that explains a few things,” Amanda said wryly.
“That woman should have been a spy.”
“Maybe she was. Now she’s retired,” Amanda mused, “and she’s looking for new things to occupy her.”
He snorted a short laugh. “That’d be something. Mona in the CIA.”
Amanda laughed, too, then Nathan looked down at her and she caught the confusion in his eyes.
“This doesn’t bother you? Being talked about?” Nathan asked.
“A little,” she admitted. “Okay, a lot. But I can’t stop it, so why make myself nuts?”
“Healthy attitude.”
“I try,” she said, and fell into line at the coffee cart.
Nathan stayed beside her and, keeping his voice low, he said, “I still think we need to set some ground rules, Amanda.”
“Like you coming around the diner to keep an eye on me?”
He frowned.
“Or are you talking about when you kissed me?”
She had the satisfaction of seeing a flash of temper spark in his eyes. Then he spoke as if she hadn’t said a thing. “We agree that there’s nothing between us anymore and—”
Amanda didn’t have to speak. She only looked up at him, making no attempt at all to hide the smile curving her mouth. Nothing between them? Hadn’t they proven just the other night that if nothing else, there was still plenty of heat between them?
He scowled, clearly understanding what she wasn’t saying. Then he muttered, “That doesn’t count.”
“Felt like it counted to me.” In fact, that one kiss had kept her awake most of the night feeling restless, edgy. Memories had crowded in on her until all she could think about was Nathan and how things used to be between them. That kiss had stirred up everything for her, making the last few days really uncomfortable. And now Nathan wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened?
Nathan looked down at her and watched her meadow-green eyes narrow. She was mad. He liked that. Better than amused. Or accepting. Anger was safer. For both of them. Except for the fact that she looked so damn good when she was pissed off at him. Gave her a fire he’d never found in any other woman.
Her light brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail at the back of her head. She wore gold hoops in her ears that dangled long enough to skim her smooth shoulders, displayed nicely in a navy blue tank top. Her white shorts showed off her tan and made her legs look as if they were a mile long, and the sandals let him see she still wore the gold toe ring he’d given her on her left foot.
A breeze sent her ponytail dancing and it was all Nathan could do to keep from reaching up and twining that silky mass around his fingers. Damn it, she was in him again. As fiercely as she had been years ago. For days now, he’d been tormented by thoughts of her. By memories so thick they’d nearly choked him. He’d hardly slept for dreams of her and when he woke, it was to a body that was hard and aching for want of her.
His talk with Jake hadn’t helped any. He’d meant it when he said there was no peace with Amanda. But back in the day he hadn’t been looking for peace, had he? All he’d been able to think about was her. Her laugh. Her eyes. Her scent. Her taste. The feel of her hands on his body and the sweet brush of her breath when she kissed him.
Hell, no, that wasn’t peaceful.
It was…consuming.
And it was happening again. Only this time, he’d come up with a plan to combat it. It had hit him in the shower just that morning—another damn cold one—that what he needed to do was get Amanda back in his bed.
Over the years, Nathan had convinced himself that he’d idealized what he and Amanda had shared. That was why he hadn’t been able to find another woman to compare to her. His own mind had set him up for failure by making the memories of Amanda so amazing that what woman could hold a candle to her?
What was needed here was a little reality. And sex was the key. Get her in his bed, and get her out of his mind once and for all.
It was the only road to sanity.
Once he’d had her again, he could let her go. This tension between them would finally be over.
As his plan settled into his mind, he smiled to himself.
“What?” Amanda asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re smiling,” she pointed out.
“And that’s bad?” He laughed a little and moved forward as the line continued to snake ahead.
“Not bad,” Amanda said, still watching him warily. “Just…suspicious.”
Behind them in line, someone chuckled.
Nathan frowned. Damned hard to work on seducing a woman when you had half the town watching your every move. “So when I’m angry, you’re mad and when I’m not, you’re worried.”
She thought about it for a second, then nodded. “That’s about right.”
For just a moment, Nathan enjoyed the confusion in her eyes and found himself laughing briefly. “There really is no one else like you, is there?”
“Probably not,” she admitted and moved a bit closer to the head of the line.
She could always drive him out of his mind, Nathan thought, letting his gaze move over her in appreciation. He’d always liked tall women—they were right in easy kissing range. Amanda, though, was like no one else. Or at least that’s how he remembered it. Even in high school, when she was a freshman and he a senior, he’d been drawn to her. His friends had given him grief over it, of course—but he hadn’t been able to stay away.
And then, years later, those same friends had told him about the rumors that had eventually torn him and Amanda apart.
“So tell me, Nathan,” she said, shattering his thoughts and drawing him back to the moment, “are you interested in my sister?”
“What?” He goggled at her. “Where did that come from?”
She shrugged, glared at the man behind them, openly listening to their conversation, then leaned in closer to Nathan to say, “I’ve seen the way she watches you.”
Nathan thought about that for a minute. He hadn’t noticed Pam looking at him in any particular way. Okay, yes, he’d dated her a couple times a year or so ago, but it hadn’t gone anywhere and they’d parted friends. Or he’d thought they had. Until now. Frowning slightly, he said, “We went out a few times a while back, but—”
Her eyes went wide. “I can’t believe you dated my sister,” she said, cutting him off sharply.
The man behind them in line let out a long, slow whistle, but when Nathan gave him a hard look, the guy got quiet fast.
“It was a couple of dates. Dinner.” He thought back. “A movie.”
“It was my sister.” She fisted her hands at her hips. “How would you like it if I dated Jake?”
“I think his wife would mind it even more than I would.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. But we were over, remember?” Nathan whispered and moved with the line. How long was this line, anyway? And were there even more people crowded around them than there had been a few minutes ago? “Besides, Pam was here and—”
“So she was here,” Amanda said, interrupting him again and making Nathan grind his teeth together in frustration. “Well, then. Of course I can understand that. The whole proximity factor.”
The whistler behind them chuckled now and only shrugged