The scent of charcoal permeated the air, and heat bathed his face when he opened the top of the grill. Jim placed the foil-wrapped potatoes on the rack and closed the lid. He wasn’t a master chef, but he could use a grill as well as the next guy.
He frowned at the worn railing and glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the small deck off the back of his house. It wasn’t much wider than the set of stairs. There was enough room for the grill tucked against the railing, but that was it. The whole thing needed to be replaced. He could sand down the boards and reuse some of them, but he was more inclined to replace all of them and extend the deck across the entire back of the house. Composite decking would last longer but cost more initially. Would it take away from the Victorian style of the house, though? Something he would have to consider another time when he wasn’t expecting company.
Allison should wander over soon. Unless she changed her mind and decided she wasn’t ready. Had he pushed her too fast? She certainly kissed him like she was ready. Picturing her body beneath his made him burn. He cracked his neck and walked inside.
A quick glance around the kitchen confirmed everything was in place. The salad he’d prepared earlier was in the fridge, with the red wine and steaks he bought for tonight. The table was set for two. He’d put candles in his cart to get as a centerpiece for a romantic setting, but he had put them back. The last thing he wanted to do was remind Allison of her past.
Maybe he should have bought flowers.
He rubbed a hand over his face. It was a date. He’d had plenty. It wasn’t like he was preparing for his first date in high school. Hell, he hadn’t been this nervous then.
“Get it together, McGregor,” he muttered. Allison was probably nervous enough without him adding to it with his own nerves. He was sure she would be looking to him to set the pace.
He didn’t want to rush her into anything. That didn’t mean he wasn’t hoping like hell tonight would end up in his bed. But if she wasn’t ready, he wasn’t going to push. He could take it slow. It would mean another ice-cold shower or two, but he could handle it. He had them plenty lately. He’d tried hooking up with another woman to take his mind off his sexy neighbor, but he just couldn’t drum up enough interest in anyone to make an effort—even for a quick one-nighter.
No, his libido was focused on one woman.
A flash of color turned his head. She crossed her lawn, and he went to meet her at the door.
She was wearing makeup, not much, but enough to make those big, blue eyes of hers even more enticing.
“Hi, here, let me take those.” He took the platter of cookies from her and leaned in for a kiss. A quick brush of lips wasn’t enough, but he was determined not to scare her off.
His lips twitched as her hands fluttered about for a second before settling around her waist.
“Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Um, yes, please, that sounds lovely.”
He poured a glass for her and himself and handed hers over. “You look beautiful.”
A pink blush stole across her cheeks. She took a sip of wine and murmured, “Thank you, you too.” She rolled her eyes, and her blush deepened. “I mean, you look handsome.”
Jim chuckled. He’d dressed in a pair of pants and a white dress shirt. He supposed it was the first time she’d seen him dressed in anything but jeans. Not counting the time he’d just gotten out of the shower and snagged a pair of swim trunks to answer the door.
Remembering her reaction to that had him clearing his throat and reminding himself not to rush anything.
“I better get the steaks on the grill.”
“Can I help with anything?”
He pulled the steaks from the refrigerator. “No, thank you. I’ve got everything under control. It’s just steak, potatoes, and salad, nothing fancy.”
“Sounds delicious.”
“Let’s hope so. How do you like your steak?”
“Oh, medium rare.”
“Perfect, me too. These will only take a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”
After tossing the steaks on the grill, he quickly went back inside to set the salad and condiments on the table.
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”
A shy smile appeared across her glistening lips, and he tried to resist the urge to kiss her again, but it proved impossible. “Let’s just get this out of the way so I can concentrate on dinner.”
Jim cupped her cheeks in his palms and kissed her. Her lips were soft and full, and he couldn’t get enough of them. He sipped and nibbled at them before taking the kiss deeper.
Allison’s arms slowly inched up his chest to loop around his neck. Her fingertips danced along his nape.
Her hesitant but passion-filled response fueled his desire.
He was fast becoming in danger of suggesting they forget about dinner and head upstairs.
Jim eased back, ending the kiss with a lingering connection.
He stared at her kiss-plumped lips for a moment before raising his gaze to her luminous eyes. “I better go check those steaks before they become well-done instead of medium-rare.”
