And Then He Kissed Me (16 page)

“No,” she said, lowering her hands from his shoulders to his thick biceps, sliding her fingers teasingly to his hands. His skin was hot. She could practically feel the warm blood just underneath the surface. She laced her fingers with his. “You and I are not about dinner. We are not about parks. We are about something else entirely.”

She licked her lips, where the taste of him still lingered. His eyes followed the motion of her tongue. He was wound so tight she wondered that his muscles weren’t cramping. “I don’t want to date you, Kieran.”

She let the words hang there, her heart thumping. His expression didn’t change, but his grip on her hands tightened. Something like pain flashed across his face, but then it was gone so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it.

The seconds stretched out, and she wondered suddenly if she’d said something wrong. “All right,” he said finally, his eyes still on her mouth, “no dating. But I am going to teach you how to ride.”

Audrey arched a brow. “A motorcycle or something else?”

Kieran threw back his head and laughed, a rumble that was as true as it was deep. Her heart constricted. She loved how happy he sounded. He unlocked their hands and flat-palmed his way from her waist, up her rib cage, grazing the sides of her breasts before cupping her shoulders.

“I’ll teach you how to ride a
motorcycle
. Just like you wanted. Tomorrow. Sunday. Pick you up at noon.”

Audrey frowned. “What about tonight?”

“You don’t get to make all the rules, Tanner. Just some of them.”

Audrey exhaled with frustration. Her nerves were frayed from being this close to Kieran. She wanted a release, and dammit, he wasn’t going to give it to her.

He bent down and placed his lips gently on hers. She tried to ease her tongue into his mouth, to heat up whatever Kieran was trying to cool off between them, but Kieran resisted. Their breath mingled, and even this chaste kiss had Audrey seeing spots of color behind her closed eyes. After a moment, Kieran pulled away.

“I’ll leave you and Willa to your ladies’ night. Until tomorrow.” He tipped an imaginary hat toward her, and disappeared into the crowd. For a moment, Audrey stood there, dazed, until the sound of laughter brought her back to the here and now. It was Willa, giggling her head off as she watched Audrey stand there in shock.

Her face deepening to crimson, Audrey walked off the dance floor with as much dignity as she could muster. Dear God, everyone must have seen her with her tongue down Kieran’s throat. She lifted her chin like she didn’t care.

She just hoped the bar was dark enough so her flaming cheeks wouldn’t betray her real feelings. She was mortified.

Once seated, Audrey smoothed out her hair and skirt. Her outsides felt like they were in as much disarray as her insides.

“It looks like you pitched your idea and it was a productive business discussion,” Willa said, grinning.

Audrey groaned. “God, I didn’t even talk to him about the dealership. I totally spaced it.”

“Really? I’m
so surprised
, because you two looked so professional out there.”

Willa cracked up all over again, and Audrey looked for Dave, hoping for another asparagus beer. Unfortunately, he suddenly wasn’t as keen to wait on her.

Shocker.

She placed her forehead on the bar’s sleek wood. “Ugh, what have I done? I just made out with Kieran in front of the whole town.”

“Oh, screw it,” Willa said, rubbing her friend’s back. “Who cares what anyone thinks. Did you have a good time?”

Audrey straightened and faced Willa head-on. “That is the most fun I’ve had in five years.”

Willa hooted. “Well, there you go.”

“I wanted to keep having fun, if you know what I mean, but he left.”

Willa’s smile faltered. “Like,
left
left?”

“No. Nothing that dramatic. He said he’s going to pick me up tomorrow and teach me to ride a motorcycle.”

Willa’s grin widened. “You don’t say. That sounds downright respectable.”

“I just—for a second there, I wanted it to
not
be respectable tonight. You know?”

Before Willa could answer, Dave approached them and cleared away their empty glassware. “Need anything else?” he asked.

“Dave, I’m sorry about that,” Audrey said, her face reddening all over again. “I kind of have a past with that guy and—”

“It’s fine,” he interrupted, even though he didn’t sound like it was fine. “No big deal. Would you like another drink?”

“Probably just the check when you have a moment,” Willa said.

Without missing a beat, he slid the paper ticket across the bar, then walked away.

Turned out, he’d charged Audrey for both beers.

Willa eyed her friend sympathetically. “Okay, so you irritated Dave Englund a little bit. He’ll get over it. In the meantime, we have a big reason to celebrate.”

Audrey tilted her head. “We do?”

Willa raised her plastic cup. “Absolutely. I don’t know if you felt it, but it started sprinkling in the desert tonight.”

C
HAPTER
TWELVE

A
udrey jogged to the track the next morning with the throaty sounds of birdcalls in the trees all around, and the first daffodils pushing their way up through the moist ground. The damp air refreshed her lungs, which were hot and dry, working overtime to keep up with her legs.

Every step she took, she could hear Kieran’s name on the pavement.

Kie-ran, Kie-ran—left foot, right foot, mile after mile. She was increasing her pace, trying to outrun herself, trying not to hear his name. But the sound of it was in her ears, in her mind, and on her lips.

No matter how fast she jogged, she could still feel his hands pulling her close on the dance floor. No matter how much she pumped her arms, she could feel his breath on her skin, and the rippled tension of his thick muscles underneath his shirt. She moved her legs faster still. Somewhere inside, Audrey was aware that she was trying to outrun not the way Kieran made her feel, but her own ridiculous response to him. It was as if he were a magnet clad in leather and clean cotton, and she was made of shreds of metal that clung to him anytime he came around. For heaven’s sake, he’d nearly had her taking off her clothes on the dance floor last night, and that was only from kissing.

