And Then He Kissed Me (5 page)

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Authors: Teresa Southwick

BOOK: And Then He Kissed Me
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“I'm saving a spot for the companion—When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade. You're stronger for having gone through what you did. A weaker man would have curled up and turned his back on women. But you didn't do that.”
“No?” Then why did he feel so reluctant to commit? It sure as hell reinforced his conviction to stay a bachelor.
“No. The experience made you the man you are today—sensitive, caring, loyal, supportive and strong.”
“Strong like a bull,” he said, raising his arm and flexing his biceps.
She laughed. “That's my point. You never lose your sense of humor. So you see, Nick,
she
might have been young and stupid, but not you.”
Nick blinked once, then grinned. Abby made him feel ten feet tall. He wasn't sure why he'd told her this deep, dark ancient history. Maybe because she'd been
through hell, and he knew she would understand. Maybe because he wanted to show her that she wasn't alone, that he'd been kicked in the butt, too. Despite what she thought, his life was far from perfect. Whatever the reason, when the words were out, he'd expected teasing and jokes. Instead, her solid, unwavering support made him feel better.
“Thanks for listening, Ab.”
“You're welcome,” she said, a soft smile teasing the corners of her full mouth.
He'd brought her to dinner, not expecting the evening to be anything out of the ordinary. Boy was he wrong. The problem was, now he was having trouble taking his eyes from her lips, and thinking about how soft they looked.
But this night was not supposed to be about him. It was her celebration. “Enough about serious stuff. I promised to teach you how to relax and have fun.”
His sudden grin, so attractive and sexy as sin, made Abby thank the gods that she was sitting down. It disarmed her so instantly and thoroughly that she realized she was way out of her league.
He continued to smile at her, and the wattage in his expression energized the butterflies in her stomach. It was impossible to think straight or function efficiently when he looked at her like that. Thank goodness he didn't do it much, and she didn't see him often at work. She would have been canned a long time ago. Which was as fine a reason as any to keep their relationship status quo.
She laughed and hoped he didn't notice it was just this side of shaky. “Yes, you did promise to teach me about fun. And you're a wonderful instructor. I've had such a good time tonight. I can't remember when I've
been so relaxed.” She was babbling, and couldn't seem to stop. “What more could there possibly be to learn?”
He stood up. “May I have this dance?”
“Dance?” That shocked her into semi-muteness. Doggone him. Every time she barely got her boat on a straight and narrow course, he rocked it.
“Yes, dance. Is there a problem?”
She shook her head. “It's just that this is a sort of retrospective celebration. I thought you were talking about a less mature and sophisticated kind of fun.”
“Like what?”
“I don't know. Water balloons from the balcony. Shaving cream on the windows. Toilet paper the parking attendant. That kind of fun.”
“I take it you never did that stuff.”
“No. Did you?”
“I refuse to answer on the grounds that I'm the boss.”
“I'll take that as a yes.”
The band started a ballad. “C'mon, pal. Let's boogie. Unless you're afraid to have too much fun.”
He held out his hand, and Abby knew she couldn't refuse without an explanation. The only one she had, she wasn't about to share with him. She put her fingers in his palm. “If you step on my toes, class is dismissed,” she mumbled.
“Don't fret, Ab. I promise you'll enjoy this lesson.” His voice, as deep and smooth and seductive as expensive brandy, made her skin warm from head to toe.
Dancing with Nick was a bad idea.
He led her onto the floor where several other couples were gliding in time to the music. Facing her, Nick put his hand on her waist, pulling her close to his muscular length. The fragrance of his aftershave was wonderful,
masculine and just plain wow. The next thing she knew, she had a weird nervous sort of feeling in her stomach.
Then he gripped her hand and started to move in the steps of a waltz. Abby put her hand on his shoulder. It was either that, or let her arm dangle at her side, which would surely earn her some curious stares. Nick held her loosely, but as they circled the floor, their bodies bumped and brushed, sending sparks through her. As more couples joined them, and the area grew crowded, Nick tightened his hold on her, keeping her next to his solid strength. He sort of hunched forward, as if he was surrounding her, protecting her. They were pressed close from chest to knee and Abby could hardly breathe.
She wished she could stay like this forever.
She was lulled by the music, the atmosphere. Seduced by wine and song. Not to mention the man every other woman in the room kept staring at. And he was Abby's.
No
.
Not hers. Just her escort. Her friend. Her boss. She sighed. This was too complicated. She longed for the serenity of work. She wouldn't venture out of her comfort zone again.
Then she remembered Sarah's party. She would have to venture out for that. Or rather let Nick in. Just once more. Then back to her ironclad rule.
A few weeks from now, her commitments involving Nick Marchetti would be over and done with. End of fairy tale. Cinderella could go back to her corner without her happy ending. Life could get back to normal. Just the way she liked it.
So why did the thought of that make her so sad?
 
