Funny how the adult world existed so far apart from the kid one, neither believing the other was ever really aware of what was going on. Also funny that she was standing here with a man who’d shared so many years of that world with her.
Yet gazing up at him, she saw nothing of the kid and every inch of the man.
What a delicious-looking man. He was sexy by moonlight, but devastatingly attractive in the light of day. The sun gleamed in his blond hair, and brought out the matching glimmer of gold in his green eyes. Now, clad in sneakers instead of those deadly high-heels, she was reminded just how tall he was, towering over her by several inches. And the long-sleeved T-shirt emphasized those broad shoulders and his powerful chest.
She’d have liked to say that quip about the naughty book hadn’t caused some seriously hawt images to invade her brain, but she’d have been lying. Frankly, she’d had those images in her head since she’d seen him pulling off that sheet last night at the bar, and just about every minute since.
“So,” he said, “I guess that means I’m going to have to learn how to cook a turkey.”
“I hear Stauffer’s does a pretty good job of that, and you get the stuffing and gravy right on top of it.”
He sneered. “Frozen dinners for Thanksgiving? Forget it. How tough can it be?”
“Just remember to take the insides out of the bird before you cook it.”
He paled. “They come with insides?”
“Pretty gross, huh?” Lulu had never been much of a cook, but she was pretty sure they did. “But yeah, I think so. And don’t worry, I’ll play dumb when my mom calls. I won’t let her know you spilled the beans.”
“Admit it, you just want to torment her and make her feel guilty.”
“Ha. I think I’ll call her and tell her I’m bringing home my new boyfriend for the holiday.”
His smile remained, though she would swear it was a tiny bit tighter than before. She quickly thrust the impression away. Ridiculous to think Chaz would give a damn if she was dating anyone.
“You’re seeing someone?”
Okay. So he gave a damn. Interesting.
She thought about implying she was but honestly didn’t want to play those kinds of games with Chaz. Last night was as much gaming as she cared to do with the man. Besides, intentionally making somebody jealous was more his sister’s style. “No. But I can’t come up with a better way to make her sweat.”
“You’re an evil woman, Lulu Vandenberg,” he said, the tone admiring.
“Diabolical, that’s me. How could you have forgotten?”
“I haven’t. But evil looks a little better on you than it did when you were seven and you tied me up to a telephone pole during a game of cops and robbers, and left me there.”
Yeah. She’d kind of done that. “If it’s any consolation, my mom spanked me after your parents called the police to report you missing and I had to tell the officers where you were.”
“You deserved it.”
“I guess I did. I’m really surprised you didn’t just clobber me.”
“I thought about it every day of our childhood.” Amusement danced in his green eyes. “But maybe I just always wanted to believe my mom was right.”
“About?”
“She used to say you tormented me so much because you secretly had a crush on me.”
Lulu’s mouth opened and then snapped closed. He sounded so amused, so damned confident, as if he’d decided his mom was right.
“In your dreams, Chaz Browning.”
“You were. Often.”
Her brow shot up. So did her heart rate.
“Well, in my nightmares, anyway.”
She couldn’t help it. She balled her fist and punched his upper arm.
He rubbed at it, giving an exaggerated groan, then broke into a smile. “You still hit like a girl.”
“Do you?”
“Uh-uh.”
No, she didn’t imagine he did, not with those muscle-bearing-muscles.
“I thought you were a lover, not a fighter.”
He certainly had seemed that way last night, when he’d been so close, so very close, to becoming her lover. Damn it, why had Sarah shown up and scared her into running away from what she suspected would have been one of the best nights of her life?
“I am. But I sometimes go to some pretty dangerous places. I took up martial arts, just to be on the safe side.”
Lulu didn’t like to think of him needing to defend himself, though she knew he’d probably had to at one time or another. But it was a reminder of all the reasons why they could never work.
“Did anything like that happen on your most recent trip?” she asked.
“Nah. Totally uneventful. It was pretty boring.”
Right. Except for his quick little excursions into freaking Afghanistan. Not that she could tell him she knew about that.
It had been easier when they’d been strangers.
“When did you get back?” she asked, since it seemed to be the sort of question she should ask.
“Yesterday. Just in time to go out and celebrate the holiday.” He shook his head, as if clearing it of confusing memories, then managed a friendly, if noncommittal, smile. “It was a pretty long trip.”
“You go away a lot?”
“Yes. My job is everything to me, but it has its downsides.”
“Like?”
“Like...well, I can’t have a dog. I’m away too much.”
“I imagine that would be next to impossible.”
“Ah, well, I guess I’m a one-dog man, anyway.”
She understood, remembering how much Chaz had always adored his beagle.
“I do keep him close, though,” he said.
Raising a curious brow, she watched as he pulled his shirt collar down a little, and tugged it away from his skin, just enough for her to make out the ink on his back. Finally, she was able to see what she hadn’t been able to make out last night: his tattoo. The image of a cute little dog was etched on his shoulder, a constant reminder and a tribute to a beloved pet.
How very Chaz-like.
Part
