She gazed at him with a wry grin on her lips. “I’d say I was squeezed as much as he was, but I might have stomped on his ego a few times.”

“Ouch.” Jack slapped a hand over his heart with a grimace and silently celebrated her grin. “Some women seem to have a real knack for that.”

Lacey looked at him sharply. “Been stomped on a few times have you?”

“What poor soul hasn’t?”

“Poor soul isn’t the phrase that comes to mind when I think of you.”

He gave her a grin and leaned close to whisper. The steam from his breath touched her cheek. “What does come to mind when you think of me?”

“Stubbornness.” She yanked at the handle again.

“I knew you’d been thinking about me.”

She laughed, but guilt briefly flashed across her face.

She had been thinking of him.

He stepped away from the truck, opening the door and offering her a hand up to the seat. When he didn’t let go, she tugged her hand back with a questioning look. He leaned closer, holding her amused gaze.

“Can we do this again?”

“Do what? Freeze? Or fight with my ex?” Lacey’s tone was light, but her dark eyes were serious.

Her mouth caught his attention. Her lips were parted slightly and the tip of her tongue moistened her lower lip. His body hardened at the sight. Her breath caught as her eyes registered his reaction.

“Lacey…”

He couldn’t finish. She’d understood exactly what he’d asked her. He watched a struggle cross her face and his heart tripped a beat.

“OK.” She whispered the single word.

He’d won out over her common sense.

He placed a foot on the running board, cupped her face in his hands, and covered her lips with his. His fingers sank into the blonde hair he’d been aching to touch as he kissed her hard and long on the mouth. After her initial surprise, he felt her soften and lean into the kiss, opening to him. Blood roared in his head. Her mouth was soft and warm, and she gave a small moan in the back of her throat. He felt her hand move to his shoulder, and he wished away his heavy jacket. He wanted to feel the heat of her hand. He wanted to feel her hand slide along his skin and…

She pulled back, her hand still on his coat.

“This isn’t a good idea,” she whispered.

He held still, fighting the flood of arousal through his limbs. “If I’m going to make a mistake, I like to make it a big one.”

Her eyes widened.

He hit the lock button on her door, stepped back, and pushed the truck door shut. She stared at him through the window, her fingertips touching her lips. Her stunned look faded, and he saw the edges of a smile behind her hand.

“Go.” He made a shooing gesture. “Go home.”

Lacey started her engine and shifted into drive. She looked at him again, lifted one side of her mouth, and winked at him, laughter in her eyes. Just like he’d winked the first moment he’d seen her. She’d remembered. His heart double-thumped, and she stepped on the gas.

He stood in the street and watched until her taillights disappeared.

With a fresh mug of coffee in her hand, Lacey glared out her front window the following morning. Her newspaper lay on the sidewalk. A good forty feet from her porch. During the night, freezing rain had covered the old snow with a dangerous layer of ice. To get her paper, she’d have to dash out in her robe, try not to slip on the ice, and risk breaking her butt. She loved the Sudoku puzzles. Her day couldn’t start until she’d mastered the damn things.

She set down her coffee, tightened the tie on her robe, and slipped her feet into boots, Then caught her reflection in the hall mirror. Christ. Hair a disaster, ratty green robe and ladybug boots. If Mr. Carson across the street spotted her, she’d never hear the end of it. The crotchety man didn’t believe she was a dentist. He’d told his wife Lacey was a dental receptionist.

She looked a little closer in the mirror, trying to finger-comb her hair. Her lips looked swollen. Running a finger across them, she decided they were definitely sensitive, even though it’d been only one kiss. One very hot, electrifying kiss last night that’d kept her awake until three in the morning.

Why’d she agree to see Jack again? Michael’s warnings echoed through her head. Mentally she agreed with Michael. Nothing good could come out of seeing Jack Harper. She had enough problems with her own memories of the past. She didn’t need his perspective too.

She wasn’t thinking with her brain. She was thinking with a part of herself that hadn’t had a real date in over a year, a part that craved a man’s rough touch and ached for a strong shoulder to support her. A part that craved a man to hold her tight in bed and make her feel like he couldn’t live without her.

Lacey bit her lip and admitted the thought she’d been avoiding. She was lonely. Filling her time with work and teaching tumbling at the gym. Avoiding men like a piece of gum on a hot sidewalk.

Why him? Why now?

Something about this man had slipped under her defenses. She’d briefly dropped her guard and he’d snuck in, breaking out emotions and memories she’d locked firmly away. And physical needs.

Surprise from last night still lingered about her. As Jack had kissed her, she’d heard that click that occurs when the right people come together. It was plainly audible. And she knew Jack had heard it too.

Lifting her chin, she reached for the doorknob but paused, eyeing the mass of hair in the mirror again. Grabbing a clip out of her pocket, she pulled back her hair, twisted it, and clamped it securely.