His Desire (8 page)

“I don’t want to talk about this with you. I don’t want to talk about it with anyone.”

“That bad? Well, what did you expect after Aaron Winters?”

“No…Sarah, that’s not it. I didn’t sleep with Jeff. He did spend the night, but only because we ended up talking for most of it. No, I’m upset because of Aaron.”

“Well, no kidding. You’re crazy about the guy after all.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Aaron’s back in town. He stopped by this morning. It was horrible.”

“Oh no.” Sarah forgot all about her anger at that point. She poured two cups of coffee and handed Kylie one. “What happened?”

“He was so angry.”

“Who? Jeff or Aaron.”

“Both, actually both. I doubt that either is speaking to me right now. Jeff certainly isn’t. He told me to lose his number. He never wants to see me again.” Kylie let go of her breath in a sigh. “Come to think of it, I’m surprised you’re still talking to me.”

“Are you kidding? I haven’t had this much excitement…well, ever. I don’t want to miss a thing. So start talking.”

“Oh Sarah, I don’t want to talk about it. I want to forget it ever happened.

All of it.”

“Well, you can’t because I need details. So, shoot.” Sarah took her usual spot across from Kylie on one of the two chairs in the waiting area.

Kylie sighed once more and gave in. What was the use in fighting it? Sarah was her friend. She’d been with her through it all. She deserved details. At least one of them could get some entertainment from her mistakes. “What can I say that you can’t guess already? Aaron stopped by to return my aunt’s locket. He found Jeff there. Aaron was angry. He kissed me. Which made Jeff angry enough to figure out the truth. Jeff stormed out. I called him, but he told me he never wanted to see me again. And that, my friend, is the whole sordid story.”

“Wow.” Sarah sounded impressed. “I’m almost in awe of you. I never would have figured you for the heartbreaker type.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “Sorry to disappoint you, kiddo, but I’m not. I’ve just made a really big mess out of my life and I’ve lost two friends in the process. And Jeff was a nice guy. How many chances do you get to date a truly nice guy?”

“Hum, I can’t say that I didn’t tell you this would happen, but not to worry.

I’m actually kind of thrilled that you got rid of old Jeff. He was only holding you back. Now you can focus on Aaron.”

“No—I can’t. If, and I mean if Aaron can forgive me for…everything, I plan on working on repairing our friendship. Nothing more. Aaron’s friendship is important to me. And we both know that as lovers there isn’t a future for us.

Aaron’s not that type of guy. He’d get tired of me in nothing flat. I’m not his type. Not exciting enough. Not five-foot-eleven, ninety pounds, blond and big breasted enough.”

“Or maybe you’re just enough. Maybe you’re what he’s been looking for. You never know. I say go for it.”

Kylie leveled a look Sarah’s way that made it clear she thought her friend had lost her mind. “Have you been reading those romance books again? You know that stuff isn’t real, don’t you? Aaron and I are friends. Nothing more.

And I don’t want to wreck our friendship for sex.”

“What if he’s the one?”

“Oh, for crying out loud. Aaron isn’t the one. For me, or for any other woman. Aaron is good as a friend, lousy as a future. It’s not happening. So can we just drop it for the moment? I have to get started on the cake orders. And I’m way behind already. And don’t you have a delivery to make?”

“Okay, but I’m not going to let you give up on Aaron. I think you’re selling him short.”

“Goodbye.” Kylie walked into the kitchen area. She stood in front of the oven listening to Sarah gather her deliveries. It was best not to go down that road again. She knew the truth. If Aaron was being honest, so did he. She just wanted what she couldn’t have.

* * * *

He turned the Rover around and headed back to his own neighborhood.

As much as he would like to demand certain answers from her, he couldn’t.

Kylie would never allow that. The truth was, his reaction to learning she wasn’t nearly as obsessed with him as he was with her had hit hard; harder than Aaron had ever allowed a woman to effect him before. She’d gotten way under his skin. She had become important to him and to be honest, he wasn’t sure when that had happened. It just seemed that he’d always cared about Kylie.

Not that he was a bit surprised by her actions, only that she’d taken them this far. Kylie was always throwing obstacles in his way whenever she thought he was getting too close.

