“Thanks,” Kendall said.
“Anything else?” Charlotte asked, eyes alight with approval.
Kendall shrugged. “Just that red and yellow are the most eye-catching colors. Any chance you can work with that?” Kendall asked, pushing one step further in her quest to make her mark on Charlotte and this town. A quest to cement her career—something she’d never expected on her impulsive trip to Yorkshire Falls.
“Charlotte can work with anything that makes a profit. Just look at those handmade crocheted panties in the corner display. She designs and creates them herself.” Beth couldn’t hide her pride in her friend and boss.
“I certainly do,” Charlotte said. “And I certainly will work with anything Kendall suggests. She’s got as good an eye as you, Beth. Now, much as I hate to cut this fun meeting short, I need to see my husband.”
“It’s only been . . .” Beth glanced at her watch. “What? Three hours?” She laughed.
“Newlyweds,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Charlotte didn’t even break a blush. “Oh, and you aren’t seeing Thomas the minute we close for the night?”
Beth laughed. “I didn’t say that.”
“You know I envy you two.” The words escaped before Kendall was even aware she’d spoken them.
Charlotte tipped her head to one side. “How so?” she asked, sounding truly interested.
In the short time Kendall had known Charlotte, she’d come to like her a great deal and she couldn’t help but be honest with her now. “You and Beth go way back. You even read each other’s thoughts like sisters.” She caught the wistful note in her voice but couldn’t recall it. “You make me feel like I’ve known you two forever.” Yet Kendall was still on the outside just as she always had been.
And then Charlotte pulled her into a warm embrace, bulldozing any remaining barriers.
“That’s the great thing about this town. You come here or you come back here and you automatically become one of us.”
“And we’re impossible to get rid of.” Beth laughed from behind her.
To Kendall’s surprise she didn’t mind and a lump rose to her throat. She hugged Charlotte in return, then the other woman stepped back.
“And now I’m off to meet my husband.” Charlotte fairly glowed. “You two work out the rest of the details.” With a wave, she was off and after twenty more minutes with Beth, so was Kendall.
She stepped out of Charlotte’s Attic and into the bright late-afternoon sun. She still had plenty of time to kill before she had to meet up with Rick and the teenager from another world, she thought wryly.
With a little luck, maybe an afternoon with kids her own age would help Hannah’s disposition. Make her happier and easier to talk to. Although Kendall still had no idea what to say in order to ease things between them, she looked forward to seeing her sister and hoped the drive home would provide inspiration. Briefcase in hand, she started for the car she’d parked down the street.
“Hey, sweetheart. Can I interest you in an afternoon of lovin’?” Rick’s familiar voice whispered from behind.
She turned to see him, one shoulder propped against the windowpane. “What are you doing here?” she asked, thrilled to see him. Thrilled to note he’d sought her out.
“Five hours of twenty teenagers is about all I can take in one sitting. I’ve been officially relieved. And don’t worry about Hannah. I’ve got Jonesy, a good friend and officer, bringing her to meet you at Norman’s around five. See? All bases covered.”
“I’m sure she’s thrilled with the personal escort.”
He shrugged. “Actually she was too busy to realize she had a personal, uniformed escort.” He chuckled. “Now are you going to keep talking or are you going to come over here and put me out of my misery?”
She stepped forward without hesitation. He met her halfway, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her into the alley behind the bank of stores that led to his apartment. Next thing she knew she was in his arms, his mouth hot and insistent on hers.
She’d missed him. She hadn’t realized how badly until now. Until she’d heard his voice, inhaled the masculine, arousing scent of his cologne, and felt his lips devouring hers like he couldn’t possibly get enough. He stroked her cheek with his knuckles and groaned, pressing his hard body against hers, crushing her back to the wall, and she didn’t care because he felt so good.
She eased into him, letting her waist mold to his, feeling his desire for her hard and ready through the barrier of clothing, making her feel more wanted and desired than any woman had a right to feel.
He broke the kiss first and his eyes met hers, desire and heat mingling in his gaze. “It’s been too damn long.”
“I know.” Her breath came in shallow gasps, her words breathless and difficult.
“Then let’s get upstairs.”
His sexy grin, meant for her alone, filled her with turbulent emotion she couldn’t afford to decipher or feel, not after the overwhelming sense of belonging she’d just found with his family and friends. A meaningless fling would have been easier to handle.
Nothing about Rick was simple. He was tenderness and desire all wrapped up in one delectable but dangerous package. Dangerous to peace of mind, her easygoing life, and to her heart.
But right now she didn’t care. She’d missed him, she needed him, and they only had this short stretch of time alone before reality intruded in the form of one rebellious teen.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked him. “Take me upstairs and make love to me.”
CHAPTER NINE
After a day at a car wash with two dozen teens, Rick needed adult company. He’d needed Kendall’s company. The hours spent under the sun had left him hot and the days he’d just spent on duty and without Kendall had left him burning with unslaked need. Self-protection obviously only went so far, he thought wryly.
Her hand in his, Rick walked into his apartment, slamming the door closed behind them.
“We’ve gone from having all the time we want to having to squeeze in time when a child isn’t around. Now I know how new parents must feel,” Kendall said, then her eyes opened wide as she obviously realized the direction her words had taken.
“But look how exciting your life has become.”
She relaxed her shoulders. That was part of his resolution. To keep things between them light and easy. A summer fling, as they’d agreed upon.