Fan The Flames (Man Of The Month Book 3) (12 page)

“Oh honey, he knew. He knew how much you loved him.”

He settled her against his chest and she eased into place as if she’d been made for this spot. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. He was secure in your love. He might not have known how to be a stateside Navy man, but he loved you.”

She let the tears flow, finally pulling back after she realized she left wet circles on his shirt. She sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

“No biggie. I’ve got more clothes.”

He held her and the silence stretched. “How do you do it?” she finally asked.

“Do what?”

“Date? Get back in the saddle. I guess I’m going to have to do that.”

“No rush.”

“It’s been two years. I have to move on. But if I don’t even recognize when someone is flirting with me, how will I survive? I don’t understand this Web stuff and I’m not swiping on my phone.”

“Dating isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I haven’t been in the pool in a while.”

“Really? I don’t believe that.”

“Truth. I haven’t … uh, been with someone since Todd died.”

His words fell like a brick. Her mouth widened in disbelief. “No way.”

“Yes way. No one has interested me.”

“No one?”

“Well, there is someone. Time will tell if things will work out.”

“You’re a beautiful man. She’s probably a fool. Have you told her how you feel?”

“I think she’s figuring it out.” The light dawned and Scarlett’s lips formed an
O.
“But it’s still pretty early to tell.”

“Agreed,” Scarlett said.

“Do you feel like you were betraying Todd?”

“No. Do you?”

He shook his head. “But I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Me either. But I want you to kiss me again. I want to feel like before. See if it’s not a fluke caused by some dancing and wine. It feels wrong to ask. So clinical. But it didn’t feel that way before.”

She paused. “I can’t believe I even said that.” She moved her head off his chest. Looked up at him. Moved a hand to his mouth and traced his lips with her forefinger. Oh lord, did he feel superb. “I want to kiss you again. May I kiss you again?”

“Scarlett,” Brad protested.

She sat up and swiveled around so she sat on his lap. She placed her hands on his chest and he sat there like a statue. “You feel fantastic.” She traced a line down his neck.

He grabbed her hands then. Pinned her arms to her side. Took her mouth in his and gave her a harsh, aggressive kiss that sent her reeling. Heat pooled between her legs. Her breasts felt heavy. Then, without freeing her arms, he tore his mouth away. Lifted his head. Spoke.

“I want you. I wanted to drop that towel and bury myself in you. But I want all of you. I am not going to be just a body. You want to kiss me? To make love to you? Then we go on dates. With you it isn’t impersonal sex. I have my hand for that.”

Scarlett felt the thin veil of control he had. Could see his heaving, uneven breathing.

What the hell had just happened?
“What are you saying?”

“I’ve been celibate for three years. I want to be married. Have kids. Be normal. I’ve liked you since high school. I stayed out of Todd’s way. I’m here for you as a friend, but if we’re going to be physical, I want more than just the benefits part. I’m not that kid you knew in high school. I want it all.”

Her mouth dropped open. Finally she spoke. “Okay.”

He frowned. His forehead creased. “Okay, what?”

“Okay, I agree with you.”

She was making no sense. He’d given her a complete out. A way to save face. “I don’t understand. Do you agree with me about me wanting it all?”

“Yes, and the part about getting to know each other. You just said that if I wanted sex with you then we were going to get to know each other. I’m agreeing to those terms.”

Oh shit.
“Scarlett, I…”

“No, don’t you back out now.” She jabbed her finger in his chest. Poked him hard. “I have never been kissed like that. Ever. I’m scared shitless that you and I are going to screw up whatever this is and I’ll be out on the street—or worse, back with my mom and dad. But I’m willing to risk it because I’m feeling something I’ve never felt before. I think about you. You’re in my head. I like seeing you and talking to you. I looked forward to all your calls. And when we kiss, it’s magical. It’s beyond explanation, and it’s just a damn kiss. So yes. I’ve been cautious too long. Let’s do this.”

“It was only a kiss,” he lied. He’d never kissed any woman like that. He could still taste her on his lips. He wanted to kiss her again and not stop.

“Well, if that was just a kiss, I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like once we get to know each other better. I felt that kiss in my toes.”

“Fine,” he replied, for how did you resist the one woman you’ve always wanted when she agreed to your terms? And he’d felt that kiss in his toes too. And a whole lot of other throbbing places.

