LITMIR.BIZ

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they’d run and jump from the top, landing in a cushion of musty-smelling leaves, delighted. That seemed like another lifetime. Had she really ever had those experiences, or had she just dreamed them?

      Shaking off the memories, swallowing the knot in her throat, she grabbed a wool skirt the color of ripe apricots and tugged a white chenille, V-neck sweater over her head. There. She wasn’t going to change again, or even look in the mirror, for that matter. She was comfortable, and she’d go with that.

      No sooner had she applied her lipstick than the bell rang. She was annoyed at how nervous she was. Her pulse picked up as she approached the door.

      Well, maybe she had a right to a few nerves. She was a confident woman, but it wasn’t every day that some younger, handsome man was showing up at her door. A man who looked at her with such wicked intentions that she felt like a girl again. She took a deep breath. This was stupid. It was only Nathan, for God’s sake.

      When she opened the door, her nerves plus a thousand screaming hormones went on alert causing her to go mute. Decked out in dark-gray wool pants and a blue silk shirt, polished from head to toe, Nathan was flat-out gorgeous.

      “Maddon’.” She lifted her hands to her lips, unsure if she had whispered the familiar Italian epithet or thought it. But, no, she had spoken. Words tumbled from her lips, and they weren’t the ideal words she would have chosen, but the brain-mouth connection had obviously broken down completely.

      “You’re all dressed up. You look amazing. I’m way underdressed. I thought we said we’d do something casual.”

      “This is casual, and you look amazing, too.” He took a step forward, his gaze moving over her so intently she forgot to step back and suddenly they were closer than they’d ever been. She wondered if they’d make it out of the apartment.

      “Let me just change this sweater.”

      She started to turn, feeling like an idiot for needing to escape. Then suddenly she found her hand captured by Nathan’s. The next thing she knew, he’d tugged her back against him, so they stood fully flush against each other, her back to his front. She thought she’d stopped breathing, except that she was surrounded by his scent, and he smelled fabulous.

      His cheek brushed her hair, and his mouth was by her ear. “You don’t need to change. You’re beautiful.” His lips graced her earlobe and she thought her knees were going to buckle. “You’re perfect, Jen.”

      Although she could hardly think, the one thought that surfaced was that she wished it had been her real name that fell from Nathan’s sexy lips. Maria, not Jen.

      She pulled away, simultaneously aching and panicked at the thought. She could never afford to think that way. Jen was her real name. There was no other. Why was her mind torturing her this way, tonight of all nights? She felt oversensitized as if every nerve ending were exposed. She didn’t understand why he had such a strong effect on her. It wasn’t as if she were some quivering virgin. It wasn’t as if he were the first man to touch her, or look at her that way. Yet he felt like the first one—suddenly she couldn’t remember any of the others—and that set off danger signals deep inside. She laughed nervously, pushing her hand through her hair.

      “You move fast, I’ll give you that.”

      He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking abashed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push. You do look perfect. I wanted you to know I meant it. You always look great. Tonight you’re glowing.”

      He smiled and was transformed from charming to devastating. Was this really Nathan from the office, whom she’d resisted for so long?

      He wanted her to believe that he thought she was beautiful? Hell, she felt like the cherry on top of a sundae when Nathan looked at her. Ripe, delicious and as if he was about to pop her into his mouth, whole.

      Heat traveled up into her face at the image, and she tried to think of something to say.

      “You may want a coat, though. We’ll be on the water, and the air could be chilly.”

      “Okay. I’ll just be a minute, then.” She excused herself so that she could get a coat, though she was feeling so warm she wasn’t sure she’d really need it. For the first time in years, she said a short prayer as put on her coat, asking that she could get through this evening without making an idiot of herself any more than she probably already had.

      She walked back into the hall, stopping short, startled to find Nathan wasn’t there. She heard movement in the other room, what sounded like a drawer opening and shutting, and headed in that direction—what was he up to?

      She found him rearranging some flower vases by the window over her desk, and studied him for a moment before querying.

      “What are you doing?” Her tone was sharper than she intended. She didn’t say anything else, waiting for his response. He turned, smiling in an embarrassed manner at being caught—caught at what, though?

      “Sorry, Jen. I noticed you had these on the table in the hallway. They don’t get enough light there, so I just moved them near the window. The blossoms will last longer that way.”

      “Oh.” She wasn’t quite sure what else to say, flustered by her first, defensive instinct at anyone touching her things, rummaging around her apartment. It was only Nathan. Still, she thought she’d heard a drawer opening. It must have been him moving the flowers.

      She was so rattled, she couldn’t be sure what she was hearing. She’d lived a careful life, protecting her privacy for so long, that she didn’t know if she could ever trust anyone completely. That well-worn reasoning, however, didn’t stop her from feeling ridiculous.

      “Are you ready? We have reservations for seven.”

      She nodded, turning to the door first, though every gut instinct she had told her to wait until he walked out in front of her—why was she being so antsy? She tried to shake it off again, brightening her voice. She was going out with a handsome, younger man for a night on the town. She was just nervous about it, and that was all. She needed to relax.

      “On the water? Where are we going?”

      “I chartered a private dinner boat—we’ll have a four-hour cruise around the Bay. Dinner is provided, we just have to sit back and get to know each other a little better, I hope.”

      “Ian must be paying you better than the rest of us.”

      He just laughed, and didn’t elaborate. She was touched that Nathan was going all out to impress her—he was really pulling out the stops. Whatever he hoped could come of this probably wasn’t going to happen.

      It was the probably that bothered her—making room for doubt—not so long ago it would have been definitely.

      He knew how to get under her skin, though it wasn’t an entirely uncomfortable feeling. He stopped on the sidewalk halfway to the car, turning her to him, placing his hands lightly on her shoulders.

      “Listen, we’re just going to have a nice time. No expectations, so relax. I just wanted to do something special for you.”

      “You do things all the time, the flowers, now this…”

      “I do it because I want to, not because I’m trying to pressure you. There is no pressure, okay?”

      She felt the knot in her chest loosen a little, and she smiled up at him; his irises were dark in the dusky light of the evening. He stepped a little closer, and she swallowed, feeling her breath come a little faster. Her tongue darted out to moisten dried lips, and he groaned a little.

      “I know it’s more traditional for the kiss to happen at the end of the date. Let’s just get that particular pressure out of the way now, you think?”

      She found herself nodding, not entirely of her own volition, though she didn’t have much time to think about it. His mouth met hers. It was a gentle first kiss, an introduction, a question and a promise of what might come later. It startled her to realize, when he pulled back, that

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