She gritted her teeth, remembering how, five years ago, his lopsided smile had had her throwing back her duvet and inviting him into her bed. She’d been so trusting, so naïve. She’d thought it was love, when really it was just a steamy couple of weeks.

Well, she’d be darn sure she didn’t make the same mistake this time. She was smarter and wiser now—and didn’t need a full-blown relationship to have some fun.

She wove though White Pine’s streets, which were quiet as families readied for Sunday service at the Lutheran church, and relived the moment Kieran had asked her for a date. His green eyes had stared into hers so earnestly she almost believed him.

A date. Like normal couples have.

She clenched her fists. If she was honest with herself, she wanted a date with Kieran. She longed for dinners, movies, even the stupid walks in the park Kieran had mentioned. A giant, Harley-Davidson-sized part of her yearned to do the things that regular folks did when they had feelings for each other.

But she knew that wasn’t Kieran Callaghan.
That
man did not date. Five years ago, she’d made the mistake of thinking he did, and it had nearly torn her heart apart. This time, she’d be more careful. No matter how vulnerable and raw he seemed, no matter how intrigued by him she became, she’d set her expectations accordingly, and not get disappointed when it was time for him to leave again.

Wouldn’t she?

Audrey wiped away sweat from her brow, wondering if she was truly capable of keeping her heart protected if her body was flinging itself headlong into pleasure. Her breath came in raspy gulps as she turned onto the last street before the track, her feet pounding the blacktop.

She pictured Willa’s cranberry juice from the night before, the happiness in her eyes as she announced she was pregnant, and felt a pang of longing. At some point, Audrey knew she wanted that, too. A husband. Kids. A family.

Kieran Callaghan was never going to give her those things. So why was she wasting her time with him? She should be out there looking for a man who would give her everything she wanted.

The only problem was, she wanted Kieran. She wanted his spicy scent all around her, wanted his warm breath in her ear whispering poetry while his strong body claimed hers.

It was Kieran or no one.

The thought jolted her. She pushed herself harder, trying to outrun her emotions. But they kept pace with her, refusing to be left behind.

She pumped her arms. If she had feelings for Kieran, she just had to get them out of her system. She had to get
him
out of her system. Then she could move on.

Right?

A gust of spring wind swept across the track. She turned into it.

Five years ago, she’d been a gym teacher, convinced that things were going to work out because anything except a happy ending was too hard for her to fathom. Now, she knew better. She could still believe that Mr. Right was out there.

In the meantime, though, she’d take Mr. Right Here Right Now.

As she raced toward the track, she craned her neck, searching for Alexis’s tall frame, and was surprised to see multiple shadows instead of just one. She pulled up closer to the metal bleachers and realized Alexis had brought company: Sonja Jorgenson and Caitlin Granlund, two more girls from the track team.

“Ladies, what are you doing here?” Audrey asked, hands on her hips as she worked to catch her breath.

“We heard Alexis was running with you,” Caitlin said, her blonde hair in braided pigtails, “and we wanted to come, too.”

Audrey glanced at Alexis, hoping for some illumination, but the girl just shrugged.

“I’m happy for the company,” Audrey said after a moment, “and you’re welcome to join me on Sundays. But on school days, you need save your energy for practice with Mr. Frace.”

“We are,” Caitlin said. “We promise. We saw he was carrying around your old coaching notebook, and he’s gotten a little better. But even with the notebook, he’s still way different.”

“Yeah, we totally miss you,” Sonja added.

Audrey’s stomach knotted. She missed these girls, too. But she also believed Paul Frace would find his way—eventually.

“Let’s stick to Sundays, then,” she said. “We’ll run together and push one another, and you’ll still be Paul’s during the week. Sound like a plan?”

“Totally,” Sonja agreed, her wide eyes bright. “But if my mom ever comes, can we slow it down for her? Just for the first few runs?”

Audrey tilted her head. “Your mom wants to run with us?”

“Kind of. She wants to get in shape and I told her to come today, but in the end she got scared and stayed home.”

Audrey knew Sonja’s mom, Faye Jorgenson, and liked that the woman always cheered for Sonja at track meets, and made sure to bring her daughter lots of extra Gatorade.

“Tell your mom I’d be happy to run with her anytime if she’s interested,” Audrey said. “I could help her out. It would be fun.”

“What, like a personal trainer?”

Audrey blinked. She’d never thought about that label before.

The idea left her a little breathless. “Sure,” she answered. “If your mom wants to get in shape, why not?”

“When you’re done there, talk to
my
mom, too,” Caitlin added, playing with the end of one blonde pigtail. “She’s always like, ‘Oh, Caitlin, if only I could use all this exercise equipment we have at home,’ but she never gets her butt in shape enough to do anything.”

Audrey trembled, but not from the cool morning. Could it be that there was a personal training niche in White Pine she’d never thought about?

She took a breath, the idea filling her mind.

“When you get home, tell your mom I’ll give her a call,” Audrey said to Sonja. “I’ll see if we can’t set up a schedule. You tell your mom the same thing, Caitlin.”

She was amazed at the words coming out of her mouth. Was she really going to cold-call two parents and see if they wanted some training help?

Then again, she’d already walked into a Harley-Davidson showroom and held her ground, in spite of being totally unprepared for the job. She’d also proved she could bring more than just her body to the gig, now that she had a whole host of ideas about how to reach more female customers.

So why couldn’t she find a few personal training clients as well?

“That would be so awesome,” Caitlin said. “My mom has been so annoying about getting in shape. If you finally get her to stop talking about it and do something, I would owe you big-time.”

Audrey was about to tell the other girl she didn’t owe her anything when an idea flashed in her mind.