“Yes,” he said, giving her a smile that made her stomach clench. “Would you go to lunch with me?”
“Why? Do we need to talk about the kids again?”
“No.”
That single word sent her mind into a spin. He wanted to take her out but not to talk about the kids. Then what on earth would they talk about?
Chance must have seen the question in her eyes because he said, “I discovered something very important yesterday at the café, Kylie.”
“What?”
“I enjoyed your company a lot. A whole lot.” Then as an afterthought, he added, “I don’t date often.”
His confession was the same as Tiffany had said that very morning. Although she knew it probably wasn’t good manners, Kylie couldn’t help asking, “Why?”
He shrugged. “For a number of reasons but I can probably sum it up in one rationale.”
“Which is?”
“Lack of interest.”
Kylie knew all about lack of interest. She’d been dealing with it for over fifteen years. She hadn’t wanted the drama of getting into a hot and heavy relationship with someone, nor had she wanted to expose Tiffany to the drama, either. “Oh, I see.”
“Do you?”
Nervously, Kylie stared down at her hands, confused by a lot of questions, the main one being why she was more attracted to Chance than any other man. She lifted her head. “Then maybe I don’t see after all.”
Her heart began racing when he started crossing the room. When he came to a stop directly in front of her, he placed his finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. “In that case, for us to go to lunch together is a rather good idea.”
She was warmed by his touch. “Why would you think that?”
“Because it would make things easier for us on Sunday if we were honest with ourselves about a few things now.”
Kylie’s eyes clung to his, knowing he was right. There was no need to play dumb. There was something happening between them that she didn’t need or want, but it was happening anyway. And they needed to get it out in the open, talk about it and put a stop to it before it went any further. How could they help their kids battle lust when they’d found themselves in the same boat?
She drew in a deep breath. “All right, if you’ll give me a second, I need to close up and put the Out to Lunch sign on the door.”
He nodded. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Chance stood to the side while Kylie went about closing her shop. His eyes roamed over her with more than mild intensity. For some reason, today she looked even younger than she had the other days. She was wearing shorts and a top again, and he thought her legs were just as shapely as he remembered and her body just as curvy.
He couldn’t help the desire that quickly escalated to extreme hunger and hit him in the gut. For one intense moment, he felt a burning desire to walk across the room and take her mouth with his. The need to taste her was driving him insane.
“I’m ready.”
He blinked, realizing she had spoken. He inhaled a calming breath and fought for composure. He was ready, too, but doubted they were ready for the same thing.
“One of these days I’ll take you to a place that serves something other than hamburgers and fries.”
Kylie smiled as he led the way to their table. To save time they had decided to grab a quick lunch at Burger King. “I don’t mind,” she said, as butterflies began floating around in her stomach. Did he realize he’d just insinuated that he would be taking her out again?
“It’s not too crowded,” he said, pulling the chair out for her.
“No, I guess the lunch crowd has come and gone.”
“Which is fine with me. Before I go order, I think I need to do this.” He pulled off his tie and stuffed it into the pocket of his jacket. Then he reached for the top of his shirt and worked a couple of buttons through the holes. “I’m a little too overdressed for this place.”
Kylie watched as he walked off toward the counter, thinking that an overdressed Chance was the last thing on her mind. Thoughts of an undressed Chance seemed to be cemented into her brain. In a suit it he looked handsome, professional and suave. And she would bet that even in a pair of jeans and a shirt he would look rugged and sexy. She didn’t want to think about how he would look without any clothes on at all. But she had, several times, day and night, and that wasn’t good.
It didn’t take long for him to return and they began digging into their food. It was only when they were halfway through their meal that Chance spoke. He leaned in close, smiled and said, “I was wondering about something.”