A Dose Of Passion. Sharon C. Cooper

three of them ate while Jason kept a steady flow of conversation going, giving Derek and Keith a chance to interject periodically. When it seemed Jason was all talked out, Derek knew his son would be asleep soon.

      “I really appreciate you letting me stay here a while. I have a feeling this move is going to be good for all of us.” Keith stood and tossed his paper plate in the trash before pulling a beer out of the refrigerator. “Not only do you get someone to help with Jason, but you also get to live like the rich and famous.” He emphasized by lifting his arm and waving it around at the large space and twenty-foot ceilings. “And I’ll get a fresh new start.”

      What started as an amicable divorce process between Keith and his wife had turned ugly a few weeks earlier when Keith’s father-in-law laid Keith off from work, saying they were taking the company in a different direction. At first, the news couldn’t have come at a worse time, but then, with the opportunity to start over in Atlanta, Keith had figured something good could come out of a bad situation.

      He had an interview with the finance department at Price Architecture in three days. Though Derek told him he’d have to get the job on his own, he had no doubt that his brother would wow them. The guy was a whiz with numbers and had played an instrumental role in taking his father-in-law’s company to the next level.

      “I think the lil’ man has finally worn himself out.” Keith nodded toward Jason, who was asleep in his chair. Derek caught him just in time, before he fell out of his seat.

      “I was wondering when he’d clunk out.” Derek lifted him. “He’s been going nonstop since six o’clock this morning, with only a short nap on the plane.”

      Derek carried him upstairs. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he ran his hand over his son’s soft curly head and stared down at his sleeping form. Jason was the most important person in Derek’s world. Sometimes, when he thought about the responsibility of raising a child on his own, it made him nervous. Other times, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

      He placed a kiss on the top of his son’s head and bounded back down the stairs.

      “It looks like the movers are finally here,” Keith said from the living room window. “But they are a little distracted by the cutie-pie in the tiny shorts next door who’s cutting her grass.”

      Derek stood next to his brother at the window and pulled down one of the slats of the blinds, stretching his neck to see the person. It wasn’t the short-shorts his brother alluded to that he was interested in, though. He hadn’t met any of his neighbors yet and hoped there were children nearby that were Jason’s age.

      “Instead of staring out the window, maybe you can roll up your sleeves and help guide the movers.”

      “I’d rather go next door and introduce myself to the cute neighbor. Apparently, she doesn’t—”

      Derek released the slat and started to walk away, but quickly turned back when at the last second he caught sight of the woman behind the lawn mower.

      “What the...”

      Ignoring the rest of Keith’s comment, Derek bolted for the front door. He cleared his four concrete steps with no effort and stomped across his yard and the neighbor’s double-wide driveway, not stopping until he was in front of the lawn mower.

      “Hey!” Macy yanked out her earbuds and snatched off her sunglasses. “What are you...?” Her voice trailed off and surprise registered on her beautiful, sun-kissed face. “What...what are you doing here?” she yelled over the rumble of the mower before shutting it off. “How did you know where I lived?”

      “Like you don’t know.” The words flew out of Derek’s mouth impatiently. He folded his arms across his chest, anger darting through his body. He didn’t like games, and apparently she and Noah had a game of their own going on. First, the medical complex project, and now this. “Why didn’t you tell me the house Noah left me was next door to yours?”

      Her mouth dropped open and she leaned away from him as if he had struck her. “I didn’t know Noah left you a house, and I sure as heck didn’t know it was that one!” She jabbed her glove-covered finger toward his home. “And how dare you step to me like some crazy madman?” she seethed, her eyes boring into him like a laser beam. “I don’t know what your problem is or what you have against me, but I’m sick of it!”

      She snatched her gloves off and stepped around her mower, standing only inches from him. He could feel her anger seeping through her pores, right along with the perspiration coating her skin. “You have been a big, brooding...lug,” she yelled, frustrated, her hands on her hips. “From the day I met you, you treated me like a piece of gum you’ve had stuck on the bottom of your shoe. What have I ever done to you?”

      Derek studied her, trying to decide if she really didn’t know what Noah had been up to. By the way she was shooting daggers with her eyes, it was safe to say she hadn’t been a part of Noah’s little game.

      Instead of answering her question, his gaze traveled the length of her, from her messy ponytail propped on the top of her head to her thin tank top displaying her more-than-a-handful breasts. He stopped at the tiny shorts. When he should’ve been trying to come up with an answer to her question that wouldn’t make him sound like a total jerk, he instead had an overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms and taste her pouty lips.

      Damn, he had it bad. The woman’s gaze cut into him and all he could think about was having her body rubbed up against his, sweat and all.

      “Oh, so now you have nothing to say?” She slapped her gloves against her thigh, seeming to be madder than before. “You are unbelievable. You come over here making this big fuss about something I have no knowledge of and now you’re standing there ogling me.” She turned and went back to her lawn mower. “Well, I guess that’s better than the permanent scowl you wear.”

      Derek sighed and rubbed his hand over his head and let it slide down the back of his sweaty neck. He didn’t know if he would ever get used to the ninety-degree temperature. It was only July. He didn’t want to think about how hot it would be in August.

      “I don’t scowl,” he finally said. His words sounded wimpy even to his own ears.

      The sharp edge to her humorless laughter made him want to snatch back his words. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She used her forearm to dab at the sweat on her forehead. “I can understand you being concerned about Noah, but that constant frown you wear on your face whenever I’m around is a good sign that you have a problem with me.”

      “I don’t have a problem with you!” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts and stared down at his shoes, trying to come up with something intelligent to say. What the hell was wrong with him? He was acting as if he were still in high school. She was right about one thing, though. He did have a problem with her. She was too damn fine for her own good and he was seriously attracted to her. And he hated it. Now what to do about it was the question.

      * * *

      The last thing Macy needed was to live next door to the man she couldn’t stop thinking about. She didn’t want to believe Noah was playing matchmaker from the grave, but what else could she think? First he created a situation in which she would have to work with Derek over the next few months, and now this. How was she supposed to have peace of mind when she knew the tall, dark, brooding man with the sexy, intense gaze was sleeping next door to her? He had already caused her some sexually frustrated, sleepless nights. Now she would probably have to move if she ever wanted to get any rest.

      She slipped her gloves and her dark shades back on. She so wanted to be angry at Derek, but how could she be when he towered over her like some sex god? Tall, lean and gorgeous. He looked good enough to make her want to drop her panties, no questions asked. Damn her body for betraying her. His blue fitted T-shirt stretched across his solid chest, hugged his thick biceps and lay flat against his abs. The cargo shorts he wore hung low on his hips, and his thick legs were muscular, like those of a football player. Her gaze finally edged back up his body and landed on his intense eyes. Damn