the concert. Of course, Adam, being a guy, had lost a lot of the details.
“It was several years ago,” he said. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay. It’s cool that you saw them though. I’ve never met anyone who has.”
“Maybe you can see them when they come to the States sometime.” Adam paused and met Sara’s gaze. “If your mom says that’s okay.”
“We’ll see.” Sara didn’t want to commit until she investigated if the band’s concert crowds would be appropriate for a thirteen-year-old.
Freddie himself arrived at the table with not one but four small pizzas. One pepperoni, one sausage, one feta-and-spinach and one supreme.
“You didn’t have to get different kinds,” Sara said.
“What’s the fun of coming to Freddie’s if you can’t have what you want?”
The way he said it and the devilish twinkle in his eye made Sara realize he wasn’t just talking about pizza. She felt like she was in water that was rising fast. Soon, she’d have to decide whether to swim away or allow herself to sink fully.
“What about you, Detective? You a native?”
She shook her head since she was in midbite. After she chewed and swallowed the delicious pizza, she said, “Grew up in Memphis. Came dow
n here for a change of scenery.”
“I can relate to that. So, how does a pretty lady like you become a cop?”
“My dad was a police officer. Just following in his footsteps, I guess.”
“How does he feel about that?”
“I don’t know. He died before I made that decision.” How many times had she wondered if he would have approved, needed to know he was proud? She chose to think he’d be honored that she’d chosen the path she had.
She glanced at Adam and a new question formed in her mind. What would her dad think of Adam? Would he consider him lazy, or would he say she was being too judgmental—just like he had when she’d told him she never wanted to see her mother again?
Chapter Eight
What was he doing here? Why had he thought pursuing Sara and getting more involved with her family had been a good idea? She had kids, for heaven’s sake! They were good kids, but kids who required protection and nurturing and all those things he sucked at.
How did a single woman with such a dangerous job even justify having children, ones she could leave orphaned?
But damn if he couldn’t seem to help himself. It was like she was some sort of sorceress who attracted him by otherworldly means. And she didn’t even seem to be trying.
He did realize over the pizza that he wasn’t the only one who had something in his past he’d rather forget. When she’d mentioned her father, he’d seen pain in her eyes. Was it the kind of pain he’d had in his life, or just sorrow that she’d lost a beloved father? He’d bet the latter. Otherwise, it didn’t make sense for her to follow in her father’s footsteps. He sure hadn’t wanted to follow in his dad’s.
But it wasn’t any of his business. Yes, he had to admit he wanted to continue going out with her, at least a few more times. Kiss her again, maybe more. But he had to draw the line there. Serious was not his bag.
“We’d better be getting home,” Sara said as she slipped leftover pizza into a take-home container. “School night. And I bet someone still has homework.”
The Family Man Page 8