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to relationship. Of course, she was adding a whole new degree of complication to her life with James Madison. He was successful, hot, and she was already softening toward him. But she supposed that was a good thing, if she was his girlfriend. She needed to be willing in order to convince his family.

  “Let me ask you something,” she said to him.

  “Shoot,” he encouraged.

  “What’s your plan after this weekend? Will you tell them we broke up? You must have some kind of story ready so they won’t expect to see your ‘girlfriend’ at Christmas.”

  “You’re right, I do. I figure I’ll give it a good month and then tell them that we called it quits. That way it won’t be too close to the reunion for them to think it’s because of them, but it’s far enough away that I won’t have to endure the winter holidays with them, considering I’ll be ‘heartbroken.’ It gets me out of Christmas with them, too. Win-win,” he told her. The girl at the counter called their number and he rose to get their lunch.

  Kayla was impressed with his planning, but wondered if his family would buy it. She didn’t know them, but she was certain they were all smart, especially his parents; they raised him, after all. Wouldn’t they be able to tell whether or not he was nursing a broken heart? But oh well, she thought. By then, she’d be moving into her new home with the money she made from this engagement.

  “What are your plans for the weekend?” James asked when he returned with their sandwiches.

  “Umm, not too much. I have plans with Star on Saturday evening, but other than that, I’m free,” she told him as she unwrapped her sandwich.

  “I go hiking almost every weekend, and I’d love for you to accompany me on Sunday. There’s a waterfall about a two-hour drive away. It’s about a four mile hike to get to the falls, but it’s gorgeous. The weather is supposed to be perfect, too. What do you say?”

  Kayla considered refusing, but she knew she would accept. Any time spent with this man would be time well-spent. He was engaging, cultured, and dashing. He smiled at her now, waiting expectantly for her reply.

  “Sure. I love to hike,” she lied. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she hated hiking. Too late now, she thought.

  “Great. I leave early. Is 6am okay with you?” He asked. Kayla reeled at the thought of getting up so early, but nodded. She would just have to suck it up, she supposed. She really wanted to spend an entire day with him.

  They spent the remainder of the next hour talking and really getting to know each other. Kayla was surprised by how much they had in common; James was shocked by how much he genuinely liked her. She was easy to like, of course, but her easy-going attitude and mellow personality made him struggle to keep their interactions business-like. When their lunch date ended, they were both reluctant to leave.

  “I won’t be available until Sunday morning,” he told her as they left the shop. “But here’s my cell number. Feel free to text me anytime. Oh, and about that whole kissing thing...” he turned to her.

  “Yes?” Kayla found herself just a bit breathless as he moved his face closer to hers. Was she that bad at it?

  “Good idea,” he said a scant second before he pulled her into his arms. They were on the sidewalk and there were a bundle of people walking past, but neither of them cared. Their lips touched and they both ignited. Their mutual response was explosive, and they didn’t want to stop.

  His tongue probed her closed lips and she opened her mouth to him. She was sweet and James knew he wouldn’t be able to get enough of her. It was a fine line he was walking, but he didn’t care. She was too pliant, too warm in his arms. After a few minutes, he remembered where they were and pulled back, slowly.

  “Very good idea,” he told her. Her arms were around his neck and he couldn’t resist another quick kiss. “You know this could cause some problems,” he said, pulling her arms from his neck and holding her hands in his.

  “I know. But I don’t care,” she replied. It felt too good for her to worry over the ramifications of their actions in the future. Right now, all she wanted was this.

  “Where are you parked?” He asked, regaining his composure. She told him and he began walking towards her car. Along the way, he grabbed her hand and held it while they walked.

  Kayla was trying to calm her rapid-beating heart. Lord, the man could kiss. And the butterflies in her stomach did another flop when he took her hand. She was already too attached to this stranger, already in too deep. She liked it.

