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Kicking herself for that thought, she quit procrastinating and used the restroom. A quick apology, shake hands, and resist the tingles his touch would set off then get on with having the fun she promised herself. That was her plan until she stepped out and saw his usual detached expression soften as he greeted a tall, attractive blonde. Her heart tripped with an unexpected clutch in her abdomen as she stood rooted in place, witnessing the light kiss and their exit together, hand-in-hand, out the front door. Were they headed upstairs to that decadent room where Slade’s undivided attention had been on her last week? Maybe on the same couch or bed where his every touch offered a reprieve from the months of constant guilt and regret.
It was a meaningless one-night stand,she repeated to herself before her imagination could picture them writhing together. And hadn’t he just proven that? So she fantasized about a do-over after seeing him here again. He’d whetted her appetite for sex after a long drought — that’s all the painful spasm meant. She didn’t want another man in her life any more than he cared to get involved. Which didn’t explain the pressure on her chest and the one eye on the door as she returned to the table.
Annoyed with herself and Slade for the slump in her mood, Nicole took her purse from Lily and called it a night. “Sorry. I’m tired and going home. What time tomorrow? What?” she demanded when they exchanged a look she couldn’t decipher.
Allie never minced words. “There’s nothing serious between Slade and Deb, the woman you saw him with. They’ve been close friends for years.”
“And he’s a great guy once you get to know him,” Lily added.
Their assumption she was interested in Slade rubbed salt into the wound of her uncalled-for reaction and put her on the defensive. “First, I’m not blind, they’re more than friends, and second, I don’t care because I mind my own business.” Okay, that came out bitchy, which she regretted right away. “I’m sorry. With all I have going on, I shouldn’t have come out tonight.”
Lily jumped up and hugged her, the move as unexpected as the lump forming in her throat. “No, no, we shouldn’t have said anything.” She pulled away, asking, “You’ll still come tomorrow, won’t you?”
“Please. Around eleven?” Allie pled.
“Sure. It was my idea, after all.”
She looked forward to riding as much as she did to getting home tonight to gather her wits. They seem to have scattered in every direction possible. After saying good night, she wasted no time dashing out the door without paying attention until she ran into a wide chest and strong hands clasped her upper arms to steady her. The chill from leaving the warm interior for the colder night air dissipated the second she glanced up at Slade.
“Whoa. Going so soon? You weren’t here long.”
Nicole couldn’t tell anything by his tone, which galled her since he was so adept at reading her, and she spoke without thinking. “Watching me while waiting for someone else. Tacky, Slade.”
He dropped his hands and stood back. “You know what’s said when you make assumptions, Nicole.”
Wincing from another spasm of guilt, she watched him walk inside without another word or glance.I really know how to screw up an evening out.Nicole got in her car wondering where his friend had gone then drove home resigned to a long, sleepless night.
Chapter Nine
Slade slammed aroundhis kitchen the next morning, taking his foul mood out on the coffee maker and toaster. When Chace wandered back to the bedroom instead of hanging around, begging for leftovers, he took a deep breath, stretched, and exhaled. He tried not to fault Nicole for jumping to conclusions, had spent the restless night making excuses for her misconceptions regarding his last visit and meeting with Deb last night. As soon as she’d arrived at Casey’s, he wanted her with an ache that refused to go away. She managed to defuse his plan to haul her off to someplace quiet and set her straight. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to see where they might go with the attraction neither one could deny any longer.
Deb had made it easy by ending their sexual relationship first, and he was happy for his longtime friend for finding someone who completed her in all ways. Even though their friends-with-benefits relationship had suited their needs for several years, he wouldn’t sleep with one woman while he was so drawn toward someone else.
While running through options for his next visit to Nicole, he scrambled eggs then called Chace to join him for breakfast. “There,” he said as the collie trotted toward his bowl. “Eggs. Am I forgiven?” The dog replied by chowing down and ignoring him. Slade sat at the table, confident Chace would forgive him now. There were too many irrefutable facts lining up for him to continue dismissing his interest in Nicole, he thought while eating. The compulsion to see her again despite her attitude; his inability to hold back when faced with her vulnerability last week at Casey’s; the days and nights plagued by a sexual itch their night together had failed to scratch; the anger rippling through him instead of his usual indifference toward those whose opinions weren’t supposed to matter.
Chace nudged his arm as he took his last bite, those observant eyes glued to his final sausage link. “I’ll trade your advice for the sausage.”
