LITMIR.BIZ

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the question remained: was this morning’s encounter going to end in anger, ambivalence or attempted seduction?

      Chaz was jogging up the sidewalk, looking determined, but he slowed to a walk when he got a good look at her. A confused frown tugged at his brow as he studied her, his gaze resting on her long brown hair, then traveling over her face. She knew the exact moment he recognized her, because his mouth opened in a quick, surprised inhalation, and his eyes widened in shock.

      “Lulu? Is that you?”

      She pasted a smile on her lips. “It sure is. Hi, Chaz!” She cursed herself for sounding giddy—and guilty. “Er, how are you doing? I guess you’re home from your trip?” She made sure to keep her voice pitched up a bit, wanting to sound as far from the throaty-voiced temptress of the night as possible.

      His long-legged strides brought him to within a few feet of her, and he stopped, staring into her face as if searching for something. Or someone?

       Don’t find her. Please don’t find her in me.

      “It’s really you?” he asked.

      “Yup.” She forced the brightest, most unconcerned smile she could manage. “I guess I turned up just like the proverbial bad penny.”

      “This is a surprise.”

      More like a shock, judging by his expression.

      “A nice one, I hope,” she said, just to needle him a little.

      “Sure. Definitely.”

      Deciding to remind him it had been partially his fault that they’d ended up neighbors, she said, “Oh, thanks bunches for putting me in touch with your Realtor. She was such a big help. She told me this was the best street in the city to live on.”

      She waved toward the building she’d just left, and Chaz glanced at it, then back at her.

      “You live here?”

      “Yes.”

      “Right here,” he clarified, tensing. “Three doors down from me?”

      “’Fraid so.”

      He continued to stare, and she shifted uncomfortably on her sneakered feet. She hadn’t expected Chaz to bring out the welcome wagon, but yeesh, he acted as if she’d contaminated his street.

      Finally she asked, “Do I have dirt on my face or something?”

      “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “When I first saw you, from behind, I thought you were somebody else. But of course, I was wrong.”

      “They say everybody has a double.”

      He slowly shook his head, and she’d swear disappointment had darkened his eyes. “No, it was just a mistake. She didn’t really look like you at all.”

      Huh. What was that supposed to mean? She felt as if she’d been judged and found lacking. What, exactly, did the green-faced witch have that she didn’t, aside from red hair and a mask?

      Oh. Right. An untainted history and a name other than Lulu Vandenberg. Even if she were a real redhead, and still had on the dumb mask, she suspected that Chaz would have worn that same expression of disappointment the moment he realized who she truly was.

      Shoving aside the sharp feeling of regret, she tried to appear chipper. “So, how’s your family?”

      “They seem fine. I talked to my dad this morning.” He chuckled. “Did you hear? We’re all being abandoned for Thanksgiving.”

      Her jaw dropped. “What?”

      “Yeah. My family usually meets up at my grandparents’ house down in Virginia for the holiday weekend.”

      “I remember.” That was one reason she hadn’t seen Chaz in so many years. He never came home for Thanksgiving, as his family was always traveling elsewhere. And it seemed the two of them had alternated Christmases for the past several years, never making a holiday trip home at the same time.

      “Well, apparently our parents—yours and mine—have decided to go on a couples cruise to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving weekend. They’re leaving the Tuesday before and will be gone for ten days.”

      “Nice of them to tell a person,” she said, indignant. Then mischief tickled her lips and she grinned. “You’d think they had a life other than us, or something.”

      “I know, right?” he replied, sounding just as indignant-yet-amused.

      Just to rile him up, she smirked. “I bet yours have already turned your room into a sex den like out of that Fifty Shades book.”

      He grimaced. “I know you opened your mouth and said something, but all I heard was mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah.”

      She couldn’t hold back a rumble of laughter. When they were kids, they’d all mimicked their parents—well, all adults—in just that way. Words might be coming out of a grown-up’s mouth, but all they’d heard was monotonous noise—like all kids, she supposed.

      Funny how the adult world existed so far apart from the kid one, neither believing the other was ever really aware of what was going on. Also funny that she was standing here with a man who’d shared so many years of that world with her.

      Yet gazing up at him, she saw nothing of the kid and every inch of the man.

      What a delicious-looking man. He was sexy by moonlight, but devastatingly attractive in the light of day. The sun gleamed in his blond hair, and brought out the matching glimmer of gold in his green eyes. Now, clad in sneakers instead of those deadly high-heels, she was reminded just how tall he was, towering over her by several inches. And the long-sleeved T-shirt emphasized those broad shoulders and his powerful chest.

      She’d have liked to say that quip about the naughty book hadn’t caused some seriously hawt images to invade her brain, but she’d have been lying. Frankly, she’d had those images in her head since she’d seen him pulling off that sheet last night at the bar, and just about every minute since.

      “So,” he said, “I guess that means I’m going to have to learn how to cook a turkey.”

      “I hear Stauffer’s does a pretty good job of that, and you get the stuffing and gravy right on top of it.”

      He sneered. “Frozen dinners for Thanksgiving? Forget it. How tough can it be?”

      “Just remember to take the insides out of the bird before you cook it.”

      He paled. “They come with insides?”

      “Pretty gross, huh?” Lulu had never been much of a cook, but she was pretty sure they did. “But yeah, I think so. And don’t worry, I’ll play dumb when my mom calls. I won’t let her know you spilled the beans.”

      “Admit it, you just want to torment her and make her feel guilty.”

      “Ha. I think I’ll call her and tell her I’m bringing home my new boyfriend for the holiday.”

      His smile remained, though she would swear it was a tiny bit tighter than before. She quickly thrust the impression away. Ridiculous to think Chaz would give a damn if she was dating anyone.

      “You’re seeing someone?”

      Okay. So he gave a damn. Interesting.

      She thought about implying she was but honestly didn’t want to play those kinds of games with Chaz. Last night was as much gaming as she cared to do with the man. Besides, intentionally making somebody jealous was more his sister’s style. “No. But I can’t come up with a better way to make her sweat.”

      “You’re an evil woman, Lulu Vandenberg,” he said, the tone admiring.

      “Diabolical, that’s me. How could you have forgotten?”

      “I haven’t. But evil looks a little better on you than it did when you were seven

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