OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE (18 page)

“Something you forgot to tell us, Maxwell?” his captain asked with a grin.

“Look, Mrs. Collins...” he began as his gaze shifted from the tray of cakes to Kelsie’s mother.

“Miss,” she interjected.

“Excuse me?”

“Collins is my maiden name
,” she said as she turned on the water and reached for the dish soap on the counter by the sink.  “I never married.  But seeing as how you might end up part of my family, I’d rather you call me Melinda.”

Had Kelsie told him that
her mother had never married?  She might have, but his head was spinning so badly at the moment he wasn’t sure which way was up. 

He
was stunned.  “Kelsie told you we were engaged?”

She waved her hand.  “Oh, heavens no.  My daughter’s determined to avoid marriage at all costs after her last disastrous one.
”  She turned to face him.  “But now that my daughter’s met you, she’s rethinking that decision.”

He
r words brought a smile to his face.  “Kelsie told you that?”

Her eyes were the same vibrant shade of green as her daughter’s.  And amazingly enough held the same expression of guilt as Kelsie’s had when he caught her trying to slip away from the restaurant. 

“Well, not exactly,” she admitted, sending his happiness down a notch.  “But I’m her mother and I can sense these things.  My daughter really likes you.”

Okay, it was time for him to set Melinda Collins straight on that misconception.  But first he needed to clear the room of unwanted spectators
, something he wished he’d done before Kelsie’s mother went off on her wedding cake spiel.

He
turned to find the rest of his crew kicked back in their Lazy Boys, footrests up, and taking in the scene as if he and Kelsie’s mother were putting on some kind of theatrical production for their benefit. 

He cleared his throat.  “I’d like a word in private with Miss...er, Melinda here if you boys don’t mind.”  He inclined his head toward the hallway outside.

Grumbling, the men dropped their leg rests, pushed out of their recliners and filed out the door, no doubt disappointed they were not going to get to hear any more of this crazy conversation.

Once they’d gone,
he turned his attention back to Kelsie’s mother.  “I think you should know that your daughter and I aren’t going to be seeing each other again.”

Her cheerful expression fell. 
She turned off the water, grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands as she walked back around the room dividing island.  “It’s the breast thing, isn’t it?”

“What?” he gasped.

She clicked her tongue at him.  “Just like a man, always wanting bigger and better.”

He
couldn’t believe he was standing there discussing Kelsie’s breasts with her mother.  Not that he’d brought the subject up. 

“There’s nothing wrong with your daughter’s...uh, body.  And just to set the record straight, not all men think bigger is better.”

She studied him for a long moment before replying.  “Then do you mind my asking why you aren’t going to take her out again?”

It wasn’t like Kelsie had given him a choice.  Cole frowned.

Melinda Collins walked over to him.  “I know I’m prying, but my daughter’s happiness means the world to me.  I hope you don’t mind my asking.”

First,
the woman shows up with wedding cake samples for a wedding he’s not even aware he’s supposed to be a groom in.  Then, she gets into the whole breast thing.  And
now
she’s asking if he minds her asking about his personal life with Kelsie.  Maybe she was a little on the crazy side.

On second thought, she
was Kelsie’s mother.  And Kelsie didn’t exactly follow normal protocol when it came to doing things either.  At least, now he knew Kelsie had come by that particular trait of hers honestly.

“Our not seeing each other again wasn’t my decision,” he explained, feeling oddly guilty when he saw the look of disappointment on Melinda Collin’s face.  Hell, he had no reason to feel guilty.  He was the ‘rejectee’.

“I understand,” she replied in a less spirited tone.

He wished he did.

Melinda Collins wasn’t the only one who was disappointed by Kelsie’s way of thinking.  “I will tell you this much,” he said.  “I’m not giving up on your daughter.  I really think there’s something there if I can just get her to give us a chance.”

Moisture
shimmered in Kelsie’s mother’s eyes.  “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”

He glanced down at the tray of cake
s sitting in front of him on the table and smiled.  “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

“I’ll admit it,” she said, laughing as she reached for the tray.  “I’m desperate.  My grandmother clock is ticking.”  She pulled a business card from the pocket of her suit jacket and handed it to Cole.  “If there’s anything I can do to help, just give me a call.”  That said, she took her sampling of wedding cakes and walked out.

