Part 2 (1/2)

He grinned to let her know he was teasing. ”After his bath, we'l get him fed.”

A lot of things had changed, but not that kil er grin. It stil had the power to make her goofy. But not so goofy that she wanted to be alone with him in his spectacular new home.

She'd seen it from the outside when she'd driven by without him knowing it, and that was enough to make her agog at the luxury of it. Her brother said the interior was incredible-and she just knew the high-end, designer furnis.h.i.+ngs would make her feel like a Podunk. But even if Gary wasn't so wel -to-do these days, she didn't want to be alone with him long enough to bathe the dog.

Already her wil had weakened. Give her half an hour of privacy with him, and she'd be the aggressor, asking him for things she knew she was better off not having.

Like his body.

The problem was that he'd been so caring about the dog, and so uncaring about the mess it caused, she didn't know how to refuse him. His s.h.i.+rt had to be ruined, but she prayed he was right about his leather seats. Heaven only knew what it'd cost to repair them.

But nice or not, just being with him in the quiet seclusion of his car had her thinking things she shouldn't. Erin cleared her throat. ”I sort of figured I'd clean him up tomorrow at my place.”

”And leave him dirty and tangled al night?” He shook his head, sending a wet lock of brown hair to fal over his brow.

Her heart gave an unsteady beat.

”No, it'l be better to take care of it now.” Then, as if he thought better of things, he suddenly shot her a look. For that single instant of time, his brown eyes were direct and soul sucking. ”You don't have other plans, do you, Erin? I mean, a date or something?”

The ridiculousness of that helped pul her from her daze.

Her last date had been months ago and was a resounding flop that hadn't encouraged her to try again.

”Okay,” he said slowly. ”No plans.” He looked pleased by that, but also put out by her reaction. ”It was a legitimate question for an attractive twenty-five-year-old woman. You do know that you could date nonstop if you wanted to, right?”

In a fictional world maybe. But Gary was the very last person with whom she wanted to discuss her nonexistent romantic involvements. ”I spend most of my weekends working.”

He nodded. ”You aren't high maintenance, so tel me why you take al that overtime?”

The truth would suffice. ”I enjoy the work.”

”More than dating?”

She couldn't think of anything but the truth. ”There's no one I'm anxious to date.”

Smiling, he said, ”Want to tel me why?”

Letting out an exasperated breath, Erin stared at him.

”You want me to say I have a thing for you, is that it?”

”Not just any old thing, no. The real thing. And you do, so why not admit it?”

The real thing? Yeah, it was plenty real. But regardless of his protests, he was now a celebrity of sorts, and win or lose, though he mostly won, he gained more popularity with every fight. Events took him to hotspots al over the country, and sometimes out of the country.

He wined and dined with celebrities.

He appeared in magazines and newspapers.

Gorgeous, sophisticated women vied for his attention.

Could he real y be happy with a hometown girl he'd known since he was a kid?

Erin thought about it so long that Gary was pul ing into his driveway without her even realizing they'd reached his home. Outdoor lighting made the grounds look magical.

Even soaked and storm-whipped, the landscaping was beautiful. The long driveway led up to a four-car garage.

”You have a gorgeous house.”

”It's comfortable-but a little too big for a single man.” He put the car in park, looked at her for a long, heart-stopping moment, then he leaned over and kissed her.

No hands. No body parts touching.

But his mouth was warm on hers, and confident, and he tugged at her lips in a way that raised her temperature several degrees.

Wow.

For years, he'd played at being a pseudo big brother to her, but there was nothing fraternal about the way his mouth moved on hers.

Erin started to lean into him-and the puppy yapped, jumping up between them. Erin came to her senses just in time to realize that the little rascal had piddled on her leg.

”Oh, c.r.a.p.” She grabbed for her door handle to get the pup out of Gary's car. For a second there, her seat belt hindered her escape, but Gary released it for her, and he got out, too.

Luckily, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Not that it mattered since she was soaked to the skin anyway.

Crouched on the muddy gra.s.s by the dog, she saw when Gary's big feet stopped near her. He said nothing, but Erin felt his watchful gaze.

Her blood stil pumped too fast from that kiss, but she wasn't a complete coward, so she looked up at him-and got snared in his dark gaze.

Get a grip, Erin. She pasted on a false smile. ”Now my jeans are wet with more than rain.”

”Huh.” His smile was genuine and ful of promise. ”Guess you'l need a bath, too, then, won't you?”

At that suggestive comment, her heart shot into her throat. She tried to think of something to say, but Gary scooped up the dog, took Erin's arm, and started them al toward a side door to his large ranch-style home.

He led her directly into the cavernous garage, where she saw a truck parked, and then into the attached laundry room.

An overhead light brightened everything and granted her a good look at the pup.

And Gary.

He set down the dog and let it go about sniffing everything. With both hands, he raked back his hair while kicking off his shoes. His clothes clung to him.

And then he grabbed the hem of his s.h.i.+rt and dragged it off over his head. One-handed, he tossed it over her head and into a laundry basket behind her.

Erin stared.