“You sure should know him, considering he’s one of Brad’s friends
and
just recently did some plumbing work for you free of charge.”
“Oh, right, Rick. Of course I remember him.”
Rick flirted with her the day she met him, but she hadn’t taken it seriously at the time. Maybe Georgie really was on to something. Rick was attractive and he seemed nice. Being a friend of Brad’s spoke volumes too. And, he owned his own plumbing business. She didn’t think she could find a man with a more perfect or “safe” profession.
“What did he say to you, Georgie?” Dee asked. “We need some more information on the guy before Kendall commits to giving him her phone number. What
exactly
did he say about her?”
“He thought Kendall had the most beautiful smile—which she does, so obviously the man has good eyesight. That’s a plus.” Georgie tapped her chin and thought some more. “Oh, and, uh, he was pumping me for information about her hobbies. That’s a good sign, too. He’s obviously into your intellect and not just your body—another plus.”
“Ooh, that
is
a good sign. I give this guy two thumbs up,” Dee said, doing just that.
Georgie turned to Kendall expectantly. “Well, what do you think? Can I tell him to call you?”
Kendall hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then nodded, hoping she at least
looked
confident. “Sure.”
Dee and Georgie high-fived each other and let out a whoop. “Oh, that’s great!” Georgie exclaimed. “I think it’ll be good for you to at least go out once. If anything, it’ll be a fun distraction.”
Kendall managed a smile for her friends. Georgie was right—a distraction would be good. It was time to let the whole attraction-to-Brad thing fizzle out if she ever wanted to move on with her life and get him off her brain, and this was definitely a first step. Even though she wasn’t completely on board with dating Rick, she had to remember that in the long run, she’d be thanking herself.
After all, it was better to be safe with her heart now than sorry later.
Chapter Six
Brad pulled his police cruiser to the curb, stopping right in front of Kendall’s soon-to-be bakery. Not that he had any business being at her store or spending any more time with her while he was on duty; he had put in more than enough hours helping replace the flooring a few days ago. But after his run-in with a shoplifter at the local convenience store an hour ago, he needed his mood uplifted and found he was seeking her out.
He had convinced himself there was nothing more to read into his actions. They were friends and he wanted a friendly smile—and maybe even one of Kendall’s homemade muffins, if she were testing out her oven as she said she would be.
He walked through the door just as Kendall picked up a hammer. As soon she saw him, she broke out into a lovely grin—the grin he’d been counting on to lift his spirits—and it felt as if the lights in the room had tripled in wattage. He stifled a sigh. Every time he thought he’d gotten over her effect on him, she’d go and sucker punch him with a smile—and just like that, he would be toast.
She looked completely delicious today—better than her homemade banana bread—in her hip-hugging jeans and an aqua tank top that showed off her lean, athletic arms. He just stood there like the fool he was, appreciating the sexy picture she made and drinking her in with his eyes like a dehydrated man.
Hell, if he couldn’t touch, the least he could do was look.
“Hey, Brad,” she said in greeting. She slung the hammer over her shoulder and cocked her head. “Did you stop by to say hello, or are you here to cuff me?”
Cuff her?
That image brought him up short.
He swallowed hard.
Oh, yeah
, he thought, allowing his eyes to rake over her slender figure.
I sure would like to cuff her and take her—
The radio on his hip went off and the dispatcher’s voice broke him from his Kendall-induced trance. For the best, he supposed. His imagination could only get him into trouble. He reached down and lowered the volume when he realized the call was already being responded to. Then he looked back up at her, hoping his earlier expression hadn’t revealed his dirty thoughts.
He managed a weak smile. “Cuff you? Yeah, that’s a good one. I don’t plan to…unless you’re using that hammer for nefarious reasons I don’t know about.”
She looked at the tool in question and grinned. “No, actually. That table over there has a wobbly leg. I was hoping to hammer it in more securely.”
“Oh, well, allow me,” he said, holding out a hand and wiggling his fingers at her. She willingly gave up the hammer, then led him over to the upside-down table.
“Hey, Georgie was sure surprised last weekend.” He grabbed some nails that were set out on the floor. “I hope she had a good time at her shower.”
“She had a wonderful time. Although I’m not so sure if she had a good time because she got a bunch of great gifts or because she was excited to work on her matchmaking skills again,” she said with a giggle.
Brad paused, shooting her a dubious glance. “Matchmaking skills? Oh, jeez. She’s at it again, is she? Who’s the chump on her hit list this time?” he asked, swinging back the hammer.
“Me.”
At that, the hammer slipped and made direct contact with his thumb.