He watched her go, shaking his head and grinning.  Kelsie’s mother was a little on the crazy side, but he liked her.  And better yet, she liked him.  A good thing, considering how hard he’d fallen for her equally crazy but beautiful daughter.

*
              *              *

“You can’t go on like this,” Nanci said as she
stepped from her newly purchased Honda Accord.

“Go on like what?”
Kelsie asked as she let herself out of the passenger’s side. 

“Pretending you’d rather be going out man-hunting with me when you know damn well you’ve already found the guy you want to be with.”

“Don’t start,” she pleaded as they crossed the parking lot to Friday’s where they had decided to go for dinner and drinks that night after work. 

“Tell me something.”

“What?”

“Have you returned any of Cole’s calls?”

“Not yet.”

Not that she hadn’t wanted to.  She was just scared.  Accepting her feelings for Cole and giving their relationship a chance meant she’d be risking her heart again.  That was a big step she wasn’t sure she was ready to take yet.  Maybe ever.     

“Well, I wouldn’t wait too long,” her friend warned.  “Some other woman might come along and snap a nice guy like that right up.  Speaking of nice guys, Joe finally called to ask me out again.”

“He did?”  Kelsie stopped and turned to her friend.
“I can’t believe you answered the phone.”

“I made him sweat it out
through three whole rings before I picked up.”

Kelsie
rolled her eyes.  “I’d have waited at least four.”  She knew how badly Nanci had wanted to see Joe again after their date and how crazy it had made her friend waiting for his call.  “In fact, I might not have answered at all.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have,”
her friend teased with a grin.  “But Joe and I have some unfinished business to tend to and I am more than ready to
tend
to it.”

“So...d
id he happen to mention anything about Cole?”

Nanci opened the restaurant door.  “He was calling to ask me out, not discuss yours and Cole’s not-so-happening love life.  I’d be happy to pass along a message to Cole for you, but I really think you need to call him
yourself.”

Sighing,
she gave in to her friend’s persistent nagging.  “If it’ll make you happy, I will.”

“
It’ll make
you
happy.  So when are you going to call him?” Nanci asked as they made their way into the dimly lit bar area where the after work crowd had already started to gather for happy hour. 

She should have known
her best friend wouldn’t let her off with just a promise to call.  “I’ll call him tonight.”

“Good.”

Kelsie headed toward one of the empty bar tables in the far corner of the darkened room, adding as they settled onto their stools, “If we don’t get home too late.”

It was a pretty safe bet they wouldn’t make it home before midnight.  Not when there was a bar filled with men and Nanci was
with her.  That meant she’d safely be able to avoid calling Cole for at least one more night.  And hopefully by tomorrow she’d be able to convince herself that she was doing the right thing where their relationship or rather non-relationship was concerned. 

“Promise?”

“What?”

“I want your word that you’ll call
him tonight if it’s not too late when you get home.”

Kelsie smiled.  “I promise.”  It was the easiest promise she ever had to make. 

Nanci pulled a menu from the stand in the center of the table and flipped it open.  “Good, because Joe’s stopping by my place tonight at nine, so you’ll be home in plenty of time to call Cole.”

“You tricked me!”
she exclaimed, drawing a few curious glances their direction.

“Drastic times call for drastic measures,”
Nanci admitted with a grin. 

“Some friend you are.”

“You’ll thank me for it tomorrow.  I promise.”

The waitress
arrived to take their order before Kelsie could reply.  All she could do was give Nanci the evil eye from across the table.  Not that the evil eye ever achieved the desired effect on her friend, but just giving it made her feel a whole lot better.

“The drinks go on my tab tonight,”
her friend told the waitress. 

“That’s because she feels guilty for being a low-down, conniving best friend,”
Kelsie grumbled as she slung her purse strap over the back of her stool.

“Sounds like my ex-boyfriend,” the waitress said.  “Only he always made me buy the drinks.  So what can I get
for you two?”

“Give me a Captain Colada,” Kelsie announced, not missing the look of surprise on Nanci’s face.  Then she added with
a smile, “And make it a strong one.”

