Trading Christmas - Debbie Macomber [94]
“You have nothing to worry about.” He sipped coffee, his gaze steady and emotionless. “I’m not falling in love with you.”
“In other words you make a habit of kissing unsuspecting women.”
“It isn’t a habit,” he answered thoughtfully. “It’s more of a pastime.”
“You certainly seem to be making a habit of it with me.” Her anger was quickly gaining momentum and she was at odds to understand why she found his casual attitude so offensive. He was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear. But she hadn’t expected her ego to take such a beating in the process. The fact that he wasn’t the least bit tempted to fall in love with her should have pleased her.
It didn’t.
It was as if their brief kisses were little more than a pleasant interlude for him. Something to occupy his time and keep him from growing bored with her company.
“This may come as a shock to you,” Joe continued indifferently, “but a man doesn’t have to be in love with a woman to kiss her.”
“I know that,” Cait snapped, fighting to hold back her temper, which was threatening to break free at any moment. “But you don’t have to be so…so casual about it, either. If I wasn’t involved with Paul, I might have taken you seriously.”
“I didn’t know you were involved with Paul,” he returned with mild sarcasm. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his pose infuriatingly relaxed. “If that was true I’d never have taken you out. The way I see it, the involvement is all on your part. Am I wrong?”
“No,” she admitted reluctantly. How like a man to bring up semantics in the middle of an argument!
“So,” he said, leaning back again and crossing his legs. “Are you enjoying my kisses? I take it I’ve improved from the first go-around.”
“You honestly want me to rate you?” she sputtered.
“Obviously I’m much better than I was as a kid, otherwise you wouldn’t be so worried.” He took another drink of his coffee, smiling pleasantly all the while.
“Believe me, I’m not worried.”
He arched his brows. “Really?”
“I’m sure you expect me to fall at your feet, overcome by your masculine charm. Well, if that’s what you’re waiting for, you’ll have one hell of a long wait!”
His grin was slightly off center, as if he was picturing her arrayed at his feet—and enjoying the sight. “I think the problem here is that you might be falling in love with me and just don’t know it.”
“Falling in love with you and not know it?” she repeated with a loud disbelieving snort. “You’ve gone completely out of your mind. There’s no chance of that.”
“Why not? Plenty of women have told me I’m a handsome son of a gun. Plus, I’m said to possess a certain charm. Heaven knows, I’m generous enough and rather—”
“Who told you that? Your mother?” She made it sound like the most ludicrous thing she’d heard in years.
“You might be surprised to learn that I do have admirers.”
Why this news should add fuel to the fire of her temper was beyond Cait, but she was so furious with him she could barely sit still. “I don’t doubt it, but if I fall in love with a man you can believe it won’t be just because he’s ‘a handsome son of a gun,’” she quoted sarcastically. “Look at Paul—he’s the type of man I’m attracted to. What’s on the inside matters more than outward appearances.”
“Then why are you so worried about falling in love with me?”
“I’m not worried! You’ve got it the wrong way around. The only reason I mentioned anything was because I thought you were beginning to take our times together too seriously.”
“I already explained that wasn’t a problem.”
“So I heard.” Cait set her coffee aside. Joe was upsetting her so much that her hand was shaking hard enough to spill it.
“Well,” Joe murmured, glancing at her. “You never did answer my question.”
“Which one?” she asked irritably.
“About how I rated as a kisser.”
“You weren’t serious!”
“On the contrary.” He set his own coffee down and raised himself off the ottoman far enough to clasp her by the waist and pull her into his lap.
Caught off balance, Cait fell onto his thighs, too astonished to struggle.
“Let’s try it again,” he whispered