Chapter 1
S eptember
Mia stretched out in the lawn chair, admiring Luke while he washed his sporty BMW. He bent down and examined the driver's side headlight before giving it an extra little scrub.
Nobody would ever guess she'd smashed that very same headlight while trying to rescue her sandal from Hellboy, the shoe-devouring puppy. She still felt a twinge of guilt at the damage they'd caused.
But boy had it been worth it.
She lifted her sunglasses to get a better view of her sexy boyfriend. How could she not appreciate the muscles on display—thanks to his weekend attire of snug t-shirt and cargo shorts.
She almost hated for the summery weather to end.
"What's your favorite season?"
"That's a good question." Luke stood up and dropped the soapy sponge into the nearby bucket. "I'll have to go with pepper. There's just so much you can do with it. It can add a little fire to a dish, or a lot, and—"
She laughed and started to correct his misunderstanding. . . until she saw his wink. "You! You just love to tease me, don't you?"
"I think we both know the answer to that."
She couldn't stop the blush. Or the insta-lust consuming her. Not with that slow sexy grin aimed her direction. She could try to pretend she was immune to his charms, but there was way too much evidence to disprove it.
"So," she prompted. "Your favorite season?"
"I want to say summer, since that's when we met."
"I'm rather partial to that one, too," she admitted.
"But how can I not like fall?" Luke spread his arms wide, giving her a great view of his pecs straining against the faded t-shirt. "The sun is shining. It's still warm enough to wash the car while you sit there half-naked ogling me. I can watch you ogling me while pretending I can't see you ogling me."
She tugged at the hem of her shorts. "I'm not half-naked." At least not yet. The wicked gleam in his eyes had a tendency to make her clothes disappear, almost instantaneously. "And I'm not ogling. I'm merely admiring your technique."
"You like some of my other techniques, too."
"I do! I've learned so many cooking ones from you—" His gasp made her laugh before adding, "Enough to keep me from starving when we're not together."
A frown quickly replaced his grin. "That's the only reason I'm not as big a fan of this season. We're both way too busy now. It's hard to get any time with each other."
"I know. But we definitely make excellent use of the time we do have, don't we?"
Mia waggled her eyebrows, hoping it would make him laugh.
Luckily it did, and the sexy rumbling sound made her melt on the spot. Luke ambled over and then placed his hands on the arm rests, enclosing her in a deliciously intimate fashion.
"What would you like to do when I'm finished with the car?"
Before she could answer, he touched his lips against hers. It was an intoxicating, leisurely kiss, Luke's trademark actually—the kind that usually ended with them racing to the bedroom, forgetting everything else on the agenda. Her libido was urging her to choose what was waiting for them behind Bedroom Door #1.
But she wanted Luke to know she enjoyed time with him for other reasons. This wasn't a temporary thing, not anymore. They had tried that last summer and discovered neither of them were suited for flings.
When he finally ended the kiss, Mia answered his question of what to do next.
"Let's go pick apples!"
***
S omehow Luke managed to keep from groaning against her mouth. "That was not what I was expecting you to say."
"I know." Mia nibbled on his bottom lip, nearly causing his knees to give way. "But just imagine how good an apple pie will taste later, when we're snuggled on the couch."
"Naked?"
"Of course. I've been sorting through your recipes for this book, and I'm positive your pie requires the apples to be naked."
He gave her one of his mock growls, one that Hellboy had taught him a long time ago. "You are so going to pay for that."
She linked her arms around his neck, pulling him back toward her.
S eptember
Mia stretched out in the lawn chair, admiring Luke while he washed his sporty BMW. He bent down and examined the driver's side headlight before giving it an extra little scrub.
Nobody would ever guess she'd smashed that very same headlight while trying to rescue her sandal from Hellboy, the shoe-devouring puppy. She still felt a twinge of guilt at the damage they'd caused.
But boy had it been worth it.
She lifted her sunglasses to get a better view of her sexy boyfriend. How could she not appreciate the muscles on display—thanks to his weekend attire of snug t-shirt and cargo shorts.
She almost hated for the summery weather to end.
"What's your favorite season?"
"That's a good question." Luke stood up and dropped the soapy sponge into the nearby bucket. "I'll have to go with pepper. There's just so much you can do with it. It can add a little fire to a dish, or a lot, and—"
She laughed and started to correct his misunderstanding. . . until she saw his wink. "You! You just love to tease me, don't you?"
"I think we both know the answer to that."
She couldn't stop the blush. Or the insta-lust consuming her. Not with that slow sexy grin aimed her direction. She could try to pretend she was immune to his charms, but there was way too much evidence to disprove it.
"So," she prompted. "Your favorite season?"
"I want to say summer, since that's when we met."
"I'm rather partial to that one, too," she admitted.
"But how can I not like fall?" Luke spread his arms wide, giving her a great view of his pecs straining against the faded t-shirt. "The sun is shining. It's still warm enough to wash the car while you sit there half-naked ogling me. I can watch you ogling me while pretending I can't see you ogling me."
She tugged at the hem of her shorts. "I'm not half-naked." At least not yet. The wicked gleam in his eyes had a tendency to make her clothes disappear, almost instantaneously. "And I'm not ogling. I'm merely admiring your technique."
"You like some of my other techniques, too."
"I do! I've learned so many cooking ones from you—" His gasp made her laugh before adding, "Enough to keep me from starving when we're not together."
A frown quickly replaced his grin. "That's the only reason I'm not as big a fan of this season. We're both way too busy now. It's hard to get any time with each other."
"I know. But we definitely make excellent use of the time we do have, don't we?"
Mia waggled her eyebrows, hoping it would make him laugh.
Luckily it did, and the sexy rumbling sound made her melt on the spot. Luke ambled over and then placed his hands on the arm rests, enclosing her in a deliciously intimate fashion.
"What would you like to do when I'm finished with the car?"
Before she could answer, he touched his lips against hers. It was an intoxicating, leisurely kiss, Luke's trademark actually—the kind that usually ended with them racing to the bedroom, forgetting everything else on the agenda. Her libido was urging her to choose what was waiting for them behind Bedroom Door #1.
But she wanted Luke to know she enjoyed time with him for other reasons. This wasn't a temporary thing, not anymore. They had tried that last summer and discovered neither of them were suited for flings.
When he finally ended the kiss, Mia answered his question of what to do next.
"Let's go pick apples!"
***
S omehow Luke managed to keep from groaning against her mouth. "That was not what I was expecting you to say."
"I know." Mia nibbled on his bottom lip, nearly causing his knees to give way. "But just imagine how good an apple pie will taste later, when we're snuggled on the couch."
"Naked?"
"Of course. I've been sorting through your recipes for this book, and I'm positive your pie requires the apples to be naked."
He gave her one of his mock growls, one that Hellboy had taught him a long time ago. "You are so going to pay for that."
She linked her arms around his neck, pulling him back toward her.
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