“What are you doing?”
her friend gasped in surprise.

“I’m placing my drink order.”

“I thought you preferred light beer or wine coolers because mixed drinks hit you too fast.”

The waitress looked to Kelsie as if expecting her to change her order, but
she had no intention of doing anything of the sort.  It was going to take more than a few mixed drinks for her to gather the nerve to call Cole; which apparently she would be doing when she got home. 

“You know what?”
she said, looking over the drink menu again.  “I think I will change my order.”

“I thought you might,” Nanci said
, sounding relieved.

Kelsie glanced
across the table at her friend and smiled, then turned to the waitress.  “Make that two Captain Coladas.”

“Two?  Uh, okay.”  The waitress hesitated before turning to take Nanci’s order.  “And for you?” 

“I’ll have a margarita.  Easy on the salt.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back with your drinks.”  The waitress hurried away, grinning as she went.

Nanci closed her menu, shoved it back into its holder and then leaned forward, pinning Kelsie with her gaze.  “Two Ultimate Captain Coladas?”

She
shrugged.  “What can I say?  I’m really thirsty. Hope you brought lots of cash tonight.  Those mixed drinks can really add up.”

“I have my Visa with me if the need arises.  But I’m not too worried.”

“You should be.  I’m feeling pretty wild tonight.”

Her friend
simply laughed.  “Intending to be a real party girl, huh?”

“You bet.”

She snorted.  “As if that’s ever going to happen.”

She
bristled at her friend’s reply.  She could be a party girl if she wanted to.  “There’s always a first time for everything.”

“Sounds like I might have to up my Visa limit for tonight,” Nanci said
, clearing finding humor in Kelsie’s warning.

“
Laugh all you want.  Tonight’s the night I drink you under the table.  Unless you decide to save yourself some serious cash and let me out of my promise.  Then we can just forget all about your offer to buy my drinks tonight...”

“Not a chance.
  Like it or not, you are going to call Cole tonight.”

Damn.

Three Ultimate Captain Coladas and an order of chicken quesadillas later Kelsie stumbled into her apartment and closed the door.  This was it.  She’d made her best friend a promise and she was woman enough to keep it.

She fumbled several times with the door chain before successfully hooking it.  Ha, see there.  She wasn’t drunk.  An intoxicated person couldn’t have figured the door chain out.  She had.  So there, Nanci had pulled the mother-hen routine for nothing.

Nanci had shut her off after the third drink and then stressed how lucky she was to have
had her there to drive her home.  Then she’d had to listen to her friend’s praises of Cole the ‘perfect one’ all the way home.  Then came the final insult.  Nanci called her a chicken shit!

Turning,
she wavered slightly and then moved down the hall toward her bedroom, undressing as she went.  She wasn’t a chicken shit, no matter what Nanci thought.

The walls
seemed to slant in towards her as she walked, slowing her progress.  Okay, so maybe her friend had a point.  She’d overdone the alcohol just a bit in hopes of gathering up the nerve to call Cole.  It was her way of preparing for the anger she knew was certain to come.  Not that she could blame him.  She had pretty much run out on him on their last date.

She
closed her bedroom door behind her with a sigh.  Ready or not, she was calling Cole tonight.  She needed to make him understand that she wasn’t ready for a relationship with him or any man. 

She stripped down to her bra and panties and
then stumbled over to the bed where she reached for the cordless phone.  She had Cole’s number memorized from the umpteen times she’d dialed him and then hung up before he could answer.

The phone rang once...twice, and just as she was about to hang up out of habit
he answered.

“Hello?”

Damn.

“Hi.”

“Kelsie?”

His husky voice oozed over her and
she closed her eyes.  She had to stay strong.  Be firm.  Only not in the way she knew he could be. 

“Stop thinking about that,” she immediately scolded herself.

“Thinking about what?”

She tugged at her bra, fumbling with its clasp to unhook it, but her fingers were being about as uncooperative as her tongue.  At least her thinking process was still in tact.

“Have you ever tried to take a bra off yourself before?” 

He chuckled.  “Can’t say that I have.”

“Well, let me tell you, men should have to wear these damn things everyday and then we’d find out just how much you all appreciate them.”

