“Again, not a kid. I can have dinner with a woman without attacking her.”

At least, I’ve been able to in the past. Kat is a whole new thing, though, so he might be right.

Not that I’ll admit that.

Boing!

“What the fuck?” I glare at my brother and rub the side of my head where the ball just hit me.

“You’re not paying attention,” he says with a smile.

“You’re going to pay for that.”

“In your dreams,” he taunts, just the way he did when we were kids. So I roll up my proverbial sleeves, move Kat to the back of my mind for now, and settle in to kick my baby brother’s ass.

This has been the longest day of my life. I ring Kat’s bell and wait, flowers in hand, for her to answer. She’s always dressed so colorfully, I can’t help but wonder what she’ll be wearing tonight.

But when she answers, she’s not at all what I was expecting.

Rather than her usual rockabilly style, she’s in short cutoff denim shorts, showing off her legs. Her black tank top is a bit big, so she has a gray sports bra on under it. Her hair is in a knot on top of her head, with pieces that escaped framing her face.

Her clean, void-of-makeup face.

“You’re beautiful,” I murmur as she steps back to let me through the door.

“I’m a mess,” she says, and blows a piece of hair off her forehead. “Dinner was a bit of a disaster, so I had to order in.”

She blushes adorably and bites her lip.

“I’m just happy to spend some time with you, Kat. I don’t care where the food came from.”

“Well, I tried my hand at a recipe that I’ve never made before, and it didn’t work out well. There might have been casualties.” She closes her eyes, as if she’s seeing the horrors in her head all over again, and I pull her in for a hug. “That poor pork loin didn’t know what hit it.”

“I trust it was dead to begin with,” I reply, and pat her back soothingly.

“We can hope,” she replies, making me smile. Damn, she feels incredible pressed against me. Too good.

I have to make it through dinner.

So I pull back and offer her a smile. “What do you need?”

She frowns. “I don’t need anything.”

“Are you sure?”

She blinks up at me, as if she’s confused, and then her eyes soften and she smiles. “Thank you for offering, but I’m fine. As long as you don’t mind that I’m dressed like this.”

“I told you, you’re beautiful. You can be dressed in anything at all, and still be beautiful.”

“You’re a charmer.” She winks and walks ahead to the kitchen, gesturing for me to follow her.

“Your place is nice.”

“Thanks.” She smiles at me from across the island. “Do you like your place?”

“Love it.” I nod and accept the glass of wine she offers me. “I liked this one when we were in California.”

“I know,” she says, turning the tables on me from Friday when I brought her the bottle she enjoyed.

She pays attention, and I’m not too proud to admit that I like that about her. I like that a lot.

Suddenly her smile fades and we’re just staring at each other. I can’t stop taking in her red hair, her freckle-covered shoulders, the way she bites that lower lip. Finally, she’s the one to look away. She pulls containers out of plastic bags.

“This was just delivered,” she says. “I hope you like Mexican food.”

“My favorite,” I reply, and jump in to help her dish up our meals, then join her at her table. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I promised you dinner,” she says with a shrug. “The girls didn’t think it was smart of me to offer to cook, and it turns out they were right.”

“One failed attempt at a pork loin doesn’t make you a bad cook.”

“Well, it was pretty bad,” she admits, and finally starts to laugh. “You should have seen me. I was panicked.” She shakes her head and takes a sip of wine.

“You could have called me.”

“Can you cook?”

“I’m not too bad,” I reply. “I’ll return the favor soon.”

She dips a chip in salsa, takes a bite, and sighs in happiness.

Exactly the same way she does when I’m inside her.

Without giving it another thought, I grip the back of her neck and bring her to me for a kiss. Her lips are soft, gently moving beneath mine, giving in to me, letting me set the pace.

I want to lift her onto this table and fuck her blind.

But instead, I pull back, just a bit. My lips are still touching hers. We’re both panting.

“I want you,” I murmur. “I’ve been wanting you for weeks.”

“Okay,” she says, making me grin.

“But we have to wait until after dinner.”

And with that, I pull away, leaving her with a frown on her pretty face.

“Why?” she asks, and reaches for another chip.

I sigh and shove my fingers through my hair. “I’d really rather not say.”

“Well, now you have to say,” she says with a smile.

“My brother, Chase, doesn’t think I can keep my hands off of you long enough for us to finish our meal.”

Her eyes sparkle with interest. “Is that so?”

I nod.

“You know, I have quite the competitive streak.”