“Where did your mind go just then?” Lucy asked. “You had the most faraway look.”
“I was wondering about you actually.” A half truth.
“Moi?”
“Yep. Tell me a little-known fact about you. Aside from the cutthroat CEO thing.”
“Well, the cutthroat CEO thing is important.”
“Naturally. What else?”
Lucy turned to her, all thoughtful and such. “As in I skipped the third grade?”
“Totally like that. Did you?”
“I did. I was miserable though. All of my friends were still in third grade and I missed them. We had different recesses. It was all terribly heartbreaking.”
Kristin raised a finger. “First of all, impressive, smarty-pants.”
“Thank you.”
“Second of all, you’re a major social butterfly, aren’t you?”
Lucy considered this. “Friends have always been important to me, yes. And I happen to love a good cocktail party.” Kristin enjoyed the way Lucy’s eyes sparked with excitement when they touched on a topic she enjoyed. “Now you. Tell me a Kristin fact, and don’t hold out on the good stuff. I want to know about that day you were taken downtown for shoplifting.”
“You heard about that?”
Lucy turned her head to the side and regarded Kristin out of the corner of her eye. “You so did not get arrested.”
Kristin smiled, prompting Lucy to lower her ice-cream cone, which was a shame because Kristin was having a fabulous time watching her eat it. She was already a little familiar with that tongue and enjoyed watching it work.
Lucy gestured at her with what was left of the cone. “I cannot tell if you’re messing with me right now. Are you messing with me?”
Kristin gave in. “No shoplifting. But I have been arrested before. Twice actually.” With that she got up and headed back down the boardwalk, discarding the little bit that was left of her ice cream so as not to be too full for the run ahead of them. Lucy was hot on her heels.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You cannot say something inflammatory like that and then walk away. I’ll need details.”
“And you shall have them, once we make it to that two-story house in the distance.”
Lucy followed her gaze. “This is cruel and unusual punishment, you realize this?” But she was halfway smiling and that was everything.
“Come on, champ. No more complaining.” Kristin started the run at a slow place and noticed Lucy fall in stride next to her.
“Calling me champ will get you everywhere, by the way.”
“You like that, huh?”
“I do, as I’m the champ.”
Kristin laughed. “I’m going to remember this.”
They ran in companionable silence with only the sounds of the waves crashing and the distant call of seagulls overhead. Kristin let her mind drift. On their phone conversation, Lucy had invited her to stay for dinner, and while she’d brought a change of clothes, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome. But it was fun hanging out with Lucy, seeing her life up close and personal, and that wasn’t even taking into consideration the wild attraction.
“Bam,” Lucy huffed, pointing. “House in the distance is here. Tell me the prison story.”
Kristin passed her a quick glance. “I never said prison. I said jail. They’re different.”
“Semantics. What was the charge?”
“Unlawful assembly.”
“So a protest?”
“Exactly. In San Francisco, there’s this energy giant that refuses to use any sort of environmentally safe practices, so the group I belonged to staged a protest.”
“And they arrested you for that?”
“When we refused to leave, yeah, they did. But I knew going in I’d be arrested.”
“And you did it anyway?” Lucy asked, incredulous.
“Sometimes that’s part of drawing more attention to the cause. A few people get arrested and suddenly the local news is a little more interested in covering the story.”
“Sure, but to take a personal hit like that.”
“Well, it’s something I care about. What do you do when something you care about is at stake?”
Lucy thought for a moment. “Throw a charity event or write a check.”
“Sounds to me like you don’t want to get your hands dirty.”
“And it sounds to me like you’re being a little judgmental,” Lucy fired back.
And there it was again, that push-and-pull that reminded Kristin how very different they were. She took a breath and tried to explain herself. “I just think that when you care about a cause, it’s important to do something about it from the ground up. Make your voice heard.”
“So you’re saying that what I do doesn’t matter? That when I donate money, it’s meaningless? Because I completely disagree.”
“Of course not. It’s just a little passive.”
“It is not. Passive is sitting on the couch thinking about doing something to contribute.”
Kristin nodded. “Okay, that’s a valid point.”
“I have lots of those. Trust me.”
“You’re definitely not shy about arguing for what you believe in.”
“Yeah, well, that’s me. The opposite of passive. Speaking of, do you know what’s also not passive?” Lucy asked.
“What?”
“Me beating you back to the house.” And before Kristin knew it, Lucy was several yards ahead of her in a rather impressive sprint en route to the beach house that was now not that far off. She took a moment to enjoy the view before her competitive side kicked in. Refusing to be beaten, Kristin took off and gained on Lucy steadily. Her longer legs and daily workouts proved advantageous and she overtook Lucy at the last possible second, tossing her hands in the air before collapsing onto the deck.
“You’re right. That was not at all passive,” she breathed to Lucy, who had fallen onto her back. “But I think the term champ now belongs to me.”
“Fine. Okay, you win at anything athletic. Let’s just stipulate that now.”
“Perfect,” Kristin said. They lay there a moment to let their breathing even out. “Hey, Lucy?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for going running with me.”