“Are you all right?”

She dropped into a sitting position at the edge of her bed.  “Oh, no you don’t.  I’m not going to fall for that one.”

“What one?”

“You want me to say that I’m not alright.  That I think about you all the time.  That─”

“Do you?”

“What?”  What had she been saying?

“Think about me.  Have you been thinking about me, Kelsie?”

“Wouldn’t you?” she asked.  “I mean if I were you and you were me wearing my bra, wouldn’t you think of me?”

“I’m going to take a wild guess here, but have you been drinking?”

She fell back onto the mattress with a soft sigh.  “Just a little.  Nanci and I went out after work.  She had to buy my drinks because she tricked me into calling you tonight.  And you really need to stop changing the subject.”

He gave a husky chuckle.  “And that subject would be?”

She stretched her arms out above her head, twirling a curl between her fingers.  “Sex.”

“Sex?”

“Just because you’re hot in the sack...no make that really hot in the sack and a nice guy to boot doesn’t mean I should go out with you again.  In fact, it’s all the more reason I shouldn’t.” 

“I see.  So you’re looking for a not-so-nice guy to spend the rest of your life having
really bad sex with.”

“Exactly.  Then I won’t have to worry about falling for him.”

“Like you are for me?”

“Yes.” 
She scooted up the mattress to rest her head on her pillow.  “You’re really good at this breaking up stuff.” 

“Not as good as you think.  I still intend to get you to go out with me again.”

“Maybe we could just meet up for some really great sex and leave the relationship part at the door,” she suggested with a yawn.

“Afraid I can’t do that,” he replied.  “I’m in a little too deep at this point to do that.”

She sighed sleepily.  “I was afraid you’d say that.  It looks like I’m just going to have to...”   What was she going to do?  She had no experience in breaking guys’ hearts and she certainly didn’t want to start now.  Even if she did, she was just so tired.  Her eyes drifted close.

“Kelsie?  You still there?”

“Mmm hmmm,” she mumbled.

“Get some sleep, doll.  We’ll talk again later.”

“Night, Cole,” she whispered with a nod then curled up on her bed and drifted off to sleep.

*
              *              *

Joe opened the door with a smile.  “
Hey there.”

“Hi,” Nanci replied, returning his smile.

“I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost.  My directions that bad?”

“
Not at all.  Your directions were great.”

“
Having second thoughts then?”

“No way,” she replied as
he let her inside his apartment.  “And your directions were great.  I’m late because I was pulling best friend duty.”

H
e closed the door behind her.  “Best friend duty?”

“Yeah, Kelsie
had a few too many drinks tonight.”

He pulled her into his arms.  “She okay?”

“I made sure she got home safe and sound, but I wouldn’t say she’s okay.  I made her promise to call Cole tonight.  That’s why she’s in the condition she’s in.”

He lowered his head to brush his lips along her neck.  “I’ve never known Cole to drive a woman to drink, but I guess there’s always a first time.”

She tipped her head back, giving him better access to the flesh he was teasing.  “It’s a first for her.  She never gets drunk.  If anything, I’ve been the one who’s had to be driven home a few times in the past.”

“A regular wild thing, huh?”

She smiled.  “On occasion.”

“My kind of girl.”  He pushed a strand of hair from her face.  “So what’s up with Kelsie?  Why’s she so stressed out about calling Cole?”

“She’s torn between her feelings for Cole and her fear of getting hurt again.”  If she ever crossed paths with her best friend’s ex again she might very well have to kick the ass’s ass.

“
I hope for Cole’s sake she gets past her fear and gives him a chance.”

“Me too.”

“Now,” he said, running his hands down over the curve of her jean-clad bottom, “getting back to our relationship...”

Their relationship?
  “I didn’t realize we had one seeing as how you never called me back.”

“Never’s stretching it a bit.  I did call.”  He lowered his head again to kiss her. 

“Took you long enough.”

“I was playing hard to get.”

She pushed him away.

He
lifted his head with a grin.  “Ah, come on.  I thought you’d appreciate the challenge.”

He thought right, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting it.  “You know, Joe, two can play that game.”

