* * *
KIT WAS SO tired by the time she pushed the key into the lock of her back door that night she could just about stand. After Hank had saved the day delivering her flowers, the bad luck had continued. A shipment of flowers came in spoiled, and a customer complained, as well, about their delivery being late that day.
Not to mention Erin was MIA and Kit had kind of hoped she might be there when she got home.
To be honest, she was also disappointed about Hank’s not coming back to the store after he was done. She had no right to be—he’d saved her butt finishing the deliveries and following up on the van, which was going to be less expensive than she thought to fix. That was one good thing.
He’d checked in and told her he had something else he had to do that evening, but would see her later. She’d been disappointed—very much so. She’d wondered, if he came back to the shop, where that might lead.
Instead, here she stood, alone as usual. She sat down at the small table by the window that looked out over a very ragged garden—if it could even be called that anymore. How ironic was it that she, a professional florist, had such a messy, unkempt garden?
It had been her mother’s pride and joy. For a while after she died, Kit had kept it up, but gardening took time.
There was a message blinking on the machine—Erin? She almost never got calls on her landline anymore, except for telemarketers. She’d been meaning to close out the account for a while and just go to cell. But Erin thought it was important to have as a backup for emergencies, and for 911. Ever the firefighter.
Kit hit the button and listened to the pleasant male voice calling to inform her that a letter would soon arrive informing her that she had been chosen for a personal tax audit from the IRS.
She dropped back into the chair, shaking her head. Chosen? Like she’d won a prize?
Great. This was exactly what she needed. There was nothing amiss in her files, and she kept meticulous records, but it was one more thing to worry about. The call went on with more details, but she wandered away from the room.
Whatever.
Sometimes when she got home, she’d watch some TV or read, but tonight she was just going to bed.
The house was so quiet, though. Until she heard footsteps on the front porch, and then a knock at the door.
Startled, she switched on the porch light. The sheer white curtain obscured the window, but not so much that she couldn’t recognize Hank’s huge profile.
She smiled and rushed to the door, then felt silly, slowing down and waiting a beat as she opened it.
“Hank. What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Kath. I hope you don’t mind me coming by.”
“Um, no, not at all. But how did you know where I live?”
“Miraculous thing, the white pages.”
Kit laughed, feeling foolish yet again.
“Now I see the definite value in having kept my landline.”
He smiled and looked past her into the house. “I wanted to apologize for not coming back to the shop. I had to go over to my sister’s to help her with her kid for a while. She’s a single mom, so I sometimes babysit at the drop of a hat, but I’m sorry that I left you hanging.”
“We didn’t have any definite plans.”
“No, but there was that date you owed me, and I said I’d see you later. And this is later.”
“That’s true.”
“Do you want to go out?”
“Not really,” she said, and saw him frown. “But I could open a bottle of wine or cook something if you want to come in.”
“I’d like that a lot.”
He stepped inside and waited in the small entryway as she closed the door.
“Nice house. Where you grew up?”
“Yes, thanks. I love living here, though I haven’t been able to keep things up as much as I should. It’s a big house.”
“Your parents left it to you?”
“Yes, well, Erin and I both inherited it, but I’d been living here taking care of my mom when she was sick, and Erin had already bought her own house, so she signed it over to me. She never was as attached to it as I was. So yeah, it’s all mine. Every pipe that needs repair, peeling exterior paint, overgrown garden and all.”
“Hey, you’re only one person, and you run your own business. I think the house looks fine. It has charm.”
“Charm is a nice word,” she said with a chuckle as she started for the kitchen, but he caught her arm, pulling her back around to face him.
“First things first,” Hank said as his arms closed around her and he sought a kiss that she was happy to return.
He felt so good, so big and solid. As if nothing in the world could get through him to her. The kiss deepened, taking on more heat than she expected, and Kit moaned as she pressed against his barrel of a chest.
“You make the sexiest sounds when I kiss you, Kathleen,” he said into her neck, his voice rough.
She didn’t know what to say to that, and settled for letting him kiss her again, this time taking one of his large, gorgeous hands and settling it over her breast.
“Oh, damn, honey,” he muttered, closing his palm over her with more gentleness than she would have expected from such a large, strong man. Kit was learning that everything with Hank was such a nice surprise.
Including his patience. Most guys would have her undressed and against the entry wall by now, but he kept kissing her and moving his thumb over her nipple until she thought she might rip his clothes off and push him against the wall.
“How hungry are you?” she managed to ask, her breath short as she moved her hands over his broad back.
“Do you have to ask?” he countered with a low chuckle.
She giggled and moved her hand down to slide over him, pleased when he made some nice sounds for her, as well.
“I meant...I was going to cook for you, but, if you wanted to wait for a while—”
It was as far as he let her go, when she felt herself lifted off the floor and swept—for the first time ever in her life—off her feet.
“Hank, what are you doing?”
He held her up in his arms and headed to the stairs at the end of the hall.
“Up?” he asked, desire clear in his expression, his eyes, his voice.
She met his gaze directly. “Yes. Up. Top of the stairs, down the hall, on the left.”
He brought her to her room, the one she’d had since she was a girl. She’d never had a man in there, not once. She didn’t bring men home, not here.
But Hank was different. As he set her down by the side of her bed and started kissing her again, undressing her as he did so, she knew something with him was very different indeed.
If she wasn’t so busy enjoying it, it would have scared the hell out of her. But as he took off his own clothes and joined her on her bed, Kit didn’t worry about anything for the rest of the night.
ERIN WAS COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED, but from the spot where she sat in the doorway of her sunroom, she could appreciate all of the