After All These Years (One Pass Away #2) by Mary J. Williams Page B

Riley a break. “I’m
    going to leave you before Sean gets here. Lunch. Next week. You pick the day
    and place, I’ll be there.” Claire clinked their glasses one more time. “Good
    luck.”
    “I like her.”
    Taking a breath, Riley smiled. Not the fake one she used
    when trying to hide her feelings. This was genuine. Welcoming. Tinged with a
    few nerves.
    “Me too.” Riley’s smile widened into a grin. “So you hit on
    her?”
    “I did not!”
    Riley believed him. Sean’s flirting was automatic. When he
    was serious, he turned it up to another level. Claire had encountered the
    watered down version that every breathing female received when in Sean’s orbit.
    Like breathing in and out, Sean flirted.
    It drove the old Riley crazy with jealousy. The new Riley
    thought it was charmingly harmless. Wow! She had changed.
    “It doesn’t matter, Sean.”
    “It doesn’t?” Sean frowned.
    “Nope. We’re friends. Right? Friends don’t judge.”
    “I want to be your friend, Riley.”
    And more. So much more .
    Sean hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Riley all
    evening. She glowed. Her halo of dark hair flowed around her creamy shoulders.
    Her lips were red. Not bright. Like the cherries he gorged himself on every
    summer. The color was echoed in the dress that swirled around her legs when she
    walked. The little straps that crisscrossed her back looked delicate—easily
    broken. One pull and he could have the material pooling at her feet.
    What was Riley wearing under her dress? Not a bra. As her
    chest rose and fell with each breath, Sean could see the swell of her breasts.
    Not too big. Not too small. Sean wondered if the tips tasted as sweet as
    cherries. He couldn’t wait to find out.
    “Up here, buster.” Riley snapped her fingers in front of
    Sean’s face. “What are you? Twelve? Haven’t you learned not to stare at a woman’s
    breasts in public?”
    “Not staring. Imagining.”
    “I don’t want to know.”
    “Are you sure?” Sean’s lips curved. Flirting with Riley was
    a new and heady experience. “I wonder how turned on I could get us by using
    only words?”
    “You? I doubt it takes much. I’m not that easy.”
    “Wanna bet?”
    Sean saw the spark of interest in Riley’s eyes and he knew
    he had her.
    “Lay out the terms.”
    “Nothing complicated. We stay where we are. Surrounded by
    people. Sipping our drinks.”
    “And?”
    “I talk to you.”
    “And,” Riley urged.
    Sean hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary. However, his
    voice had dropped, enveloping them in a cloud of intimacy their location
    belied.
    “I want to kiss you, Riley.” Sean spoke the words with
    little inflection. He could see the way Riley’s pupils dilated. She felt them.
    Deeply. “Not on the lips. Not yet. There’s a spot. The curve of your neck. I’ll
    breathe in your scent.” Sean inhaled. “Sweet. Spicy. When I taste you, there
    will be the faintest trace of salt. It’s a combination that drives me crazy.”
    “Wait.” Riley took a deep breath. “If this is a bet, what is
    the wager?”
    “If I win?” Sean smiled over the rim of his glass. “You let
    me take you out to dinner.”
    “A date?” Riley asked in surprise. That wasn’t what she had
    expected. “What else?”
    “That will be up to you.”
    “And if I win?”
    “Name it.”
    Riley tipped her head to the side, considering her options.
    The list was endless. Naked Sean vacuuming her floors. Cooking her breakfast.
    Scrubbing her back. Every thought involved Sean without a stitch of clothing.
    Tempting. But too soon.
    “Two dates.”
    Sean smiled. “Dinner and dancing.”
    “You dance?”
    “It’s all about rhythm. Whether you’re running a route
    during a game, or guiding a beautiful woman around the dance floor. Or…”
    “Or?” Riley waited expectantly.
    “Making love.”
    Not sex. Love. Had the difference been deliberate? Did Sean
    realize what he had done? Riley couldn’t be certain. However, she