Hot Rocks

knew she was a goner. “That’s really very sweet.”
    “And there’s this one other thing.” He took a step forward, into her, which put her back up against the wall. Still, when his mouth came down, the kiss was slow and smooth, almost dreamy. She felt her knees unlock and go halfway to dissolve before he lifted his head. “If I didn’t do that, I’d be thinking about doing it. Figured we’d get more done if I got it out of the way first.”
    “Good.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “Finished?”
    “Not hardly.”
    “That’s good, too. Coffee,” she decided before they started rolling around on the floor of the disordered room instead of setting it to rights. “I’ll just get that coffee.”
    She walked back toward the kitchen, with the dog prancing happily beside her. It helped, for the moment, to keep busy. Grinding beans, measuring coffee into the French press. He’d gotten her nerves up again, she realized. He was just leaning against the counter, watching her. That long body relaxed, but those eyes focused. Something about him made her want to rub up against him like a cat begging to be stroked.
    “I have to say something.”
    “Okay.”
    She got down two of the mugs that had survived the kitchen rampage. “I don’t usually . . . Hold on, let me figure out how to say this without sounding incredibly stupid and ordinary.”
    “I don’t think you could sound either. Ever.”
    “Boy, you really push the right buttons. All right.” She turned to him while the coffee steeped. “It’s not my habit to make dates, even casual ones, with a man I’ve just met. With a customer. In fact, you’re the first.”
    “I’ve always liked being first.”
    “Who doesn’t? And while I enjoy the company of men, and the benefits thereof, I also don’t, as a rule, wrap myself around one after dinner like sumac around an oak.”
    He was certain he’d remember the moment she had for a long time. It would probably come back to him on his deathbed as a major highlight of his life and times. “Would I be the first there, too?”
    “At that level.”
    “Better and better.”
    “You want cream? Sugar?”
    “Just black’s good.”
    “Okay then, to continue. I also don’t—and this has been a pretty hard-and-fast rule of thumb—contemplate sleeping with a man I’ve only known for twenty-four hours, give or take.”
    He was scratching Henry between the ears, but he never took his eyes off her face. “You know what they say about rules.”
    “Yes, and though I agree with what they say, I don’t break them lightly. I’m a firm believer in the need for structure, Max, in rules and lines. So the fact that I’m considering breaking a rule, crossing a line, makes me nervous. It’d be smarter, safer, more sensible if we backed away a bit, at least until we get to know each other better. Until we give things a chance to develop at a more reasonable and rational pace.”
    “Smarter,” he agreed. “Safer. Sensible.”
    “You have no idea how hard I’ve worked to live by those three attributes.” She laughed a little, then poured the coffee. “And the problem here is I’ve never been as attracted to anyone as I am to you.”
    “Maybe I’m a little looser when it comes to rules and lines, and not as worried about being sensible in certain areas.” He took the mug she offered, then set it on the counter. “But I know I’ve never looked at another woman and wanted her the way I want you.”
    “That’s not going to help me be smart.” She picked up her coffee, stepped back. “But I need some order. Let me put my house back together, as best I can, and we’ll see where things go.”
    “Hard to argue with that. We share some of these domestic chores, we ought to get to know each other.”
    “Well, it’s one way.” He’d be a distraction, she concluded. A lot more of a distraction than Jenny and a lunchtime Big Mac.
    But what the hell.
    “Since I’ve got some muscle on hand, let’s start with the living room. The sofa’s pretty heavy.”
     
     
     
    In Remember When, business was brisk. Or at least browsing was. It hadn’t taken long for word to get out about Laine’s latest trouble, or to bring out the curious to pump for more details. By one, with the new shipments logged, tagged and displayed, sales rung up and gossip exchanged in abundance, Jenny pressed a hand to the ache in her lower back.
    “I’m going to take lunch at home where I can put my feet up for an