He sat on the other end of the couch. “Big plans for tonight?”
She shook her head. “No. How about you?”
“Going for a run and then dinner,” he replied.
She stared thoughtfully at him and he raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Dinner alone?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Why?”
“So, you’re not dating anyone yet, right?”
He grinned at her. “Are you asking me to dinner, Grace?”
“God, no.” She looked so horrified at the idea that he burst into laughter.
“Shit, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that,” she said. “It’s just – dating my boss is not a great idea.”
“Right. It has nothing to do with your crush on our surly sheriff?”
“I told you that in secret,” she said.
“I know and I haven’t told anyone. Do you regret sharing it with me?”
“Honestly? No. It felt good to tell someone. Besides, it seemed only fair since you had just told me your secret about your ex-fiancé.”
He shrugged. “It’s not really a secret, I suppose.”
Grace cleared her throat. “Then you wouldn’t be upset if I had told someone else?”
“It’s not a secret but that doesn’t mean I want to be the gossip of the town.”
“You’re not,” she said hurriedly. “I only told one person.”
“Who?” He asked.
“Kira Walker.”
He frowned in thought. “The name is familiar.”
“She’s a client,” Grace said. “Short and slender, long blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s Gideon’s baby sister.”
“Right. Still has her wisdom teeth, only one cavity.”
Gracie laughed. “Your ability to remember people by their teeth status is both weird and impressive.”
“Why did you tell her?” he asked.
“Because she has a problem similar to yours, and I think you can help each other. She’s in love with a guy named Daniel Moore. He’s a firefighter in town.”
“I know who he is,” Connor said. “He plays on the firefighter’s baseball team.”
“Kira’s been in love with him since high school, but he’s got her in the friend zone,” Grace said. “I promised her I would help her win his love and I need your help to keep that promise.”
“Mine.”
“Yes. I want you to fake date Kira to make Daniel jealous.”
“No.” He stood up to leave. “Good night, Grace. Make sure you set the alarm before you leave.”
“Connor, wait!” She stood and grabbed his arm. “Just hear me out.”
“I’m not getting involved in that drama,” he said.
“If you help Kira, she’ll help you,” Grace said quickly.
He stared at her. He felt like he should know what the hell his hygienist was talking about, but the answer danced just out of his reach.
“If you pretend to be her boyfriend, she’ll pretend to be your girlfriend at your cousin’s wedding. Your family won’t try and get you back together with Lisa if you have Kira with you.”
He wanted to tell her it was the stupidest idea he’d ever heard but he was getting desperate. Mandy’s wedding was a month away. If he didn’t take a date with him, he’d be forced to listen to his family extol Lisa’s virtues before pushing him into her arms. It would be awkward and uncomfortable, and he couldn’t even hope that Lisa had found someone new. His aunt sent him regular emails filled with family news. The email contained all the information about Lisa too. She was still single as well – a fact that thrilled his entire family and gave them all hope of a reunion.
They were deluded, he thought bitterly. Lisa would never want him back. Not when she couldn’t stand the failure he’d become or the way he’d ruined both their dreams.
“Connor?” Grace touched his arm and he gave her a blank look.
“What?”
“Will you meet with Kira? Just talk to her about it?”
He sighed and rubbed at his knee. It was throbbing like a bitch and he decided a run tonight wasn’t a good idea. “I’ll talk to her. Is she busy tonight?”
Grace shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I’ll text her. If she isn’t, I’ll tell her you’re going to drop by and then text you her address.”
“Okay,” he said.
Grace grinned at him. “Thanks, Connor.”
“Yeah. Hey, does this Daniel guy even have any interest in Kira?” he asked. “There’s no point in doing this if it isn’t going to make him jealous.”
“I think so but in the interest of full disclosure – I don’t know for certain. Daniel is a total flirt with every woman he sees, but he could secretly be into her and just isn’t making his move because he’s afraid of her brother.”
Connor raised his eyebrows. “So, I would have to deal with an overprotective brother who just happens to carry a gun? You’re not really selling this, Grace.”
“Gideon isn’t going to shoot you for dating Kira,” Grace said. “You know the firefighters and the sheriff’s department all have a rivalry/competition thing going on. Daniel probably isn’t afraid of Gideon, but he does dislike him, and he knows Gideon isn’t fond of him either. It might be why Daniel hasn’t made a move on Kira.”
“Then me dating her isn’t going to help,” Connor said.
“It might. Daniel is super competitive so if he does have a thing for Kira and she’s suddenly not available, it might spur him on to do something. If it doesn’t and Daniel isn’t jealous, then maybe Kira will finally realize he isn’t nearly good enough for her and give up on her silly -”
She stopped abruptly. “Forget I said that.”
“You don’t like Daniel?”
She sighed. “I don’t dislike him. I just don’t think he’s the right guy for Kira.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because she loves him,” Grace said, “and I love her and want her to be happy. She’s been obsessed with Daniel since she was fifteen. Besides, who am I to say who the right person is for someone, right?”
