Operation Date Escape

your breath. The only reason I’m going out with Cole is b ecause you told him I would and I wanted my shoes back.”
    Nanci rolled her eyes. “Why is it some people choose to live in such denial?”
    “Call it what you will. I’m telling you, I don’t want to go out with Cole.” And she didn’t want to feel that flutter that moved through her stomach every time she thought about Cole Maxwell.
    “ Fine. Call him and tell him you changed your mind. It’s not like you don’t know how to reach the guy.”
    “I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. You know that.”
    “That’s the only reason, huh?”
    There was no fooling her best friend.
    “Yes,” she answered anyway. Sometimes the truth was too hard to accept.
    Nanci glanced out the passenger window. “So where are you two going on your date?”
    “I have no idea. We didn’t exactly have a chance to discuss it the other night. If you recall, I was sitting in the back of that rescue ambulance, hiding from reporters.”
    Her friend’s smile widened. “ I suppose a bedroom date is out of the question.”
    She shot her friend a warning look.
    “Maybe Cole will surprise you with some place romantic. A candlelit restaurant can set the mood for your date.”
    Something she did not want. In fact, she wanted the date to be as unromantic as possible, seeing as how she became a puddle of sexual need every time she saw him. Even his voice turned her on. That meant their date needed to be somewhere loud where she wouldn’t have to hear that sexy voice and dark so she wouldn’t be tempted by his ‘calendar hunk’ face. But where?
    A passing billboard caught her eye. An advertisement for a theater chain. A light went off in her head. That was it! A movie. It was perfect. Cole wouldn’t be able to talk to her in a crowded movie theater. At least, not much. And she wouldn’t be nearly as distracted by that sexy grin of his in a near darkened room.
    She made a mental note to check and see what was playing at the movies the second she got home from shopping. A romance was out of the running, because it would probably have her wanting to reenact the love scenes afterwards. Maybe a comedy. Whatever it was, she could handle it.
    But what if she couldn’t? What if her lips wandered over to Cole’s in the dark? What if she reached over for popcorn and missed the bucket?
    She groaned.
    “Judging by that fantasy-induced look on your face, ” Nanci said, pulling her from her heated thoughts, “I’d say skip the date and go right to bed with the guy. Get him out of your system.”
    Bed was the last place she wanted to be with Cole. Okay, so maybe she really wouldn’t mind being there with him. She just couldn’t. She gave an exasperated sigh as she turned to look at her friend. “Have you heard anything I’ve said about not wanting any kind of relationship with Cole?”
    “Every word. Fortunately, I know you well enough to also hear what it is you’re not saying.”
    “And that would be?”
    “That you’re really hot for this guy. And for good reason. Putting fires out might be his job, but men like Cole are capable of starting the kind of fires that can singe a hole right through a woman’s panties.”
    Kelsie groaned again. That’s exactly what she was afraid of. It had been so long since she’d been with a man , Cole could prove to be too much of a temptation. She was in so much trouble.
    “You’re caving...” Nanci said, her tone teasing.
    “Am not.” She would keep her head on straight where Cole Maxwell was concerned. “I’m going out with him to fulfill an agreement, nothing more. In fact, I’ll call you the moment I get home from our date just to prove to you that I didn’t fall into bed with Cole like you seem to think I’m going to.”
    “I ’ll be sure not to hold my breath waiting for that call.”
    She would prove her friend wrong. Show her that she could and would resist the hunky fireman who kept invading her thoughts. Another perfect man just lying in wait to tear her heart in two. Just as Kyle had. She’d never forget the day she stopped by Kyle’s office to surprise him with dinner plans for their anniversary. Only the surprise had been on her. She’d walked in to find her then husband and the office cleaning bimbo going at it on his desk. The woman apparently thought getting paid to polish things meant ‘polishing’ her employer’s fully erect body part as well. The jerk.
    “If you ask me, I think Cole’s the