God, she was sweet, soft and pliant beneath his hands.
Dave forced himself to go slowly, even though his blood was raging and his desire for her was burning hot. There was something about Charlie that was fragile. Something that made him want to take his time. For the first time in years, he worried about being careful with a woman.
She was so beautiful today, so approachable in her soft yoga pants and fleecy hoodie. Testing, he slid his hand beneath the waistband of the sweatshirt and touched the silky skin of her belly, gliding upward until he encountered the satin fabric of her bra. He cupped her small breast in his hand, the point of it pressing against his palm and he reminded himself to not hurry. Even if he did want to. Desperately.
Instead he focused on kissing her, thoroughly, until his mind was clouded with only her.
“We probably shouldn’t do this,” she murmured.
“I know,” he answered, closing his eyes and letting the sensations fill him completely. He kissed her again. She tasted so good. Like rich butter and smooth chocolate and woman.
Panting, she broke the kiss and leaned away a little. “I need to stop.”
He did as she asked, even though it damn near killed him. He pulled the hoodie back down and rested his forehead on her shoulder, working on regaining his senses.
Her breath came hard and fast. That and the crackling of the fire were the only sounds in the room for several seconds.
“Wow,” she finally breathed. He took it as a good sign she didn’t pull away from him. Their legs were still entangled on the rug, though their hands and clothing were all in the right places.
“Wow is right. That’s some good coffee, missus.”
She giggled, and he loved it. It had been too long since he’d made a woman laugh, and the sound warmed him from the inside out.
“I don’t know if it was the caffeine, the sugar rush, or just you,” she said softly. Her hand stroked at his hair and he kept his eyes closed, loving the feel of it. “But that was … unexpected.”
“Not for me,” he admitted. “I’ve wanted to do that since you nearly threw that doll at me the other day.”
She did slide away then, sitting all the way up. He rested his elbows on his knees and grinned up at her surprised face.
“You did?” she asked.
“Do you honestly think I would have gone to that caroling nonsense otherwise?”
The look on her face was priceless. She looked so … pleased with herself. Dave had the sneaking suspicion she had no idea how attractive she was right at this moment. Even in an oversized hoodie with her lip gloss thoroughly kissed off. Especially then.
“You are very good for my self-esteem,” she admitted.
“And you’re good for my self-control,” he replied, and then chuckled. “Don’t mind me if I don’t thank you for it.”
She tugged at the hem of her hoodie. “I, uh … help me out here. Is there a way to transition from this gracefully?”
And then he laughed. He couldn’t help it. Neither one of them was particularly smooth, were they? And he liked that about her. A lot. She seemed incapable of playing games. That was damned refreshing.
“I’m no good at this either,” he admitted. “It’s probably really bad form to talk about exes at this particular moment, but it’s been a while since I had to navigate…” He paused, scrambling for the right word. “Dating,” he finished, not sure if that was the right choice or not, but relationships seemed premature.
“You guys were together a long time?”
“Not too long. We were friends.” He felt his cheeks heat. “Friends with, uh … well, anyway, Nora was a surprise. I haven’t dated much since then. I was away, then figuring out what was next, and being a dad…” He raised an eyebrow. “You?”
She laughed. “Are you kidding? I had med school and then crazy, crazy hours. Hard on relationships.”
“And there’s been no one here in Jewell Cove? I find that hard to believe.”
She shrugged. “It’s a small town. There’s not always a huge selection on the dating market. And then there’s the fact that everyone is a potential patient. Awkward…”
She looked at him earnestly. “I spent most of my childhood studying or practicing violin. I had friends, sure, but social skills didn’t come naturally to me. I swear, if it wasn’t for my college roommate, I’d be a hermit.”
“You’re no hermit,” he confirmed, and he slid over closer to her. “Hermits are old and wrinkly and hairy.”
“I think you’re confusing them with trolls.”
He laughed, then kissed her quickly. “Maybe.”
“So if I make a confession, you won’t laugh at me?”
“Cross my heart.” He made the motion across his chest and she smiled sweetly.