“Dammit!” He threw the tool down and began shaking out his hand, clamping down his tongue on every choice word he had ever learned in the boy’s high school locker room.
Kendall sprang out of her seat and rushed over to him. “Oh, my gosh! Brad, are you okay?” She placed a hand on his back, peering over his shoulder and trying to get a better look. “Are you bleeding? Is it broken? Do you need some ice?”
He saw stars, and the pain pulsed through his thumb so badly he hoped it would fall off and end his misery, but he waved his good hand in a gesture of dismissal. Taking a deep breath, he quickly assessed his thumb. It was already beginning to bruise, but once he was sure nothing was broken, he turned back to her. “What did you say?” he breathed out between clenched teeth.
“I asked if you needed some ice. Are you sure it’s—?”
He shook his head. “No, back up. Before all that. Did you say Georgie is matchmaking…for
you?”
Kendall bit her lip. “Yes.”
“Pregnancy hormones or not, I can’t believe Georgie would do something like that. Granted, she doesn’t always understand boundaries, but this is beyond presumptuous. Do you need me to talk to her for you? Because one word from me and she’ll back off in a second.”
“No, that’s okay.” She gave a light laugh, shaking her head and sending her ponytail swinging from side to side. “You don’t need to do that. I… Actually, I’m okay with it.”
He blinked, the pain in his thumb completely forgotten. “You are?”
She shrugged. “At first I was a little leery, but eventually Georgie convinced me that it was about time for me to move on with my life. And then when she went on and on to Dee and me about how successful she was in fixing
you
up, well…I figured, why not?”
Why not?
Why not?!
He could give her more than a couple of good reasons why not.
Brad couldn’t believe it. Kendall was actually ready to start dating again, was moving on with her life. Finally. Part of him was elated, wanting to break out in a hallelujah chorus, and another, fiercer part of him was ready to strangle his sister. Leave it to Georgie. Even when she wasn’t trying to butt into his love life, she managed to butt into his love life.
He let a few beats pass as he collected himself, then finally spoke. “Georgie convinced you it was time, huh? So tell me, who exactly did she set you up with?”
“Your friend Rick.”
He clamped his lips together.
Correction, that’s
ex
-friend Rick
.
Kendall seemed to date a lot of his friends. First Jake, and now Rick. Jeez, with friends like them, who needed enemies?
But he smiled and folded his hands in front of him, hoping to mask the inner turmoil waging through him with deceptive calmness. “Well, that’s just…great.”
“I’m glad you think so. We’re actually going out tonight.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I have to admit I’m a little worked up about it.”
Worked up. Yeah, that made two of them.
“I bought a new outfit,” she went on. “A cute little tunic with white leggings. Georgie thinks I should go with something sexier, but I don’t think I’m really the sexy type.” She blushed, not quite meeting his eyes. “What do you think?”
He
thought
that if he weren’t on duty, he’d like to down a fifth of scotch. As it was, he was already drowning in his desire to demonstrate how sexy he found her in just jeans and a tank top.
“Don’t listen to Georgie,” he said tersely. “What you bought sounds fine.”
“Then there’s the whole issue of the good-night kiss…”
Brad ran his good hand through his hair and turned away. He drew the line at discussing good-night kisses with her. He wasn’t in the mood for Kendall’s baked goods anymore, either. And if he wasn’t there to eat or to talk, there was no point in staying any longer.
He picked up the hammer from where he had flung it across the floor and handed it to her. “I better get back on duty now. Sorry I wasn’t much help with that table.”
Kendall’s smile faltered a bit. “Are you sure you can move your hand?”
“It’s fine,” he murmured. And that much was true.
His hand was fine, or, at the very least, would heal. His heart… Well, that was another matter altogether. He supposed he couldn’t expect her to stay single forever, but…
Rick?
Seriously?
She looked up at him, her expression so lively, so beautiful, he actually started to feel happy for her. It was so good to see her moving out of the depression she’d been in. She deserved to be happy. Heck, Georgie probably did him a favor by setting Kendall up. This way he wouldn’t have to spend another precious second pining away for her. He could move on, too. And his heart would be fine.
Now all he had to do was believe that and he really would be fine.
“Thanks for stopping by,” she went on, brushing aside his thoughts. “If you see Georgie today, tell her thanks again.”
The corner of his mouth twisted as he walked over to the door. “Oh, I’ll make sure to thank her,” he promised darkly. “Don’t you worry.”
…
Rick’s car slowly made its way along the curb and finally settled in front of her house, and Kendall nervously clutched her handbag, debating whether to invite Rick in or not. It’s not that she didn’t have a good time with him at dinner, but she didn’t want to rush things, either. They were still in the getting-to-know-each-other phase and she didn’t want to give him the impression that she was more interested than she was. Which, unfortunately, the more she thought about it, she wasn’t.
