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great cook.”
    Drew leaned forward, hands braced on his knees and spoke slowly. “Not a chance.”
    “Why not?” The idea made perfect sense to her. He was an arson inspector. There was an arsonist on the loose who could very well be a staff member or student of the school. These weren’t random fires. Someone was specifically targeting her grandmother. “You know how to cook.”
    “That doesn’t qualify me to teach,” he argued. “This is the Norris Culinary Academy, not the Acme Truck-Driving School.”
    Her grandmother’s expression grew thoughtful. “Is he really that good?” she asked Emily.
    “I think so. And I bet your students will get whatthey pay for. You have lesson plans, don’t you, Grandy?”
    “Yes, I do.” Grandy smiled at her, then shifted her attention to Drew. “So, you have taught before?”
    Drew shook his head, feeling as if he’d just followed the Mad Hatter down the rabbit’s hole. “Not in the culinary arts,” he told Velma before shifting his attention back to Emily and the determination in her big brown eyes. “And I don’t get it. How do you expect me to catch an arsonist while whipping up a few cakes and pies?”
    “That’s my Down Home Delights course,” Velma said. “More elaborate desserts like crème brûlée, cherries jubilee and baked Alaska are in line with Elegant Desserts.”
    “Simple,” Emily said, as if it were just that. “If you’re at the school as an instructor, you’d have the opportunity to observe the students and staff in an unofficial capacity. Kinda like an undercover fire cop.”
    Arson inspectors were known as fire cops, but last time he’d looked at his job description, undercover hadn’t been listed.
    He suspected his reluctance might have more to do with the matter of one incredibly hot kiss which refused to leave his mind. Passing off the incident as an unconscious action caused by her dreams of kissing another guy wouldn’t fly, either. Not when she’d gone and murmured his name in her sleep as he’d tried to wake her. Oh no, she’d been kissing him all right, and he hadn’t exactly been an unwilling participant.
    She’d tasted good. So good he wouldn’t mind a repeatperformance. But there were other issues needing his attention, his self-preservation for one.
    Not only had he spent the last twelve hours inside a hospital, he’d been continually plagued with visions of kissing Emily senseless. Spending more time with her than absolutely necessary was a definite concern. But he did have a firebug to catch, and she had made a good argument, one he couldn’t ignore any more than he could forget the way her lips had tasted.
    He’d just have to make damned certain he kept his priorities in line, which shouldn’t be all that difficult since she wouldn’t be in town for more than a few weeks. A detail which suited his short-term-relationships-only rule to perfection. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was a clingy woman falling for him in a way that made him uncomfortable.
    “Okay.” His imagination conjured a knight in armor, fighting a fire-breathing dragon. “I’ll do it.”
    For safety reasons, he tried to convince himself. For Emily and the staff and students at the school. It really wasn’t at all unusual for an arson inspector to spend extended periods of time at the scene of the crime, and since this particular firebug did appear to have it in for Velma or the school, Emily’s crazy plan actually made sense. Spending more time with Emily didn’t make sense.
    Gratitude filled her gaze as she gave him a warm smile. “Thank you,” she said.
    His heart rate really shouldn’t have increased simply because she’d smiled at him. The physiological accelerationcouldn’t be prevented any more than could the images of her body pressed against his.
    “Well, that problem’s solved,” Velma said, her relief apparent in the way she settled back comfortably against the pillows. “One less worry.”
    Maybe for Velma. He