Page 112 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
Cait frowned, not sure she understood what he meant. “When?”
“When we were opening the gifts,” he reminded her.
“Oh,” Cait said, straightening. “You mean when I opened your gift to me and saw the brooch.”
Joe nodded with exaggerated emphasis. “Right.Nowdo you remember?”
“Of course.” The kiss. He planned to claim the kiss she’d promised him. She brushed her mouth quickly over his and grinned. “There.”
“If that’s the best you can do, you should’ve kissed me in front of Charlie.”
“You’re faulting my kissing ability?”
“Charlie’s dog gives better kisses than that.”
Cait felt more than a little insulted. “Is this a challenge, Joseph Rockwell?”
“Yes,” he returned archly. “You’re darn right it is.”
“All right, then you’re on.” She set the plate of cookies aside, slid closer and slipped her arms around Joe’s neck. Next she wove her fingers into his thick hair.
“This is more like it,” Joe murmured contentedly.
Cait paused. She wasn’t sure why. Perhaps because she’d suddenly lost all interest in making fun out of something that had always been so wonderful between them.
Joe’s eyes met hers, and the laughter and fun in them seemed to disappear. Slowly he expelled his breath and brushed his lips along her jaw. The warmth of his breath was exciting as his mouth skimmed toward her temple. His arms closed around her waist and he pulled her tight against him.
Impatiently he began to kiss her, introducing her to a world of warm, thrilling sensations. His mouth then explored the curve of her neck. It felt so good that Cait closed her eyes and experienced a curious weightlessness she’d never known—a heightened awareness of physical longing.
“Oh, Cait...” He broke away from her, his breathing labored and heavy. She knew instinctively that he wanted to say more, but he changed his mind and buried his face in her hair, exhaling sharply.
“How am I doing?” she whispered once she found her voice.
“Just fine.”
“Are you ready to retract your statement?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know. Convince me again.” So she did, her kiss moist and gentle, her heart fluttering against her ribs.
“Is that good enough?” she asked when she’d recovered her breath.
Joe nodded, as though he didn’t quite trust his own voice. “Excellent.”
“I had a wonderful day,” she whispered. “I can’t thank you enough for including me.”
Joe shook his head lightly. There seemed to be so much more he wanted to say to her and couldn’t. Cait slipped out of the car and walked into her building, turning on the lights when she entered her apartment. She slowly put away her things, wantingto wrap this feeling around her like a warm quilt. Minutes later, she glanced out her window to see Joe still sitting in his car, his hands gripping the steering wheel, his head bent. It looked to Cait as though he was battling with himself to keep from following her inside. She would have welcomed him if he had.
ChapterNine
Cait stared at the computer screen for several minutes, blind to the information in front of her. Deep in thought, she released a long, slow breath.
Paul had been grateful to see her when she’d shown up at the office that morning. The week between Christmas and New Year’s could be a harried one. Lindy had looked surprised, then quickly retreated into her own office after exchanging a brief good-morning and little else. Her friend’s behavior continued to baffle Cait, but she couldn’t concentrate on Lindy’s problems just now, or even on her work.
No matter what she did, Cait couldn’t stop thinking about Joe and the kisses they’d exchanged Christmas evening. Nor could she forget his tortured look as he’d sat in his car after she’d gone into her apartment. Even now she wasn’t certain why she hadn’t immediately run back outside. And by the time she’d decided to do that, he was gone.
Cait was so absorbed in her musings that she barely heard the knock at her office door. Guiltily she glanced up to find Paul standing just inside her doorway, his hands in his pockets, his eyes weary.
“Paul!” Cait waited for her heart to trip into double time the way it usually did whenever she was anywhere near him. It didn’t, which was a relief but no longer much of a surprise.
