Fool's Gold Collection Part 2. Susan Mallery

DINNER. Not just the chicken and mashed potatoes, which were the best he’d had in months. Maybe years. But also the conversation. Dakota told funny stories about growing up in Fool’s Gold. He knew what small towns were like, but South Salmon made Fool’s Gold look like New York City. Where he lived, people tended to keep to themselves. Sure, you could count on a neighbor to help, but everyone minded their own business. From what Dakota said, Fool’s Gold was the town that meddled.

      “If you’d come here under other circumstances,” she said, “I’m sure you would’ve liked it a lot more.”

      “I like Fool’s Gold just fine,” he told her.

      “This is always going to be the place your brothers ran off to.”

      “Look at it this way,” he said. “When Sasha moves to L.A., I’ll hate it there, instead.”

      “That’s not very comforting.”

      They smiled at each other across the table. He liked how the light played on her hair, bringing out the various shades of blond. When she laughed, her eyes crinkled in a way that made him want to laugh, too. Dakota was easy to talk to. He’d forgotten how nice it could be to enjoy a woman’s company for an evening.

      “How come your boss is so understanding?” he asked. “You said you had another job. What’s he doing while you’re working with the show?”

      Dakota wrinkled her nose. “Not missing me,” she grumbled. “Raoul is busy playing house with his new wife. Do you follow football?”

      “Some. Why?”

      “My boss is Raoul Moreno.”

      “The Dallas Cowboys quarterback?”

      “That’s him. When he retired, he wanted to settle down and found his way here. There was an old abandoned camp up in the mountains. He bought it and refurbished it. He hired me to coordinate the various programs. He had this whole idea to use it year-round. In the winter we were going to offer math and science programs. Intensive learning for middle-school-age kids. Get them all interested in the possibilities.”

      Sounded like a good idea, he thought. “What happened?”

      “One of the local elementary schools burned down. It was a freak thing with the furnace. Raoul offered the camp to the school district. That was last September. Until the new school is built and the kids move back, the camp is full. Our big plans are on hold. Which is one of the main reasons he didn’t mind me helping out with the reality show.”

      She leaned toward him. “The other reason is, he recently got married. Pia, his wife, is pregnant with twins. She’s due in a couple of months, and that’s keeping him busy.”

      “What are you going to do between the end of the show and when the school is done using the camp?” he asked.

      “Raoul wants me to keep working for him. There’s plenty to do. We have to apply for grants, find corporate sponsors, come up with a curriculum.”

      “All of which you’d rather be doing,” he said.

      She smiled. “Absolutely.”

      “Is leaving an option? Do you ever think about living anywhere else?”

      “I’ve lived other places. Got my undergraduate degree at UCLA, my masters and Ph.D. at Berkeley. But Fool’s Gold is home. It’s where I belong. Do you think about leaving South Salmon?”

      At one time he had. When he’d been Sasha and Stephen’s age he’d dreamed of seeing the world. But then his parents had died and he’d had two brothers to raise. There hadn’t been time for dreams.

      “I have a business there,” he said. “Leaving is impractical.”

      “And you’re a practical guy?”

      “I’ve learned to be,” he admitted.

      “You said you were wild before.” Her gaze locked with his. “Would I have liked you?”

      “I would’ve liked you.”

      He felt the awareness crackling between them. Everything about Dakota appealed to him. Sure, she was pretty, but it was more than that. He liked listening to her. He liked her opinions and how she looked at the world. Maybe part of him liked that she was as firmly connected to Fool’s Gold as he was to South Salmon. They couldn’t make a mistake because it couldn’t go anywhere.

      Wanting stirred. It had been a long time since he’d had the time or energy to be interested in a woman. Given how concerned he was about his brothers, it was extraordinary he was interested now. Which begged the question—what did he do next?

      “I have dessert,” Dakota said, coming to her feet. “And it’s not soy-based. Interested?”

      He stood as well, then came around the table. He supposed he should ask. After all, this wasn’t just about him. Dakota was a rational, thoughtful woman. She would appreciate getting all the details out of the way first, assuming she was interested at all. But instead of asking, he moved closer. He cupped her face in his hands, leaned in and kissed her.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      DAKOTA HAD EXPECTED SOMETHING along the lines of, “What flavor of ice cream do you have?” She hadn’t expected Finn to kiss her.

      His hands were warm on her face, which was nice enough. But what really got her attention was the feel of his mouth on hers. His lips were soft enough to tempt her and firm enough to allow her to relax. He kissed her gently, but deliberately enough to let her know that he really meant it. He kissed like he was hungry and she was an unexpected buffet.

      His lips teased hers, moving lightly, as if searching for the best place to land. It’d been a long time since a man had kissed her. A long time since she’d wanted one to. Last fall, before she discovered she was broken inside, she would have said she wanted to be in a relationship. After, everything had changed. Now she wasn’t sure. But with Finn, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t staying and anything between them wasn’t permanent.

      A very freeing concept.

      He dropped his hands to her waist and drew her against him. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned in to the embrace. Her head tilted, he moved closer. He tasted of the wine they’d had with dinner. He smelled clean and masculine. As she moved her hands from his shoulders to his arms, she felt the strength of him.

      The kiss continued. Skin on skin, warm. Appealing. Then something changed. Maybe it was the way he shifted his hands to her back and spanned the length of her spine. Maybe it was her thighs brushing his. Maybe it was the placement of the moon in the sky. Or maybe it was finally time for something good to happen to her.

      Regardless of the reason, one second she was enjoying a perfectly respectable kiss from a very charming man. The next, fire swept through her body. It was as unexpected as it was intense. Heat was everywhere. Heat and hunger and the kind of wanting that stole a woman’s will and left her prepared to beg.

      Instead of holding on to him, she found herself clinging. The need to get closer grew until it overwhelmed her. She parted her lips, hoping to deepen the kiss. Thankfully, he read her mind. His tongue swept inside, brushing against hers.

      It was heaven. Every stroke made her insides clench, her legs shake. She kissed him back, enjoying the growing sense of arousal. She wanted to be swept away, to be reminded of exactly what her body could do.

      She’d been numb for so long, she realized. Disconnected from everything but the pain. She’d blocked off nearly all emotions, going through the motions so well, she’d even fooled herself.

      He kissed her more deeply. She closed her lips around his tongue and sucked gently. He tensed in her embrace, as if holding back.

      He was going to stop. But he couldn’t. She needed this. He had to…

      Only he didn’t have to do anything. This wasn’t her, she told herself firmly. She didn’t