Chocolate Kisses Read Online Free Page A

wasn’t
stupid enough to follow through on it. “Did it ever occur to you that I could
be married?”
    “Are
you?”
    She
lowered her eyes to his jaw, to the smoky shadow of his overnight growth of
beard. “No,” she confessed. “But I’m not interested in an affair. I’m not
looking for a romp. If that’s what you came here for, you’re wasting your
time.”
    “Well.”
He released her shoulder and she drew in a long breath. “That was blunt.”
    “Blarney
isn’t my long suit.”
    “Do
you believe in Valentine’s Day?”
    “As
a profitable day for Fantasy Feasts? Sure.”
    “Where’s
your spirit of romance?”
    She
shot him a scathing look. “I’m a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.
Romance is a luxury I can’t afford.”
    That
silenced him. And broke the spell between them. He turned and carried the bowl
to the sink. “Do you want me to wash this?”
    What
she wanted was to stop feeling so attracted to him, to stop responding to his
intriguing eyes and his provocative smile and the strong, hard heat of his hand
on her shoulder, his finger on her lip. Given the impossibility of that, she
wanted him to keep his distance from her.
    “If
it makes you happy, go right ahead.”
    He
sent her a short, meaningful look, one that told her exactly what would make
him happy.
    It
was the most un-vanilla look she’d ever seen.
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    10:27
a.m.
     
    NED
EXAMINED THE wicker basket on his lap. Although small, it held a mountainous
heap of homemade cookies which were held in place by a square of artfully
wrapped red cellophane and a white satin ribbon. He had watched Claudia prepare
the basket, awed by her efficiency and her casual grace.
    This
was a woman who knew what she was doing.
    He
thought about the women he used to date in New York. They were invariably
professionals like himself, intelligent, articulate, well read and up to date.
He couldn’t picture any of them baking a cake.
    It
wasn’t as if Claudia Mulcahey was old-fashioned or unliberated. She wasn’t
plump and maternal; she didn’t seem particularly nurturing. What she was
was…competent. Efficient. In charge of her world.
    That
she was willing to get behind the wheel of her van after her calamity earlier
that morning was more evidence of her courage. He recalled the way her hands
had trembled within his, right after the skid. She wasn’t the sort to fall
apart, though. She’d permitted herself a moment’s terror, then squared her
shoulders and forged ahead. She was brave and talented and…
    Damn,
so sexy. He relived the arousing sensation of her tongue curling around his
finger when he’d poked it into her mouth. He recalled the way her breath had
grown shallow and her breasts had risen and fallen under her sweater. He
recalled his own body’s response, a craving for something much sweeter and more
complicated than chocolate.
    He
hadn’t even known he liked chocolate. He suspected that Claudia Mulcahey could
introduce him to plenty of other hungers he’d never known before.
    They
were nearing Wyatt Hall and he assessed his options. He could keep pursuing her
in the hope that sooner or later he’d get to satisfy those hungers. Or he could
thank her for the cookies, hop onto his bicycle and ride to his mother’s
townhouse.
    No
contest. As Claudia turned onto the circular driveway leading up to the house,
he didn’t bother to glance at his abandoned bicycle.
    She
drove around to the kitchen entrance at the rear of the house. Several other
cars and trucks were parked there, among them his sister’s black Mercedes. He
smothered a scowl. He wasn’t in the mood to see Melanie, but he couldn’t very
well hide in the van.
    “You
really don’t have to help,” Claudia said as she turned off the engine.
    “Why
do you keep saying that? I want to help.”
    She
eyed him dubiously. “It’s a beautiful day. The warmest day in two weeks—you
said so yourself. You don’t want to spend it lugging trays into the