Page 28 of One Naughty Night (Single in South Beach)

“Sounds good.” He nodded. Flashed a thumbs up. Opened her front door. “And Esme?”

“Yes?” Setting her mug down on the counter, she took a hesitant step into the living room, closer to the door. Closer to him.

“Sorry about the remotes.” He canted forward, his darkly handsome face blank of expression as he kissed her cheek with none of the passion that had been wrapped up in his kisses last night. “Thanks for a great time.”

Before she could decide how to respond to that rather inane blow-off, the door was closed and he was gone. Leaving her more bereft than she’d expected.

All because he’d given her the space she requested.

Her first awkward morning after was officially at a close and she couldn’t decide how she had fared.

Had it been a success because she’d eased out of his expectations and put things back on more comfortable footing? Or had it been a miserable failure because, bottom line, she’d just sent away the hottest man on South Beach?

Frustrated, confused and more than a little depressed, Esme picked up the telephone to consult the wisdom of one of her few friends in the area. The woman whose nephew she’d accidentally stood up two nights ago.

Her new neighbor, Pauline Wolcott.

* * *

Sliding into his truck cab,Renzo told himself he wouldn’t think about the situation with Esme or the way she’d booted him out again this morning.

But as he arrived back at his house, stomping and grumbling his way from the carport to the front door, he knew he’d failed miserably at putting her out of his mind.

Charged memories from the night before played over and over in his mind. The scent of her long hair draped over them like a curtain. The disbelief mingled with pleasure in her wide blue eyes that first time she’d come undone for him. The way she’d gone to sleep last night holding him in a grip so tight he couldn’t have possibly rolled over.

Did she even remember that? Did she know her body reflexively wanted him while she was half asleep even though her “geeky and grateful” self didn’t seem to remember when she awoke? Maybe her T-shirt declaring as much simply meant the woman was too smart for her own good.

Tromping outside through the back door of the sprawling house, he headed toward the detached workshop he’d built for his woodworking. It looked like a big gardening shed from the outside and he never brought clients here, so it’s not like he broke any zoning laws. If his oldest brother ever returned from his extended stint overseas on the racing circuit, Renzo planned to buy a place somewhere a little more remote. Not that he wanted to sit by himself in the Everglades, but even twenty minutes north of Miami he could find something with more space.

Damned if he didn’t find himself thinking Esme was the kind of woman who would love to isolate herself like that.

As if she’d jump right into his life.

He snorted, pissed that he kept thinking about her when he knew damn well she wasn’t thinking about him today. Outside his work area, he selected a mammoth slab of maple wood that had been delivered two months ago and he hadn’t found the right project for yet. Examining the piece for flaws as he sought any distinguishing characteristics of the piece, he effectively shut out thoughts of Esme for a few seconds.

And found his palms sweating at the idea of some pervert from her past manhandling her.

Reflexively, he reached for the phone in his back pocket at the same time he grabbed a fresh sheet of sand paper and started to smooth the surface of the flawless maple slab.

“Hello?” The brusque feminine voice on the other end of the phone lacked the soft gentility of the woman he’d been thinking about.

“Giselle, what do I do to assure a woman I’m not an overbearing creep?”

His sister sighed through the receiver. “For starters, don’t ever call her at the crack of dawn and launch into stupid questions without even saying hello.”

“It’s almost noon.” His hand flew over the surface of the wood, sawdust flying as he balanced the cell phone against his ear. “And since when do I consult you for advice on women? These are extenuating circumstances. Cut me some slack here.”

“First of all, noon is the crack of dawn when you work until four a.m. But you’re not a creep. Any woman who can’t tell that within the first ten minutes of talking to you is blind. But the overbearing thing… That could be a bit more of an obstacle.”

Mulling that over, an idea struck as the distinctive scent of sawdust permeated the air. “You think I should introduce her to the guys who work on the construction crew? Next to them I’ll look practically laid back.”

“Sure. If she sticks around a dozen testosterone-oozing males long enough to find out. Why don’t you just try listening more and talking less? I think sometimes we all forget how much we ramble on at the mouth because we’re used to talking right over each other. I think it freaks out the quiet types.”

He could keep his mouth shut more around Esme. But somehow that didn’t seem like enough.

“I just don’t want her to think I’m some kind of over-possessive jerk. I’m only protective if there’s a good reason.”

“Newsflash, Ren. You find more reasons than most guys. Maybe you could just take a chill pill and let this woman fight her own battles. And if you manage to do that for her, can you try and swing it for me while you’re at it?”

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