She had no answer to that. “I don’t know. I just haven’t.”
“You ought to get them periodically for health purposes. I do. You won’t regret it.”
All too soon, his watch beeped. “Time to stop.”
Wishing he could keep going and grateful for what he’d done, she pivoted in the seat to sit beside him. Just the two of them in the car felt dangerously intimate. “I feel so much better,” she said. “If you ever decided to give up the bike stores, you’d make a great masseur.”
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. Already, I see a change in you. You’re much less tense. Repeat after me, ‘whatever happens tonight, we’ll all survive.’”
“Whatever happens tonight, we’ll all survive. Maybe Iwillschedule a massage.”
“Atta girl.”
He lifted her wrist and kissed the sensitive underside—a first for her. Her heart thudded and her body reacted with longing. She let out a small sound of pleasure.
“Was I out of line? I didn’t think about what I was doing, just did it.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Overcome with gratitude and desire, she leaned up and kissed him on the mouth.
He pulled back and eyed her. “What’s that for?”
“I guess I shouldn’t have?—”
He silenced her with a kiss of his own. She lost her train of thought and cupped the back of his head, urging him closer. His body was fit and hard, and he kissed like a dream, his lips tender and firm at the same time. And his hair, soft and thick… Shaggy wasn’t so bad. She was really getting into it when he let go of her and pulled away.
“Why did you stop?” she asked, confused.
“Believe me, I didn’t want to. We should go inside before they wonder where we are.”
The dinner. She’d momentarily forgotten about that. She touched her hair. “Is it a mess?”
“A little. Do you have a mirror in your purse?”
She nodded. “It’s in the passenger seat.”
He reached between the front seats and retrieved it. One glance in the mirror—so many strands gone astray—and she pulled off the scrunchie, brushed her hair, and redid the ponytail. Much better. She glanced at him. “Yours could use smoothing as well.”
She felt dazed, and while he set his hair to rights with his palms, tried to make sense of what they’d done. She’d never meant to kiss him, let alone get so involved in him. In them.
The whole thing was her fault. How could she have let this happen when she knew better?
Simple answer, he was irresistible. His skilled hands easing the painful knots from her neck and shoulders. The smell of him, a mixture of man and fresh air, his deep, soothing voice… All of it had seduced her. She hadn’t meant to let things go this far, wasn’t pleased with herself. Never mind, she’d put it behind her.
Blake was silent, no doubt regretting it as much as she did. “Okay now?” he asked.
She managed a nod. Neither of them spoke on the way to the restaurant entrance.
Once inside the door, he laid his hand on her upper arm as if reassuring her, then quickly let go. “We got this.”
CHAPTER 8
Still reeling after kissing Vi—correction, after she’d kissed him andthenhe’d kissed her—Blake entered the restaurant at her side. She smelled faintly of something that reminded him of a field in the spring when new flowers perfumed the air. And that addictive mouth. Soft and generous, it’d begged for more than one kiss. He’d gladly obliged. She’d ignited a spark in him he hadn’t felt in a long time, since the night he’d proposed to Sammi some four years ago. They’d mistaken passion for love. That and an uneasy feeling he’d never shared that he wasn’t ready for marriage. Wouldn’t let that happen again.
Delicious smells of freshly grilled fish, fried clams and other foods filled the air. At five o’clock, the place was almost full. Malcom had been right to score a table early, and he and Caroline had a good one with a view of Simms Bay out the window. Too bad the sunset was several hours from now. Watching the sun sink over the bay would’ve been spectacular.
“They’re over there,” he told Vi. Her faint nod was subdued and calm, a welcome change from tension. On closer study, she looked as if she’d been soundly kissed. He hoped the grandparents didn’t notice.
“Hey,” he said, leaning in and talking close to her ear so she’d hear him over the chatter and clatter in the room. Despite the food aroma, he caught a whiff of her scent and wanted to pull her close for more. He quickly stifled the urge. “Put those kisses behind you and smile.”
