me every single night. I’m good in bed.”
“Are you?”
“I sleep like the dead, eight straight hours every night.”
“That isn’t what I meant.” She pointed at him through her hoodie pocket. “You are enjoying this.”
“I haven’t gotten laid in a long time. I would come from a foot rub, I swear. Yes, I’m enjoying flirting with you. I’m a little out of practice, though. How am I doing?”
“Not bad. I’m enjoying this, too, and that’s usually a good sign, right?”
“Definitely. Great sign.”
“So...” she said, standing up and facing him. Her hands were still stuffed deep in her pockets. He knew she was thirty but with her hair in the ponytail and wearing jeans and a hoodie, she looked younger, fresh-faced and innocent almost. Or maybe it was the nervousness and the embarrassment that made her look so young. It was endearing, whatever the cause. He wanted to kiss her very much.
“So. You want to do this?” he asked.
“Tell me what ‘this’ is and I’ll tell you if I want to do it.”
“You need a boyfriend to shut your family up on Thanksgiving. I’d be happy to play that part. But I’d like to get to know you better first so it doesn’t feel like we’re faking it. If I could choose, I’d go home with you tonight.”
“You want to sleep with me tonight? This night? Sunday night?”
“This very night,” he said. “I also agreed to fix your deck at 8:00 a.m. and if I’m already there I can sleep later.”
“Now I know why Ruthie punches you in the arm all the time.”
He braced himself for an arm punch. Instead Clover rested her forehead on his shoulder and laughed softly. After two seconds her head was still there. He put one arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer to him. She didn’t seem to mind that one bit so he wrapped his foot around her leg and pulled her even closer...
“Your shampoo smells good,” he said. “Lemons?”
“That’s not my hair. That’s my office,” she said, pointing up at the tree. “But you smell good.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“You smell like sweat and cedar. It’s nice.”
“We’re like a couple of dogs sniffing each other,” he said. “If this continues, my nose is going to end up in your crotch.”
He felt her shaking with laughter against him. He heard the laughter, too, but that was normal. Feeling a woman laughing against him...it had been a long time since he’d felt that.
“Clover?”
“Yes?” She lifted her head and met his eyes. Their faces were only inches apart.
“How about I kiss you? And after I kiss you, then you can tell me where you think I should sleep tonight. What do you think about that?”
“I... I think that’s a good idea,” she said.
“Great. I’m going to kiss you now. You ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
He leaned in and she raised her hand to stop him.
“What?” he asked, pulling back.
“I was trying to remember my breath situation. I had gum about an hour ago. I think I’m okay.”
“You’re okay, I promise. Now are you ready?”
“Ready now,” she said. “Go for it.”
“I’m going for it. Right now. This second.” Except he wasn’t because he remembered he hadn’t kissed a woman on the mouth in over a year and he wondered if he’d forgotten how. To stall for time, he put his hands on Clover’s waist and positioned her between his knees. She put her hands on his shoulders and he wished he’d taken his coat off so he could feel her body heat better.
“Did you do it?” Clover asked. “I might have blinked and missed it.”
“Hold your horses. I’m getting there. Just lining up my target. I want to make sure I don’t miss. That would be embarr—”
Clover put her lips on his. Thank God one of them finally did it, he thought. But that’s all she did, put her lips on his. She wasn’t actually kissing him. She was leaning her mouth against his. He would have laughed but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Nothing for it, he’d have to kiss her back.
He wrapped both arms around her and drew her against him. Slowly and softly he moved his mouth over her lips as he ran his hands up and down her back. Her lips were warm against his and full and tender and he wanted to bite them but decided to maybe wait on the biting until later. It wasn’t an electric kiss but he did feel something warm in the pit of his stomach and that warmth was getting warmer with every passing second. Clover opened her mouth.
Not warm.
Hot.
Very hot...
He slipped his tongue gently between her lips and Clover murmured a sweet sensual sound of pleasure and approval. He kissed her a little harder, pulled her a little closer. Her hands moved from his shoulders to the back of his neck. Good sign. She wanted to touch him. And he definitely wanted to touch her. What was with this damn hoodie? Was it made of wool? He couldn’t even feel her heat through it. Stupid sensible wardrobe. He wanted this woman naked or at least in a T-shirt. He gave a little sigh of frustration and Clover pulled back from the kiss.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“You put on appropriate fall clothing this morning. Why did you do such a thing?”
“It’s fall.”
“No excuse.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You’re already trying to get me naked?” she asked.
“Not naked. Just less clothed. Can we get rid of this hoodie? I can’t even feel your bra strap through it.”
“You’re the one wearing the big coat.”
“I can take my coat off. I can take off anything you want if it’ll get you to kiss me again.”
“You liked it?” she asked.
He nodded. Vigorously.
She smiled, her skin pinking again. God, she was pretty.
“I liked it, too. A lot. A whole lot.”
“Enough to invite me home tonight?”
“If we do...does that mean you’ll expect, you know.”
“Sex?”
“That.”
“No. I’m not going to expect sex from a woman too nervous to say the word sex to me.”
“Sex. Sex, sex, sex. I’m not nervous. I’m just...”
“What?”
“Nervous. Yes. You got me. I am nervous. I feel like I know you really well because of Ruthie and everything she’s told me about you. But you and I don’t actually know each other that well because...”
“Of Ruthie. I know. I get it,” he said. “I would like to get to know you a lot better. Especially if it means more kissing. Et cetera.”
“Do you want to spend the night at my house? I won’t guarantee there’ll be more than kissing but there’ll definitely be kissing. And lots of it.”
“I’d