She’d said she’d be in touch with him, but he wasn’t a man who liked to wait on other people.
Still, this whole thing had been her idea, so that meant she was calling the shots—at least for the time being. He’d volunteered to tag along and follow her lead.
A smile stole across his lips. As if that were any great hardship. Saturday night had been incredible. Better than any of the tortured fantasies that had plagued him as a teenager. He’d spent years kicking himself for never making a move on Taylor, but now he had to concede she’d been worth the wait.
Which rumor would they turn into reality next time? He opened a carton of law books and began arranging them on the shelves. Outside of the camping trip, he couldn’t remember much of the gossip that had circulated about them ten years ago. Maybe because he was already established in the community or because he was male, it hadn’t affected him as much. He seemed to recall something about a scene in the boys’ locker room shower…and wasn’t something supposed to have happened at the drive-in…?
“You look awfully serious for a man moving into a new place. Or is that your lawyer face?” Troy Sommers leaned around the doorway. “Thought I’d stop by and make sure everything was going okay.”
“Great.” Dylan shook Troy’s hand. “I’m almost ready to open for business.”
Troy looked around the room and nodded. “You’ll have more work than you can handle. Lots of folks around here still remember you from high school.”
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or worried about that.”
Troy laughed. “Maybe a little of both.” He winked. “I saw you Saturday night renewing one particular acquaintance from our high school days. Taylor Reed?”
Dylan cleared his throat and folded in the flaps of the empty box. “It was good to see Taylor again.”
“Made me want to be a high school student again, just so I could be in her class.” Troy laughed. “Teachers weren’t that hot-looking when we were students, were they?”
Dylan frowned. “I’m sure Taylor’s an excellent teacher.”
“Oh, sure. An excellent teacher who’s also a real babe.” Troy clapped him on the back. “I’ve got to hand it to you—you didn’t waste any time picking up where you left off with her.”
“Taylor and I are just good friends.”
Apparently, Troy didn’t believe this any more than he had when they’d been in school. “Sure, buddy. And from the looks of things, you’re going to be even better friends very soon.” He chuckled. “Or did you get lucky Saturday night?”
Had Troy always been this annoying? Dylan glared at him. “Did you stop by for something in particular? I’m pretty busy here.”
Troy took a step back. “Hey, no need to cop a big-city attitude around here. What you do is your business. I was just being friendly.”
Dylan forced himself to relax. He leaned back against the desk. “Sorry. I guess I’m tired from the move and all.”
“Sure. I understand. I stopped by to see if you wanted to have lunch at the Rotary meeting. I can introduce you to some of the members. You said you wanted to be involved and this group will give you a good picture of everything that’s going on.”
He nodded. “Sure. That sounds good.”
“All right. I’ll stop by here about eleven-thirty and we’ll walk over together. It’s upstairs at the café.” He nodded in the direction of Courthouse Café.
“Great. I’ll look forward to it.”
“So about Taylor Reed—”
He was saved by the ringing of the telephone. He gave Troy an apologetic look and picked up the receiver. “Dylan Gates speaking.”
“Oh, hello, Dylan.” Taylor’s voice was breathy. At her first words, his heart beat faster. “I thought maybe your secretary would answer.”
“I don’t have one yet. Do you know any good candidates?” He waved and mouthed a silent “goodbye” to Troy as the agent backed out of the room.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask around.”
“How did you get my number?” he asked. “I just had the phone connected this morning.”
“Sylvia Piper—she used to be Sylvia Ramos—works in new accounts at the phone company. She gave it to me.” She laughed. “One of the advantages of small-town living.”
Her laughter sent heat curling through his middle. How was it even a woman’s laughter could be erotic? “I’m glad you called.”
“You are?” She sounded surprised.
“Why shouldn’t I be?” He leaned over and shut the door to his office, then lowered his voice. “I had a great time Saturday night.”
“M-me, too.”
“So are you ready to do it again?”
“Are you?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m ready.” Ready to see every gorgeous curve of her body, to smell the sex-and-spice scent of her skin, to hear her moan with passion, to taste her sweetness—to discover what made Taylor Reed want to relive things that had never happened ten years ago. To sort out his own mixed-up feelings for her that he’d carried around all these years. “Do you have a rumor picked out for us to tackle next?”
“I was thinking…Inspiration Point.”
The words sent a rush of nostalgia through him. “Is that place still around?”
She laughed. “It’s still there. Do you want to go there…this evening?”
Making out in the car at Inspiration Point. He hadn’t done anything like that since…since high school. He grinned. That was the point, wasn’t it? To relive those times and discover what inspiration they offered for the present. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Her voice was a soft purr, sparking desire. Who said high schoolers were the only ones at the mercy of raging hormones? Dylan felt almost as if he’d been transported back ten years, to the days when he’d been an awkward, perpetually horny boy mooning after the girl of his dreams.
The difference was, this time the girl was right where he wanted her. And he knew exactly what to do with her.
FOR THE FIFTH TIME in as many minutes, Taylor checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Was her lipstick straight? Did she look all right? She was still wearing the skirt and blouse she’d worn to school this morning. Should she change into something dressier? Or maybe she should go for a more casual look….
She shook her head and turned away from the mirror. It didn’t matter what she wore tonight. Dylan had seen her naked and liked what he’d seen. Apparently very much…
The thought
