It Must Be Magic (7 page)

He had never tasted anything like her, never touched anything as soft, never wanted anything as badly.

He was on her front porch. Next door to his front porch. With gaps between the hedge that anyone could see through.

As much as he wanted to take more, Tanner pulled back.

His lips clamored for another taste. His cock ached to be inside her. Hell, he simply vibrated all over with want of her.

She slid down his body until her feet were back on the porch and opened her eyes. “Wow.”

That was putting it mildly. He’d have said that, if he were capable of speech. She kept her arms looped around his neck, supporting herself against him as if her legs wouldn’t hold her. He wasn’t sure his could hold him for much longer.

“That was a very
fine
kiss.”

He laughed, though it came out sounding a bit strangled. It was a damn sight more than fine, and he was truly beginning to understand her earlier analogy.

“I think I might dream about it tonight,” she said with a little smile and her eyelids at half mast.

He would be dreaming about far more than just that kiss.

Sliding her arms down his chest, she put her hands flat against him and pushed away until she touched him with nothing but the tips of her fingers.

“Cat got your tongue?” she said.

No. Lili did. He realized he had to say something or he’d look like a besotted idiot. “What time shall we go tomorrow?”

She gave a happy little sigh, took another step back, breaking all physical contact. “I have to work until noon. Then it takes me half an hour to ride home.”

He had to resist the urge to pull her back into his arms. “Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No, thanks. I like the ride.”

He dropped down to the first porch stair. “Then I’ll see you at twelve-thirty.”

With another step, he was on the path and heading for home. The distance, and the fact that her scent didn’t cloud his mind anymore, gave him back a semblance of perspective.

A burst of laughter erupted on his front porch, followed by the gravel pitch of male voices. Roscoe’s pinochle buddies. The game must be breaking up. He hadn’t a clue how he’d explain tomorrow’s trek with Lili to Roscoe and Erika, but at least once it was over, life could return to normal.

Except for a kiss that would haunt him and a woman who would follow him into his dreams.

“Tanner?”

He turned.

“What’s your date’s name?”

He looked at her, cocking his head to the side. “I can’t remember.” It was true for a few moments. In fact, for that same amount of time, he couldn’t even picture her face.

Lili smiled, the slightest curve of her lips. “Then I guess you are fine about the relationship being over.”

“More than fine, Lili.”

He was fine about not seeing Anna anymore. He wasn’t sure how fine he was going to be now that he’d tasted Lili. He had a feeling that one sip of her sweet lips wasn’t going to be enough.

“H
ELL’S BELLS, YOU SEDUCED HIM!
I was joking, Lili.” Kate pushed her tumbling hair back. It wouldn’t stay no matter what she did. Maybe it was time to chop the whole mess off.

“I did not seduce him. He said he’d take me to look for the body before I kissed him.” Lili tipped her head in typical Lili fashion as she tinkered with one of her unusual flower creations. “Actually, I think he kissed me first. I only kissed him back.”

“You don’t know for sure who was the kisser and who was the kissee?” If Kate didn’t know better, she’d think Lili was a total ditz. However, Lili wasn’t ditzy so much as…uncomplicated.

Kate flipped open her calendar on the counter to make sure her appointments for the day were in line. Saturday mornings were slow for walk-ins but busy in the back room where the arranging was done. Kate had just returned from delivering wedding flowers. The bride was a mess, but the bouquets Sasha, her best designer, had made were gorgeous. This afternoon she had a funeral to see to. But for now, the shop front was devoid of customers and offered the perfect backdrop for a heart-to-heart. Sometimes Kate felt like Lili’s older sister. She was more than a boss; she considered herself Lili’s friend.

Lili clipped off a wilted bloom. “Now that I think about it, he definitely kissed me first. After I hugged him profusely for agreeing to take me into the woods.”

“I think he has other things on his mind besides looking for a body.” Unless he was looking for
Lili’s
body. That might be a good thing. Lili needed someone to give her life direction, and this Tanner guy sounded practical. As well as hot.

“I’m only concerned about helping Fluffy and Erika and finding that body Fluffy saw.”

Right. That was why her flower creation was suddenly so engrossing. “How well does he kiss?”

“Kate! That’s personal!”

“Since when have you held back personal stuff?” Interesting. There was more than just a kiss going on here.

“It was fine.” For some odd reason, Lili winced, then she shrugged and went on. “It was a good kiss, but now that Tanner’s going to help me, I don’t need to kiss him again.”

“Maybe you don’t
need
to, but do you
want
to?”

The overhead bell on the front door tinkled, and Lili was saved from answering. For now. Kate wasn’t going to drop the issue, however.

“Hi, Mr. Swann,” Lili said brightly, as if she thought she’d been saved from the conversation for all time.

He looked dapper in a pinstripe suit, charcoal shirt and silver tie. He was delicious, Kate had to admit that much. But what on earth was he doing here? As if she didn’t know.

Lili stared all googly-eyed as only Lili could manage without looking silly. Then she grabbed the watering can and headed for the philodendrons in the front window. The philodendrons Lili had watered when she’d arrived this morning.

