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“Then I can take you there,” Nick said first, his tone more insistent.
Kate swallowed hard. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in a vehicle with Nick. “Faith doesn’t mind driving me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Tess is hungry, so let them go straight home, and I’ll drive you wherever you want to go.”
“You’re the man,” Tess said with a big grin.
“Thanks,” Faith said to Nick, then leaned in to kiss Kate goodbye. “Take advantage of the opportunity,” Faith whispered in her ear.
“Not happening,” Kate said right back. Every logical cell in Kate’s brain warned her to be careful around Nick. His dating history rivaled a who’s who in Serendipity. His one and only long-term relationship had been with Kate’s best friend. Maybe if he hadn’t tried again so recently, Kate might believe he was over Faith. But he had.
Faith and Tess took off, walking across the field to the lot where the cars were parked, leaving Kate alone with Nick.
“I just need to grab my duffel, and I’m ready. You?” Nick asked.
“Sure. And thank you,” she said, not wanting to seem like an ingrate.
He returned a few minutes later, and they strode side by side to the car, Nick placing a hand on the small of her back. Pleasure rushed through her at his touch, and her skin tingled in approval. Instead of letting herself enjoy it, Kate stepped out of his reach.
Nick’s low chuckle echoed around her.
“Good game,” she said, hoping conversation would help distract him. “You pitched great.”
“Thanks.” He grinned, showing her the sexy dimples in his cheeks. “I’ll miss playing during the winter months.”
“But you have basketball,” she said, knowing the guys played every Sunday.
“True. But I prefer softball and the hot sun to the indoor stuffiness in St Anthony’s basement.” He reached his truck and tossed his bag into the back before walking around and opening her door.
She climbed in, and soon, he’d done the same on his side, and they were on their way to Joe’s. Nick behaved on the short ride over, asking her about her new crop of students at the middle school where she taught English. He seemed genuinely interested, and Kate loved talking about her kids. In fact, she often thought they were the closest she might ever come to having children of her own.
After all, what were the chances of her finding true love the way Faith had? Although she was just twenty-seven years old, Serendipity was a small town, and Kate knew almost everyone. Added to that, she’d never had any desire to leave or travel, which meant meeting new people was rare.
She bit down on the inside of her cheek. God, when had she become so maudlin? She was still young. She had plenty of time to find the right man. Of course, her gaze drifted to Nick. She covertly studied his chiseled features, tanned skin, and gorgeous muscles as he concentrated on turning into the lot behind Joe’s. It was his fault she was thinking like this, she decided.
Sometime in the last few months, she’d become hyper-aware of him as a man, not just as an old friend. His flirtatious passes that she kept turning down didn’t help, either. But she couldn’t bring herself to believe that he wanted her for anything real or serious. His past cemented his intentions now, just as her old experiences made her extra wary. That was the way of things, wasn’t it?
“Here we are,” Nick said as he parked behind the bar on Main Street.
They walked into Joe’s together, but Kate pulled her armor around herself and acted friendly, yet found other people to hang out with for the rest of the night. Though she was aware of Nick watching her, she told herself it was just the challenge that had his hot gaze following her everywhere she went.
And when it was time to go home, she let one of the other teachers she worked with give her a lift instead of taking Nick up on his offer.
Chapter Two
Nick Mancini hammeredthe last nail into the wall of Faith’s Interior Designs, securing the shelving that had somehow dislodged. Normally, he’d send one of the guys on his construction crew to handle a fix-it job, but Faith was one of his closest friends, so he’d do it himself. Good thing he’d decided to show up early and handle things because he’d discovered the heating unit had broken overnight.
He flexed his cold fingers and rose, tossing his tools into the metal case. Alone at Faith’s Interior Design store, he glanced around, remembering back to this past summer, when he, Kate, and Faith had been working on setting up the store from scratch. He recalled the exact moment he looked up and really saw Kate for the first time. They’d bickered over her not getting him a coffee when she’d brought one for Faith. He’d taken one look into her sparkling green eyes, really focused on her wit, and he was a goner.
That day had set the tone for all future meetings. Sexual tension, intense chemistry, and a yearning neither one of them would admit to. Until he started asking her out in earnest, and she’d consistently declined.
Two months had passed since the softball game when they’d been alone in his truck. Since then, she’d kept him at arm’s length and avoided being alone with him, which frustrated him to no end. Because beneath the rejections, Nick sensed a longing that matched his own. It wasn’t just desire for him, either. Nick was attracted to more than her looks. She was smart as well as beautiful, witty, easily distracted and always late, and definitely interested in him—if her soulful looks when she thought his attention strayed was any indication.
Yet he couldn’t figure out how to break through the wall she’d erected. Or why she’d put up barriers between them.
“Nick! You’re here already!” Faith’s voice startled him, bringing him back to the present, and he turned to the front door. “I wanted to fit you in before I get to my first job.”
“You should have told me you were coming so early. I’d have met you,” she chided, her blue eyes flashing as she scolded him.