 
“How do you think it's going?” Abby asked.
Nick looked down at her, nervously twisting her fingers together as she watched the teenage party in her apartment. He stood beside her on the patio, monitoring the group through the sliding glass door. In her blue jeans and white sweater, she hardly looked older than the kids.
A vision flashed through his mind, of her in that sexy black dress when he'd wined and dined her. He hadn't planned to blurt out his secret, and ever since had analyzed why he'd done it. Maybe he'd just needed to finally unburden himself, and she'd been handy. Or more likely it was the fact that she'd been knocked around by life and his gut told him she would understand. Whatever. He hadn't expected the night to be anything special, but he'd told her something no one in his family knew. Her bracing words had meant a lot to him.
And as if that weren't enough, he'd seen her in a way he never had before. More than once since then, the seductive image of her in that dynamite dress had skewed his train of thought. Usually at the most inconvenient time. Or he'd get a whiff of perfume that would instantly produce a mental picture of Abby—from her sweet smile that reminded him of her innocence and made him want to protect her, to her wicked grin that made him just want her.
That night, Abby had opened up to him, too. She'd reminded him how gutsy she was, telling him a little more about her past. Like the difficulties of being a single parent to Sarah. What it had cost her to do the right thing. He found he was glad to have Abby in his life. He'd never thought about it before, but she'd come
into his life right after his fiasco in Phoenix, when he'd sworn off women. Something about her had gotten to him. But he'd seen her as hardly more than a child who needed help. Now she was a woman. Was she ever!
He stifled that thought. He valued her friendship. He admired her courage, as well as her determination to give her sister the carefree life she'd lost when her parents had died.
As his thoughts turned to Sarah, he looked for her inside. A blond, blue-eyed younger version of Abby, she was huddled in the kitchen, whispering with three girls. Several guys sprawled on the couches in the apartment's tiny living room. In all, he'd counted ten teenagers, six boys and four girls. Abby had asked him how he thought the party was going. He felt
party
was too strong a word for the activity he saw.
But he said confidently, “I think it's going fine.”
Abby met his gaze and her forehead wrinkled with worry. “You're right,” she wailed. “It's a disaster. Girls in the kitchen, guys in the living room. A sweetsixteen extravaganza she'll never forget,” she said.
“It's not that bad. At least we can see them all.” He quickly counted heads. “Except the pushy little twerp who's on the phone in your bedroom.”
“Yeah. James. If he's on the phone to Japan, his mother and I are going to have a dialogue.”
“He's not the one Sarah has a crush on, I hope?”
She shook her head. “See the cute guy on the end of the couch closest to the TV? The one with the adorable dimple in his chin?”
“I have no frame of reference for ‘cute' and ‘adorable,' but I believe I know who you mean.”
“That's Austin Reese. He's the one she'd like to be
her main squeeze, or whatever terminology they're using now for a significant other.”
“I believe the term is ‘going out.' What do you know about him?”
“He's an honors student and captain of the football team.”
“Is that all? Maybe I should have Steve run a background check.” Steve Schafer was his best friend and his younger sister's husband. Nick knew he would be happy to help. It was his business, and he made a good living doing executive background checks for major corporations. A teenage honors student should be a piece of cake.
“I don't think that will be necessary.” She frowned. “I'm more concerned about getting through tonight without breaking her heart. She's been looking forward to this party for so long. She'll be devastated if it's a flop.”
Abby put her hand on his arm, an uncharacteristically familiar gesture. Probably a testament to how anxious she was. Abby never forgot herself. Even when she'd been in his arms dancing, he'd felt her struggle to maintain distance. Something between them simmered below the surface and she kept throwing ice cubes on it. Although his head warned him away, her reluctance tweaked his desire to explore the feeling. But not now. This was Sarah's night, and it was dying a slow death.
“It's time to bring out the big guns, Ab.”
“No kissing, Nick.”
“Who said anything about spin the bottle?” He opened the screen door and stepped into the living room. The teenagers hardly noticed. Godawful music blared from Sarah's new CD player.
Nick crossed the space to the corner of the dining room where he'd left his ultimate weapon. He pulled the cardboard-boxed game from the bag.
“What's that?” Sarah asked.
“Twister,” he answered. He walked over to the couch and tapped Austin on the shoulder. “Help me move this sofa out of the way.” He pointed to the two teenage boys on the other couch. “You guys push that back, and the rest of you shove the coffee table in the corner.”
A low-pitched grumbling started, but the kids followed his directions until the center of the room was empty. The game was nothing more than a plastic sheet containing four rows of different-colored circles and a spinner with corresponding colors that directed the participants where to put their hands and feet. The object of the game was to see how far and in what positions the players could contort their bodies before collapsing. Last one standing was the winner.
“Who's first?” Nick looked around the room and noted a general reluctance. This was unacceptable. He hadn't sat through hours of motivational business seminars for nothing, he thought grimly.
“If I don't get volunteers, I'll appoint someone.” Still no takers. “Okay. Sarah. Austin. You're up.”
Sarah's eyes widened. “Nick, I—”
“Let's go for it,” the cute, adorably dimpled object of her affection said.
Austin Reese might just pass one of Steve's background checks after all, Nick thought approvingly. The two teenagers took off their shoes and stood on opposite sides of the mat while the rest of the group encircled them.
Nick hollered down the hallway. “James? Get in here! This is a party.”
When the sandy-haired teen sheepishly materialized, Nick handed him the spinner. “Twirl the arrow. Wherever it stops, read the color and words. Think you can handle that?”
“No problem,” the boy said.
“Good.” He looked around. “Go,” he said.
James did as he was told, then called out, “Right hand green.”
Sarah and Austin bent to follow the directive. The next move was left foot red. They struggled to position themselves and started laughing. The other kids closed in around them and started calling out strategy.
Nick moved back to Abby, who was standing just inside the sliding glass door. The teenagers quickly got into the spirit of the game. When Austin fell, Sarah was the winner and another boy and girl clamored to play.

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