“And why is that?”
“I didn’t think you would say yes.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well…because. I’m the maintenance guy.”
She sighed gustily. “You know what, Mike? I’m not the educational snob. You are.”
He looked stunned by the accusation. “I am?”
“Exactly.” She nodded in satisfaction at having so neatly turned the tables on him. “You’re the one with the hang-up about our educational differences. You made it such a big deal that you wouldn’t even ask if I would be interested in going out with you.”
“So what would you have said if I had asked?”
She looked at him standing there, flushed and rumpled, her cat draped over his arm, and she gulped. “I would have said yes.”
He studied her face as if trying to determine her sincerity. “You would?”
She nodded.
After a moment Mike grimaced. “Did this argument sound as stupid to you as it did to me?”
Her cheeks going warm, she nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Shaking his head, he set Norman on the floor. “I’m sorry. I guess I came primed for a fight.”
“Why?” she asked, confused.
Taking two steps toward her, he rested his hands on her shoulders, setting off the usual cascades of reaction inside her as a result of the contact between them. “Because I’m an idiot. And because when I watched you leave with that guy yesterday, I realized that I was a fool for not having asked you sooner myself.”
Now that their tempers had cooled, Catherine felt rather self-conscious. She moistened her lips as she gazed up at him. “I, um…”
&
nbsp; “Since I’ve already got so much to apologize for tonight,” he murmured.
And he lowered his head…slowly, his eyes locked with hers, giving her plenty of time to stop him if she wanted to.
She didn’t want to stop him. Instead she lifted her face to his.
Chapter Six
Catherine’s eyes closed when Mike’s mouth settled onto hers. She thought perhaps her heart stopped, as well, but then it kicked into high gear, racing so hard in her chest that she knew he had to feel it, too.
She should have expected this extreme reaction to his kiss. After all, just the feel of his hand on her arm had had a profound effect on her. But this: the feel of his solid body against hers; his muscular arms around her; the slight roughness of five o’clock shadow; his lips firm and warm against hers, moving with an easy skill that made every nerve ending in her body tingle.
This was more than she could have possibly imagined. It was more than she had ever experienced from a simple kiss—which said a great deal about the kisses that had preceded it, she thought dazedly.
He finally lifted his head, though he didn’t release her. She forced her heavy eyelids upward, almost reluctant to see his expression. She was quite sure that she would be able to tell right away that the kiss had not affected Mike the way it had her. That to him, it had just been an ordinary kiss—and that he would probably be startled to learn that it had pretty much been a life-changing experience for her.
She didn’t know what to think when she saw that he looked almost as dazed as she felt.
There was always the chance that she was reading him wrong, of course. Maybe he always looked as though he’d been blindsided after he kissed someone.
He cleared his throat, but his voice was just a bit rough-edged when he said, “I’m prepared to apologize, if you want—but I’ve got to tell you I’m not at all sorry we did that.”
Her hands still rested on his chest. She flexed her fingers, savoring the tensile strength beneath his sweatshirt. “Neither am I.”