Mariah was a prime example. A few days before he’d met Mariah at that damn party and Kylie had practically shoved her in his face, he’d come too close and she’d gotten scared.

Aaron had found himself alone at her apartment with no intrusions, none of the friends she was constantly in the company of whenever he was around.

That night there had just been the two of them and Kylie had let down her guard a little.

It had all happened quite innocently. He’d taken her home from a party she’d invited him to. She’d been acting strangely all night long. Aaron believed she hadn’t really wanted to be alone. Over coffee, they’d talked while pretending to watch a movie. He couldn’t even remember the name of it because it hadn’t mattered. Kylie told him about her family. That was his first real glimpse into her past beyond a few joking remarks and of course the usual teasing that was always there between them.

Aaron knew how hard she’d struggled, working her way through school and holding down two jobs until she could make her little business successful. He admired Kylie’s strength. Things had come too easily for him growing up with parents that were wealthy.

Midway through the movie, they’d both fallen asleep. Aaron had woken in the middle of the night with Kylie in his arms. He hadn’t done the right thing then, just like he hadn’t the night they’d made love.

His conscious had told him to leave. He hadn’t. Instead, he’d carried her to bed and spent the rest of the night in her arms. He’d never felt more comfortable with a woman even though nothing had happened.

Kylie’s reaction the next morning to waking up in bed with him, even though they were both fully clothed had been total embarrassment. She’d all but rushed him out of the apartment with some excuse about work. She’d been pushing him away ever since that night.

But he wasn’t prepared to let her keep pushing him away. Whether or not she wanted to admit it or not, the truth was, she’d wanted him just as much as he had wanted her. She just couldn’t get beyond that ridiculous

‘friendship only’ thing of hers enough to see that two people, especially two people that had the connection they had with each other could be lovers as well as friends.

He had his work cut out for him. Aaron smiled as he parked the Rover in front of his house. That was okay. Somehow, the thought of changing Kylie’s mind was a tantalizing challenge. And he lived for challenges.

“Hi.” Aaron’s voice came through the telephone line sounding anything but angry. Kylie could almost picture him smiling. “How about we call a truce and have dinner tonight?”

“You’re not still angry with me?” Oh, for crying out loud. She sounded like a little girl trying to please her parent’s, Kylie thought pitifully.

“I’m not angry with you. But we do need to talk. And I have a proposition to make to you.” The prospect of that sent knots in the pit of her stomach.

“You do?” Geez, that little girl voice again.

Aaron laughed. He apparently was finding all of her new humility amusing. “I do. Why don’t I pick you up at the apartment at seven and we’ll go someplace special.”

She wanted to say yes. Shoot, she wanted to scream it, but she was remembering the last scene that had taken place at her apartment this morning and the thought of being there alone with Aaron was just too much of a temptation.

“No…that is, why don’t you pick me up here. I’m working late. We can go some place trendy instead.” She hoped that Aaron didn’t pick up on that lie or the reasons behind her nervousness.

She listened to the silence between them stretch on before he answered a little disappointed. She recognized that tone from the past. Which meant she’d disappointed Aaron a lot in the past. Another thing for her to feel sorry about.

“Okay, seven at the shop. I’ll see you then.” Kylie hung up the phone and glanced at her hands. They were actually shaking. What was wrong with her? Aaron was her friend.

“Was that him?” Sarah peeked through to the kitchen door and smiled that familiar ‘I told you so’ smile of hers.

Kylie shook her head, thankful that Sarah had three customers waiting otherwise there would be no end to the questions.

Kylie started the decorations for a wedding cake according to the bride’s specific albeit odd directions when it hit her that she’d just accepted a dinner invitation from the most dangerous man in Austin.

She glanced down at her jeans and tee shirt and closed her eyes. Not exactly going to turn any heads. That was perfect she reminded herself, because Aaron was just her friend. And she was a jeans kind of gal. Aaron wouldn’t be expecting anything else.

“So, where are you two going?” Sarah asked when the last of her customers were gone. She stepped over to the cake, frowned and shuddered at the black icing and explicit decorations of a handcuffed groom and leather-wearing bride. “I still don’t get it.” Sarah threw up her hands and picked up where she’d left off on another birthday cake.

