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“I understand that.” He did. It made perfect sense for her to go incognito at her risqué job. “But once you and I…
“I know.” She raked a hand through her brown hair, which was loose around her shoulders tonight, rather than up in its usual ponytail. “I should have told you immediately. Instead I panicked and pushed you away.”
“Yeah. I gotta say, I felt pretty damn humiliated when I figured it out. I should have known you.”
“I am a performer. I know about portraying someone else.”
“About that…when did you start in this line of work?”
“Stripping’s not my line of work. Dancing is. I was with the Rockettes until a year ago.”
“You were one of those kick-line chicks?”
She glared at him. “It’s harder than it looks.”
“Right. Tough life dancing with giant nutcrackers and Santa Claus.” He quickly put his hand up. “I’m joking. You must have been damn good to make it.”
“I was,” she said, with complete confidence. “But I got bored with it and went with a modern dance company in Manhattan. Then came the injury. Then came Dad’s stroke. Now I’m here.”
Her life in a nutshell.
“And now what?” he asked, knowing that was the question he really wanted answered. Where was she going from here? Where did she see him fitting into that?
“I don’t know. Right now I’m biding time, trying to figure out what I want.” Her jaw tightening, she continued. “But it’s not the bakery, and it’s not the neighborhood. It’s not Gloria’s life-a repeat of my mother’s. And it’s not my sister Mia’s life as a hard-ass lawyer with tons of drive and no happiness.”
“I understand,” he murmured.
Nodding, she said, “I’m sure you do. If anyone would, it’s you.” The tension easing from her shoulders, Izzie walked across the small kitchen, covering the distance between them in a few short steps. Putting her hand on his chest, she looked up at him, her eyes bright. “Which is why I have to repeat this: I am sorry, Nick. Please say you’ll forgive me.”
He hesitated, then offered her a short nod. Appearing relieved, she began to pull her hand away, but he covered it with his, not letting her go. “Where do we go from here?”
She hesitated, so he pressed her. “We can’t be just friends.”
“We can’t be a couple.”
Their eyes locked, they both said the same four words at exactly the same moment. “We can be lovers.”
Nick chuckled as Izzie smiled. Tightening her fingers in his shirt, she scraped the tips of them along the base of his neck. “Where I’d like to go right now is into your bedroom to see if it’s furnished any better than your living room is.”
Lifting her hand to his mouth, he pressed a warm kiss on the inside of her palm. “Oh, it is, angel. You bet it is.”
8
MAKING LOVE TO NICK in the back of the van had been erotic and spontaneous and incredibly hot. It had also been a week ago and in that week, Izzie had begun to wonder whether it had really been as amazing as she remembered.
As soon as Nick led her into his bedroom, turned her to face the mirrored door of his closet, and slowly began to kiss her neck, she knew it had been. He was so slow-so patient-so deliberate. The man had incredible control and he had used it to drive her absolutely wild.
Izzie had flipped the light switch on as soon as they entered the room, determined to see all, savor all, enjoy every minute of this experience. When Nick studied her in the mirror, consuming her with his eyes, she was very glad she had. She liked watching him watch her. Liked having his eyes on her. And she wanted to watch everything he did to her.
“You’ve been driving me absolutely insane since I saw you that night in the restaurant,” he whispered, his lips hovering just above the sensitive skin below her ear.
“You’ve been driving me insane since you landed on top of me on the cookie table.”
He turned her to face him. “Izzie, I’m sorry I didn’t…”
“I was a kid. You needed to wait until I caught up a little,” she said with a smile.
He glanced down at her, his stare lingering on the scooped neck of her shirt and the clingy fabric hugging her breasts. “You caught up a lot.”
She reached up and unfastened the top button of his shirt, then moved to the next. “Oh, more than you know,” she whispered, feeling incredibly free. A sensual woman capable of knocking him back on his heels the way he’d knocked her back last week.
Their first time together had been about him overwhelming her senses. Tonight it was Izzie’s turn.