“Great. We’ll start tonight. You’re going to take me to dinner at my brother’s.”

Hands went up in protest. “Whoa. Slow down. That’s a family event.”

She turned the full force of those brilliant green eyes on him. Wiggled in his lap. Dared him to contradict. “So? It’s food and conversation, which is what you mentioned we needed. I’m not going to play footsie with you under the table and no one will think twice if I bring you along. My mom loves you already. I’ll text Maureen and tell her to set an extra plate. Ring the doorbell at five thirty. Unless you have more work to do here?”

“No. That’s why I was in the shower.” He stared at her, amazed. She was dead serious. “Who are you and what have you done with the old Scarlett?”

“She’s gone. I left her in San Diego. This is the new me. See you at five thirty.” And with that declaration, Scarlett headed into her bedroom and closed the door.

*   *   *

Inside the safety of her room, Scarlett sat on her bed. Waited until the keypad in her bedroom beeped, indicating Brad had left. She pressed a hand to her forehead. She had never been that forthcoming, that aggressive.

Was she crazy? Clearly she’d cracked. The stress of the last two years, coupled with the few before that, must have made her reach her breaking point. Or was this forthright, assertive woman actually the real Scarlett Harrison?

She had no idea. She picked up the phone. Called her sister-in-law and asked her if Brad could tag along. No explanation was necessary or given, and as expected, Maureen agreed. Scarlett glanced at the clock. She had a couple of hours to kill. She wandered into her en suite bathroom. She’d pulled her hair into a tight bun for church, and now she pulled out the holder and let the red strands fall to her shoulders. Growing up she’d hated her hair. Kids had called her Pippi Longstocking. She’d felt a bit freakish. Todd had told her she was pretty, and she’d latched on, marrying her high school sweetheart. Now her freckles had faded and she more resembled Amy Adams in hair color, although there the resemblance ended. She’d felt pretty and desired the other night in Brad’s arms, felt cherished when the tulips are arrived. She finished her business. Washed her hands.

She walked out into the living room. She should unpack the last few boxes. Instead she turned on the TV and found the Hallmark Channel. How long had it been since she’d sat on her couch and watched something other than a Disney movie? How many times had she watched the prince rescue the princess?

Brad was a special guy, and she wanted him. Tommy might have been flirting, but she’d felt no flicker of interest. Not like how the room seemed to light up the moment Brad entered. She touched one of the tulip petals. Then she took a forefinger and touched her puffy lips. No, she’d never been kissed so soundly, as if she couldn’t tell where her mouth stopped and his began. For the first time in several years, a sense of hope flickered and bloomed. Time for this princess to take charge and rescue herself.

Chapter Six

Sean and Maureen lived in a converted two-family building on Columbia, in a part of St. Louis called the Hill. “Hey Brad, good to see you,” Sean greeted as he opened the door.

“I hope I’m not intruding.”

“Nah. The more the merrier. Glad you joined us.” Brad put his hand on the small of Scarlett’s back, guiding her as they stepped inside, his touch reminding her of being in his arms earlier.

Everyone crowded on the first floor; what used to be a three-room shotgun flat had been gutted into an open-concept living room, dining room and kitchen combination. Colleen’s cousin Rory was six and her cousin Eileen was eight. At age two, Mary toddled after all of them as they raced and shrieked throughout the house. “Upstairs!” Maureen yelled, and four pairs of children’s feet pounded their way to the second floor, where the bedrooms were.

“The munchkins are noisy,” Maureen said, carrying a bowl of Italian salad, which she set on the dining room table. She put down a pair of tongs and gave Scarlett an air kiss. “So good to see you. Glad you’re finally back. We are going to have such fun.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Scarlett asked.

Maureen waved her aside. “Just pour yourself a glass of wine and make sure you top mine off too. Long weekend. I deserve it.”

“You sure do, hon,” Sean said, dropping a kiss on her lips. “Brad, want a beer?” Sean called.

“Love one,” Brad said. “Thanks.”

“Maureen always makes plenty.” Bernadette put a baking sheet covered with cheesy garlic bread on the dining table. “Hope you like lasagna.”