“I’m not good at the fling thing. I’m more of a slow mover. Just so you know…”
“Hey,” he offered gently, realizing that the more he got to know her, the more he liked her. “We only just met. There’s no hurry. Besides, last night was the most unusual first date I’ve ever had. There’s something different about you, Charlie.”
“Um, is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
It took all his willpower not to kiss her again. “I like being with you,” he said. “And I’d like to see you again. Let’s start there.”
“Like living in the moment? Keeping it simple?”
“Yeah. Like that.” He halted, considered before he spoke again. “I’m not really the jump-in-headfirst kind of guy when it comes to relationships either.”
She looked up and her lips curved the slightest bit. “I wouldn’t be opposed to getting to know you a little better too.”
The attraction hummed between them again and Dave considered whether or not he wanted to start over … or pick up where they’d left off. He looked over his shoulder, saw the baby still sleeping, and debated. Finally he decided to wait. Charlie needed to nap when she could, and he shouldn’t get in the way of that. “I should probably go,” he decided. “You really do need some sleep. I’ll call you?”
“I’d like that.”
She walked him to the door and waited while he shoved on his boots and put on his jacket. “Drive safe,” she advised, and he nodded.
“I’m only a couple more miles up the road. But I will. Don’t worry.”
“And thanks for the drive home.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was an awkward pause where he had his hand on the doorknob, not quite out the door, but almost. He wanted to kiss her. Finally he leaned in a bit and dropped a small kiss on her lips. Not too much. Just enough to let her know that he was interested.
“I’ll call you,” he repeated, and went out the door into the snow and ice.
* * *
Charlie was already at work the next morning when her cell phone vibrated with a new text. Her heart gave a little thump when she saw the short message.
It’s Dave. Do you need a lift to pick up your car? I can pick you up on my way to work.
She’d deliberately set the alarm for a half hour earlier than normal and called one of the two taxis that Jewell Cove offered. With the added time required to get the baby ready, the last thing she wanted was to be late to work. She knew everything would take her longer and was still trying to figure out how she was going to manage appointments. By seven fifteen she’d been on her way to the waterfront where she’d warmed up her car and scraped the ice and snow from the windows, and by seven thirty she was in her office tackling her e-mail as best she could.
She’d had a lot of time to think since yesterday morning and had decided to take a step back from whatever had been developing between her and Dave. Looking back at the last few days, she realized she’d been dealing with two different situations, neither of which was conducive to clear thinking. First, there’d been the whole fantasy-in-the-flesh thing when he’d shown up at the church and then at the tree lighting. She’d been, as Thumper said in Bambi, “twitterpated.”
And then there was the whole baby-in-the-manger thing. It had been an extreme situation, and at the end of it she’d been exhausted.
She put down her coffee and quickly tapped a reply.
I’m already here. But thanks for the offer. I appreciate it.
There was a long pause before he answered again.
Okay. Talk soon.
That was it. Short and sweet. No suggestion of when they might get together next. She was relieved. Wasn’t she? She should be. She’d given herself a firm talking-to after she’d gotten some sleep. Put things in perspective. Did she even have time for dating right now? She looked down at the carrier which doubled as a seat. The baby was awake and staring up at her with big blue eyes. She’d been up twice during the night to feed him. Babies took up a lot of time.
The truth was, she was nearly thirty. She figured that any man she got involved with pretty much had to come with keeper potential. It was simply the way she was wired. She’d never wasted time on things that were going nowhere. Sometimes she wondered what that would be like. Pointless? Or liberating? Either way, she had her laundry list of attributes for her future partner. Top of it were marriage and father material. Dave certainly seemed devoted to his daughter, but how long would he stay in Jewell Cove?
She enlisted Robin’s help in caring for the baby, putting his seat in the reception area, taking turns changing him or carrying him around when he was fussy. Midmorning, two cups of coffee and four patients later, Robin came back and let her know that Todd Smith was in the waiting room and wanted to talk to her. Figuring it could only be about the baby, she checked her watch and nodded. “Bring him back here, Robin. If it’s about the investigation, we won’t want to talk where everyone can hear.”
“Sure thing, Charlie.” Robin smiled and scooted out, returning only seconds later with Officer Smith trailing behind her.