“What if it doesn’t work? What if we fake date for a couple of weeks and no signs of jealousy, then what? Kira,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “dumps me and I’m still on my own for my cousin’s wedding.”
“She’ll still go with you to your cousin’s wedding,” Grace said. “Just make that part of the agreement.”
He didn’t reply and she pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll text her now and see if you can drop by. This is a great solution for both your problems, Connor. I promise.”
Chapter Two
When the doorbell rang, Kira smoothed down her blonde hair and checked her reflection in the toaster. Not that it really mattered what she looked like. This wasn’t a first date for God’s sake.
She headed out of the kitchen and down the hallway. Two long windows flanked the front door and she could see one tanned arm and hand through the right one. Her dentist had big hands.
You know what they say about big hands.
She flushed and tossed that errant thought out of her head before opening the door. She smiled at the dark-haired man standing on her front porch.
“Hello, Dr. MacMillan.”
“Hello, Ms. Walker,” he said.
There was a moment of awkward silence and then she stepped back. “Call me Kira. Please, come in.”
He stepped into the house and she shut the door before squeezing past him. “Would you like something to drink? I have water, iced tea and soda. Or I can make coffee.”
“An iced tea would be fine,” he said.
As he followed her toward the kitchen, she wondered if he was checking out her ass in her yoga pants. She knew she didn’t have a great body. She was on the thin side and she secretly coveted Grace’s full curves. She scoffed inwardly. Who was she kidding? Forget Grace’s curves, she’d take Addison’s very respectable C-cup boobs if given the chance. She was barely a B-cup and her cleava
ge was thanks to the miracle invention of the century – the push-up bra.
Why she even thought her dentist would check out her ass was ridiculous. It was flat and –
Hey, Kira? Maybe you should stop thinking about your own damn tits and ass and get the man his iced tea.
Dr. MacMillan was hovering in the doorway of the kitchen while she stood blankly next to the fridge and she gave him an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. Have a seat and I’ll get that iced tea.”
“Thank you,” he said.
She poured them both a glass of iced tea and perched on the edge of the chair across from him. He drank some iced tea before saying, “It’s good. Thanks.”
“I like it a little on the sweet side,” she said. “My brother says it’s way too sweet and that I’ll rot my teeth right out of my head but I, um, I guess that’s why I go to see you, right? To keep my teeth from rotting out of my head when I eat too much sweet stuff?”
Kira! Enough!
She shut her mouth with a snap. Fuck, what was wrong with her? Why was she so damn nervous? Sure, Dr. MacMillan was handsome enough, but he wasn’t Daniel. She closed her eyes for a moment and conjured up an image of Daniel. It calmed her a little and she took a deep breath. Daniel’s blond hair and dark blue eyes were what she wanted.
Dr. MacMillan’s eyes might be blue, but they were so light, they were almost clear. She could see none of the warmth and humour in them that Daniel’s gaze had. In fact, her dentist was currently staring at her like she was some new and interesting species of bug he had discovered crawling up his leg.
She cleared her throat. “Sorry, I babble when I’m nervous.”
He took another drink of iced tea. “You have a nice home.”
“Thank you. It was my childhood home. It belongs to my brother now, but he didn’t want to live here. My parents died a few years ago and being in the house brought on too many sad memories for him. I love living here though. It makes me feel closer to my mom and dad, you know?”
She closed her mouth again. Holy shit, she was making the worst first impression ever.
“I’m sorry about your parents.” His voice was a low rasp, and the sound of it sent the weirdest shiver down her spine.
“Thank you,” she replied. “So, um, Grace said that we could help each other with our problems.”
He nodded. “Possibly.”
She waited and tried not to sigh with frustration when he didn’t say anything else. His silence was beginning to unnerve her. Daniel was chatty and always the life of the party. She could barely get a word in edgewise when she was with him and she loved that. She loved his bold brashness and the way he lit up a room when he walked into it.
Her dentist hardly made an impact. Hell, she’d met him how many times in his office and she had no impression of him at all. He was just a masked guy who came in and checked her teeth at the end of the cleaning.
“So, you need a date for your cousin’s wedding?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, “and you need a boyfriend to make Daniel Moore jealous.”
There was the slightest hint of derision in his voice and she immediately blushed. It was obvious that he thought she was an idiot.
“You know what? Never mind, Dr. MacMillan.” She stood and dumped her iced tea down the sink. “This isn’t going to work. I’ll show you out now.”
She stalked toward the front door. She could hear him behind her, but before she could open the door, he wrapped his long fingers around her wrist. The touch of his skin against hers made another one of those little shivers zip down her spinal cord. She froze and turned to stare up at him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m being an ass.”
“Yes, you are.”
He sighed and dropped her wrist before raking his hand through his dark hair. “I apologize. Also, if we’re going to fake date, you should call me Connor.”
“Why are you even here, Connor?” she asked. “It’s obvious you think this is a stupid idea.”
“It isn’t,” he said. “I’m just -”
He paused and rubbed at one temple. “What if this doesn’t work?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if us fake dating doesn’t make Daniel jealous? Will you still go with me to my cousin’s wedding? Still pretend to be my girlfriend?”
