totally ruffled. “It makes no difference to me at all. I’m a very happy single woman, and I couldn’t care less about any man!”
“Ooh, that sounds angry.” He pulled her by the hand into the sitting room. “Care to talk to me about it?”
“No!” Jerking her hand out of his, she glared at him.
He appeared nonplussed. “Oh. I just thought maybe you had some issues with men you’d like to talk about.”
“I wouldn’t discuss them with you, even if I did have men issues, which I most certainly do not!”
“Well, clearly something’s going on, if your family is jerking strange men off the street to go out with you.” He sucked his teeth in a “poor Crystal” emphasis as he shook his head. “Think of me as your big brother, ready to counsel you.”
If Crystal could have steamed, she would have. “The last person I would ever want to help me with any psychological trauma is you. You are no big brother figure in my life, Mitch McStern!”
“I see it now,” he murmured.
“See what?” she demanded, cursing herself for falling for his ploy.
“That fire you used to have. Ah, Crystal, I thought you’d lost your shine for good. All you needed was a little heat, and the radiance is reflecting right back off your transparent heart.”
He pulled her into his arms, giving her a kiss that was guaranteed to melt any remaining ice she might have possessed. Crystal struggled at first, outraged, before slowly allowing herself to give in to the memories. He still kissed the same, wonderfully gentle and deep, taking his time with her. She was special in his arms. He had the power to make her feel that way. If he was heat to her ice, she was liquid water now, flowing smooth and wet.
She gasped when he pulled away from her. His hand swooshed a fast smack to her fanny, and she jumped away from him as if lightning had zapped her. “Oh!”
“A kiss for good luck, and a spanking to grow on. Happy birthday, Crystal.”
“How dare you?” He stood looking at her smugly, and Crystal wanted to smack him upside the head with a sofa cushion.
The phone rang, startling both of them. She whirled to leave.
“Uh-uh,” he said, grabbing hold of her wrist. “No running off in a huff or the previously offered apology is moot.”
“I’m not apologizing for being angry now!” Crystal tried to loosen her wrist but she couldn’t. His grip was strong, and his grin was huge. He was toying with her!
He reached to answer the phone, and she considered sending a fast kick to his ankle. But he shook his head at her, warning her in case she made that mistake. The way things were going, they’d end up on the floor in a wrestling match, and that would do no good for the little composure she had left.
“Elle? How are you doing? I haven’t seen you, well, since yesterday, I guess. I would have liked to spend more time with you and Martin and Bess,” he said, catching Crystal’s complete attention. “Everything happened so fast. Maybe next time we can visit longer. Why, yes, she is here,” he practically crooned, enraging Crystal totally. “We were just remembering the good old days.”
Wildly, Crystal tugged at her wrist, determined to get away from him. Without seeming to pay her much attention, he drew her against him, holding her tightly against his side.
“Sure. I can do that. You, too, Elle.”
He hung up the phone and grinned at her.
“They’re expecting me. Let go of me,” Crystal commanded.
“I can’t. They said they can’t meet with you for another thirty minutes, and would I mind keeping you occupied in the meantime. I said I was more than happy to do so.”
“I don’t need to be kept occupied!”
“Your aunt Elle said you did. And I’m delighted to do my neighborly duty.” He ran a finger along the side of her face, brushing back the wisps of hair that now escaped the dangerously loose knot.
Traitorous chills raced through her veins. “Mitch, let me sit on the sofa. I don’t want to be this close to you.”
He let go of her. “Methinks you protest too much, but that’s okay. You always had a hard head. Let’s sit down and chat about our schoolmates.”
“I don’t want to make idle conversation.” Her heart was still hammering from their kiss. How could he act so nonchalant about it? No one had ever kissed her the way he did. Sadness overwhelmed her. The truth was, she did want a man—the right man for her! How could she ever find him when he had to compete with what Mitch could do to her with a simple kiss?
“Oh, don’t be a spoilsport.” He patted the leather sofa where he’d taken a seat. “You’re safe with me. Your aunt asked me to keep you company for a few minutes while they finish cooking something. You can stay here without losing your cool.”
Her temper began to rise again. “I believe you grabbed me, not the other way around.”
“Well, a guy should remember his ex-girlfriend’s birthday, or he wasn’t much to start with, right? I like to think I have some romantic qualities.”
She ground her teeth, not taking the seat he’d offered. He lounged on the leather sofa, completely unaffected by her stern expression. “Any guy who has two dates to a senior prom most certainly has delusions of romantic grandeur. As for me, that’s not what I look for in a man.”
He perked up. “So tell me what you are looking for. You must be picky to have remained unmarried in a town like Lover’s Valley where marriage is practically in the air everyone breathes, piped through the water systems, and sung to babies in their cradles. And you run a bridal shop, too.” He shook his head. “Maybe you got hung up on one man and couldn’t find anyone to live up to him.”
“Absolutely not!” Her hands went to her hips as she glared at him. “Mitch, I know what you’re hinting at, that I never got over you, and it’s simply not true. I’ve dated a lot of men. I am waiting for the right one. There is no good-through date stamped on me, I’ll have you know!”
“Lucky for you this is the twenty-first century, or you’d be called a spinster, you know,” he said, his tone reasonable. “I’ve always thought that was such an ugly term. Spinster, maiden aunt, it all speaks to lonely, unloved existences, in my mind.”
“Thankfully, your mind is not what counts where I’m concerned,” Crystal snapped.
“Don’t you want to know why I never married?” Mitch asked, his grin teasing.
“No.” She turned her back as if to leave. “I am not going to play this ridiculous game with you. I knew that was what you were leading up to all along.” Her curiosity was burning, but she would have stuck one of her straight pins in her eye before she admitted it.
“Okay,” he said agreeably. “We won’t talk about me. Let’s talk about you. Now that you’re a successful business owner and an avowed recluse, what’s the next goal in your life plan?”
“To
