Swinging into the driveway of his ranch-style brick home, he parked, not wasting time to stuff his truck in the garage.
CeCe pulled into her driveway a few seconds later.
Jeremy jumped out and reached the driver"s side of her truck bed in several quick strides. He lifted the base from the back.
"I can unload that," she complained, climbing out of the truck and leaving a dusty white trail. Her garage door finished opening with a groan exposing the single-car storage s.p.a.ce cluttered with packing boxes that prevented parking inside.
Jeremy ignored her. "Where do you want it?"
CeCe sighed then pointed at a spot in her garage with a chalky outline left from where she"d obviously stored the fibergla.s.s unit before. He carried it over and dropped the base into place. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered on.
When he turned around CeCe was standing next to the switch by the door to her mudroom. White-dusted hair fell loose from the twisted-up "do she"d worn earlier. Sweat drizzled along her face and streaked the coating over her shoulders.
She"d wiped most of the makeup off her face, revealing her eyes and lips. "I look like a bad Halloween costume."
"No, you look... sweet." He stepped closer and used a finger to lift a lock of powdered hair that had broken free and pushed it behind her ear. "And s.e.xy." She didn"t move. He trailed the same finger down her neck and across her shoulder.
She shivered.
d.a.m.n it, he wanted this woman. She wasn"t the kind of woman to date casually. For once, he considered that a good thing if she said yes, which was why he had to get it over with and ask her out. The sooner he got an answer, the sooner he"d either be in heaven or licking his wounds and leaving a day early for the BAD headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.
The overhead fixture in the center of her garage flashed on and off, then made a sizzling sound.
"I"ll have to get a bulb out of the attic," she mumbled, still not moving. Her eyes were locked on him, but he couldn"t tell if she was daring him to take the next move or preparing to back away if he did.
"It"s probably not a bulb." He lowered his hand. She might be more receptive if he gave her time to shower first.
She blinked, coming out of her daze to look at the light. "No?"
He angled his head around to look at the fixture. "Acting like a transformer."
"Figures," she grumbled. "Because replacing a bulb would be something I I could do instead of bothering Miss Betty." could do instead of bothering Miss Betty."
Jeremy smiled in agreement. He never bothered their landlord with repairs either, just took care of everything himself.
"I"ve got some spare parts from fixing one of mine," he offered, then added casually, "Why don"t you get a shower and I"ll swap out the transformer?"
The indecision in her face was beating the h.e.l.l out of his ego. One minute she had eyes that called to him like a sultry siren and the next she was clearly backing up.
Then, bright as a ray of sunshine, CeCe broke out a smile that drew him in faster than a suicidal moth to a flame.
"That"s a great idea. I"ll get cleaned up quick." She"d clearly made some decision. The siren was back when she gave him a smoldering look that ran all the blood in his body south.
His c.o.c.k twitched in response.
But did her response mean she"d go to dinner with him tonight? He had two days. Tick, tick, tick...
When she spun away and opened the door to her mudroom, he stopped her with, "CeCe?"
She paused and looked over her shoulder. "What?"
He didn"t know why he had to constantly push limits, but that had been his nature since speaking his first words and Jeremy wanted a straight answer now. He couldn"t take guessing any more. He had to know he wasn"t misreading those heated looks.
If all she wanted was friendship, he"d fix her light and leave her alone. Forever.
"After I get this done," he said, pointing up at the lights, "you can see your girlfriend... or have dinner with me."
She chewed on the corner of her lip, another moment of indecision that rankled him so he decided to push all the limits at once. "Dinner... at my house."
Her lips parted in surprise then a clash of thoughts conflicted in her face before she finally settled on a decision that cranked up the wattage on her smile. "I"ll bring the wine." She disappeared inside.
Jeremy stood there a moment, not believing she was really going to have dinner at his house.
Tonight. Alone with CeCe.
When the fog cleared from his mind, Jeremy jogged back over to his vehicle and pressed his garage opener.
He heard opportunity calling with her enthusiastic rush to shower. Jeremy was not one to pa.s.s up any opportunity that looked like CeCe Caprice.
DINNER... AT MY house house.
Jeremy"s words played over and over in CeCe"s mind like a favorite tune.
She could have said no, should have said no. But all she could think was Why not if I"m careful? Why not if I"m careful?
When she finished toweling her hair she lifted a hair dryer then changed her mind. Drying the wavy ma.s.s never helped so why waste that time?
Cece brushed her teeth, smiling over her luck. He"d solved her dilemma. She hadn"t wanted to risk inviting him to dinner in her house for fear of an unexpected guest-Vinny-showing up and couldn"t very well have suggested to Jeremy she"d love to have a date on the condition of it being after dark and inside his house with the doors locked.
Jeremy would have thought she was psycho or way too forward.
She"d heard enough around the gym to know Jeremy didn"t accept dates from female members who asked him and none of the girls she"d spoken with mentioned him having been in a serious relationship. Sounded as though he didn"t monopolize a woman"s time, which would normally be a positive trait for her situation.
What would it be like to have a man like Jeremy wanting to monopolize her time? Heaven.
Stop dreaming about the impossible and just live in the moment for once.
She leaned close to the mirror, inspecting her face where scrubbing the makeup off had left her skin red-blotched in places. She could take the time to put on new makeup once she told him she"d come over after after dark. But if she didn"t get back to the garage soon, Jeremy might finish fixing the light and go home. She didn"t have his phone number and didn"t want Vinny to show up with her standing at Jeremy"s door. dark. But if she didn"t get back to the garage soon, Jeremy might finish fixing the light and go home. She didn"t have his phone number and didn"t want Vinny to show up with her standing at Jeremy"s door.
Vinny would come over to meet Jeremy. Bad move.