“Yes,” she said.
“What if it does work? Then what? You start dating Daniel and I’m headed to Willington alone.”
“Well, your cousin’s wedding is in a month, right?”
“Yes.”
“We don’t have to start fake dating right away. We can give it a couple of weeks and use that time to learn more about each other. It’s probably a good idea if we know more than each other’s names. It’ll be more believable if we know, uh, personal stuff about each other. That leaves only two weeks until your cousin’s wedding. I think it’ll take more than a couple weeks to make Daniel jealous,” she said.
“Do I have your word that you’ll attend the wedding with me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll be there, no matter what.”
Then we have an agreement,” Connor said. “You’ll pose as my girlfriend at my cousin’s wedding, and I’ll help you make Daniel seethe with jealousy and realize that you’re his soul mate.”
She gave him a dirty look. “You don’t have to make it sound so juvenile.”
He just shrugged and she reached for the front door. “Thank you. I’ll get your number from Grace and text you in the next few days about meeting to go over personal stuff.”
“There’s just one more thing,” Connor said.
“What?”
“This.” He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her forward. She made a decidedly stupid-sounding squeak when he bent his dark head and pressed his mouth against hers. She stood stock-still with her eyes wide and unblinking, as he slid his other arm around her waist and pulled her against his hard body.
When he sucked on her lower lip, a strange tingle went through her lower body and another small sound escaped her lips. This one, embarrassingly enough, sounded like a moan and she tried to step back. His hand tightened around her neck, holding her completely immobile. When his tongue slid across her upper lip, she heard another of those odd moan-like noises as her eyes drifted shut.
God, he smells so good, she thought bewilderedly as he tilted her head back. He kissed her again, his lips warm and weirdly persuasive, and it took her a minute to realize that she was returning his kiss.
Kira! Stop kissing your dentist!
It was solid advice, but her body was completely and blissfully betraying her. She pressed up against him and put her arms around his neck. He was so tall that it was a real stretch to do it, but she liked the way it forced her breasts against his chest.
His tongue licked the seam of her mouth. Her head whirling and her pussy suddenly throbbing, she parted her lips. He slid his tongue between them and tasted her with slow, long licks that made Kira shudder with pleasure. He tasted sweet like the iced tea he had been drinking. When she pushed her tongue into his mouth with a decided lack of finesse, he slid his fingers into her hair and tugged her back.
“Slow,” he whispered.
She blushed fiercely. For roughly a nanosecond, she thought about telling him to stop, but then his warm mouth returned to hers and he was urging her tongue back into his mouth with slow licks of his. She slowed down and mimicked the slow strokes of his tongue.
He groaned quietly. Other than his low whisper it was the first sound he had made since kissing her. It flamed the lust in her belly even higher. She had a feeling that the icy Dr. Connor MacMillan never lost control. The idea that kissing her could make that control slip, even a little, was deliciously intoxicating.
She arched her back and rubbed her abdomen against the hardness pressing into it. He was hard. He was hard for her, and that sent another flickering flame of excitement through her nerve endings. She rubbed her small breasts against him and wondered what
she could do to get him to touch them. Her nipples were almost painfully hard and poking against her bra. A sudden vision of Connor sucking on them brought on a gush of liquid that soaked the crotch of her panties.
He pulled away abruptly, and she would have fallen in a boneless heap to the floor if he hadn’t steadied her. She stared dumbly at him before reaching up and touching her trembling, swollen lips.
“Why-why did you do that?” she whispered.
“If we’re posing as boyfriend and girlfriend, it’s going to require some physical touching and kissing,” he said.
She felt like she’d been through the wringer, but he wasn’t even out of breath. If it hadn’t been for the way his dick still strained at the front of his pants, she would have thought he was completely unaffected by the kiss between them.
“O-only when we’re around other people.” She couldn’t seem to stop stuttering or touching her swollen mouth.
He gave her an impatient look. “It won’t look very realistic if we kiss each other like it’s the first time we’ve ever kissed. And I wanted to see if we had chemistry.”
“Do we?” she asked like an idiot.
A brief smile crossed his face and it sent a weird little tingle down the base of her spine. “Yes. I think so, anyway.”
She didn’t reply and he patted her on the shoulder like she was his sister. “That’s a good thing, Kira. It will make it appear more real.”
“Uh, right,” she said.
He studied her. “How many men have you kissed before?”
“Why?”
“You’re not,” he paused, “great at kissing.”
Her face was so red she was nearly sweating, and she gave him a furious look. “That’s a really rude thing to say.”
“No, just honest. We’ll need to practice some more.”
She wanted to tell him to take his idea of practice kissing and stuff it up his piehole, but strangely the thought of kissing him again wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Besides, as much as it was a blow to her ego, he probably had a point. She’d kissed two men before him and neither of them had provoked the type of reaction that her dentist’s kiss did.
Sweet Harmony (Harmony Falls, Book One) Page 2