“Babe, I can’t get much harder than I am already,” he replied, his voice husky with desire.  He reached for her hand and placed it against the front of his jeans where his erection pressed against the faded denim.

Her body reacted like a summer flood to his need, making Nanci press her thighs together. 
“I should leave and make you suffer like I did while I was waiting to hear from you.”

He released h
is hold on her and hand and backed her up against the wall. “But you won’t,” he assured her as he slid his hands beneath her shirt, his long fingers skimming the flesh hidden beneath the whisper-thin cotton.

She
closed her eyes, hating the control he had over her body and loving it at the same time. It wasn’t until the chill of the air conditioned room caressed her heated flesh that she realized she was no longer wearing her shirt.

“Joe−”

“Shh,” he murmured against her lips before covering them with his own.  His fingers deftly worked the clasp at the front of her bra, giving him access to what he sought.  His hands cupped her breasts while his thumbs teased the rosy tips.

She
tunneled her fingers through the thick blonde strands of his hair as liquid heat pooled between her thighs. 

His mouth left hers, his lips venturing lower to capture one of the taut buds
.  He drew on it slowly, torturously.  She squirmed restlessly, her hips lifting in a silent plea for more.

“Tasting you again is all I’ve thought about for days,” he murmured against her kiss-dampened flesh.

She
moaned softly as he undid her shorts and slipped his hand inside. 

“God you’re wet,” he groaned.

“Joe...,” she pleaded.

He withdrew his hand
eliciting a whimper of protest from her.  “I’m not taking you here in my hallway.”

“Why not?”  He could take her in the closet and she’d be more than willing at that point.

“Because when I sink myself deep inside you, I want to see you looking up at me, see the hunger I’m feeling reflected in your eyes.”  He scooped her up easily into his arms and started through the apartment.

“How about I look down at you?” she asked anxiously as he lowered her onto
the thick comforter that covered his king-size bed.  “I’m usually on top.”

“Not tonight.”  He flashed a sexy grin as he slid her shorts down her long legs. 
“My place.  My rules.” 

Could she give up control?  Just for one night?

He stepped away from the bed just long enough to remove his clothes.

Her gaze was drawn to the length of him. 
So maybe being dominated for one night wouldn’t be such a bad thing.  Joe was as hard as he had been that night at her place, but this was different.  Tonight he would be inside her. 

She
lifted her hips and began to shove her panties down.

“Don’t
,” he said, stilling her hands. 

She looked up at
him questioningly.

“Leave them.”  He
moved between her legs, urging them open wider.  “They’re sexy.”

His rules.

Nanci curled her fingers into the comforter as his head moved between her parted thighs.  She could feel the warmth of his breath through her dampened panties.  If that wasn’t enough to drive her mad, his tongue added to the torment, stroking her through the wet silk.

“
Joe,” she begged breathlessly as the sensual torment continued.

“
I want you to come for me, babe.”

“Joe, please.”

He tugged her panties aside, plunging his tongue inside her moist heat.  She arched upward, crying out with pleasure.

“Sweet,
” he murmured against her damp flesh.  “So damn sweet.”  He loved her thoroughly with his mouth.

Unable to bear any more of the
sweet torture, Nanci let go, crying out as she went over the edge.

Joe
dragged her panties over her hips and down her legs, tossing them onto the floor.  Then he pulled a condom from the nightstand drawer and slipped it on while she lay watching, her desire peaking again. 

She reached between them
as he moved over her, curling her fingers around the sheathed length of him. 

He groaned in response.
 

“
My turn to pleasure you.”

“Not tonight,” he replied through clenched teeth as he eased
her fingers free.

“Why not?”

“Because tonight’s all about
you
, babe.”

*
              *              *

“
Talk about nearly burning out of control,” Joe said from where he stood in the doorway.

“
It was a close one,” Cole agreed with a nod as he peeled off his soot covered uniform shirt.  They’d just returned from a 3 alarm fire.  One they’d thankfully managed to get under control before the factory suffered a total loss.  “Speaking of things burning out of control, how was your date with Nanci last night?”

“That’s what I was referring to,” his friend said
, a wide grin spreading across his soot-covered face.

Cole chuckled.  He should have known. 
“That good, huh?”