3 #2
Surprising him, she clasped his forearm and moved closer, until she was practically in his embrace. Unfortunately, the moment of vulnerability lasted only for a second. When she straightened, she wore a smile that didn’t quite hide the wealth of sadness in her eyes. “How did you do all this?”
Confused, he asked, “All what?”
She waved a hand. “The decorating.”
Kam glanced around at the house that now looked more like a home. “None of it was a big deal.” It had bugged him, seeing it
half finished.
He hadn’t yet told her that he had an apartment within walking distance of her. Once he got moved in—something he was anticipating—then
he’d drop it on her. Until then, fixing up her place had given him an outlet.
“I did a lot of guessing, based on what you had, so if you want any of the plants moved, just let me know. I can hang the
pictures too, as long as they’re in the right places.”
“They’re exactly where I wanted them to go.”
“I figured since the sizes fit.” She had great taste, and the artwork would add a little more color to an otherwise neutral
setting. He nodded up the hall toward the mirror. “I’m guessing it’s for the foyer?”
“It is, but it was too heavy for me to . . . Kam, I didn’t ask you to do any of this.”
“Friends don’t have to ask, right?” And while he was the topic . . . “Friends also don’t need to doll up at the butt-crack
of dawn just to say good morning.”
Her lips twitched. “I didn’t doll up, and dawn came and went.”
“About five minutes ago.” He studied her face, all the smooth curves and delicate bone structure. “I bet you’re really pretty
without the war paint.”
“War paint?” she sputtered, half in umbrage, half in humor. Then with a wrinkle of her nose, she confessed, “My eyelashes are as pale as my hair, which means they’re almost invisible. Without mascara, I look really washed out.”
Silly Glory. “I doubt, under any circumstances, that you could be anything but pretty. One of these days, I’ll see you a little
messy.”
“Honestly, you should hold your breath while you wait.”
She said it so sweetly it took a second for the taunt to sink in. When it did, he grinned. Hell, around her, he did a lot
of grinning. “So . . . It seems we need to talk.”
After a sip of her coffee, she asked, “About what?”
“I think you know.”
Like a rabbit who just spotted a wolf, she went still, before oh-so-cautiously turning her face to see him. In a mere whisper,
she asked, “About the kiss?”
Okay, sure, he could talk about that, too. “I meant your persistent ex.”
She deflated. “Oh.” With palpable dread, she squared her shoulders and firmed her jaw. “He’s not my ex. Like I said, I only
went out with him three times, and the first time, it was a group thing.”
“Like an orgy?”
When she swatted at him, he ducked out of reach, and she nearly fell off her stool. He caught her with a laugh. “Settle down,
slugger. It was just a joke.”
Slapping away his hands, she straightened. “Not funny.”
No, it really wasn’t. “Sorry. You’re right. He’s a creep, so I should be serious.”
As if she didn’t trust his about-face, she continued to eye him. “I don’t know if creep is the right word, but he makes me uneasy. He’s just . . . I don’t know. He kept trying to move at Mach speed.”
Kam waited, and when she didn’t say more, he asked, “Care to expound on that?” Mentally, he was already cracking his knuckles.
“Like, did the asshole pressure you?”
“Not the way you mean. See, that first time we were all at a party. I’d driven there, and when he asked about leaving together,
I declined. He kissed me goodbye and that was it.” She held the mug in both hands, her gaze averted. “I didn’t particularly
feel anything with the kiss, but I liked him okay. He’d been easy and fun, so when he called to ask me out on a second date,
I agreed to meet him at a restaurant.”
Kam struggled to block the image of Mike kissing her. Of her liking him enough to see him again. He had zero rights to jealousy,
but he felt it just the same. Made no sense at all, but there you had it. Most of his time spent with Glory made no sense.
Too much time slipped by while she silently gathered her thoughts. Kam had a bad feeling about things, but then, he’d met
Mike—and instantly disliked him. “Did the second date go okay?”
She gave an indolent lift of one shoulder.
No enthusiasm. Great. That relieved him.
“The restaurant was nice. Our booth was private. Candlelight and champagne.” Her teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. “I’m not
much of a drinker, but he had a few glasses, and he poured on the compliments.”
Yeah, Kam hated him, and yet, he had to be fair. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“I know, but it felt off. I mean, no one compliments me like that. It was . . . weird.”
Good thing he kept most of his thoughts to himself and chose to tease her instead of telling her how sexy her big blue eyes were, how badly he wanted to tangle his fingers in her hair, how even a hint of her cleavage got his imagination steaming.
