The Trouble With Angels Page 0,31

he volunteered, as if the backpack were so heavy, it required someone with great physical strength to lift it.

He climbed out of the car, and Maureen fiddled with her house keys while he opened up the trunk and brought out the lightweight bag.

Maureen gave him a sideways look. "This is another underhanded trick in what is fast becoming a long line."

"Would you have gone to dinner with me without the girls?" he asked under his breath.

"No," she admitted readily.

"My point exactly. You would have sent me off on a lonely ride back to the valley without so much as a cup of coffee. What's a man to do?"

Maureen smiled despite herself. She really had enjoyed herself, more than any time she could remember in a long while. It felt good to laugh again. Good to hear Karen laugh.

"All right." She relented with poor grace. "I'll brew you a cup of coffee."

"That's better." Thom gave her one of his bone-melting smiles and followed her to the front door. The girls were practically dancing with excitement over the prospect of spending the entire night in one another's company.

Karen and Paula disappeared inside Karen's bedroom an instant after Maureen unlocked the front door. For the first time that evening, she found herself alone with Thom. Without the girls as a buffer, she was more aware of him as a man, more aware of herself as a woman.

"I'll make you that cup of coffee," she said, brushing her open palms together. "If you'd like to wait here, I'll have it out in a jiffy."

"I'll help." He followed her to the kitchen.

Maureen felt like a insect beneath a microscope, the way Thom's eyes followed her every move. She brought out the coffee grounds and added them to the filter.

"Would you kindly stop?" she demanded when she could stand it no longer.

"What am I doing that's so terrible?"

"You're staring at me."

"Is that a crime?"

"Yes."

"You know, when you smile and your face relaxes, you're an attractive woman. You should do it more often."

Maureen wasn't fishing for compliments, backhanded or otherwise. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I don't want any part of it."

"Game?"

"Yes, game." Her hand trembled as she filled up the glass pot with water and poured all of it into the coffeepot dispenser. "If you have the sudden urge to date again, I advise you to look elsewhere for companionship. I'm not interested."

It disconcerted her to have him laugh just then, a low, rumbling sound, as if her words amused him.

"Is that so funny?" she demanded. She took down a mug. It slammed against the counter with a bang, much louder than she'd intended.

"What's so funny? You, Maureen Woods. You claim you don't want to see me again, and we both know that's a lie." Truth flashed in his eyes like a distant light.

"You're so sure of yourself," she managed finally, her pride rescuing her. "You men are all alike, you think that - "

"Are you saying you don't want to see me again?"

Maureen was fast learning that Thom Nichols didn't ask questions unless he was damn sure of the answers. She could deny it, tell a bold-faced lie, but he'd know exactly what it was, and so would she.

This was what made dealing with this man so impossible. She couldn't hide from Thom behind insults. He saw through her fears. He saw through her pain. He recognized the truth as if it had been tattooed across her forehead.

"Aren't you going to answer the question?" he asked. His tone was gentle. Her heart melted a little then, knowing he could have mocked her and didn't.

"No."

He smiled broadly, apparently encouraged by her lack of response. Joining her at the kitchen counter, he lifted her hand and placed it on his shoulder. He felt solid and real beneath her fingertips. Then he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. The kiss was slow and gentle and at the same time the most erotic one she'd ever experienced. It had been so long since she had been kissed. Really kissed. That was it, she told herself. Not the man, but the fact it had been years since a man had taken her in his arms.

When he broke away Maureen was shaking so badly she needed to sit down. Apparently Thom felt much the same way, because he claimed the seat next to her.

She noticed his breath was ragged. Neither of them spoke. For her part, Maureen couldn't. At that moment she was incapable