Perfect Partners

She clutched at his shoulders, and his tongue slid into her mouth.
    Panic seized her.
    “Oh, my God,
Joel
. Joel, wait.
Stop
.” Panting for breath, she used the grip on his broad shoulders to force her head up and away from his. She opened her eyes and stared at him through tilted, steamed-up lenses. She found herself gazing straight into the heart of a blast furnace.
    Everything was happening too quickly. She knew she had started this with her invitation to dinner, but it was all moving far too fast. She had to get a grip on herself and the situation. Time to slow down and let her glasses unfog.
    “Letty?”
    “The lasagne.” She gave Joel a shaky smile, aware that her breathing was much too quick and shallow. “It’s done. Got to get it out of the oven. Now.”
    “Sure. Wouldn’t want dinner to burn.” Joel smiled slowly and eased her down so that she was standing on her own two feet again. He lowered his lashes, briefly shielding his gleaming tawny gaze. When he lifted them again, the fire in the furnace had been banked.
    Letty nearly collapsed when he took his hand away from her neck. Excitement pounded through her. She felt as if she had just had a very close call, and part of her was disappointed that disaster had been narrowly averted.
    There was plenty of time for things to happen between her and Joel, Letty thought as she grabbed two pot holders out of a drawer. If it was truly meant to be, then it would happen. No need to rush.
    She noticed she could see clearly again.
    Letty staggered to the oven and jerked open the door. A cloud of aromatic steam refogged the lenses of her glasses.
    “Letty?”
    “Yes?” She busied herself hauling the lasagne out of the oven. The pan weighed a ton. She wondered if doubling the recipe had been a mistake. But Joel was a large man who obviously needed a lot of fuel to maintain his phenomenal energy level. She had not wanted to run out of food tonight of all nights.
    “I think I’m going to like being a mentor,” Joel said softly.
    She set the pan down with a clatter and turned to face him. He was watching her with an intensity that both alarmed and thrilled her. “I want to make something clear, Joel.”
    “Let me take a wild guess.” His mouth kicked up at the corner. “You don’t want to rush things, right?”
    She laughed with relief. “Right. I wasn’t sure how you felt. I wasn’t certain if you were as interested in me as I was in you. I wondered if my imagination had gone wild or something.”
    “Now you know, don’t you?”
    She searched his eyes. “Do I?”
    “I’m interested.” He picked up his glass of champagne and leaned back against the counter. “Very.”
    Letty drew a deep breath and took the plunge. “yes, well, so am I. But where I come from we do things a little more slowly.”
    Joel flashed her a grin. “You’re not in Kansas anymore.”
    “I’m not from Kansas,” she retorted. “I’m from Indiana.”
    He held up a palm. “Fair enough. I’ll try to remember that and make allowances.”
    “There’s something else I think you should know right up front,” Letty continued firmly.
    “I’m listening.”
    “I’m not interested in any one-night stands or short-term affairs.”
    “Neither am I. Too messy and too dangerous.”
    She toyed with a pot holder. “If we—you and I, that is—if we start something, I want it to be because we both believe we’ve got a future together. Joel, this is very awkward. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
    “Yeah, I understand all right, Letty. You want to know if my intentions are honorable. It’s a little early to ask me that, isn’t it?”
    She winced at the note of laughter in his voice. “It’s a little too early for a lot of things.”
    “I thought you came out here looking for passion and adventure.”
    “Yes, well, somehow I wasn’t expecting to find it quite so quickly,” she admitted.
    Joel laughed and put her glass of champagne back in her hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll do this on your schedule. After all, you’re the boss.”
    That thought soothed her frazzled nerves. She
was
the boss, Letty repeated to herself. She had started this, and she would control it. She would test the waters cautiously. She would learn in due course if this man really was the one.
    “To us and to Thornquist Gear.” Letty raised the champagne glass to her lips.
    “Right. You, me, and Thornquist Gear.”
    She sent him home early that night, and he went reluctantly but