Mad About You

time."
    "You're right," she admitted, scrubbing harder, trying desperately to erase the chain of good memories that had surfaced.
    He snapped his fingers. "Except we always had music." He turned on the radio on the counter and tuned in a classic country music station. Don Williams crooned from the speakers and Bailey nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect. Remember this one?"
    Virginia swallowed, the hair on the back of her neck tingling. "No," she lied. "I haven't listened to country music in years." That at least was the truth.
    He leaned on the sink, too close for comfort. "The old stuff is still the best," he said huskily. "The fads come and go, but the classics—the originals—those are the ones you remember late at night." His eyes glinted with desire.
    Hoping the hot water would explain away the heat she felt climbing her neck, Virginia's mind whirled for a suitable wet blanket to douse the flame between them. When she found her voice, she forced a light tone. "Who are you calling old?"
    Too late, she realized her banter only fueled him.
    He grinned wide. "Did I find a weak spot?"
    "No," she said too quickly.
    "Ginny." His voice was silken. He placed a finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. "If it's possible, you're even more beautiful now than the day I first laid eyes on you."
    She felt helpless with her hands in the water. "Bailey, don't," she said softly. Pulling away from his hand, she dunked the clean pan in the rinse water.
    "I can't help it, Ginny." He moved behind her to rest his chin on her shoulder. His sigh feathered the hair around her face, adhering it to her moist cheek. "You always drove me crazy—isn't Chad living proof of that? I couldn't keep my hands off you... I still can't." His arms encircled her waist, his hands pressing her back against him.
    "Bailey," she whispered urgently, trying to move away from him, "that's enough." Her knees threatened to buckle if he didn't stop touching her. "Chad's in the next room."
    "I can hang around until he goes to bed," he murmured into her ear, sending shivers dancing across her shoulders. He closed in to kiss her earlobe. "Please let me stay tonight, Ginny."
    When he descended on the taut, sensitive cords of her neck with his tongue, she felt herself waver.

Chapter Ten

    BAILEY KNEW SHE WAS WAVERING, could feel her teetering on the brink. He continued to probe and nibble on her neck, remembering well what it did to her, and feeling the full effect on his own straining body.
    "Hey, Bailey," came Chad's muffled voice from the living room. "You gotta see this!"
    Ginny's neck stiffened beneath his mouth.
    He stepped back with a frustrated groan and leaned against the kitchen bar. "Be right there, buddy!"
    She turned around, wiping her hands on a towel, the color high in her cheeks. "We have to try to be a good example, you know," she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
    He dragged his gaze from her breasts and glanced down at his telltale arousal. Reaching around and jerking free the knot between his shoulder blades, he then lowered the apron and retied it around his waist, the dainty flowered fabric effectively covering him.
    As he left the kitchen, he heard Ginny laughing. He smiled wryly to himself. At least she wasn't angry—he was still in the running.
    Chad was sitting cross-legged on the floor in semi-darkness, watching a sports documentary on legendary stadiums. "This is cool!" he said, grinning up at Bailey.
    Bailey nodded his enthusiastic agreement, then sat on the edge of the couch to watch with his son. Ginny joined them in a few minutes, giving him a warning glance, then sitting a few inches away from him on the deep, comfy sofa.
    "When can we go back to Shenoway?" Chad asked a few minutes later.
    Bailey's heart lurched, hoping his son would keep his pact about not telling Ginny of his plans. Looking at Ginny, he asked, "Got any plans for Saturday?"
    She shook her head.
    "Then Saturday it is—I have a few chores to do around the farm, then we'll take a picnic down by the swimming hole."
    "Can we go horseback riding?" Chad asked.
    Bailey nodded. "In fact, Rita, Jerry, and Jean Ann will be out of town for a wedding, and I promised to stay overnight to keep an eye on things. I sure would like some company."
    "Yaaaaay!" Chad cheered.
    "I don't know..." Ginny hesitated, and he guessed at what she might be thinking.
    He lowered his voice. "There are plenty of bedrooms, Ginny. Come on—don't you want to teach him to