Lucy flipped onto her stomach and cradled her chin in her hands, looking down at Kristin. “It nearly killed me, but I’m glad we did it. You get to relax now, however, as this is the portion of the evening when I dazzle you with my culinary prowess.”
“Yeah? What are we having?”
“I thought papaya salad, chicken marsala, and potato pancakes. Thoughts?”
“I think it sounds like you win at cooking.”
“Finally,” Lucy said, smiling. “You don’t give in easily.”
“That would be because the extent of my cooking ability is the heating up of frozen food.”
Lucy’s mouth fell open as she pushed herself up. “A crime.”
“Admittedly.”
Lucy offered Kristin a hand and pulled her up. “How about we take some time to get freshened up and I’ll start dinner.”
“Great. Do you mind if I grab a quick shower?”
Lucy took a minute with the question. “Um, no. No, of course not. I’ll use the one in my room and you can have the guest bathroom.”
Kristin didn’t want to intrude and the long moment it took Lucy to answer the question made her think that maybe she had. “I don’t have to shower.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lucy said. She headed for the house and then opened the door. “If you want to take off your clothes just a few yards away from me, who am I to stop you?”
Kristin felt the heat hit her cheeks instantly, and the tug in her stomach let her know that the comment had registered.
Lucy passed her a victorious smile. “You coming?”
Kristin gave her head a little shake. “On my way.”
*
Lucy stood under the stream of hot water and closed her eyes, trying not to notic
e how sensitive her skin felt as the water hit and ran down her body. At the same time, she tried to forget that Kristin-of-the-frustrating-and-the-gorgeous was showering just down the hall.
“What am I gonna do with you?” she said to her reflection in the mirror as she toweled off. But she knew one thing. There was a choice laid out in front of her. Kristin was in her home, and they were about to have dinner, and then she could either send her on her way—the safe choice—or let herself wander down a path that could only mean trouble. They had off-the-charts chemistry, no question about it, but there was also the fact that she thought about Kristin a lot, and if they took things further, chances were good that a simple one-night stand would be next to impossible if the week prior had taught her anything. She’d want more, and was that really a path she wanted to go down? “Not fair,” she said to the mirror. Lucy had to be practical. She and Kristin had nothing in common and, in fact, saw the world from two entirely different vantage points. Plus, Kristin had a way of sticking with her and infiltrating her thoughts and maybe a few fantasies. It was best not to give her any more power and complicate things further.
Decision made.
Dinner and good night. Easy. Done. They’d enjoy each other’s company and adjourn. She needed to save herself from further preoccupation with Kristin James, news reporter, and that meant staying strong.
“Hey,” Kristin said when Lucy emerged from her room. She was already sitting on the couch, petting BP and looking fresh faced and amazing in gray shorts and a light purple tank top that had Lucy’s mouth watering.
Yeah, totally screwed.
She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “How was the shower?”
“You have A-plus water pressure,” Kristin said. “And this dog loves me, I think.” To her credit, Bernadette Peters seemed to have picked up on exactly what Lucy had and sat halfway propped up on Kristin’s lap as Kristin gently stroked her head. Lucky, lucky dog.
“She definitely seems to,” Lucy said, tilting her head and taking in the image. “Why don’t you guys hang out and I’ll start dinner?”
“Did you hear that?” Kristin said to BP. “We get to hang out and get into trouble.”
Lucy shook her head. “I see a very dangerous relationship in the works.”
“And which relationship is that?” Kristin asked, smiling.
With an amused shake of her head at the pointed remark, Lucy went to work preparing the meal, tossing on some mellow tunes for the room.
The kitchen and the living room had an open floor plan, which allowed Lucy to watch as Kristin attempted to teach Bernadette Peters to roll over, a task that was akin to convincing Dr. Phil to grow hair. She smiled at the effort, however, and enjoyed the show, which consisted of Kristin turning BP in a tiny slow-motion circle and then cheering for her as if she’d conquered the world.
For the next forty minutes, however, Lucy lost herself in the pans and sauces and tiny little details that made cooking one of her favorite tasks. As she put the finishing touches on the salad, her skin tingled and she found Kristin standing next to her.
“I cannot believe you’ve done all of this in that short little period of time. It looks amazing.”
Lucy smiled up at Kristin over her shoulder. “Thank you. I had fun doing it.”
“We had fun too,” Kristin said. “Can I show you something?”
“Of course.”
With that, Kristin rounded the island into the living room with Lucy following behind her.
“Okay, Miss Bernadette,” Kristin said. “This is your big moment.” She moved her index finger in a circular motion, and in response, something amazing happened. BP, who was known strictly for long naps and cuddle fests, slowly bowed her head and rolled in a slow, unsteady circle on the ground.
“Oh my God,” Lucy said, still not quite believing what she’d just seen. She pointed at her dog. “Did she just roll over on command?”
“She did,” Kristin said, scooping up the dog and kissing her face. “Because she’s the smartest tiny dog ever.”
“You worked at it for like, what? Forty-five minutes?” Lucy asked, trying to understand.
“She’s clearly a prodigy.”
