Page 27

“That was a kiss. Did you enjoy it?”

It had been a bit more than a simple kiss, but she didn’t call him on it. “Of course I did. You have to know you’re good at kissing.”

“Thank you.” He put his hand on the brake again.

This time she slapped it. “Stop that.”

“I thought we were finished.”

“Hell, no, we’re not finished. Why did you kiss me like that?” Not to mention feeling her up.

For a moment he looked at her speculatively. “I’m not a eunuch, Damaris.”

“I’m aware.”

“You were teasing me. So I responded. It’s not a big deal.”

She opened her mouth to deny that notion but thought better of it. Maybe it hadn’t been a big deal to him. Maybe what had felt like a forest fire to her had felt like a warm breeze to him. God, that was humiliating. “Fine. We’ll just forget it, then.”

“Will we?” He didn’t wait for an answer but released the brake, put the car in gear, and pulled back on the road.

*

Damaris barely talked to Nate for the next few days. Every time she did talk to him, he only had a couple of minutes because of a flight, or a student, or something else he had to do. She suspected part of it was because he didn’t want to discuss the elephant in the room—that sizzling kiss they’d shared and its implications.

Several days after their visit to Grandma K, Damaris returned from a ride to find Nate waiting for her. “Hi,” she said, dismounting. “Come talk to me while I cool down Daisy.” Cinnamon was much better but Damaris hadn’t ridden her again yet. Daisy was one of their older quarter horses who adored Damaris, so she tried to ride her at least once a week if possible. She removed the saddle and Nate took it from her.

“I know where it goes.” He took the saddle to the tack room and came back. “I can’t stay long. I have a student this afternoon.”

“If you’re pressed for time you could call, you know. Like you’ve been doing since we went to Grandma K’s.” She led Daisy out of the barn and walked her around. Nate followed.

“I wanted to see you.”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason? I like to see you.”

And she liked to see him. Too much sometimes. Damn it. “But you do have a reason, don’t you? You didn’t just come out here to shoot the breeze.”

He shrugged. “Levi and Dana are having a party this Saturday. Do you want to go?”

“What kind of party?”

“Just a party. There’ll be music, food, and drinks. Levi’s got a pool table and a swimming pool. They’ll either order takeout or Muriel, their housekeeper, will make something since neither Dana nor Levi can cook for shit.”

“It sounds fun but I’m not wearing a bathing suit.”

“That’s okay. No suit required.”

“What?”

He laughed. “Just kidding. You don’t have to swim. But we’ll be outside a lot so you might want to wear shorts.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“I’m sure there’ll be poker. There usually is.”

“I thought those poker nights were always men only.”