Naturally Naughty - Leslie Kelly [56]
When they finally broke apart, Jack stared down at her, warmth and tenderness shining through the passion of his gaze. “I invited you to breakfast. I didn’t intend to leap on you at the first opportunity.”
To be honest, she’d done the leaping. But she didn’t point that out. “I wasn’t playing any get-back-at-you games,” she admitted softly. “Like Friday.”
“Good. I wasn’t playing games, either. But I think we should probably sit down and eat.”
Nodding, she took a few deep breaths, trying to forget the way he’d kissed her, the way the strong muscles of his thigh had felt against her still-aroused body. She was too thankful that he wasn’t going to tease her about her momentary lapse into mindless lust to argue.
As they sat to eat, Jack apparently looked for a quick way to change the subject. “Hey, I know what I forgot to tell you. I heard some news about the Rialto yesterday.”
“Really?”
“Apparently the city now owns it, due to a loan default. It’s sat there empty for years, but now a group of concerned citizens has announced they’re going to work on renovating it, then open it as a public playhouse.”
She smiled. “Wonderful.”
“It gets better. Rose Madison is leading the effort.”
“Miss Rose?”
He nodded. “She’s the one who told me about it. I ran into her. I mentioned we were both happy to see some work being done on the old place.”
“Did she remember me?”
“Yes. She said if you want to pay for those free movies, you’re welcome to come down anytime with a paintbrush.”
“I think I can wield a paintbrush.”
“Hopefully better than you can crack an egg,” he said with a grin as he picked a tiny white piece of shell off his tongue.
“You got me. I’m a lousy cook. But if you want me to tell you how to save money at the grocery store, I’m your woman.”
“Absolutely,” he said softly.
Absolutely? What did that mean? Absolutely he wanted to learn how to save money grocery shopping?
Or…absolutely, she was his woman?
Too chicken to ask which he meant, since she wasn’t sure what she wanted his answer to be, Kate finished her breakfast, thanked him and then left.
But she wondered about his comment all day long. Not to mention their kiss.
JACK SPENT THE AFTERNOON out of the area, visiting some of his late father’s properties in nearby towns. They were mostly rentals, small tract houses for young families. His father hadn’t been a slumlord, but some of the buildings were old and in need of repair. The agent who was handling the sales told him he’d take care of it.
When he got back to Pleasantville that afternoon, he found the duplex empty. Kate’s SUV was not parked outside. She’d probably gone back to her cousin’s place on Lilac Hill, which was the reason Jack decided not to go to his mother’s house.
He told himself he wasn’t avoiding her. No, he was just trying to avoid temptation. He hadn’t been kidding in the kitchen when he’d said he wanted things to change between them once they got back to Chicago. That day couldn’t come soon enough for him, particularly after that kiss they’d shared.
He had also been fully aware of her desire for him. Hell, she’d worn it as if it were perfume, oozing from her every pore. So staying away from her seemed to be the smart choice.
Needing something to do, he remembered Rose’s request for help at the Rialto. He’d developed a real affection for the old theater, particularly since the day he’d met Kate. Changing into some old clothes, he drove downtown and pulled up outside the Rialto.
Right behind a silver SUV.
Drive away. Of course he didn’t. Seeing her might be foolish, since he already spent way too much of his time thinking about her, but he parked and got out of his truck, anyway.
As he entered the building he heard loud music blaring from a boom box and saw a pair of bare legs, complete with paint-speckled sneakers, dangling from a scaffold. “What do