remember having a more relaxed evening. Mia didn’t seem to want anything from him. She was the real deal, a woman he wouldn’t have even met, if she hadn’t injured herself practically on his doorstep. She was curious, but she wasn’t overbearing. He liked that she made him laugh.
Steam billowed from the pasta on his plate and he hunkered down and forked it into his mouth before his stomach started grumbling. The Bolognese sauce was the best he’d ever tasted, and the pasta was so tender, it slid down his throat. The dish was sweet and savory at the same time, just the right amount of...everything. “Wow,” he said. “It’s pretty damn good.”
She grinned. “Good? Your plate is almost empty.”
“All right. It’s fantastic. I’m going in for second helpings. If that’s okay with you?”
“If you didn’t, I’d be insulted.” She ladled another portion of pasta onto his plate and grated parmesan cheese in a snowy mound over it. “There—that should keep you happy for a while.”
“I’ll have to double my swim time tomorrow.”
“How long are you out there usually?”
“I go about three miles.”
“Every day?”
He nodded. “Every day that I’m home.”
She swirled pasta around her fork. “Do you travel much?”
“Only when I have to. I’m doing a big job right now on the coast of Spain. It might require some traveling soon.”
“I’d love to travel more. I rarely get out of California. Well, there was this one trip to Cabo San Lucas when I graduated high school. And my father’s family was from West Virginia. I spent a few weeks there one summer. But oh, your life sounds so exciting.”
It wasn’t. He didn’t enjoy traveling. He liked the work, though, and it was necessary to travel at times. Adam pictured Mia on the southern coast of Spain with him, keeping him company, lounging in a villa and waiting for him to return home from work. He saw it all so clearly in his mind that he missed her last comment. He blinked when he realized he’d been rude. “I’m sorry—what did you say?”
“Oh, just that I’ve always wanted to see Italy. It’s a dream of mine, to see where my mother’s family was from. That’s all.”
He nodded. Many people would love to trace their roots, but if Adam never entered the state of Oklahoma again, he wouldn’t miss it. Not in the least. After Lily died, their family had never been the same. Some nights he woke up in a sweat, dreaming about the natural disaster that had claimed his sister’s life. “I can understand that. Italy is a beautiful country.”
“Have you been there?”
“Once, yes.”
She took a long sip of wine. His gaze was riveted to her delicate throat and the way she took soft swallows. He didn’t want the evening to end. If he had his choice, she’d be staying the night, but that would have to wait. Mia couldn’t be rushed, and he wasn’t one to push a woman into something she wasn’t ready for. “After dessert, would you like to take a walk on the beach? I promise I’ll bring a flashlight, and we’ll be careful.”
Mia turned her wrist and glanced at the sparkly silver bracelet watch on her arm. “I would love to, but it’s getting late. Maybe just dessert this time. But I’ll take a rain check on that walk.”
Late? It was a little after ten. “You got it. Another time then.”
They brought the dishes inside and Adam pulled out a strawberry pie from the refrigerator. “Mary brought this over this morning. That woman is a saint. I gave her the day off, yet she still came over with this pie.”
Fresh whipped cream and split strawberries circled the top of the pie.
Mia took a look. “Wow, it’s beautiful. Mary reminds me of my gram. Eating is a priority. And she makes enough food for an army. You’ll never go hungry if my gram is around.”
“I think I like her already.” Adam grabbed a cake knife from the block.
“You would. She’s the best.”
Adam made the first cut, slicing up a large wedge of pie. “Whoa,” Mia said, moving close to him. “I hope that piece is for you.”
Her hand slid over his as she helped guide the knife down to cut another thinner wedge. Instant jolts hit him in the gut. Mia touching him, the softness of her flesh on his. She’d gotten under his skin so fast, so easily. Her scent, something light, flowery and erotic, swam in his head, and he couldn’t let her go.
“Mia,” he said. Turning to her, the back side of his hand brushed a few strands of hair off her face. Her eyes lifted, jade pools glowing up at him. They both dropped the knife, and he entwined their fingers, tugging her closer until her breasts crushed against his chest. “Mia,” he said again, brushing his mouth to her hair, her forehead and then down to her mouth. His lips trembled there, waiting for invitation.
“Kiss me, Adam,” she whispered.
His mouth claimed hers then, tenderly, a testing and tasting of lips. Oh God, she was soft and supple and so damn tempting. He was holding back, not to frighten her, holding back to give her time to get used to him. Every nerve in his body tingled.
She touched his face, her fingertips tracing the line of his jaw. A sound emerged from his throat, raw and guttural, and as her willing lips opened, he drove his tongue into her mouth. Her breath was coming fast—he could feel it, the rapid rise and fall of her breasts against his chest. His groin tightened, and he fought for control. He had to end the kiss. Had to step away. She turned his nerves into a crazed batch of male hormones. He swept his tongue into her soft hollows one more time, then mastered half a step back, breaking off the connection.
It was too much, too soon and crazy. She brought out his primal instincts. The jackhammering in his chest heated his blood. He held her in his arms, his forehead pressed to hers; then he brushed a kiss there. “Go out with me tomorrow night, Mia,” he whispered. There was raw urgency in his request. Did he sound desperate?
Her expression shifted from glazed-over passion to concentration. Her silence worried the hell out of him. “Okay,” she finally whispered back, her voice breathy and as tortured as his. “I’d better go now, Adam.”
He didn’t want her to leave. He couldn’t get enough of her, but he wasn’t going to press his luck. She wasn’t a one-night-stand type of woman, and he was glad about that. “I’ll see you out.” He took her hand, the strawberry pie forgotten, and walked her to the front door. Rubbing the back of his neck, he gazed into her eyes. “Thanks for the meal.”
“My pleasure.”
“It was delicious.” So was she. “I’ll need your address.”
“Six four, six four Atlantic. It’s easy. Apartment ten, first floor.”
He repeated her address, cementing it into his brain, and then opened the door for her. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
It was only a few steps, but he took her hand again, fitting it to his and she turned her leaf-green