Joe dropped an envelope on the counter. “I was driving by so I thought I’d drop off your check.”

“That’s so kind of you.” Kate liked punctual customers, but his visit had nothing to do with timely payment. “You didn’t have to go out of your way. Next time, put it in the mail.” She said it as sweetly as possible, but the message was there.

Before she knew it, he’d reached over the counter and smoothed several strands of her falling hairdo back off her ear. The touch was warm, almost sensual, and her whole body reacted with a wave of heat that thankfully didn’t make it to her cheeks. Thank God she hadn’t taken off her suit jacket or he would have seen the purely involuntary peak of her nipples.

“What —” her teeth clamped down on the end of the word “— are you doing?”

“Stealing an opportunity to touch you.” Then he smiled. Mercy, he had a smile. He also disarmed her pithy comebacks by stating his intentions flat out.

“Mr. Swann —”

“Joe to you.”

“Didn’t we do this routine yesterday?”

“No. I’ve got a different routine today. Everything on schedule for this afternoon?”

He changed the subject so abruptly he left her wondering what today’s routine actually was.

“Sasha’s finishing up.” She glanced at her watch. “Oscar will deliver to the church in an hour and to the site by one.” She omitted saying the word
cemetery.
She wasn’t afraid of dying as Joe had intimated yesterday, but she got a peculiar stomach roll, and she didn’t need a psychiatrist to tell her why. When her mother had found out she had cancer, she’d insisted they make the funeral arrangements. It was cheaper to do it
before
you needed them. Mom had been a planner. But at the age of twenty-one, with her mom’s inevitable death clearly on the horizon, funeral arrangements had been the last thing Kate could handle.

Kate shook off the unsettling memories. “How is Mrs. Minnick?”

Mr. Minnick had keeled over on their neighbor’s driveway while out for his morning jog. Heart attack. He was fifty-five.

“As well as can be expected.” The color of Joe’s eyes deepened to the lapis shade Lili had earlier admired. While he was witty and charming and could coax a laugh or a tingle out of Kate when she tried her best to remain immune, he also felt deeply for the families he worked with. His compassion wasn’t faked.

She felt herself being sucked into his gaze. “Would you like to see the progress?” At least she wouldn’t be semialone with him. The back room was a beehive of activity right now.

“I trust your judgment. Are you busy tomorrow afternoon?”

“Why?” It was rude, but he’d already said he had another routine in mind. She saw it coming a mile away.

“My brother’s new baby will be christened in the morning, and we’re having a barbecue afterward. I’d like you to come.”

Other than weddings and funerals, she didn’t attend church. Her mother hadn’t brought her up that way. Plus, a christening was so family oriented. She didn’t do family barbecues, either.

She raised one eyebrow. “Do you want a polite excuse or a flat no?”

“How about a ‘Yes, Joe, I’d love to meet your family and spend the afternoon with you’?”

“
Mr.
Swann, we went over this yesterday.”

“And I clearly stated I wasn’t going to give up.”

She gave a half snort, half laugh. “So you thought I’d be more likely to agree to a christening than a lunch date?”

He smiled, and an endearing dimple she’d never noticed before appeared by the side of his mouth. “It was worth a shot.”

She was flattered. Mercy, she was even tempted when he smiled like that, but the harder he pushed, the more she knew he was a man to steer clear of. Hadn’t he mentioned nesting and babies yesterday? If anyone’s biological clock was ticking, it was his. It had probably hit overtime when his brother had had a child.

“The shot missed its mark,” she quipped.

“Then we’ll skip the christening and do the barbecue.” He waggled an eyebrow. “My nephew is adorable.”

This time she outright laughed. He did so amuse her with his persistence. “No, Joe. And no means no this time. Just like last time.”

He looked at her, a slight curve to his mouth, the dimple extinguished. Then he stroked a finger along the line of her jaw, shooting another tingle straight to her unruly nipples. “You called me Joe. See, that wasn’t so hard.”

“You know, some women could mistake you for a stalker. You’re
annoyingly
persistent,” she added with a smile.

He held her gaze a moment, then, both hands on the counter, he leaned in until his lips were next to her ear and whispered, “If I’m annoying you, why are your nipples hard enough to show right through that lovely tailored jacket you’re wearing?”

Damn. With his warm breath against her ear, her nipples started to ache. “I’m cold.”

“Actually, I think you’re hot. Very hot. In more ways than one.” He pulled back, a gleam in his eye. Then he saluted her. “Until our next skirmish.”

The problem was Kate looked forward to the next skirmish. She looked forward to seeing him. Before you knew it, she might even accept one of his offers. For sex.
Only
for sex. He’d lit a fire in her with today’s routine and putting it out herself wasn’t going to work to her satisfaction.

K
ATE LOOKED UP AT THE TINKLE
of the overhead bell. “Thank God he’s gone.”

“Joe asked you out?” Lili was fairly jumping inside.

“Don’t tell me,” Kate said, ticking off something on her calendar, “that you weren’t straining with every fiber of your being to hear what we were discussing.”