That settled it. No invite.
As soon as Rick put the car in park and turned to her, she took a deep breath, ready to politely end their date. “What in the world?” she cried instead, raising her hand to shield the glare of bright headlights coming up from behind.
Rick squinted in his rearview mirror and shook his head. “I don’t believe this,” he muttered in frustration. “That’s Brad’s truck behind us.”
“It is?” She turned around to look just as the lights of the truck shut off. Sure enough, two seconds later Brad got out of his truck, slammed the door behind him, and began walking over to them.
“This better be good,” Rick murmured, getting out of the car.
Her heart began to race as she scrambled to get her seat belt off and jumped out of the car. What was Brad doing at her house at ten o’clock at night? She had told him she’d be on a date tonight. Was there an emergency? Was everything okay with Georgie and the baby?
Brad stopped in the middle of the street, offering them both a pleasant smile. “Hey, guys. Lovely night.”
“Oh my gosh, is Georgie okay?” Kendall blurted. “She didn’t go into labor, did she?”
Brad’s face registered surprise, then he frowned. “No, I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to scare you by coming here so late. Georgie is fine.”
“Then what
are
you doing here?” Rick demanded, folding his arms.
Brad held up some rolled papers he had in his hand and shrugged. “Can’t tell you,” he said in a staged whisper. “It’s official, top-secret bakery business between Kendall and me.”
Kendall glanced at her watch, even though she knew exactly what time it was. “Bakery business? Now?”
Brad looked at her blankly. “Yeah. Why, am I interrupting something?”
“Remember?” she said, jamming her fists on her hips. “I told you that Rick and I were going on a date tonight.”
“That was tonight?” Brad pursed his lips together, looking as if he smelled old gym socks. “Hmm, wow, sorry again. But I’m sure you two were about done here anyway, right?” He met her gaze then, his expression turning serious and direct. “Do you really want me to go?”
Kendall bit her lip, giving Rick a sidelong glance. As wrong as she felt Brad was for coming by and interrupting her date, she was actually a little thankful too. The awkwardness of saying good night to Rick wouldn’t be such an issue now.
She looked up at Rick. “Well, I suppose our date
is
over…”
Rick glared at Brad, then let out a defeated sigh. “Yeah, it is.
Now
, anyway.” He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for a good time tonight, Kendall,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll call you later.”
She nodded, even though she wasn’t so sure she wanted him calling her later—or ever—but she’d explain that to him when he called. Now wasn’t the time.
Rick gazed at her a long moment, then stroked a finger down her cheek. His touch sparked no reaction in her, confirming her initial thoughts about not going out with him again. She stifled a sigh. He was good-looking and nice and
safe
. Why, oh, why couldn’t she be even just a little bit attracted to him?
He gave her one last smile, then, without saying good-bye to Brad, jumped back in his car and left.
Kendall turned all her frustration at herself onto Brad, who stood there with wide eyes and exaggerated innocence. The Boy Scout routine did not look good on him. She folded her arms, giving him a disapproving look. “So you
forgot
I had a date with Rick tonight?”
He shrugged. “What? It could happen. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
“Wow, you’re right. I can’t imagine shoving another single thought in a head as cramped as yours.”
They stared each other down for almost a minute before Brad flung his hands up in the air. “All right, I didn’t forget. So sue me! I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay. You may not know this, but Rick happens to date a lot of women. A
lot
of women. And you…I mean, no offense, but you’re a little out of practice in the dating department.”
“Out of practice?” Oh, if that wasn’t a proverbial slap in the face, she didn’t know what was. Brad thought she was clueless—which was ridiculous. She didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he was actually treating her like…like…
Georgie
! Well, that was just great. He was treating her like his sister.
“I don’t know what you were so worried about. What did you think was going to happen, Brad? Rick was a perfect gentleman all night. Something you should know, considering he’s one of
your
friends,” she said over her shoulder as she stormed up her walkway.
“Hey, hang on,” Brad called, jogging to catch up with her. “You can’t tell me you actually have a thing for Rick, can you?”
She stopped and whirled around. “Well, considering my date was interrupted before it was over, I never really got a chance to figure that out.”
“I didn’t ruin anything,” he huffed. “Your date was over before it’d even begun. You would have known five seconds into meeting him whether there was chemistry or not between you two. So go ahead and have a second date—have a
hundred
dates for all I care! It won’t matter. You’ll come to the same conclusion I did.”
Kendall tipped her chin in defiance. “And just what conclusion is that?”