The Billionaire's Matchmaker(29)

Charlie trotted into the kitchen, his little paws making a clicking sound as he ambled over to her chair. He stopped, plopped his bottom on the floor and barked once at her. “Woof!”

Accustomed to talking to the dog as if he were a person, she almost answered him. Luckily, she caught herself and simply rose to get him some doggie treats.

Dell stood, too. “You cooked. I’ll clean up.”

Handing Charlie a treat, she shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. That wouldn’t be very hospitable.”

“What do you say we do it together?”

They stacked the dishes in the dishwasher, chatting a bit more. He made her laugh a time or two, and Marney’s stomach clenched. He was smart, funny, and very good looking. Not only that, but they shared a lot of similar experiences. Families who suffocated them. Exes who’d dumped them. And he really wasn’t bossy as much as incredibly sure of himself, confident in a way that was more sexy than manipulative. He really wasn’t like Doug at all.

But he didn’t want to get involved again. She’d invited him to dinner to rectify their former misconceptions. Wouldn’t it be counterproductive to try to start something that might make her look crazy again? Especially since he’d made it perfectly clear he didn’t want a relationship?

Of course it would.

Still, when they stood at her front door, close enough to touch, but not touching, her hormones sat on the edges of her skin, breathlessly awaiting a kiss that she knew wasn’t going to happen.

“Thank you for dinner.”

His soft, sensual voice sent goose bumps down her spine. “You’re welcome.”

He turned to open the door, but stopped and faced her again. His gray-blue eyes sparked with confusion. “I meant what I said about not wanting a relationship.”

“I know.”

“Neither of us should want a relationship anyway after our first failures.”

“I think my ex cured me of that.” But suddenly she didn’t feel like that. Her divorce had been nasty, but she was surprised to realize she was ready for another relationship. Plus, she and Dell had fun together when their attraction didn’t make them both nervous. She wouldn’t mind exploring where this would go.

He stepped close to her, slid his hand down her hair. “The hell of it is I like you.”

The breath that lodged in her throat prevented her from replying. He liked her? She’d guessed that but she never thought he’d admit it.

“We’d probably be perfect lovers.” He laughed. “God knows I’m attracted to you.”

Before she could even think of a response to that, he lowered his head and kissed her. His lips rubbed across hers, coaxing them open. Just like at the fund raiser, her head spun. Her bones dissolved. Her heart thundered in her chest.

His hands slid from her neck to her shoulders and down her back to her butt, sending rivers of molten need through her. He squeezed once, twice, then his hands drifted up her back, massaging until one drifted around front and found her breast.

Her nipples instantly hardened. Her breath stuttered out of her mouth, into his. Their kiss shifted from hot to super nova, their tongues mating frantically.

And then he pulled away.

The world vibrated around her for thirty seconds before she realized he stood there staring at her.

“I want to sleep with you.” He sucked in a breath. “But you wouldn’t like my terms. No strings. No commitments. It’s awfully hard to have that in a small town unless both of us are ready to be so discreet even our friends don’t know what we’re doing.”

Then he opened the door and left.

She combed her fingers through her hair. What the hell was that? How was she supposed to sleep now? Every hormone she had was on red alert. The man was potent. Like a drug. And ninety-nine-point-nine percent of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and spend a glorious night in bed with him.

What was left—a tenth of one percent—saw his point. Basically, they were incredibly attracted strangers, people who lived in the same small town where gossip could ruin a person who wasn’t careful. Plus, he didn’t want anything beyond a sexual relationship. And she didn’t jump into bed just for fun.

No wonder he’d stopped. There was no way in hell they’d be able to have a relationship.

So, if her mind was so sure, why did her body still tingle from that kiss?





Chapter Four



The following afternoon, waiting for Claudette to arrive for her shift, Marney stood behind the display case, rearranging pieces of her jewelry. Like a little bodyguard, Charlie dutifully sat beside her. Gabby had called that morning and told her she could keep the adorable pup indefinitely as she and T.J. would soon be moving T.J.’s office from California.

Marney was abundantly glad to have Charlie’s company. She needed someone to talk to. She’d fallen asleep believing Dell had given her a brushoff, but this afternoon her mind had spun off in a whole new direction.

“I want to sleep with you. But you wouldn’t like my terms,” she recited verbatim what she remembered him saying, as she glanced down at Charlie. “What if he wasn’t giving me a brush off, but actually asking me to sleep with him, long-term, like a lover? And he left because he wanted me to think about his terms?”

Charlie barked, as if saying she’d hit the nail on the head.