“Something smells good in here.”
Amy whirled. Dan stood in the doorway to the dining room, a lazy smile on his lips.
“What are you doing home so early?” The minute the words left her mouth Amy wished she could pull them back. She’d made it sound as if he was unwelcome when nothing could be further from the truth.
She always liked to have everything ready and in its place when he came home. But it was only four-thirty and she hadn’t expected him for at least an hour. The table wasn’t set and Emma was still down the block playing at a friend’s house.
“Now that’s a warm welcome.” Dan smiled and that familiar dimple in his left cheek appeared. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t want me.”
His gaze settled on her and she forced herself not to glance away. But it was hard. The intense look in his blue eyes sent a shiver up her spine. ‘Tell me something, Amy. Do you ever think of me when I’m not here?”
That same electricity charged the air and Amy moistened her dry lips. She shifted from one foot to the other, not knowing how to answer. This morning he’d looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.
This was another first. In all the years she’d worked for Dan, he’d never spoken to her like this before. There had always been a professional boundary that had never been crossed.
“Of course I think of you,” she finally managed to stammer.
He smiled and paused as if he expected her to elaborate.
What else could she say? She certainly wasn’t about to bare her soul and confess her desire for some skin-to-skin action. Not to mention that her heart had lodged itself in her throat, making speech impossible.
Thankfully Dan didn’t press her for more. Instead he crossed the room, flung his suit jacket over a chair and loosened his tie.
Amy could feel her cheeks warm. She turned back to the counter and scrubbed a nonexistent spot with her sponge.
He stopped directly behind her, so close she could smell the spicy scent of his cologne and feel the heat from his body.
She turned and he was right there. Just like this morning it struck her how big he was, how tall. How overwhelmingly male in every way.
Her heart picked up speed.
His gaze lazily appraised her and his eyes darkened. “You’re so beautiful.”
The compliment rolled from his lips like warm honey. At the end of a busy day, she didn't feel beautiful. The sprinkle of freckles and her 'girl-next-door' looks made her wholesome, rather than beautiful. Under his admiring gaze, for the first time in her twenty-eight years, Amy felt beautiful.
“Thank you.”
His lips quirked. “You’re very welcome.”
Could she be any worse at this flirting stuff? It didn’t seem possible.
She started to ask if his meeting had gotten canceled when he took another step forward and his body brushed hers. In that instant Amy forgot how to breathe, much less talk.
With the gentlest of touches, Dan slid his fingers into the warm silky mass at her nape, letting his thumbs graze the soft skin beneath her jaw.
Waves of chills and heat raced through Amy until she was nearly dizzy. He was going to kiss her; she could see it in his eyes. She tossed the sponge to the counter without shifting her gaze from him.
His lips lowered and she let her eyelids drift shut, anticipation coursing through her...
The front door slammed shut.
Amy jumped as if she’d been shot. Panic raced through her. Emma couldn’t find the two of them together. She raised a hand to push Dan away and found only air.
Her gaze darted around the room and after a long second it finally sank in...she was alone. There’d been no Dan and no almost-kiss. Heat rose up her neck. She’d had vivid daydreams before, but never with Dan as the star player.
“Amy, I’m home.” Emma’s childish voice rang out from the foyer.
“In the kitchen,” Amy called back. She rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand. Though it had been only a dream, her lips still tingled.
“Is it ’bout time for dinner?” The petite six-year- old bounded into the kitchen, a streak of dirt on her cheek and a grass stain on one knee. “I’m hungry.” Amy couldn’t help but smile. Dan often joked that the little girl’s stomach was a bottomless pit. Emma could eat and five minutes later be hungry. “Once your father gets home, we’ll have dinner, He shouldn’t be too late.”
Amy opened her arms and the girl ran to her. When Amy had been Emma’s age, hugs had been in short supply. She’d vowed when she had children, she’d make sure they knew they were loved.
Amy couldn’t imagine anything better than having a family of her own—a husband to love, a child to cherish.
Her arms tightened around Emma. One day she’d be a mother. For now, she had Emma to love.
Emma laid her head against Amy’s chest. “I love you.”
Tears sprang to Amy’s eyes at the child’s sincerity. “I love you, too, pumpkin.”
Yes, for now this would most definitely do.
Chapter Two
Out of the corner of his eye, Dan Major saw a stylish young woman across the bar and realized he knew her. He smiled and she waved.
“Another Dan fan?” Jake Stanley’s lips curved upward. “How in the world do you do it?”
“Stuff it, Jake.” Dan grabbed some peanuts from the basket in the center of the table and popped them in his mouth.
Seeing old girlfriends only reinforced why Dan found it hard to date. He liked the companionship but women always seemed to want more. Bree was a perfect example. Though she’d professed to being devoted to a singles’ lifestyle, after a couple of months, she’d changed her tune.
Dan sighed and glanced around the bar. Although it was only Thursday night, the place was crowded with women from nearby businesses. He suspected that was why Jake had insisted on coming to this bar.
Looking for love in all the wrong places...
For some reason the words to the vintage song popped into Dan’s head. The lyrics didn’t fit his life. The last thing Dan was looking for tonight, or any other night, was love.
Jake shot Dan a speculative gaze. “Speaking of Dan fans, how’s it going with Miranda?”
“Her name is Melinda.” Dan kept his tone deliberately offhand. “We’re not seeing each other anymore.”
“Let me guess.” Jake lifted a finger to his lips and pretended to think. “You broke up with her.”
Dan grabbed another handful of peanuts, strangely irritated by the knowing look in his friend’s eyes. “What does it matter who decided to end it? The point is it wasn’t working.”
“It wasn’t working because she wanted more than sex,” Jake said conversationally, resting his arms on the table. “Things heat up, you back off.”
“You don’t know squat.” Dan’s tone was sharper than he’d intended but it had been hard losing Melinda. Just like Bree, she was a nice woman and he’d enjoyed her company. But he refused to promise more than he could deliver.
Jake placed his drink on the table and lifted his hands. “Whoa, buddy. I wasn’t saying there was anything wrong with playing the field—”
Dan ignored the envious look in his friend’s eye. The truth was Dan didn’t like being on the dating merry-go-round. The longer he was with a woman, the more they seemed to want, the more they seemed to need. He’d yet to find a woman who was content to keep it casual. “I made it clear from the very beginning that I didn’t want to get married again. Why is that so hard for women to understand?”