What it was about Glory, he didn’t know, but from the start, she’d intrigued him, annoyed him, and turned him on.
“What kind of compliments?”
Suddenly animated, she turned to face him, closer, more intense. “He went on and on about my eyes at first, until I was afraid
to blink. He kept saying that he could tell how I really saw him, that I had truth in my eyes.”
Odd, but . . . “You do have beautiful eyes, Glory.”
“Thank you,” she said dismissively. “But truth? My eyes don’t hold truth.” She snorted at the idea. “Then he started in on
my lips. I don’t remember exactly, but he said stuff like my smile was pure sunshine, and when I smiled at him, he felt like
a warrior or something.”
Okaaay. “Your lips are nice.”
“They’re lips. Not sunshine, for crying out loud. I got self-conscious and didn’t even want to smile, because he acted like
every smile was a gift to him or something.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Kam said, “I can see where that’d be uncomfortable.” Especially since he’d rather her special
smiles were for him—no, wait. He wanted to sleep with her, not cherish her damned smiles. “Go on.”
“It gets worse,” she warned.
“You lived it, so I think I can take hearing about it.” When she stayed quiet, he nudged her. “Seriously, Glory. I’m here.
I’m curious. And I want to help.”
“How can you help?”
“I can keep him away like I did last night.” Although really, Kam wasn’t sure he’d convinced the guy of anything. The dude
sounded rabid, like he was obsessed with her or something, and that worried him.
Glory fortified herself with the rest of her coffee. “All I wanted to do was leave, but then he was so wounded about it. He apologized.” She stared into her empty cup and her voice lowered. “He said he knew he’d come on too strong, and he wanted me to forgive him.”
Getting up to refill her coffee gave Kam something to do so Glory wouldn’t see his building anger.
Anger at Mike, not at her, but he didn’t want her to misconstrue his mood. “Did you?”
“I felt like a jerk,” she said miserably. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m . . . awkward.”
He wanted to deny it, but she was opening up to him. They were having their first serious conversation, relating without the
usual sniping or defensive humor. So he gave her the truth. “Maybe a little, but not in a bad way.” At least, he didn’t think
so now. Getting to know Glory was as difficult as pulling hen’s teeth—maybe more so—but he was getting there. “Seems to me
that sometimes you’re unsure what you’re supposed to do, when you could just do what you feel like doing.”
A smile teased over her lips, and she tipped her head. “What?”
Yeah, that had sounded confusing even to him. If he told her she was full of artifice, that’d sound too insulting. “I think,
occasionally, you try too hard.” Likely because her aunt found fault in everything she did. “You could just be yourself.”
Flustered, she took the coffee he offered, then burned her mouth when she tried to gulp a drink. “Damn it,” she muttered.
“See! I shouldn’t curse, but when I’m not being careful, I say and do the wrong thing.”
“I’m gravely wounded because you said damn. I may never be the same.” He put a hand to his chest. “Look, I’m getting a bald spot.” He circled a finger around his left
peck. “Right here.”
The quick averting of her gaze didn’t hide her amusement. “You just want me to look at your awesome chest.”
“It is awesome, isn’t it?”
She sputtered a laugh.
“Better,” he said, as her lightened mood sank into his heart. “I like it when you relax, Glory.” A profound thought struck
him. “Actually, I like it when you give me hell, too.”
“I like it when you’re shirtless.” She put a hand over her mouth. “Now you see what you made me say?”
When was the last time he’d had this much fun with a woman? That is, without sex involved? Never that he could remember. “I
won’t tell if you don’t.”
Her pleasure lingered as she took a more cautious sip.
“So . . . Mike talked you into another date?”
Along with her nod, she sighed. “It was a massive mistake. At least I hadn’t let him pick me up.” She shot him a look. “I’m
not big on that. I prefer to have my car so I can escape whenever I want.”
“Good planning.” Yet, the idea of her needing to escape got him riled all over again. Her effect was an assault on his senses—one
second wringing a laugh from him, then stirring up unfamiliar tenderness, and always mixed with the other emotions was the
edgy lust.
“You’re staring at me,” she said.
With a mental shake, he asked, “Where did the two of you go?”
“An outdoor market, which seemed harmless enough. It was near the river. Lots of vendors and small restaurants. We did some
shopping for kitschy stuff, ate samples for a lot of different foods, walked along the river with a steady stream of other
people.”
“Where did it go off the rails?”