She wasn"t expecting her brother, but he hadn"t been around the festival or at least she hadn"t seen him. Her sixth sense warned her he was due to drop by unexpectedly.
Vinny was one of those insane people who got up before daylight so he normally stopped by early. If she orchestrated it right, she"d run out and get Jeremy to agree on the time then scoot him home before anyone saw him inside her garage.
She brushed her damp hair back and grinned at the mirror.
Tonight with Jeremy. She couldn"t believe it. Chills skittered over her skin at the possibility of kissing him... just as an appetizer.
She pulled on a knit-and-lace top that stopped short of where her white running pants. .h.i.t her hips. The lace was too much, too girly. Yanking that off, she dug out a powder blue sleeveless top, eyed it once in the mirror, and hurried to the garage.
When she opened the mudroom door to the garage, the last splash of sunlight had disappeared. She could just see Jeremy"s hands moving. He stood two rungs up on a stepladder and was snapping the plastic cover back over her light fixture when her feet touched the cool concrete floor.
She saw him much better as he climbed down.
He"d taken off his shirt. Oh, mama.
"You"re back in business." Folding the stepladder, Jeremy stood it against the side wall. He walked over to where she was glued to one spot and reached past her shoulder toward the light switch.
When his chest moved close to her face, she inhaled his scent and wanted to lean forward another inch to touch her lips to his skin. To taste him.
But she didn"t move at all.
The light blinked on and glowed almost as bright as the smile he beamed at her.
What should she say? She sucked at casual conversation and had little experience intimately with men.
"I owe you one for that," she joked, then cringed at how stupid that sounded. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Green eyes narrowed in pure devilment studied her. "You look... refreshed."
She lowered her chin, glancing at herself like a dimwit who had forgotten what she"d put on.
The overhead light flicked off, leaving them in a dark garage except for the haze of twilight filtering from the dusty evening glow. Her eyes adjusted just as he touched a finger under her chin and lifted, drawing her gaze to his.
She ran her tongue along her lips and Jeremy"s eyes sparked with heat.
One kiss. Just something to give her a little confidence for tonight.
Jeremy eased closer, soaking up her personal s.p.a.ce without taking a step, and cupped her face. "About that IOU. Mind if I collect now?"
"I"m all for paying my debts promptly," she whispered, short of breath at the prospect of...
He lowered his head, gently touching his lips to hers. Slowly sweeping across in sweet nips then firmer. The tempo built, his tongue teasing, tasting her, asking for more one tiny move at a time.
She leaned into him. His long fingers spread across her face then moved to the back of her head. He wrapped an arm around her and she moaned at the feel of his muscled body when they touched. She wanted to climb inside that incredible body, feel him everywhere.
She opened her lips, raking his tongue with hers, playing. He tasted sensual, hot, and all male. She pushed her hands up the warm skin on his naked chest then reached around his neck, fingers driving up to fist his hair.
He held her at the small of her back, firm yet gently.
She ached to be with this man.
No way would one kiss be enough.
If the thick evidence of his reaction rubbing against her middle was any indication, she"d bet one kiss wasn"t enough for Jeremy either. Talk about a confidence boost.
His lips pulled away from her mouth to torture the skin along her neck.
Even though the garage was dark, she didn"t want to risk Vinny showing up and catching them together.
If she stopped Jeremy long enough to get inside the house would the moment be ruined? She"d been intimate with one man, well, actually a boy in high school. And he"d moved away five days later. She had no doubt her brothers had found out and spared his life but they made sure he left town.
Jeremy"s hand stroked up her back and she sighed. He kissed her again, taking her breath.
She had to protect him, but his kisses were intoxicating her to the point she couldn"t think clearly. The smart thing to do would be to stop this before it got out of hand and walk away.
But if she did, CeCe had a quick flash of worry she"d miss her opportunity with him. He"d keep asking only so many times before a man like Jeremy moved on. In spite of how much she"d tried to deter his interest and talked nonstop about nothing significant, he was still here and kissing the curl out of her hair.
Her heart thumped fast as a machine gun with the trigger pegged. If she wasn"t careful Jeremy would walk away with her heart in his hands.
Right now, his hands were driving her crazy to the point she was about to forget her first responsibility-to get them somewhere out of sight.
CeCe murmured, "Maybe we should-"
The rumble of a large automobile engine approaching sobered her quickly. She recognized the sound of that heavy sedan and jerked her head back. "Oh, crud. You have to go!"
"Why?" Jeremy lifted his head but held on to her.
She shoved at him and glanced at the end of the driveway where Vinny"s headlights shined on their mailboxes when he parked along her curb.
"It"s my brother. Go home," she hissed at Jeremy.
The engine cut off and a car door opened then closed.
Jeremy"s hands fell away and he stepped back.
His withdrawal bruised her soul. She whispered, "I"m sorry."
He started to walk past her and paused, leaning close to her ear. "I"m not." He pecked a kiss on her cheek.
When he sauntered out of the garage she just stood there. The outside lights controlled by motion detectors flicked on. But Jeremy didn"t turn toward his house.
Vinny was lumbering along her driveway until he stepped around her truck and paused when the security lights flashed on.
Jeremy walked up to her brother and extended his hand. "Don"t think we"ve met. I"m Jeremy, CeCe"s neighbor."
CeCe couldn"t breathe. No, no, no. Stay away from Vinny.
Her brother eyed Jeremy then sighed and shook his hand. "Vinny. What are you doing here?"
"Fixing her garage light and taking a look at her cracked statue base."
"If you fixed her light, how come it"s dark in there?"
CeCe opened and closed the mudroom door to the garage. Then she flicked on the fluorescent lights, which shined brightly.
"This is great," she cooed, wishing she"d taken some acting lessons in school. "Thanks, Jeremy."