“I’d like to take you.”
“Okay.”
What else could she say, with such a gorgeous man pressed against her, hot and aroused? No sane woman could have resisted his smoky-eyed, wanting stare that seemed to promise untold sensual delights.
He leaned down and pressed his face to the side of her neck. A shudder of excitement went through her at the sensation of his warm lips moving against her skin.
Then he straightened and the hard pressure of his body was gone.
“Ryan?” she asked uncertainly when he stepped away.
“If I don’t leave now, I’m not going to, Faith,” he said, his voice sounding edgy. He glanced around, spearing her with his stare. His expression softened.
“I’ll call you on Tuesday and we can make plans,” he said. He briefly caressed her shoulder, turned and walked out of the room, leaving Faith standing there alone, a vibrating bundle of confusion and clamoring nerves.
* * *
On Wednesday at five-thirty Faith raced through her front door, laden down with dry cleaning, her briefcase and a large bag of dog chow. Topsy’s loud yipping added another layer of chaos to her already overwhelmed state.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she muttered in a regretful tone, dumping all the items she carried on the breakfast nook. Both Cleo and Smokey circled around her feet, meowing loudly for their supper. “I’m sorry for being late. My hair appointment had to be rescheduled because I had a patient emergency—an Irish setter managed to consume a jumbo package of toilet paper, including the plastic. Don’t you ever think about pulling something like that, young lady,” she lectured a squirming Topsy as she liberated her from her crate. The puppy shot like a torpedo through the back door when she opened it. She gave the cats their dinner in record time.
She only had a half an hour to get ready before Ryan would be here. Luckily, she’d gone to the salon in town to get her hair done, so the only thing that was required was a quick shower and makeup application.
At six o’clock, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, inspecting the final result. Her skin looked smooth and glowing next to the champagne fabric of the dress. Her hairdresser had straightened her hair, and then used a curling iron to create loose curls that spilled down her shoulders and caressed her bare upper arms. The dress gathered beneath her breasts and then flowed in graceful folds to below her knees. Nervousness trickled through her when she saw the amount of cleavage revealed in the V-shape of the neckline. Was it entirely appropriate? She’d tried the dress on for Jane last night, however, and her friend had insisted it fit her perfectly.
“With curves like that, you ought to be flaunting it a little. It’ll only help in getting a little extra cash from the male attendees during the silent auction you’re running,” Jane had said, her blue eyes twinkling. Faith had stood before a mirror at Jane’s house while they both inspected her appearance. “And I doubt you’ll hear that hunk of a man I met the other day in the office complaining.”
After that it’d taken Jane about three seconds flat to get her to admit that Ryan Itani was, indeed, the father of her baby. When Jane had seen Faith’s worried expression, she’d expressed confusion.
* * *
“Why are you upset that you’re about to have that man’s baby? He’s gorgeous, and I saw the way he looked at you—like he wanted to eat you up in one bite. What’s the problem?”
“Which one do you want me to start with?” Faith had asked drolly. She noticed Jane’s mock stern expression in the mirror. “He’s not in love with me or anything. That night—it was all a mistake...an impulse.”
“Seems to me that your impulses are pretty good,” Jane said dryly as she’d adjusted the bodice at Faith’s back.
“He’s not a one-woman man,” Faith said, scowling at her reflection in the mirror. “Look at his job. Pilots live out of their suitcases. There’s no...security in a man like that.”
“Who are you talking about?” Jane asked, her gaze sharp in the mirror. “Ryan? Or Jesse?”
Faith sighed. Jane knew all about the heartache her former husband had caused her. “It doesn’t matter. Ryan’s not interested in me that way.” Her cheeks grew pink when Jane gave her a give me a break glance. “I mean...he’s attracted to me. But he also told me he wants us to be friends.”
Jane had just shrugged in a matter-of-fact manner. “Lust and friendship aren’t a bad way to start, I’d say. Add a baby into the mix, and you’ve got the beginnings of a beautiful relationship.”
* * *
A loud knock sounded on her front door, causing Faith to jump and jerking her out of her thoughts. She spun toward the vanity, the decadently soft folds of the skirt of the dress whisking around her hips and thighs. She tossed some money, a credit card, a comb and lipstick into her evening bag and hurried down the hallway, her heart starting to hammer out an erratic tempo in her ears.
Ryan had called yesterday, and they’d chatted for a few minutes. Other than that brief interaction, however, she hadn’t had contact with him since last Sunday, when he’d touched her while they’d looked at one another in the mirror...when he’d praised her.
When he’d coaxed her into seeing herself in a whole new way.
“Hi,” she greeted between pants a few seconds later, opening the outer door. Ryan caught it with his hand. Her frazzled brain fully took in his appearance for the first time. She froze, her eyes going wide.
“Oh, my goodness,” she exclaimed. “You look great.”
It was a bit of an understatement, she thought as her gaze ran over the considerable length of him.