huge chocolate-buttermilk roll. She might as well face it; she was never going to be a waif.
She studied her image in the front of the steel-door refrigerator. Wild blond bob. Red lips. Big eyes.
“You’re beautiful, you know.”
Jumping a little, she faced Vince. He shot her a little smile and gestured to the door she’d been using as a mirror. “You don’t have to check,” he said. “You are.”
“I’d rather be known for my brains.”
She said this with such disgust, he laughed. Then he sobered, stuck his hands into his trouser pockets and came closer. “I saw you and Joe on Friday. You know...in his office.”
So Vince had interrupted their kiss!
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” he said carefully. He squared his shoulders. He didn’t have a single wrinkle. He was a man who appreciated fine clothes, a man with expensive tastes, a man after her own heart...and she didn’t feel anything but a sisterly sort of affection.
What was wrong with her?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get involved with him.”
Her brain, protesting the early hour, went on full alert. “Vince, he’s your boss and your friend.”
“I know. And I care about him very much.” Vince met her gaze, and she knew he was genuinely sad. “But I care about you, too. Joseph’s not easy on women, Caitlin. They come in and out of his life in a heartbeat. He rarely looks back.”
Her unease grew. “We shouldn’t be discussing this. It’s not right.”
“I care about you.”
“But I’m a big girl,” she said gently. She reached for his hand and squeezed. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Everything about him was tense, even as he let out a little laugh. “I can’t seem to help that.”
“Well, seeing as there’s little between me and your friend, except resentment and bad air, you don’t have much to worry about.”
“What I saw between the two of you was a lot more than bad air, Caitlin.”
The kiss again. Well, it had been quite a kiss. Quite a very good kiss. The mother of all kisses. But it had meant nothing to Joe, which was what Vince was trying so gallantly to make sure she understood.
What she really understood was that Joe didn’t want it to mean anything. That he wasn’t comfortable with the intimacy, and she could understand that, as well. Neither was she.
What, she wondered, would Joe say if he knew she’d never experienced any sort of intimacy at all? It wasn’t something she’d set out purposely to do, but she’d never found the right man. Somehow, it had been easy to resist the fast, rich, slick kind of guy her so-called friends had all hung out with. So now, despite her travels and exciting life-style, she was the oldest virgin in the Western Hemisphere. “I’m not going to get my heart broken over one kiss,” she said, more weakly than she would have liked.
“I’m not doing a good job of warning you off him, am I?” Vince asked wryly.
“It’s not your fault. I just never seem to learn what’s good for me.”
“I could be good for you,” he said seriously.
“Oh, Vince.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that so soon.” Softly, he touched her cheek, then walked away.
It didn’t take long to get distracted. She took a call from the mortgage company for the condo her father hadn’t left her. The by-the-book loan officer on the line was not impressed by her employment.
“Look, Ms. Taylor,” he said in a voice bordering on nasty. “I do realize you have a job now, and apparently, you should be commended for that.”
While Caitlin took his not so polite disdain, Joe walked by. He wore the customary faded jeans and T-shirt and was every bit as aloof and dangerously sexy as her dreams had assured her. With his heavily lidded eyes, that perpetual frown on his beautiful, scowling mouth and the rugged, muscled yet lean body, he looked every bit the hoodlum she imagined most mothers warned their daughters from.
But Caitlin
She studied her image in the front of the steel-door refrigerator. Wild blond bob. Red lips. Big eyes.
“You’re beautiful, you know.”
Jumping a little, she faced Vince. He shot her a little smile and gestured to the door she’d been using as a mirror. “You don’t have to check,” he said. “You are.”
“I’d rather be known for my brains.”
She said this with such disgust, he laughed. Then he sobered, stuck his hands into his trouser pockets and came closer. “I saw you and Joe on Friday. You know...in his office.”
So Vince had interrupted their kiss!
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” he said carefully. He squared his shoulders. He didn’t have a single wrinkle. He was a man who appreciated fine clothes, a man with expensive tastes, a man after her own heart...and she didn’t feel anything but a sisterly sort of affection.
What was wrong with her?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get involved with him.”
Her brain, protesting the early hour, went on full alert. “Vince, he’s your boss and your friend.”
“I know. And I care about him very much.” Vince met her gaze, and she knew he was genuinely sad. “But I care about you, too. Joseph’s not easy on women, Caitlin. They come in and out of his life in a heartbeat. He rarely looks back.”
Her unease grew. “We shouldn’t be discussing this. It’s not right.”
“I care about you.”
“But I’m a big girl,” she said gently. She reached for his hand and squeezed. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Everything about him was tense, even as he let out a little laugh. “I can’t seem to help that.”
“Well, seeing as there’s little between me and your friend, except resentment and bad air, you don’t have much to worry about.”
“What I saw between the two of you was a lot more than bad air, Caitlin.”
The kiss again. Well, it had been quite a kiss. Quite a very good kiss. The mother of all kisses. But it had meant nothing to Joe, which was what Vince was trying so gallantly to make sure she understood.
What she really understood was that Joe didn’t want it to mean anything. That he wasn’t comfortable with the intimacy, and she could understand that, as well. Neither was she.
What, she wondered, would Joe say if he knew she’d never experienced any sort of intimacy at all? It wasn’t something she’d set out purposely to do, but she’d never found the right man. Somehow, it had been easy to resist the fast, rich, slick kind of guy her so-called friends had all hung out with. So now, despite her travels and exciting life-style, she was the oldest virgin in the Western Hemisphere. “I’m not going to get my heart broken over one kiss,” she said, more weakly than she would have liked.
“I’m not doing a good job of warning you off him, am I?” Vince asked wryly.
“It’s not your fault. I just never seem to learn what’s good for me.”
“I could be good for you,” he said seriously.
“Oh, Vince.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that so soon.” Softly, he touched her cheek, then walked away.
It didn’t take long to get distracted. She took a call from the mortgage company for the condo her father hadn’t left her. The by-the-book loan officer on the line was not impressed by her employment.
“Look, Ms. Taylor,” he said in a voice bordering on nasty. “I do realize you have a job now, and apparently, you should be commended for that.”
While Caitlin took his not so polite disdain, Joe walked by. He wore the customary faded jeans and T-shirt and was every bit as aloof and dangerously sexy as her dreams had assured her. With his heavily lidded eyes, that perpetual frown on his beautiful, scowling mouth and the rugged, muscled yet lean body, he looked every bit the hoodlum she imagined most mothers warned their daughters from.
But Caitlin
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