Page 10 of Fire and Ice
She wanted to grab his fingers and press his palm to her cheek. Even as she started to utter “No” again, the word got confused in her brain, and she said, “Okay.”
His smile was devastating, his words husky. “I’ll talk with you later, Chelsea.”
She simply nodded, suddenly finding herself tongue-tied.
He gave her one last, long look before turning back to his basket and pushing it toward the dairy case. He opened the door, grabbed a gallon of whole milk, and set it in his basket as the glass door closed.
She watched him leave, unable to move. He paused once to look over his shoulder and smile before rounding a corner and disappearing from view.
Her body refused to budge for a long minute or two, and she sighed. She had no idea at this moment why she had been refusing to go out with Grady Donovan. She found herself wanting to chase him down and tell him she was ready to go with him wherever he wanted, now.
He was funny, friendly, and everything about him was so real. She felt like she could take him at face value—she didn’t think he was the type of man to put on a façade. He was straightforward and clearly went after whatever it was he wanted.
And apparently, he wanted her.
The thought made butterflies bounce around in her belly.
She shook her head. She couldn’t let this man get to her. She couldn’t go out with him.
Why not? The whisper of a thought floated through her mind. Just call him.
As she finished shopping, confusion drained and numbed her, yet, at the same time, a tickle of excitement burned in her belly.
Truth was, she wanted to talk with Grady tonight. She would worry about the why and why not later. For now, she just wanted to hear his voice and chat with him, with no expectations.
She bit her lower lip as concern washed over her in an icy wave. She was driving herself crazy, wanting to go out with him and then not wanting to see him again.
God, she was going to go out of her mind.
She pulled into a long line at the cashier and braced her elbow on the shopping cart’s handle before resting her forehead in her palm. She shouldn’t have said yes. She should not have agreed. What was the matter with her?
Tonight, when she called him, she would let him down gently, and that would be that.
Right?
She sighed before straightening her back and strengthening her resolve. Right. She would say no and put an end to this madness.
4
Chelsea stared at her cell phone. Moved her gaze to the business card with Grady’s confident male scrawl. Glanced at her cell phone. Looked at the card.
“Damn it, Chelsea.” She clenched the phone, dropped into a chair at the kitchen table, and placed her forehead on the smooth, cool wood. “Get a grip.” She groaned, rose, and flopped back in the chair. “He’s just a guy.”
But some guy. He could have been in an ad for a physical fitness magazine. Or he could have posed for one of those luscious firefighter calendars.
It was all physical, right? She wasn’t thinking about what a terrific guy he appeared to be when she talked with him. He had such a great personality, and he’d be fun to be around. She was sure of it, but that wasn’t what she had been thinking earlier.
“Just a guy.” She tried to picture him in a tank with holes and loose, stretchy gym shorts. She worked to get the thought in her head of him kicking back in front of the TV with a can of beer in one hand, a bag of Cheetos in his other, and the remote on the chair’s arm, while scratching his balls.
Nope. The image didn’t fit the man she’d met. If he was watching TV, he’d be wearing a T-shirt and jeans, or maybe a team jersey and a nice pair of sweatpants. He’d look casual, a total guy, but not in the least bit like a slob.
Funny how she was already so positive about some things when it came to Grady, and she didn’t even know him. He was one hundred percent male, built like an athlete, and classy in a decidedly masculine way.
But then there was his sense of humor and his heart—the way he spoke about his family and Spot.
He made her wish for more—a family of her own to blend with her brothers and sisters, and even more love and laughter.
The man stirred things in her, too. Long-dormant feelings that had awakened and brought her body alive. He made her think about intimate nights alone.
