“Can you give me an estimate on when I can pick up my car?”

All business now, Malcolm mused. “Ma’ll call you about the tires in the morning, and work that out with you. Since I’ve got it in, I can give it a once-over.”

“I was going to schedule a general maintenance next month, but yes, since it’s already there.”

“You been having any problems with it?”

“No. None.”

“That should make it easy.”

She reached for the door. He beat her to it.

“Thanks again. I’ll expect your mother’s call tomorrow.”

Brisk and dry as a handshake, he thought. He set the container down on a table holding a vase of fat orange roses. Sometimes, he thought, you moved fast; sometimes you moved slow.

He moved fast, giving her a quick yank that had her body colliding with his.The way she said excuse me, like a veteran school-teacher to an unruly student made him grin before he took her mouth with his.

It was even better than the pie.

Soft, tasty, ripe, with just a hint of shock to cut the sweet. He felt her fingers dig into his shoulders, and the light tremble might have been outrage, might have been pleasure.

He’d tasted her before. Once when she’d grabbed him and planted one on him to take a slap at Del, and again when he’d followed his own instincts on a visit to their place in the Hamptons.

And every taste made him want more.

A lot more.

He didn’t bother to be gentle. He imagined she’d had plenty of the smooth type, the polite type, and he wasn’t inclined to be either. So he pleased himself, letting his hands run up that truly exceptional body of hers, then down again, enjoying her slow melt against him.

When he heard the low purr in her throat, when he tasted it on his tongue, he let her go. He stepped back, picked up the container of leftovers.

He smiled at her. It was the first time he’d seen her stunned and speechless.

“See you later, Legs.”

He strolled out, strapped the container onto his bike.When he swung on, revved the engine, he glanced back to see her standing in the open doorway.

She made a hell of a picture, he thought, framed there in her power suit, just a little bit mussed, with the big, gorgeous house around her.

He tapped his helmet in salute, then roared away with that picture as clear in his head as the taste of her on his tongue.

Parker stepped back, shut the door, then turned and jumped when she saw Laurel in the hallway.

“Can I just say wow?”

Parker shook her head, wished she had something to do with her hands. “He just . . . grabbed me.”

“I’ll say. And let’s have one more wow.”

“He’s grabby and pushy and—”

“Really, really hot. And I say that as a woman madly in love with your brother. I might also add,” she continued as she walked to Parker, “that as I didn’t politely avert my eyes and go away, I happened to observe you weren’t exactly fighting him off.”

“He caught me by surprise. Besides, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.”

“Sorry, but he looked pretty satisfied. And Parker?” She gave her friend’s arm a pat. “You look flustered, glowy, and dazzled.”

“I am not glowy.”

Laurel simply turned Parker by the shoulders to the big foyer mirror. “You were saying?”

Maybe color did glow in her cheeks, and maybe her eyes were a little dazzled, but . . . “That’s irritation.”

“I won’t say ‘liar, liar,’ but, Parks, under that skirt, your pants are on fire.”

“All right, fine. Fine. He’s a good kisser, if you like the rough, arrogant style.”

“You seemed good with it.”

“That was only because he ambushed me. And this is a stupid conversation about nothing. I’m going up.”

“Me, too, which is why I got an eyeful of the nothing.”

They started up together, but before they separated Parker stopped on the landing. “I was wearing the Back-Off Cloak.”

“What?”

“I’m not stupid. He made a little move in the kitchen.Actually, he makes little moves every time I run into him, which is disconcerting, but I can handle it. So when I walked him to the door, I thought he might get ideas.”

Laurel’s eyes widened. “You swirled on the Back-Off Cloak? The famed shield that repels men of all ages, creeds, and political affiliations?”

“Yes.”

“Yet he was not repelled. He’s immune.” She gave Parker a slap on the arm. “He may be the only creature of his kind.”

“It’s not funny.”

“Sure it is. Also sexy.”

“I’m not interested in funny and sexy with Malcolm Kavanaugh.”

“Parker, if you weren’t interested, on some level, you’d have flicked him off like lint on a lapel. He . . .” Laurel searched for the right word. “He intrigues you.”

“No, he . . . Maybe.”

“As your friend, let me say it’s nice to see you intrigued by a man, especially since I like the man, and have noted he is also intrigued by you.”

Parker jerked a shoulder. “He just wants to get me in bed.”

“Well, of course he wants to get you in bed. But I’m not at all convinced it’s ‘just.’”

“I’m not going to have sex with him.We have a business relationship.”

“Because he’s your mechanic?”

“He’s Vows’ mechanic now, and he’s Del’s friend.”

“Parks, your excuses are so lame they’re limping, which makes me think you’re worried you want to have sex with him.”

“It’s not about sex. Everything’s not always about sex.”

“You brought it up.”

Caught, Parker admitted.“Now I’m bringing it down. I’ve got too much on my mind to think about this anyway.We’re jammed tomorrow.We’re jammed for the next five days straight.”

“We are. Do you want me to come up, hang out awhile?”

The fact that she did, really did, only confirmed to Parker she was making too much out of nothing.“No, thanks, I’m good.And I’ve got a little work I want to get in before bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She walked up alone, and switched on the TV for company. After slipping out of her shoes, she checked them for any dings, scrapes, or scratches. Satisfied, she set them in their proper place on the shoe wall of her closet. She dropped her suit in the dry cleaning bag, replaced her jewelry in the slots designed for them in the thin drawers.