Lili abandoned the empty watering can by the side of the smaller refrigerator unit. “I was straining
not
to listen.”

“Well, he’s gone. So let’s get back to our original discussion. You and Tanner Rutland. Is there a spark there?”

“The kiss was an
experiment,
Kate. I wanted to see if he was capable of joie de vivre.” Though she hadn’t expected it to be bone-melting. It was
just
a kiss.

“But
he
kissed you first. After you hugged
him
profusely.”

Kate never forgot a
thing.
“I thought we were done with that conversation.” Lili put her elbows on the counter and propped her chin on her palms. “I’d much rather hear about whether you’re going out with Joe.”

“Mr. Swann to you. And I’m not dating him.” Kate wore a militant glare that was highly unusual for her. Joe must have pushed one of her buttons and pushed it hard.

“Why not? The real reason, not the one about how he works with dead people. He works with the grieving, not the dead.”

Kate looked at Lili as if she’d never seen her before. Or she’d sprouted horns. “That’s what
he
said.”

“I think it’s noble.”

Kate nodded, her gaze faraway for a fraction of a second. Then she was back. “He’s looking for a relationship, maybe even marriage.” She made a face as if even the word were distasteful. “And I’m not. Flowers By Nature is my life and growing it is my goal. I don’t have time for anything else.”

Lili swayed on her elbows, her chin resting in her hands. “I don’t see why you can’t have a relationship
and
Flowers By Nature.”

“Marriage and relationships aren’t part of my life plan.”

Lili knew that. She even admired Kate’s tenacity. But she wondered also if Kate would be lonely somewhere down the road. Even Kate’s mother had succumbed to instinct and had had a child in her late thirties. Lili knew the whole story. Kate’s mom had wanted a child, but she hadn’t wanted a husband. As far as “Mom” was concerned, men were just sperm donors. Kate didn’t even know who the man was. The weird thing was that didn’t seem to bother Kate, that her father was just a
sperm.

“I’ve forgotten why the plan is so important.” Lili hadn’t grasped the concept. Not having a plan seemed more spontaneous and given to encouraging joie de vivre. Which made her think of Tanner. Was her kiss better than his date’s kiss? Was it better than fine? God, she shouldn’t think about that.

“If you don’t have a plan, you end up reacting to things rather than taking action. Things happen
to
you instead of
you
making things happen the way you want.” Then Kate centered her tenacious focus on Lili. “What about you? Don’t you want to get married and have children?”

Lili played her fingers on her lips. “Someday.”

“When?” Tenacious Kate was on a roll.

She shrugged. “I haven’t planned it out to the nth degree.”

“You’re thirty-one. You should start planning for it.”

Leaning over the counter like that, her back had begun to ache and Lili straightened. “It’ll happen when it’s right.”

“But you don’t even date.”

“I do too.”

“When was your last date?”

Lili had to think hard. “Last year.”

She’d dated Dirk three times when she’d very gently spoken to his parrot about the problem of tearing out its neck feathers. Dirk had gone gaga. He’d started having parties where she was the star attraction. Like a circus freak. Before that, Norton had lasted four dates. She’d told him his puppy was chewing the sofa because he was lonely when Norton was at work. The next thing Lili knew, he’d locked the poor dog in the bathroom so she couldn’t contaminate him. They were back-to-back examples of the either-or theory. Men either became obsessed or they freaked.

She was sure Tanner wasn’t going to be any different.

“If you want to have a family, you need to start planning now. Or suddenly you’ll be forty, unmarried and childless.”

“Women can have children after forty.” She’d like to be a mother. But she wouldn’t mind being a stepmother, either. She wasn’t like the ladies Erika had referred to.

“That’s not my point.”

“I get the point. I don’t
make
life happen, I let it happen
to
me. But I like the unexpected, and the unexpected doesn’t happen when you plan for it. Then you just get the expected.”

Kate sighed. “I don’t know how, but in an extremely complicated manner, you make the illogical sound logical.”

“My dad says that, too.” Lili smiled. “It’s a compliment.”

Kate threw up her hands. “Whatever. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.”

“How about I agree to make one plan? Will that make you feel better?”

“I shudder to think what that plan might be.” Kate did just that, shuddered, and her topknot fell off her head.

“Okay, I’m making my plan.” Lili closed her eyes as if she were wishing on a star or blowing out birthday candles.

She made a plan to take the bull by the horns and tell Tanner that his daughter was pining for a mother.

That meant she had two plans, because this afternoon, she was going to solve the mystery of Fluffy’s communiqué.

Wow, this whole plan-making thing wasn’t so bad.

T
ANNER COULDN’T STAND SEEING
Erika like this. He was well aware she knew how to turn on the watering pot when she wanted something, but the tears coursing down her cheeks this morning were not the fake variety. She hadn’t touched the pancakes Roscoe had made. She hadn’t even poured her syrup.

“Daddy, he’s getting worse all the time.” She only called him
Daddy
when she was truly upset. “Look at him.”