like that as kids.”
“Yes,” Sadie said, “but I’m still doing it. The old Rick was pretty irresistible. Now, though, since those last tours of duty, he’s … changed. Become more—I don’t know, not closed down, because he’s open and loving with the girls. But there’s something about him that is shut away. Locked down. And that tears at me, Abby. Oh,” she said, pausing to huff out a frustrated breath, “I don’t know why he affects me like he does, but it’s automatic. Rick Pruitt’s around and my brain turns to mush and my body lights up like one of these skyrockets we’re selling.”
“So having him around all week was a little tough?”
“Just a little.”
“I hear that,” Abby said, looking past Sadie to frown. “Nothing’s as easy as it should be.”
Sadie turned to follow her friend’s gaze and sighed when she spotted Brad walking through the crowd. “So, you’re having a few issues with men right now, too, huh?”
“You know I love you, Sadie,” Abby said, scowling at the oblivious man as he stopped to greet a friend. “But your brother sometimes makes me want to scream.”
“He has that effect on women. Even his sister,” Sadie admitted ruefully.
“Well, this woman isn’t going to let him win. He’s trying to ignore me at the TCC. Thinks because I’m an ‘honorary’ member, what I have to say shouldn’t matter.” Abby winked at her. “He’s the most hardheaded man I’ve ever come across and arguing with him is like trying to talk sense to a wall. But, I don’t give up easy and Bradford Price won’t know what’s hit him when I’m through with him.”
Sadie grinned in solidarity. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only female being driven slowly insane by a man. “Good to hear. Can’t wait to see it.”
“There’s something else you should see right now.”
“Hmm? What?”
Abby turned Sadie toward the counter. “Why don’t you take care of this customer?”
Rick Pruitt leaned his forearms on the sun-warmed counter, looked through the screen at Sadie. “So, what kind of fireworks do you have?”
He was in uniform and Sadie felt her breath slide from her lungs in pure, female appreciation. He looked tall and strong and proud. The left side of his chest was covered with rows of colorful ribbons and a few medals glinted dully in the sunlight.
A couple of women walked past behind him and Sadie saw them giving him a slow once-over. Even though a spark of jealousy flared up inside her, she couldn’t blame the women a bit. Rick was the kind of man that men wanted to be and women simply wanted. And when one corner of his mouth tipped up in a half smile, Sadie knew she was in very deep trouble.
Just as she had admitted only moments ago, she could actually feel her brain shutting down while her body kicked into high gear.
“Sadie?” he prompted, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Fireworks? What kind are we talking about?”
It wasn’t easy, but she managed to get a grip on her imagination and her hormones. “The usual kind. They’re safe and sane and very pretty.”
Then she sent a frown after Abby who walked away chuckling. A second ago, she’d been thinking how much she had missed Abby when she was living in Houston. Now, her best friend had left her alone with the very man Sadie had been complaining about. The traitor. Looking back at Rick, she forced her brain to wake up and pay attention, then kept her voice brisk and businesslike.
“What can I get you? All of the proceeds go to the women’s shelter.”
“Ah,” he said. “Like the pink flamingos.”
“Exactly.” And, Sadie knew that Summer’s shelter would be getting a nice donation today, judging from how busy the fireworks stand was. “So, what do you need?”
“Now, that’s a tricky question, Sadie,” he said, voice dropping to a low rumble that only she could hear.
She couldn’t stop the wave of heat that washed through her at the teasing, sexy note in his voice. Despite the crowds surrounding them, it was as if they were suddenly all alone. What was it about him that got to her so completely? Sadie felt as though every nerve in her body was standing straight up and trembling.
Sadie had never felt this way about any other man. Ever.
Certainly not the husband she had married for all the wrong reasons. In fact, up until that one night with Rick, Sadie had been half convinced that she was simply not meant to experience the tingling, overpowering pleasures that she read about in romance novels.
But in Rick’s arms, she’d found more than she had ever thought possible. Now staring into those brown eyes of his, she was so very tempted to find it all again. He was temptation personified and she was pretty sure he knew it. As if he was aware of her thoughts, his eyes warmed and seemed to twinkle and that’s when her breath caught in her lungs and a low, burning ache settled deep inside her.
Somehow, against all odds, she found the strength to rein in her hormones.
Her daughters’ faces swam in her mind and that helped. The girls had Rick’s eyes, sparkling with mischief. Her twins. The daughters she and Rick had made together on that passion-filled night.
Sadie wasn’t a lonely single woman anymore. She couldn’t just fall into bed with a man anymore, no matter how tempting. She was a mom. A mom who couldn’t afford to start something with the father of her girls, because the only reason he wanted her now was their girls.
He was charming and attractive and truth be told, a walking orgasm waiting to happen. But if they didn’t share two daughters, would he be trying so hard to seduce her? Sadie didn’t think so.
Steeling herself, she smiled. “Did you want to buy some fireworks, Rick?”
One eyebrow lifted, but he nodded as if he understood that he wouldn’t be drawing her into a flirtatious battle. “Sure.” His gaze slipped past her to the shelves stocked with brightly colored boxes of fiery splendor. “Why don’t you tell me what kind of fireworks the girls like?”
Her heart twisted. How sweet was that, she thought. He wanted to get something for his daughters to enjoy. Helplessly, she admitted that the one sure way to her heart was through her daughters. And no doubt, a cynical voice inside her whispered, he knew that very well. She ignored that little voice. “They’re so little, this will be their first year actually seeing fireworks. I think they’re going to be overwhelmed.”
“I’m glad I’m here to see it with them,” he said.
“I am, too.”
“Are you?” he asked, sliding one hand across the counter to sweep beneath the screen to touch her fingers.
A quick bristle of sensation swept through her at his touch and she pulled her hand away. She was standing on a razor’s edge here and one push either way was going to dissolve what was left of her balance.
“Of course I am,” she said. “The girls will love having you here.”
