Nate is a S&R worker and that kiss was for charity.” Though that kiss hadn’t been charitable, not at all—or what came next. I shook off those thoughts. It was a one and done, and if maybe I felt some kind of way about waking up in bed alone after the best sex of my whole entire life, well, that was my business and nobody else’s.
“Looked like a hell of a lot more than charity,” she offered with another amused laugh.
“I’m taking care of myself and my business right now, Rocky. What about you, any men in your life?” I browsed the contents of my empty fridge while she spoke, cursing Nate for my lack of food. If he hadn’t just up and left, I wouldn’t be avoiding him. Redheaded jerk.
She snorted and I could picture her shaking her head, thick waves tumbling over her shoulders as she did so. “Several boys and none at all worth mentioning, I’m afraid.” That sounded about right because, for all her beauty and personality, Rocky didn’t seem to take the opposite sex too seriously—a trait I admired. And envied. “But I do have a date with one tonight, so I’d best get going.”
“All right, thanks for checking on me. Have fun tonight.”
“I’ll do my best, but he plays football so no guarantees.”
I laughed and sent my love before ending the call, casting one last derisive look at my empty fridge. If I wanted to eat tonight, and I did, I would have to either go out or have something delivered. Or I could just wait until morning. But the growling sounds coming from my stomach served as a necessary reminder that I’d already skipped lunch and was in dire need of sustenance. “Okay, fine, I’ll order a pizza.”
And tomorrow, the shop didn’t open until after lunch, which meant I could make an early morning run to the market here in town. Or I could head over to Edgerton’s twenty-four-hour supermarket. Which, I had to admit, sounded ridiculous. There was no reason to avoid Nate.
I mean, sure, he banged my brains out and then vanished like a ghost in the mist, but that was all right. It’s not like I was expecting forever from him, just a little bit of human kindness. Apparently, even that was too much, but there was no harm which meant no foul. If he could act like it didn’t happen, so could I.
That’s what I told myself, but the minute I stepped into the shower as it slowly filled with steam, my mind went to that night just over a month ago—when Nate had looked at me like I was a desirable woman, not just a means to an end. The heat in his green eyes and the way his jaw clenched beneath that burnt sunset beard as he fought to maintain control of himself. Every dang time I stepped into this shower, I thought of him, standing behind me with those big hands sliding up and down my body, his mouth raining kisses along my neck and shoulders, down my back.
Nate Callahan may be a jerk and a womanizer, but damn, the man knew how to make a woman feel good. Really good. And that night had been the best I’d felt, physically, in a long damn time. He kissed like a dream and made love like a pro, which made that night impossible to forget. And even more impossible not to think of him whenever I took a shower. Or made a sandwich. Or watched TV. Or…
The sound of the doorbell, thankfully, interrupted musings that couldn’t possibly go anywhere. Ever.
Stepping from the shower, I dried off as quickly as I could, hoping the impatience of the teenage delivery boy wouldn’t cost me tonight’s dinner. “Coming,” I yelled as I wrapped my favorite kimono robe around my body and flew down the stairs.
“Nate,” I sighed, pulling the front door open. “What are you doing here?”
Nate
Damn meddling old matchmakers, that’s what I was doing here, but there was no way in hell I’d tell her that. “That happy to see me, huh Mikki?”
She didn’t look happy, but she did look gorgeous with her face scrubbed clean of makeup, showing off smooth olive-toned skin and wet hair that clung to her body the way I suddenly wanted to.
Mikki stood up taller and gripped the doorknob in her hand, notching her chin up as her gaze slowly met mine. Her face was carefully devoid of emotion. “I was expecting someone else.