could…misbehave.”
Her jaw locked at his audacity. A firm believer that one should never negotiate with terrorists, she decided to go ahead and fight fire with fire. “Since it doesn’t look like I’m getting rid of you anytime soon, I’m just going to start…my bath.” She grinned in triumph when a quiet groan came from his end.
Placing her phone on the counter, she dropped her towel and slid into the water. The slow, purring sound she let out wasn’t for his benefit. But it seemed to affect him all the same.
“Am I on speaker?” The words were smoky, stilted.
“Mmm hmm.” Her eyelids drifted closed as she sank back against the tub, letting the hot water unravel the tension from this crazy day. “Connor, you have maybe a minute before I start dozing off so if you have something to say, you better say it now.”
“Have dinner with me.”
She bolted upright—to avoid taking in a gaping mouthful of bath water. “ Dinner ? Why?”
“Because the next time you’re in that tub, I want to be there with you. And, well, I figure it’d be wise for us to eat beforehand.”
He was smiling again, she could hear it.
The guy had balls, you had to give him that. “What on earth makes you think I’d agree to take a bath with you?”
“Nothing but sheer hope.”
She resisted the urge to melt at that, reminding herself that this was veteran player she was talking to here.
And she’d never even tried out for little league.
“I don’t think dinner would be a good idea.”
“Okay, lunch then. Afternoon baths are fun too.”
Dang it, she was really close to laughing. “ No . And don’t you dare suggest breakfast or dessert. Or brunch!”
“Well then we have a problem. Call me old fashioned but I’d really like to feed you before we take a bath together.”
Somehow, she managed to smother the life out of a burgeoning giggle. “That was a blanket no. To the bath also.”
“ Fine . But you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ll have you know, I give a pretty mean underwater massage.”
Ooh, that was low. Her achy muscles wanted in. But her common sense knew better. “Oh, I believe you. I’d be more surprised if you told me you gave a nice one.”
“Ouch. Okay, okay, I deserved that. Well, since you’ve now clearly moved on to the brutally honest portion of our phone call, why don’t you explain why you told me to leave earlier?”
“Brian already covered all that,” she skirted.
“So that was the only reason? Honoring that favor?”
God save her from insightful men. “Not exactly,” she confessed. “It was just…easier to let you believe it.”
“Easier than…”
“Saying no to you.” She stared at the water, admitting to herself as well as him, “When all I wanted was to say yes.”
“ Abby .” It came out as a groan. And sounded like pure sin. She couldn’t help it, in the thick quiet that followed, her hands began drifting over her skin without any preauthorization from her brain whatsoever. Eyes closed, she let her fingers roam. Until her broken breathing fractured the silence.
“Invite me over, Abby,” Connor rasped. “Let me see you. Help you.”
Her eyes shot open and she yanked her hands back to safer territory. What the hell was she thinking ? “What? No.”
“Why not?” His voice sounded strained.
“Because we just met!”
“No, we met well over a decade ago. And as you so delicately reminded me the other night,” he added almost teasingly, “we’ve kept in fairly regular contact since.”
She tried to keep her smile from showing in her voice. Why was it so easy to like this man? “You can’t come over.”
“Then at least agree to dinner, Abby. Just one night.”
“Coming from you, that sounds less like a reassurance and more like a mandate.”
Crap. She hadn't intended for that to sound so bitchy. She had no right to judge him. “Errr...not that that's a bad thing.”
He was silent for a second. “Are you saying you’ve never had a
Her jaw locked at his audacity. A firm believer that one should never negotiate with terrorists, she decided to go ahead and fight fire with fire. “Since it doesn’t look like I’m getting rid of you anytime soon, I’m just going to start…my bath.” She grinned in triumph when a quiet groan came from his end.
Placing her phone on the counter, she dropped her towel and slid into the water. The slow, purring sound she let out wasn’t for his benefit. But it seemed to affect him all the same.
“Am I on speaker?” The words were smoky, stilted.
“Mmm hmm.” Her eyelids drifted closed as she sank back against the tub, letting the hot water unravel the tension from this crazy day. “Connor, you have maybe a minute before I start dozing off so if you have something to say, you better say it now.”
“Have dinner with me.”
She bolted upright—to avoid taking in a gaping mouthful of bath water. “ Dinner ? Why?”
“Because the next time you’re in that tub, I want to be there with you. And, well, I figure it’d be wise for us to eat beforehand.”
He was smiling again, she could hear it.
The guy had balls, you had to give him that. “What on earth makes you think I’d agree to take a bath with you?”
“Nothing but sheer hope.”
She resisted the urge to melt at that, reminding herself that this was veteran player she was talking to here.
And she’d never even tried out for little league.
“I don’t think dinner would be a good idea.”
“Okay, lunch then. Afternoon baths are fun too.”
Dang it, she was really close to laughing. “ No . And don’t you dare suggest breakfast or dessert. Or brunch!”
“Well then we have a problem. Call me old fashioned but I’d really like to feed you before we take a bath together.”
Somehow, she managed to smother the life out of a burgeoning giggle. “That was a blanket no. To the bath also.”
“ Fine . But you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ll have you know, I give a pretty mean underwater massage.”
Ooh, that was low. Her achy muscles wanted in. But her common sense knew better. “Oh, I believe you. I’d be more surprised if you told me you gave a nice one.”
“Ouch. Okay, okay, I deserved that. Well, since you’ve now clearly moved on to the brutally honest portion of our phone call, why don’t you explain why you told me to leave earlier?”
“Brian already covered all that,” she skirted.
“So that was the only reason? Honoring that favor?”
God save her from insightful men. “Not exactly,” she confessed. “It was just…easier to let you believe it.”
“Easier than…”
“Saying no to you.” She stared at the water, admitting to herself as well as him, “When all I wanted was to say yes.”
“ Abby .” It came out as a groan. And sounded like pure sin. She couldn’t help it, in the thick quiet that followed, her hands began drifting over her skin without any preauthorization from her brain whatsoever. Eyes closed, she let her fingers roam. Until her broken breathing fractured the silence.
“Invite me over, Abby,” Connor rasped. “Let me see you. Help you.”
Her eyes shot open and she yanked her hands back to safer territory. What the hell was she thinking ? “What? No.”
“Why not?” His voice sounded strained.
“Because we just met!”
“No, we met well over a decade ago. And as you so delicately reminded me the other night,” he added almost teasingly, “we’ve kept in fairly regular contact since.”
She tried to keep her smile from showing in her voice. Why was it so easy to like this man? “You can’t come over.”
“Then at least agree to dinner, Abby. Just one night.”
“Coming from you, that sounds less like a reassurance and more like a mandate.”
Crap. She hadn't intended for that to sound so bitchy. She had no right to judge him. “Errr...not that that's a bad thing.”
He was silent for a second. “Are you saying you’ve never had a
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