“Daniel probably needs something for his girlfriend, too,” Carlie said, the words sneaking out before she could clamp her runaway lips. Double ack! She took a quick look around, praying she’d discover some other lip-flapping fool in the store she could blame for those words, but sadly her prayer went unanswered. That being the case, she didn’t even bother to hope for the floor to open up and swallow her.
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Daniel’s softly spoken words had Carlie turning toward him so fast she risked whiplash.
“You don’t?” she and Ellie asked in unison. Ellie sounded surprised and curious. Carlie noted she also sounded surprised. And positively breathless.
He shook his head. “No.”
“But you did,” Carlie said.
“Yes.”
“So you broke up.”
“Yup.”
A bolt of heat, along with an odd sensation that felt like her hormones applauding, rippled through her. Still, why were men so frustratingly monosyllabic? Getting information out of them was like trying to drag a sausage through a needle hole. Good grief, didn’t men know that women thrived on details?
The urge to fire out a barrage of questions along the lines of “Who had broken up with whom and why?” trembled on her lips, but she managed to contain them. What difference did it make?
Yeah, her inner voice agreed. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that he’s no longer taken!
“What about you, Carlie?” Ellie’s voice broke into her reverie. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Carlie looked at the shop owner but was very much aware of the weight of Daniel’s stare as she hesitated. Six months ago she could have said yes. But then Paul had issued an ultimatum, and she’d chosen the “or we’re finished” option. She’d never regretted her decision, but she couldn’t deny that she missed having a man in her life to share things with. Like movies. And meals. Conversation. Laughter. Sex.
She shook her head. “No. No boyfriend.”
Ellie’s beaming smile encompassed both her and Daniel. “Well, as you’re both unattached, you’ll qualify for our special Valentine’s Day dinner prize with your first purchase.” After explaining the rules, Ellie said, “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your perfect match and win.”
“I’d like that,” Carlie said. Certainly a date would be nice after the dry spell she’d experienced the past few months. But she had the sinking feeling that with the way her luck had been going lately, if she won, her “perfect match” would be some unemployed loser who hated dogs and had an aversion to bathing.
“Why don’t you look around, Carlie,” Ellie suggested, “while I show Daniel a few things for his mother?”
“All right.”
“Just holler if you see something you like,” Ellie said with a wink as she led Daniel toward the counter.
“Will do,” Carlie said, sorely tempted to holler as her gaze took in the very fine view of Daniel’s jean-clad butt.
Oh, yeah, she’d seen something she liked all right. And it had nothing to do with chocolate.
3
DANIEL USED THE sharp end of his shovel to break open another bag of topsoil. In spite of the cool, early evening breeze, his T-shirt stuck to him like a second skin. Nothing like lugging heavy bags of dirt, then filling in holes and laying sod to work up a sweat. Kevin had stuck with him for the rest of his errands, but once they’d arrived back at the house, his brother had taken one look at the backyard and made a hasty exit.
“Gotta study, man,” Kevin had claimed as he’d headed swiftly for the door. “Big test on Monday. Good luck with those holes. And your neighbor,” he’d added with a broad wink.
Now, three hours later, with the sun’s waning light streaking the sky with fiery reds and smudges of mauve, and casting long shadows across his yard, only two rolls of sod remained. After finishing, he’d shower, grab some dinner, and then…nothing.
With a sigh, Daniel thunked his shovel point into the ground and stacked his hands on the handle. And then another evening alone stretched out before him like a dark, yawning cavern, forcing him to admit what he’d tried so hard to deny.
He was lonely.
So lonely he ached with it. Sure, there were friends he could call, e-mail, or chat with online, but as he well knew, neither the phone nor the computer would relieve the growing emptiness inside him. He supposed he could walk around the block and find a neighbor to talk to, but a brief “hi, how are you?” wouldn’t satisfy him either. That would be like settling for a fast-food burger when you craved filet mignon.
The mere thought of the word “neighbor” brought a vivid, mental image of Carlie into his mind. Carlie, with her shiny, cinnamon curls, sunny smile, and jaw-dropping curves. Carlie, whose golden brown gaze had skimmed over him in Sinfully Sweet in a way that had made him feel as if he’d been dropped into a steaming cauldron.
Carlie, who didn’t have boyfriend.
Well, he’d wanted to know and he’d found out. And had very much liked the answer.
Now he just needed to decide what to do about it, a mental debate that had raged in his head all afternoon.
I should ask her out.
It’s crazy to ask her out-I’m moving.
Yeah, but I’m not moving to Mars, for cryin’ out loud.
A two-thousand-mile distance between two people might as well be a galaxy.
So just have fun with her for the next two weeks. She’d know the time limit right up front. We could enjoy each other, then say sayonara, adios, buh-bye.
He couldn’t deny that last option sounded pretty damn appealing. Worst-case scenario? After one evening together they’d realize they couldn’t stand each other and, so what, since he’d be gone in two weeks? Best-case scenario is they’d have some no-strings-attached fun, then he’d drive away from her and her zany dogs with a happy wave and head toward his exciting new job and life. Yeah, that sounded like a great idea.
But there was one possible hitch in his great idea. What if Carlie told him to get lost?
Except for that unmistakable ogle this morning, she’d never given him any indication she found him attractive. But there’d definitely been interest in her eyes today.
Hadn’t there?
He blew out a frustrated breath and dragged a hand through his hair. Maybe not. Maybe he’d read her all wrong. Maybe she’d just had something in her eye. Who the hell knew? Figuring out women was like navigating a mine field wearing a blindfold. According to Nina, Daniel couldn’t have traveled through the mine field with a map, a guide, and a GPS system to show him the way-an assessment he totally didn’t agree with, by the way. Like most men, he might suffer from bouts of confusion where women were concerned, but he wasn’t as completely clueless as his ex-girlfriend claimed. Still, why couldn’t women just look like women, but be easy to figure out-like men? Which only brought him back to the question of whether Carlie had really ogled him, or if it had just been a case of wishful thinking. Maybe-
A soft, low moaning sound cut off his thoughts.
“Ooooooh.”
His brows furrowed into a frown. What the hell was that?
“Aaaaahhhh.”
His frown deepened. Whatever it was, it sounded-
“Oooooooh. Yeah. Mmmmmm.
Human.
“Hmmmmmm…ohhhhhh…myyyyyy…”
And female.
“Yeah, ohhhh…that’s incredible…”
And sexually aroused.
“Soooooo good…so, so good…”
But where-? His head whipped around and his gaze zeroed in like a laser beam on the fence separating his and-
“Ohhhh, God…”
Carlie’s backyard.
“That is sooooooo…aaaaaah…good…”