Irresistible Impulse by Nona Raines Page B

diverting her attention, and the moment was gone.
    “Excuse me,” she murmured, moving away. If she’d been alone, Tania might have made an utter fool of herself by approaching her, but the beauty joined a couple of friends already seated in a booth.
    Tania couldn’t eat a bite. All she could do was steal surreptitious looks at the woman while those delicious greasy dumplings turned cold and gluey on her plate.
    She’d returned to the Eighth Moon for lunch every day for three weeks, hoping to run into the lovely woman. No luck. And here she was, of all places.
    Thank God for sucker’s bets.
    God was really in her corner today, because there was an empty table right next to the object of her desire. But maybe not for long. A newcomer was heading straight for it. Oh hell, no. Tania grabbed her purse and raced to get there first.
    “Sorry,” she puffed, out of breath, to the woman as she plunked her ass onto the seat. Then she pointed to the table she recently vacated. “There’s one over there.”
    Ignoring the dirty look the other woman sent her way, Tania bestowed her most winning smile on her neighbor. “Hi. My name’s Tania.”
    ****
    “So we’re not supposed to ask what anyone does for a living,” the lush redhead remarked.
    Lush. That was the perfect adjective for Tania Talcott. Vivid was another. The tight raspberry-hued sweater hugging her curvaceous figure, her wavy auburn hair, the mischievous gleam in her brown eyes—no, not brown, cinnamon—all made a stirring combination.
    Was she stirred? Latisha blinked. Was that why her heart thumped so hard in her chest and her palms felt slippery?
    Tania’s lipstick matched the color of her sweater. Those full lips curved in an impish smile, as though she welcomed Latisha’s perusal.
    Latisha cleared her throat. “Those are the rules.” She tried for a matter-of-fact tone to hide her nerves. “It’s too easy to make snap judgments based on a person’s profession.”
    “Uh-huh.” Tania glanced down at the card in her hand. “And we score the people we meet based on…”
    “On anything that attracts you. Personality, intelligence, humor. Whatever strikes a spark.”
    “Right.” Tania’s gaze captured hers. “What sparks with you?”
    You do , Latisha almost said. She quickly looked away and began rummaging through her large shoulder bag. “Oh, lots of things.” What was going on with her? She hadn’t reacted to another woman this way since… “I wrote some questions out on cards. They’re in here somewhere.”
    “That would make quite the weapon,” Tania joked, referring to the overstuffed purse.
    “That’s true. I don’t know why I carry so much in it.”
    “You like to be prepared.”
    Latisha’s mouth hitched up in a grin. “You’ve got me there.”
    “Don’t you know how much fun it is to be spontaneous?” The purr in Tania’s voice made Latisha’s pulse spike.
    Not knowing how to respond, Latisha continued digging through the purse, evading the redhead’s piercing gaze. She was normally someone who faced things head on. So why the evasion?
    You know why.
    At last she located the index cards, jammed at the bottom of her bag. To reach them, she removed a paperback and set it on the table.
    “Oh, I loved that book,” Tania exclaimed.
    Latisha’s heart bumped. “You’ve read it?”
    “Several times. It’s one of my favorites.”
    Latisha felt an immediate affinity for this woman who re-read her favorite books, something she liked to do as well. She held the index cards up with a flourish. “Ta da!”
    “Your questions.” Tania’s lips curved in a playful grin. “Ask me some.”
    “Ask you?”
    “For practice. You like to be prepared, right?” Tania inclined her head to the three males in attendance, still several tables away. “It looks like we have plenty of time.”
    ****
    Latisha had a beautiful mouth. Tania couldn’t help but think so, even as said mouth pursed in disapproval when Tania admitted that her