As Virginia inched closer, she focused on Spinelli's lips, yet another perfect aspect of his flawless features. The sound of the front door opening was a distant, quiet squeak, but it had the same jolting effect as her early morning alarm. Awareness swamped her and she froze, thinking she'd lost her mind. A blast of heat hit her face when a sexy smirk broke out on his. The cocky bastard.
Janine's voice called out from the next room, "Wow, where did he come from?"
After a moment of awkwardness, the two of them walked to the archway separating the kitchen and dining room.
"Mark!" Janine ran to give him a hug.
"Louis sent that for you." He bent down to hug her back.
"Tell him I said thank you!" Janine skipped back to her gift and pulled it off the couch to stand nose-to-nose with the thing. "It's my size!"
"I can see that," Virginia said, elbowing the man beside her as he chuckled.
With bear in tow, Janine went to her room to put her things away while the two of them finished their glass of wine and worked on a salad. Their conversation focused around Janine and the school she was enrolled in.
Reappearing in shorts and a T-shirt, Janine couldn't hide her enthusiasm when she asked if he would like to play basketball. Virginia jerked her hand up, thinking an activity that didn't involve their guest might be a better—
"Okay," Spinelli answered before she could get a word in. "I'm not very good, though."
Yeah, sure, you don't look in the least bit athletic, Virginia thought as she smiled her thanks to him.
The players went out through the kitchen door to shoot hoops in the driveway while Virginia used the time to prepare everything for dinner. She pulled out placemats, utensils, napkins, bread, butter, milk, glasses, all of it placed on the table one-handed. She looked at the wine bottle and shrugged. "Why not, it's open," she murmured, adding it to the mixture along with two new glasses.
Twenty minutes later the buzzer went off. With the slow, awkward balancing skills developed over the last two months, she managed to lift the pan with one hand to the top of the stove.
She opened the back door and leaned against its frame. Spinelli was grinning at Janine, who was giving instructions between spurts of laughter as she circled around with a fast dribble. Virginia smiled, never expecting a man like him to enjoy the simple pleasure of spending time with a child.
"Five minutes!" she yelled.
Spinelli looked over, and for the briefest of moments it didn't matter who he was or who she was or what they did for a living. They were just a man and a woman, staring at each other over the head of a little girl with contended amusement, something normally shared by parents. Except she'd never experienced any of that with Tom. Only with . . . Jack.
Guilt rushed in like a jilted lover, and she stepped away from the doorway.
They came in as she was doling out portions onto plates. Their joking camaraderie continued all the way into the bathroom to wash hands and back, ending when they sat down at the table.
"She killed me," he blurted. "She's pretty good for such a little squirt."
"You just need to practice," Janine offered as she picked up her fork, her focus now on the food in front of her.
Virginia laughed at his pouty look of defeat.
"Wow, this is goooood!" Janine moaned.
Virginia tipped her wine glass to him. "It is, isn't it?"
They lingered over their meal, talking about everyday things. When Janine was finished, she asked if she could go back outside with her bear.
"Sure," Virginia said.
She struggled to tote it from the bedroom to the kitchen. Spinelli got up to lend a hand, carrying it out the door and placing it on the ground in front of the basketball hoop.
"She's a great kid, Ginny," he said when he stepped back into the kitchen.
"Thanks."
"I'd better get going. Do you want me to do these dishes?"
"No!" Seeing his surprise, she toned it down and added, "I'll manage, but thank you." Then his words sunk in, pulling disappointment along with them. "I don't have any dessert, sorry." She wished she did have something to offer, something to make him stay longer.
He stepped in close, within touching distance. "You have nothing to be sorry about."
He ran his index finger along the scar above her eyebrow, his expression rigid. Not knowing how to react, she felt glued to the spot while he traced its line. His touch was feather-light yet somehow able to ignite every nerve ending along its path.
When his eyes shifted down to meet hers, a small smile pushed the tension from his face and he dropped his hand. "Thank you for dinner." In a very Italian way, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then shifted to do the same on the other side. It was all very innocent—she would have thought nothing of it, had he left it at that. But when he straightened and stayed where he was, she held her breath.
This time his hand came up to her neck, his thumb brushing back and forth along her jaw from chin to ear.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his warm hand on her skin.
"Ginny . . ." he whispered, calling her out of her trance.
Her eyes flew open, and the breath she'd been holding demanded its release. He smiled upon hearing it, tilting her chin up before moving his hand to the back of her neck. His other arm slid around her waist to pull her closer. Lips touched hers briefly, as if to test them. And when she didn't pull away, he kissed her again, increasing the pressure, his tongue flicking across her lips in request.
God, his kiss was soft and warm and full of erotic promise. Virginia wanted what he was offering . . . and a whole lot more. Her lips parted and his tongue slipped between them, seeking out hers. Savoring the taste and firmness of its touch, she squeezed her eyes tighter as the kiss intensified, becoming less gentle, more greedy. She reached up with her good arm to the back of his neck, pushing her fingers into thick hair where it rested and curled on the denim collar.
His hand slid down her back to join its mate at her waist. As passion built, logic faded, and when he pulled her roughly toward him, she went willingly, lost in the splendor of the moment, wanting to close the gap just as much as he did.
Her arm in the sling ended up sandwiched between them. And all along its length, she felt every inch of contact against that firm body. There was no way of stifling the moan that escaped from deep down in her throat.
Spinelli jerked away, his hands brushing over her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Virginia was confused by his question or dazed by his kiss, she wasn't quite sure which, but soon realized he was thinking he'd hurt her. "No—I mean yes—I'm fine." She shook her head, knowing her own questions were evident in her stare.
He took a step back. For a moment he appeared as dumbfounded as she felt, but then he grinned. "That was the most delicious dessert I've ever had," he said before turning and making his way to the door.
Pausing with a lingering look, he seemed almost hesitant to leave.
So don't, flashed in her thoughts, shocking her. What exactly was she planning to do with Mark Spinelli for the rest of the evening?
But it soon became a moot point. There was a softly spoken "goodnight," and before she could gather her wits and respond, he was gone from the kitchen.
She didn't move. She barely breathed. She heard his distant "goodbye" followed by Janine's voice saying something she couldn't make out, but it was all so far, far away. She lost her bearings as if immersed in a thick fog, surprised at its intensity, awed by its beauty—and worried about the reality waiting for her when it lifted.
) l (
Mark sat in his car in her driveway, trying to recover from his own shock. He had not intended for that to happen. "What the hell are you doing? She is a cop for Christ's sake," he muttered, starting the Ferrari.
As he drove off, his mind raced over the events of the day that had led him there—back to her. This was all Louis's fault, showing up in his office with the stuffed animal, hinting that Mark should deliver it, claiming it inappropriate for a married man to visit a divorced woman.
And Mark had fallen for it.
But even as he blamed his chauffeur, he couldn't deny how he'd felt. He had been all too eager to go along with Louis's suggestion. In fact, if the guy had changed his mind and decided to go the FedEx route, he would have gotten an argument. Louis had simply provided him with the excuse, something Mark now realized he'd been waiting for over the last two months.
An excuse to see her.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
First kiss! What did you think?