Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,125

not look at him. If she looked at him, she might slap him or cry and she wanted to do neither.

"Do you?" Tom stepped closer to her and caught her arm to prevent her from leaving.

She pulled her arm from his grasp. "Yes, I think I do."

"I don’t think so." He towered over her. "I said you can’t hurt someone who doesn’t care about you, Lila."

She whirled on him, sudden fury rising in her like a tidal wave. "I heard what you said, Tom! I understand!"

The hands that had worshipped her flesh now gripped her tightly enough to hurt. Refusing to wince, Lila tried to pull free. Tom wouldn’t let her.

"You did hurt me." He moved his face closer to hers, and his voice almost became a growl. His eyes were inches from hers, and she could see flecks of gold glittering in the amber-green depths. It took Lila a moment to digest what he’d said. As the fight faded out of her, Tom let go of her arms. He rubbed his fingers up and down along where he’d gripped her to ease the sting.

"I do care." Tom paused as if to gather his courage. "Why did you come here?"

"To say I was sorry."

He pulled her to him and sought her mouth. She met his kiss eagerly. When he urged her lips to part, she did that, too. His hands crept up to tangle in her hair, and she didn’t protest. It was all she’d wanted him to do, since the first time she’d seen him. All she’d thought about.

"So now what?" Tom pulled away from her.

"I like being with you. Can we leave it at that for now?"

He shrugged. "If you insist."

Lila gently disentangled herself from his grasp. "I’ve got to get back. I have a thousand things to do this afternoon."

"When can I see you again?"

"You’ll see me tonight," she reminded. "We have a partnership meeting at the gallery. We’re supposed to be planning the gala opening."

Tom mock-slapped his forehead. "I forgot. I’ll be there."

They stared at each other in silence for a minute. Then Lila reached up to peck his cheek. Tom captured her shoulders and refused to release her until she had kissed him as passionately as before.

"I’d better go." Lila laughed again.

"I’ll see you tonight."

At the thought, her belly quivered. Tonight, indeed.

The rest of the day passed in a daze for Tom. He placed three incorrect orders for produce before Emma finally took over. Ordering him out of the kitchen, she grabbed the order book from his hands and shook her head.

"Boss, go put your flowers in a vase before they wilt," she ordered. "Better yet, go home and take a cold shower."

Only a niece who was practically like a younger sister could get away with telling him what to do. Tom didn’t care. Lila had brought him flowers. Nobody had ever brought him flowers, and though he knew his buddies would make unrepentant fun of him if they found out, it would mostly be out of jealousy. Nobody had ever brought them flowers either.

"You’re in a good mood." Jennifer paused to stuff a handful of menus into a drawer. Now that lunch was over, The Foxfire would be fairly quiet for a few hours until dinner. She and Tom had often spent the time talking.

Not today, though. Visions of dark curls and blue-ice eyes were filling Tom’s mind. Visions of Lila.

"I’m in a great mood." Tom punched the air.

Jennifer smiled flirtatiously. "How come?"

"No reason."

She must have caught the unspoken answer in his voice. She frowned, an expression that didn’t flatter her. As if realizing that, she made an obvious effort to smooth the lines of her face into a smile.

"Well, if you’re in a good mood, so am I," she cooed.

"Good. Then you won’t mind working the dinner shift tonight. I’ve got to get home early. I’ve got a date tonight."

It was a good thing he’d been out of range of her nails, he thought as he pushed through The Foxfire front doors. Otherwise, Jennifer might have given him a pretty bad scratch. He laughed about it on the way home, but realized how much had changed in the past few days. Even as short as a few months ago, he’d have returned Jen’s flirting without thinking twice. They’d never dated, though she and Wendi had sometimes ended up at the same local watering holes he’d used to frequent regularly. It hadn’t been hard to see that the hostess and the waitress would have