soon." Rivka pressed affectionate kisses to her sister’s cheek and Tom’s. "Can’t thank you enough, Tom."
Before Lila knew it, the table had cleared and she sat alone with Tom. She glanced at her watch. Martin was right. It was getting late. Not only had their group left, but most of the restaurant had cleared out as well. The staff had already begun putting some of the chairs up on top of the tables in preparation for closing. "I guess I’d better go, too." Lila didn’t move.
"I’ve been thinking about you all week." Tom’s voice was so low it was almost as though he didn’t want her to hear.
The sweet spot between her legs pulsed, once, twice. "You could’ve called."
"You didn’t give me your number." His voice was quiet, but his eyes were hazel fire.
Her fingers itched to smooth the errant lock of dark hair away from his forehead. His gaze felt heavy upon her mouth. When she licked her lips, the brief tightening of his jaw showed he had been watching her lips.
"Lila, I know I’m not your type of guy. I know we both got off on the wrong foot, but I like you. I’d like to try again. If I wear a bag on my head, do you think you can stand to be seen with me?"
His utterly incongruous statement forced a startled laugh from her. Once out, another joined it, until she had to hold her sides from the force of her mirth. Tom laughed with her, their mingled chortles ringing through the nearly empty room. An oversexed blonde stopped to stare at them with narrowed eyes, but the rest of the staff ignored them.
"Do you want me to call you a cab?" His eyes caressed her mouth, and she licked her lips again just to watch his gaze darken.
"I don’t live very far. How about you walk me home instead?"
He reached for her hand and, for one breathless moment, she thought he meant to kiss it. Instead, he used the grasp to pull her to her feet. With no more than a few inches between them, his presence surrounded her like a cloak.
"Only if you promise to invite me in," he said.
"I think I can manage that." Anticipation made her entire body tingle. "I’m ready."
And this time, she wasn’t lying.
Tom slapped freezing hands against his sides. "When I promised to walk you home, I had no idea you lived so far away."
Lila laughed. She had a truly lovely laugh, deep, infectious and achingly sexy. Hearing it made him want to sweep her into his arms and kiss the breath out of her…but he held back. Like a long-simmering sauce, there were some things that tasted better the longer you had to wait for them.
Lila patted her stomach. "After that meal, I had to have a long walk. Besides, one more block and we’re there."
In the light of the streetlamps, her eyes looked as blue and clear as a spring-fed stream. Her nose had reddened with the cold, as had her cheeks. Her hair had tousled in the breeze and tangled about her face in dark tumble he wanted to straighten with his fingers. It would feel like silk. Feel like silk and smell like heaven.
"You’re staring." Unlike the last time she’d accused him of it, Lila didn’t look upset.
"I can’t help it."
She nodded and smiled, and that tempting pink tongue slipped out to glide along her lower lip again. His groin tightened in response. She pointed to a narrow Victorian house to their left. A solitary light burned in a lower window. As they approached, the porch light also flickered to life.
"That’s mine. I have the light on a timer."
He followed her up the front steps, and when she turned to say something, Tom gathered her into his arms and did what he’d wanted to ever since the night of Rivka’s show. He kissed her. She stood stiffly in his arms at first, and his first thought was that he’d made another mistake. Then she eased into his embrace like sliding between a set of flannel sheets, and he knew it was all right.
She tasted like cold air with a hint of the spicy sauce she’d had on her pasta. Her lips were soft and warm against his; her tongue a sweet surprise when he urged her mouth open with his own. She twined her fingers in his hair and tickled the sensitive spot at the nape of his neck.
She pressed into his embrace. The bulky