“Well, who knew?” Lucy asked everyone and no one. Mystification was too mundane a word for what she’d just witnessed. She turned to Kristin.
“Just takes persistence is all. I think that’s how I accomplish most feats. Not by talent or know-how. I just keep at it.” Kristin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was down now after the shower and the blond seemed brighter than ever.
“Well, you are to be commended. As in awarded some sort of medal of honor. A parade maybe.”
Kristin, looking proud of herself in the most adorable way, shrugged. “You could just kiss me again, because it was beyond awesome the last time.”
God, that sentence did something to Lucy. A hit of something powerful shot instantly through her. The earlier plan to sidestep seemed to fly right out the window when she was faced with the real, live Kristin, standing in her living room and smiling like that. It didn’t take much thought. Lucy stepped into Kristin’s space and cupped her cheek, pulling her the short distance downward. When their lips met, the kiss that resulted was toe curling and zero-to-sixty. Lucy let herself drown in the way Kristin kissed her, all thorough and authoritative. She was aware of Kristin’s hands on her lower back and about died when they slipped under her shirt and rested on the bare skin there. The same skin that had been sensitive in the shower just an hour before was now on fire beneath Kristin’s touch. As they continued to kiss, Lucy wanted those hands other places.
And now.
In just that moment, Kristin pulled her mouth away and Lucy felt the loss. “We should have dinner,” Kristin said, straightening the clothes that Lucy had once again grabbed hold of.
“Hmm?” she asked, struggling to make her mind work again.
“Dinner. The one you made for us. We should eat it. Probably.” But then they were kissing again and she wasn’t sure if it had been her fault or Kristin’s, as the edges of reality seemed to have blurred quite a bit. She was aware of the sensations that were storming her system, however, as Kristin’s tongue slid into her mouth. She was absently cognizant of the fact that instead of grabbing a fistful of Kristin’s shirt, her hands were on the move, moving across Kristin’s skin, slowly, deliberately, as if trying to memorize all of her.
“Okay, dinner now. For real,” Kristin said, moving out of her touch. “There should be dinner.”
Lucy took a moment and nodded. Dinner. Right. That. “On it,” Lucy said, rounding the island and blowing out a breath. She moved the food onto serving plates, a task that allowed her sensibilities to drift back and the heat she felt to settle into the manageable column.
As she took her spot at the table, Kristin passed her an easy smile. “This looks amazing. Thank you for cooking.”
“I’m happy to cook for you. I don’t have a ton of company.”
“No?” Kristin said, taking a serving of the chicken.
“Mainly Emory and Sarah, who you met. They live just up the beach a bit. The house you made our running goal earlier was theirs.”
“Seriously? That must be cool to live so close.”
“It is.” And while she tried to focus on the conversation, it seemed to be a losing battle. Instead, she noticed the way Kristin tended to move the hair off her forehead if it came remotely close to covering her eye. God, it was sexy, as was how smooth her skin looked, which took Lucy back to how it had felt just minutes ago beneath her fingertips. The music that had seemed fun and mellow while she cooked now read sexy and romantic, given their recent interaction. It was coming at her from all angles and Lucy didn’t know how much longer she could go on.
“So it turns out the food tastes just as good as it looks,” Kristin said quietly, meeting her eyes and holding there. Lucy blinked back.
“Yeah?”
“Mmm-hmm. You’re talented. At a lot of things,�
�� Kristin said.
“I can be.” God, this was cruel. Her body temperature, which had leveled out as she made the final dinner prep, was right back up there in the stratosphere. The aching that had taken up residence within her had moved lower and was also growing harder and harder to ignore. They went back to eating, the tension so thick, Lucy felt it all over. She sipped from her white wine glass and placed it carefully back on the table. A bite of papaya. Exhale. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
“Lucy.”
She closed her eyes briefly at the use of her name. “Yes?”
Kristin spoke slowly. “While I love what you’ve prepared, I’m not sure I feel like eating dinner right now after all.” It was a simple statement, but Lucy understood its implication clear as day.
“And why is that?” Lucy asked, meeting those expressive eyes.
“Because I’d rather finish what we started not long ago.”
Lucy didn’t need any more encouragement than that. As she stood, Kristin grabbed her hand and pulled her in. Lucy accepted the invitation and settled herself on Kristin’s lap where they met in a clash of lips and tongues that felt so right it was frightening. She combed her fingers through Kristin’s hair as they kissed, moving it back from her face as heat enveloped her once again. But it wasn’t enough and their pace quickened. She adjusted, straddling Kristin, and slipped her hands beneath her T-shirt as they kissed, moving them up her rib cage to the outside of Kristin’s bra where, through fabric, her breasts filled Lucy’s hands and she massaged gently, pulling a gasp from Kristin as they kissed. Hot.
Her hips pushed against Kristin’s stomach as her arousal skyrocketed at the intimacy of the touch. Flames licked through her. She needed more. And fast.
“My bedroom is behind us,” Lucy said between kisses.
Kristin pulled her face back far enough to look up at Lucy, her eyes searching. “Does that mean you’re taking me there?”
Sweet Hearts Page 6