As Josh and Hayley walked out of the store together and toward the mall’s coat check, Josh checked his phone and saw with disappointment that it was almost five p.m. For the first time in his life, he’d actually found clothes shopping fun, and he didn’t want their pretend date to end.

“What time do you need to be at your networking thing?” he asked.

“It starts at seven, but if I get there a few minutes late it wouldn’t be a problem. Why?”

Hayley looked at him with an almost expectant smile—certainly an inviting one—and Josh wanted to meet that expectation, and then some. He wanted to say, Let’s grab dinner. Then let’s go home and get naked and go to bed together and stay there for days. But he had the dogs to feed, and she had forever to find, so instead he asked, “Are you going to wear your new dress tonight?”

Hayley had bought most of the clothes she’d tried on, including the emerald dress that clung to her curves and brought out her warm coloring and the green flecks in her eyes to perfection.

“I’ll wear whatever you want me to wear, dating coach,” she said. “So you tell me.”

Josh’s mood had grown pensive in the last hour as he realized how much he enjoyed being with Hayley. They slipped from flirty to friendly with an ease he’d never felt before. Everything about being with her was easy, and he was beginning to think he was a fool for insisting his attention could only be short-term. But he had insisted on it, and he reminded himself he’d done so for a reason. He had goals. His dogs. His freedom. He was a lone wolf, damn it, and he couldn’t mess with her. Couldn’t lead her on when history showed he’d only eventually walk away. She wanted more.

She deserved more.

“The green dress, definitely,” he said. He was carrying two of her three shopping bags, including the one with the dress, and he could see its silky texture. When Hayley had tried it on, he’d wanted his hands all over her.

“You think heads will turn?”

You’ve already turned my head. You’ve made me laugh. You’ve turned me on. You’ve lightened my heart.

“There’s no way some guy’s not going to scoop you up, with or without the dress.” His tone was calmer than his true feelings. The fact was, a streak of hot jealousy spread through him at the idea of another man being the object of her affection and attention. Damn it, he wanted her all to himself.

“I don’t suppose you want to go with me?”

“And watch other guys hit on you? No, thanks,” he said. “Besides, you’re on a tight timeline, aren’t you? For the Devotion.com thing?”

“That’s right!” Hayley’s smile brightened. “I almost forgot why we were doing this. But Josh, I need more! I don’t feel like you really pointed out any blind spots for me to work on.”

You’re too cute. Too sexy. Too nice. Too fun. You make the time pass in the blink of an eye. You see me in a way no woman ever has before. You make me feel things I don’t want to feel.

“There’s nothing holding you back, Hayley,” he said. “You just haven’t met the right man yet.”

“So I just need to put myself out there,” she said with resolve. “Take my own dating advice.”

“You know what to do.” He nudged her. “Ask your thirty-six questions guaranteed to make a person fall in love with you.”

“What was your answer to whom you’d most want to have dinner with, by the way? I’ve been wondering.”

To whom. He just loved that, seriously. Trying her best in a world that didn’t care about things like that anymore.

“I said my mom,” he said. “She passed away when I was thirteen.”

“Oh,” Hayley said with a hint of surprise, like she should have known that by now. “That’s sad.”

“It was rough, yeah. I saw a therapist a couple times when I was a teenager, at my brother Jack’s insistence, and it was the best thing I could have done. My brother can be a real ass, but I can’t say he doesn’t look out for me. He shows up when it matters.”

“Why is he an ass?”

“He had a huge falling-out with our dad. Stopped talking to him right after our mom died, and he won’t tell anyone why.”

Hayley frowned. “Your dad must know why.”

“He does, but he’s not telling. We used to be a big happy family, like a real, honest-to-goodness family. Loud. Fun. Big Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving football games, chopping down the Christmas tree together … and Jack ruined it for no good reason at all.”

“He must have his reasons,” Hayley said. “You just don’t know what they are. And I’m sorry all that happened with your mom and your family … but you know what? I bet your mom really would have liked the person you’ve turned into.”

Emotion caught in his throat. “You think?”

“Oh, yeah. You’re good people, Josh.”

Damn it. Why was he suddenly fighting off another wave of emotion? Was it because she was so nice, or because someone so nice thought he was a decent guy, too?

They retrieved their coats, bundled up against the cold, and went outside. Josh helped Hayley load her shopping bags in the back of her car. He didn’t want to say goodbye, not yet. This woman was magnetic, irresistible, and so beautiful with her hair tumbled over her shoulders and her breath fogging in the icy air. In a world that could be so cold, Hayley was pure warmth.

“So …” she said, hesitating. “Is this goodbye?”

No, Josh thought. Hell, no. Hayley had offered to let him undress her later. He wasn’t about to let that business go unfinished. His blood thundered through his veins just thinking about it. Hayley’s was a body of curves and beauty, and he wanted his hands all over her softness.

“I hope not,” he said. “How long does the event last?”

“An hour or two.” Hayley’s eyes were captivating. “Unless I meet some hot guy who likes my new dress as much as you do. Then it might go all night.”

“That’s not going to happen,” he said.

She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, no?”

“No.” He stepped to her, unzipped her coat a bit, and slid his hands inside, finding the small of her back. “The only man’s hands that are going to be on you tonight are mine.”

Her pretty lips curved into a flirty smile. “Is that so?”

“If you want.” He saw hesitation creep into her eyes. “Or not?”

“Oh, I want—trust me. I just …”

Her eyes drifted away from his gaze.

“You just what, Hayley?”

She bit her lower lip.

“Look at me. Talk to me.”

Instead of looking in his eyes, she looked at the zipper on his jacket as she reached for it and tugged on it a little bit.

“A friend advised me to be careful with you.” Her eyes inched up to his jaw, which she kissed with the lightness of a butterfly, and then his lips. She leaned for him to kiss her forehead, and there was that smell of orange blossoms again; it was a scent of hope and optimism and happiness, and it was working its way into his soul. Finally, she looked at him with her smiling eyes. “But I don’t want to be careful with you, Josh. I’d rather be a little reckless.”

“So let’s be a little reckless,” he said. “Your place or mine?”

“Mine,” she said.

“I’ll meet you there after your mixer,” he said, hoping for his sake that it was full of old married men, fussy middle-aged woman, and gay guys. No one to catch Hayley’s attention, no one to ask her out. It was an unfair wish, but he could no more help it than he could help his desire to pull her close and kiss her.

Which he did.

Her lips were cold, her breath hot, and it was their most delicious, lingering kiss yet.