  At her car, he gave her another quick peck and all but pushed her into the vehicle. She smiled at that; he didn’t want them to become entangled again. But just beneath the surface, she could tell he wanted to push her against the car like he did that first night. She could taste him on her lips as he bade her goodbye and walked toward his office. Kayla sighed. She couldn’t wait until Sunday.

  That night, Kayla was surprised to get a text from him.

  Good evening. How is your night going?

  She smiled. It was very boyfriend-ish. She quickly typed a reply and then turned her phone on silent. The last thing she needed was Star asking questions about who she was talking to.

  It’s going great. I had an excellent afternoon lunch with a friend – it’s all I’ve been thinking about.

  She waited patiently for his reply.

  I also had an amazing lunch. This could really pose a problem, you know.

  I know. But I am just going to go with it. No need to count chickens before they hatch, LOL.

  I agree, but I spent all afternoon thinking about how I really wanted to kiss you after lunch. And I don’t want you to think that I expect anything other than kissing. I just can’t help thinking about you.

  I don’t feel pressured, honestly. There’s this connection between us – I can’t explain it, but it’s there. If anything other than kissing happens, be assured I won’t feel like you’re pressuring or paying me to do it. If it happens, I’ll WANT it to happen.

  Good to know. How’s editing going?

  So-so. My latest author can’t seem to stay away from the most basic grammatical mistakes. It’s frustrating.

  Isn’t an author’s job to write, not worry about grammar?

  Yes and no. Every author should be their own editor, in a way. If you can’t identify which verb tense to use in a given situation, how are you supposed to write what readers want to read?

  True enough. I’ll leave you to your editing.

  Wait! I’m not editing now. I just finished cleaning up after dinner and I am probably going to watch a little TV.

  NCIS is on soon. I’ll be watching that.

  Me too! It’s my favorite show.

  Another thing we have in common. : )

  They texted throughout the hour during the show and Kayla was sad to say goodnight. But she was finally able to sleep. She dreamt of him.

  The weekend progressed slowly, but on Sunday morning, they were both ready for their day trip.

  Kayla was up at five to get ready. The weatherman said it was going to be hot, so she grabbed a shower and shaved her legs so she could wear her denim shorts with a flirty tank top. Underneath, she wore her bathing suit, as James told her they would probably take a swim at the falls. She packed a backpack with a towel, bottle of water, and an extra set of clothes.

  Promptly at six, James pulled into the parking lot of Star’s apartment complex. He walked to the door but didn’t have time to knock before Kayla pulled the door open and stepped outside.

  “You don’t want Star questioning you this early in the morning, believe me,” she said, taking the lead and heading to his SUV. James was temporarily stunned. He knew she was gorgeous, but damn, she was the hottest woman he’d ever seen. Clad in short jean shorts and a barely there yellow tank top, he was sure she had to be aware of the effect she was having on him. The tank top clung to her curves and especially accented her full breasts. James found he was having trouble taking his eyes off her. Her blonde hair was straight and tucked behin
d her ear on one side. She turned, already halfway to his vehicle, and looked at him questioningly.

  He snapped out of his infatuation and started towards her. She waited for him, and when he caught up, she turned away. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. When she looked at him again, he couldn’t stop the hunger he felt for her. He crushed her to him and kissed her. He made love to her mouth, imitating sex with the thrust of his tongue and Kayla felt herself go weak at the knees. This man would not be easy to forget.

  When he pulled away, he took her hand and walked her to the passenger door of his Dodge. He opened it and helped her up into the cab. When he was settled in the driver’s seat, he looked at her.

  “Seatbelt,” he reminded her. It was the law these days, otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered. He hated the things.

  “Huh?” Kayla was still in a daze from their hot kiss. She barely registered his words as she looked at him. Smiling, he leaned over and buckled her in. He couldn’t help but kiss her as he moved back into his own seat. He laughed as she sighed.

  “You don’t have all that much experience kissing men, do you?” He asked as he started the truck and headed north. Kayla finally found her voice.

  “It’s not that,” she insisted. “It’s just that you’re an amazing kisser. I mean, I’ve been kissed, but wow. You’re good,” she