Page 22 of One Naughty Night (Single in South Beach)

Vaguely he wondered which one belonged to Esme. More importantly, he wondered what she might have to say on the topic of kissing.

“You’ve been thinking?” he prodded as he helped her down from the truck cab and onto the sidewalk in front of the building.

He didn’t want her to slip into her apartment without him before they finished their discussion.

“Yes.” A gentle night breeze blew a strand of her long blond hair across her neck, ruffled the hem of her thin skirt. “The idea of our partnership crashing and burning because we’re too caught up in thinking about what might have been doesn’t sit well with me. I’ll admit I was too distracted to think clearly when we were going over some of the general contractual points of our agreement, and I don’t want to make a mistake just because of simple chemistry.”

Renzo felt his eyes widen to the saucer-round proportions of Saturday morning cartoon characters. She’d been distracted? Ms. Cultured Art Historian with the no-nonsense long skirt who’d spent most of the evening with a pencil tucked into her hair to keep the silky strands out of her face?

She’d done a hell of a job hiding it.

Confused, he couldn’t help but quiz her to figure out exactly what she meant. “You mean you’re having reservations about us doing business together? Or are you suggesting we move ahead with…” Hope surged inside him along with new fire in his veins. “Plan B?”

His throat ran dry at the very idea while the sultry breeze blew around them, toying with her skirt hem.

“First, let me just say that I want to move ahead with the business.” Her blue eyes projected a fiery determination while her voice held a note of absolute certainty. “Are you sure you can be committed to our work together no matter what sort of turn our personal lives might take?”

Her soft pink mouth seemed to invite his kiss more than conversation. He struggled against the urge to lean in and take what he wanted, drag her into her apartment and make love to her until they couldn’t dance around each other with indecision any longer. His fingers flexed, clenched at his sides to keep from touching her. If she’d put this many hours of thought into her words, he’d damn well pay her the courtesy of listening.

“I’ll be honest with you, Esme. Ineedthis business to work out. I’ve got bills to pay that require success, the sooner the better.”

She nodded with slow satisfaction. And, it seemed to Renzo, new resolution. “Then I’m in favor of a Plan C that I’ve mapped out on my own. May I share it with you?”

Plan C? He had himself so worked up at the thought of her actually biting on Plan B—- the one which involved more kissing her strawberry lip gloss-flavored mouth, more touching her silky soft skin—- that he almost couldn’t nudge an acknowledgement past his lips now.

“Plan C, huh?” He liked making all the plans, damn it. “Definitely. Let’s hear what you have in mind.”

He knew she couldn’t have missed the disappointment in his voice. He’d never been the kind of guy who masked his emotions, so when he did now, he was probably about as transparent as the polyurethane finish he used on his furniture creations.

Undaunted, Esme took a step closer to him, smack dab into his personal space. Near enough for him to breathe in the fragrance of her sweet scent, near enough to feel the warmth of her body inches away from his.

She splayed her palms across his chest, right over the place where his heart slammed a hungry beat. Licking her lips with a quick dart of her pink tongue she leaned close enough for her whisper to float on the balmy breeze.

“Plan C is we don’t stop at just kissing.”

ChapterSeven

Esme feared she wouldn’t be able to hear Renzo’s answer given that her heartbeat thundered in her ears with all the force of the “1812 Overture.”

And although she’d been telling herself that she needed to be more aggressive about going after what she wanted in life rather than simply hoping for the best, she had chosen a risky mission for this first foray into the pursuit of her goals. Renzo Cesare had provided her with a demoralizing setback yesterday. And although she’d be even more humiliated if he was still playing games with her now, that high-risk factor also made him all the more appealing.

If she could face rejection from Renzo and move on to a strictly business relationship with him, wouldn’t that be resounding proof of her new attitude? Assuming, of course, she survived the experience.

Now her talkative new business partner who always seemed to know his own mind stared at her with unmasked surprise.

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes for a moment, his long dark lashes brushing the bronze skin of his cheekbones.

“Normally, Esme, I’m a man of action. I don’t usually weigh the consequences before I act, and I follow my instincts on everything from how to cut a piece of wood to how I approach a woman I’m attracted to.” He slid her overnight bag off his shoulder and dropped it on the sidewalk. Still, he didn’t reach for her, didn’t plant his hands on her body even though she’d been thinking about touching him non-stop since dinner. “And I want you to know that if I listened to my instincts right now, we’d already be headed for your bedroom.”

Esme’s breath caught in her throat at the vision of her and Renzo tangled around each other, her fingers sinking into his shoulders as they fell into her crisp cotton sheets.

“But you’ve decided not to follow your instincts when it comes to me?” She should be pleased that he’d dialed it down after their almost-encounter the night before. That’s what she’d wanted. “Because you promised not to touch me unless I asked?”

“Not just because of that.” He reached out to smooth a strand of her hair between two fingers. “Today I watched the way you look things over, study all the angles and think about them before you make a decision. After how I pushed you to a wall last night, I just want to be damn sure I’m not pressuring you this time.”

A shiver trembled through her at the brush of his fingers against her hair.

Or maybe the shiver was because of the way he was making her feel so incredibly seen.

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