“What makes you think that was Aaron? And who says we’re going out?”

Kylie asked her, her fingers shaking so much that the handcuffs actually went up the groom’s arms.

“Please, you’re as nervous as a cat. Of course, that was Aaron. Where’s he taking you?”

“I don’t know,” Kylie said, giving up trying to hide the truth or her reaction to it from Sarah. “Someplace casual. He’s picking me up here.”

“You can’t be serious? You can’t go out with the man of your dreams in jeans and a tee shirt.”

Kylie closed her eyes and counted to ten before tossing the screwed up groom in the trash. “Aaron is a friend and only a friend, Sarah, and I like jeans. I’m not dressing up for him.”

“Oh yes you are. I have something that will do the trick.”

The very thought of something Sarah might suggest made her shudder. “Uh, no thank you. I don’t want to give Aaron any ideas. I’ve seen you dress, remember?”

Sarah didn’t take offense. She actually enjoyed dressing provocative. “Not to worry. It’s tame by my standards. Just a simple skirt and top. It will be perfect. Not too dressy.”

Kylie didn’t answer. She was busy trying to figure out how to refuse Sarah’s offer without hurting her friend, while wondering who brought a full wardrobe to work with them?

With any luck, Sarah would be out of the shop making deliveries by the time Aaron arrived.

“Oh, no you don’t. Kylie, you have a lot of competition out there. You have to dress nice for Aaron. Trust me, you’ll like this outfit.”

Hours later, standing in front of the tiny bathroom mirror, looking at the woman who wore a slim fitted knit black top that stopped just above her waist with a matching skirt that barely met the top, Kylie wasn’t so sure.

Why had she gone along with Sarah’s crazy idea in the first place? She looked…sexy. That was not how she wanted to look for Aaron. She wanted there to be no misconceptions, didn’t she? So why had she let Sarah talk her into wearing the dress and the matching shoes as well as more makeup than she was accustomed to wearing if she only wanted to be Aaron’s friend? Did friends dress sexy for each other?

Kylie closed her eyes. “I look like a whore,” she told Sarah who let out a whistle when she emerged from the bathroom.

“Are you kidding? You look fabulous. Perfect. Just sexy enough but not too much so that he’ll want to skip dinner altogether.” At Kylie’s shocked expression, Sarah winked. “Hey, a girl’s gotta eat.”

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this.” She glanced at her watch with hope. Then sank into the chair. There wasn’t time to change again. She dreaded Aaron’s reaction.

Sarah on the other hand was thrilled when Aaron walked through the door and stopped dead in his tracks the second he got a good look at her.

Vaguely, Kylie was aware of Sarah laughing and whispering in her ear,

“Bingo. That was the look we were going for,” before her friend disappeared and it was just the two of them.

Kylie clinched her hands, and felt her palms grow damp. This was not the reaction she wanted to have to Aaron, who looked casual but very, very sexy in his dark blue slacks and lighter pullover in muted shades of blue.

Kylie had to turn away to keep from gaping. Aaron looked fabulous. Better than she’d remembered. She forgot what she was doing. She wanted to run.

“Wow, you look amazing.” She closed her eyes tighter and shuddered as Aaron’s words washed over her. This wasn’t good. She was a nervous wreck already and they weren’t even really alone.

Kylie tried to come up with some way out of the dinner. She really wasn’t feeling too well was she? In fact, she hadn’t been feeling well since…

“Ready?” He was standing close behind her, his breath brushing her cheek.

Kylie felt his hands touch her shoulders, turning her to face him. “Kylie?”

Had his eyes always been that blue? Kylie wondered as she watched him reading all of her reactions. She closed her eyes and stepped back.

“We should go. I really need to make it an early night. I have lots to do tomorrow.”

Kylie didn’t even have to turn around to guess Sarah’s reaction to that statement. Sarah probably thought she’d suddenly gone stupid or something.

The Range Rover had never looked more intimidating as Kylie considered the possibilities. Alone with Aaron in the small confines of the SUV was not where she needed to be after spending two long weeks thinking of nothing but being alone with him.

“You did say casual…” Aaron said when Kylie’s eyes collided with his as he parked the Rover outside of his house.