“Love it,” Brad replied, his mouth watering. “Been awhile since I’ve had a home-cooked meal, aside from those pork chops the other night.”

“Well, this isn’t the stuff you pull out of the freezer either,” Sean said, handing him a can of Busch beer. “My wife can cook.”

“Do you cook?” Brad asked Scarlett as she returned from the kitchen area carrying a very generous glass of red wine.

“Not like Maureen,” she admitted.

“No one cooks like my wife,” Sean bragged. “Her parents own…” He named an Italian eatery a few blocks over. “It’s where we met. She was waiting tables. I was actually there on a double date. I went back the next night to ask her out.”

Brad hadn’t known that. “Love that place.”

“Well, this is my family’s secret recipe,” Maureen said, carrying in a steaming pan. Gooey cheese had melted all over the top.

“That smells delicious.” She gave Brad a warm smile. “This is going to be yummy.”

“Go call the urchins,” Maureen prompted her husband.

“Even though you literally just sent them upstairs?”

Maureen puckered her lips and shot him a look down her nose, and soon everyone sat around the table, even Mary, who still used her high chair. Scarlett’s dad, James, said grace, and everyone dug in.

“So, Brad, how did you spend your Valentine’s Day?” Maureen asked as she served the lasagna.

Brad accepted the plate being passed to him. “Actually, I worked. My crew went door-to-door, checking on and installing smoke detectors.”

“Oh, I saw that story,” Bernadette said. She sat down, all the kids now with plates. “That was your firehouse?”

“One of them. Other houses worked the parade and there were a few fires, but nothing major. The department does community outreach and each time we do, it always amazes me how many people still doesn’t have working detectors.”

“Well, no worries here,” Sean said. “My cousin Bernie’s an electrician and he hardwired them in.”

“What’s hardwired?” Eileen asked.

“Means they all go off at once when one senses smoke,” Sean told his daughter.

“Very safe,” Brad added.

“He’s a fireman,” Colleen told her older cousin.

“Oh.” Eileen sized Brad up. “So you save people in fires?”

“That’s one part of my job,” Brad told her.

She seemed skeptical. “So you really have?”

“Yes,” Brad told her.

“He’s also a prince,” Colleen inserted, not to be left out, “because we live in a castle. You can come over and see it.”

“I want to see it,” Rory shouted. “Princes have swords and fight dragons. Do you have a dragon?”

“No dragons.” Scarlett laughed. “And you can all see it.” As the conversation took off in a different direction, Scarlett relaxed. By the end of dinner, plates were polished clean and everyone was full. “I’m going to have to run for a week,” Sean complained. He glanced at Brad. “Don’t even say it. You’re already too darn fit for this family.”

“Only because I’m training to do the Fight for Air climb,” Brad said.

Scarlett frowned. “What’s that?”

“It’s a fund-raiser for the American Lung Association. I’ll be climbing all forty floors of Metropolitan Square at the end of March. I’m on a first responders’ team. Our goal is to raise a couple thousand dollars.”

“Sounds like a noble cause,” Bernadette said.

Impressed, Scarlett raised her wineglass in a silent toast. He was more than a great kisser. She discovered something new every day that raised him in her esteem. He responded with a lift of his eyebrows. Then he took another swig of his beer. “Do you still swim, Sean?”

“Not as much as I’d like. You?”

“I try to hit the pool at least three times a week. But remember I’m out on the Mississippi for the fire department. So I have to stay in shape. I’d hate to be on call and not be strong enough. That river is swift.”

Maureen giggled. “You have no worries. I saw that calendar. You’re in pretty good shape.”

“Maureen,” Scarlett’s mom chided. “Don’t embarrass your guest.”

“Sorry,” Maureen said, but her subsequent giggle indicated she had no shame. Sean simply rolled his eyes. He knew what he’d married. Knew he had nothing to worry about. “So are you part of the bachelor auction too?” Maureen asked.

“What auction?” Bernadette said. She looked at Brad.

“The one to find the next group of calendar guys,” Brad said. “Given the popularity of the calendar, the committee decided that it would take the thirty most eligible public servants and put them up for auction. The ones who earn the most money will be in the calendar. It’s all for charity, and no, thankfully I’m done with all that. I have to make an appearance, but I’m not up for sale. Another guy in my house is, though.”