She couldn’t be thinking clearly, not if she was tempted to indulge in a romantic interlude with a virtual stranger. Yet he felt like anything but. After all, she’d seen the desire in his eyes, felt the tremor in his calloused fingertips. Kendall wasn’t normally into affairs or quickies with men she barely knew, but Rick Chandler, his goodness and strength, his openness and giving, not to mention his sexiness, tested her resolve.
She changed out of the dress and reached for her casual clothes, leaving the bridal trappings on the floor in a discarded heap. The wedding was in her past. The open road awaited her in the future. Though it’d be wonderful to indulge in some T.L.C. and though Officer Rick Chandler might seem like the perfect man for the job, it wouldn’t be fair to him.
She couldn’t use him that way, no matter how good he made her feel. A man who lived in one place, who valued stability, and who was a family friend, was hardly the man to pick for an affair, assuming she was ready for one. Which she wasn’t, she assured herself.
Too bad her body made a mockery of that promise. She straightened and started for the other room, steeling herself against the chemistry she couldn’t control or deny.
Rick paced outside the bathroom so he could hear the thud if the heat got to her again and Kendall passed out cold on the floor. He was thankful when minutes later the door opened and she walked out, but gratitude evaporated when he got a good look at her newest getup, taken from the small suitcase he’d brought in for her earlier.
A pink floral cutoff T-shirt showcased her flat, bare stomach, while a pair of frayed cutoff white shorts hugged her hips and revealed her rounded curves and long legs. She was perfectly proportioned, making him want her more than he had before. Something he hadn’t believed possible.
But as spectacular as she appeared, it wasn’t her body he couldn’t take his eyes from, but the frilly garter still hugging her thigh.
“What’s wrong?” She glanced down. “Oh. Oh!” She blushed an amazing shade of pink that matched her hair. “I was rushing and forgot.”
She bent down to remove the accessory, sliding the elastic over those long legs. Legs he could envision wrapped around his waist as he made love to her over and over again.
“Got it.” She lifted her head and met his gaze. “You seem fascinated by this thing. Want to see it up close?” She dangled the blue and white lace midair.
And according to tradition be the next to marry? “Hell no.” But he was too late. She’d already tossed the garter through the air, leaving him no choice but to catch it or let it drop onto the dusty, hardwood floor. Resigned, he grabbed for the offending object.
“Good catch!” She clapped her hands in approval. “I’m impressed.”
“Just tell me tradition doesn’t work if the bride never said I do. ”
A wry smile touched her lips. “You’re afraid.” She let out a loud laugh.
“I’m a cop. I’m not afraid of anything,” he said. But if that was true, then why was his heart hammering hard in his chest and his breath coming in short, uneven gasps?
“Okay, no fear. But you do look like you’re about to be sick.” She came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Her touch shot straight through him and he enjoyed the feeling more than was prudent.
“Anything I can do?” she asked.
He eyed that damn garter. “You can answer the question.”
“Since I never got married and technically I’m not a bride, I’m sure the garter is harmless. Feel better?”
Hardly, he thought. Her fingertips still touched his shoulder, searing his skin through his department-issued navy T-shirt. His gaze dropped to her incredible body again. “You look a lot more comfortable,” he said, changing the subject.
She grinned. “Amazing what getting rid of that albatross of a dress will do for you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “A woman who shares my views on marriage? Impossible.” He couldn’t imagine a female who’d shake at the sight of a wedding dress. But this was Kendall and she was unique. No wonder she appealed to him.
“Are you telling me you’ve never met an independent woman before?”
“Not in this town. They all seem to be on the marriage plan.”
Her eyes grew wide, her curiosity evident. “There have to be some women who want to remain on their own. Free to do what they want, when they want.”
“Is that your M.O.?” he asked.
Kendall nodded. Rick had pegged her well. “I’m a transient,” she said with a grin.
“Why?”
The answer lay in her past. By moving from place to place, she didn’t allow herself to become too attached to anyone or anything. But she didn’t think Rick needed or wanted to know her personal hangups, so she shrugged lightly and said, “It’s all I know.”
“Your childhood.” He obviously remembered hearing of her past. “But there’s no need to move around now. Did you ever consider putting down roots?”
“Not in this lifetime.” She’d been there, she’d done that, Kendall thought. “I just spent two years in New York City to be with Aunt Crystal and cover her nursing home bills.
It’s time to put me first.”
He nodded in understanding.
“Why don’t we sit?” she suggested.
“This is the best you’ve got.” He gestured to the couch with drop cloths covering it as well as the other furniture in the guest house. It had been so long since anyone stayed here that she obviously had her work cut out for her—even for just a temporary visit.
She joined him on the beige-covered sofa. “Sorry I can’t offer you a better, cleaner place to sit.”
He shrugged. “No big deal.”
“So tell me about the Stepford wives.” She changed the subject back to him.
He chuckled. “It’s really not that bad. It’s just that my mother’s been ill and she’s got this notion that it’s time for her sons to settle down and give her grandchildren.” He sobered at the mention of his mother’s health. “Now she’s launched an all-out campaign and the single women in town are only too happy to participate.”
She recalled Pearl’s words earlier about his mother lamenting her grandchildless fate.
Obviously there was more to it than that. “Poor man. All the women in town throwing themselves at you.” She clucked her tongue, though a part of her was actually jealous she wasn’t the only one who found this guy incredibly sexy. Not that she had any desire to marry and settle down, but she could see why those women who did found him the perfect catch.