Next to the petite receptionist, Todd Smith looked big and imposing, especially in his uniform. He’d removed his hat and had it tucked under his arm, and she realized some of his bulk came from the impressive array of gear on his belt as well as the probability of a flak jacket beneath his clothing.
“Morning, Dr. Yang,” he greeted.
She smiled. “You can call me Charlie,” she offered. “Unless you prefer the title for official business.”
He smiled back. “Too bad I am on official business.” Before she could dissect that particular comment, he motioned toward a chair. “May I?”
“Oh, of course. Do you want a coffee or anything?”
There was a tap on the door frame and Robin came in, carrying a steaming mug. “Here you go, Todd. Heavy on the cream, no sugar.”
“Thanks, Robin.” He smiled at the receptionist and then grinned at Charlie. “Robin already asked when I arrived. Thanks for the offer, though.” He took a sip and sighed. “That’s way better than what Bryce makes up at the station.”
Charlie sat in her chair and crossed her ankles. “So. I take it you have news?”
He took another drink of coffee and then put the cup down on the corner of her desk. “Well, yes. But not the kind we hoped for.” His gaze met hers. “We did a records check. Couldn’t find any unaccounted-for babies from any of the nearby hospitals. We went back over three weeks.”
She frowned. “Huh. I really thought that would work, you know?” She thought for a second and then voiced an idea. “What if the baby had been born at home? It happens. Not often, but it happens.”
“You mean with a midwife or something?”
“Sure, that too. Couldn’t you cross-check birth-certificate registrations against the hospital records?”
He nodded and smiled. “Actually, we’ve already started on that.”
Charlie sat back in her chair and pondered. It was hard to hide a pregnancy, or any record of it if the mom had been receiving regular prenatal care. Surely it would only be a matter of time until they found the baby’s mother. “Well, something will hopefully turn up.”
“It takes time. The wheels of bureaucracy and all that. I just wanted to give you an update, seeing as how you’ve got a stake in this too. I was surprised to see him with you today.”
She gave a little laugh. “I couldn’t resist. He’s sweet. Even though he kept me up all night.”
Smith shuddered. “Yuck. Been there done that. During a few of my Uncle of the Year moments.” He laughed. “I like my sister’s kids much better now that they’re mobile. It’ll be even better when they hit Little League.”
She looked at the officer closely, took quick stock of him. Tall, handsome, stable job, liked kids, settled … he ticked all the right boxes. But she didn’t get that tummy-lifting, butterfly sensation that she did when she saw Dave. How inconvenient.
“Charlie, would you mind stopping by the station, maybe tomorrow? It might be good to go over your statement from Saturday night. See if you remember anything else that might help us out.”
“I don’t work until one. I can probably pop in tomorrow morning.”
“That’d be great. Well, I’d better be going.” He hesitated for a minute, then caught her gaze and held it. “This Ricker guy that was here on Saturday. Are you…”
“No.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. But she couldn’t deny that Todd looked relieved at her answer.
“Oh. It seemed like you were.”
“We were merely walking to meet Josh and some others at the pub. He didn’t want me to be alone is all.”
Liar.
She checked her watch. “Listen, thanks for stopping by. I do have another patient waiting, though.”
He stood and nodded. “And I’ve got to get back to work. Take care, Charlie.” His smile was warm enough to melt icicles.
“Thanks, Todd. You too.”
When he was gone, she took a minute to sit and recover. Unless she was greatly mistaken, and she could be—her romantic radar wasn’t the best—Officer Smith had been sending out some signals. On Saturday night he’d been rather protective of her too, she remembered. She didn’t know him well, but they’d met on several occasions …
“Charlie? Exam room one is waiting.” Robin appeared in the doorway with a smile. “Can’t blame you for needing to sit down, though. Todd Smith in uniform is…” She stopped talking and merely made the motion of fanning herself.
Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t let Josh hear you talking like that.”
“I suppose we shouldn’t let on that we call him Dr. Hottie then?”
Charlie nearly choked. “Oh my God. He’d die.”
With a cheeky grin, Robin disappeared and Charlie made her way to the exam room, grabbing the chart off the door. Enough fun—it was time to get back to work.