A shy nod was her only response as he turned and went outside.
When he returned with the steaks, she was sipping her wine and smiled as he came in. “Were they salvageable?”
“We got lucky. They may be more medium than medium-rare, though.”
“I’m sure they’re fine.”
Allison followed him to the table where he deposited the steaks. “Have a seat. I just need to grab the potatoes.”
After they were seated and served, Jim decided light conversation was the only way to cool his painfully aroused body. Short of excusing himself to take a cold shower, that is.
“Tell me what you did today.”
She looked up from her plate and daintily dabbed at her lips before replying, “I baked all day, actually.”
“For your new business venture?”
Allison nodded and described her plans for Confectionary Delights. “I made a few varieties of cookies and muffins and a cake to start off tomorrow. If they sell well, I’ll add a few more products to the list.”
Her face grew animated, and she relaxed as she warmed to her subject.
“You’ve been busy. I’m sure they’ll sell very well. Those muffins you brought over were out of this world. I already polished them off.”
“Well, now you’ve got cookies to replace them.”
“Mmm Hmm…I’m looking forward to dessert.”
Allison paused with her fork in the air and dropped her gaze. She stuffed the bite into her mouth and stared at her plate while pushing bits of baked potato around.
Okay, less than subtle. She might hightail it out of here like she did last time.
“You know I’m not going to push you to do anything if you’re not ready, right?”
Her gaze lifted as she set down her fork on the edge of the plate and picked up her napkin to dab at her lips. Her full, glossy lips.
“I’m nervous. I’m sure you can tell.”
“So am I.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Seriously, I must have checked everything and questioned every decision a half dozen times before you got here. I wasn’t this nervous in high school.”
She smiled and ducked her head. “Neither was I come to think of it.”
He cut another piece of steak. “Tell me about it.” He points his fork toward her. “Your first date.”
“There’s not much to tell. It was a group date, really. We went to the movies together. Mark and I had never done much more than hold hands before, but we called each other boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“How old were you?”
“Thirteen. Your turn.”
“Not yet. Was he your first?”
“First boyfriend? Yes. First kiss? Yes. It didn’t go beyond that, though.”
“My first date was a double date with my buddy Tim and his girl and Samantha Covingdale, the object of all my adolescent fantasies.”
“And what was she like?”
“Typical beautiful, blonde, cheerleader. As I was the typical football jock, it was my duty to date the cheerleader.”
“Of course. Did you date her throughout high school?”
“After a rocky start in middle school and a few others in between, yeah, we dated junior and senior year. She broke up with me after prom and started dating some college guy.”
“Ouch.”
He shrugged and ate his last bite of steak. “I was devastated for all of five minutes. I was more focused on football and getting ready to play college ball. Who was your high school boyfriend?”
“Mark and I dated my freshman year. He broke up with me when he found a girl willing to go past first base. That story pretty much repeated itself the rest of high school, except the bases might have gotten slightly higher.”
“Teenage boys are pretty much horny jerks.”
“Oh, and what age does that stop?”
He chuckled. “Some get better at hiding it.”
She took a sip of wine. Her blue eyes are luminescent. A guy could drown in those eyes, like a siren luring sailors to ecstasy or death.
“So, what about college? Did you have a steady girl, or did you go the frat boy path, partying and dating a revolving door of co-eds?”
“I was never much of a partier. I wasn’t a saint either. I dated a fair amount my freshman and sophomore years, but by my senior year, there was only one. Your turn.”
“You can’t just end it like that. Who was the girl?”
“Lisa Haden.”
“And?”
“We got engaged after college. She dumped me when I got injured and couldn’t play pro anymore.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you found out what she was like before you married her.”
He smirked. “Yeah, she married another guy from my team. Last I heard, she was on husband number two, another player.”
“I went on a few dates in college, but nothing serious until I met Alan. Not overly exciting, I’m afraid.”
Her limited experience wasn’t a surprise. Was that why he was nervous? He was used to an entirely different kind of woman. He’d never been anyone’s first or second. That probably said a lot more about him and the women he had dated than he cared to think about.
He stood and picked up his plate. She pushed out her chair.
“Sit. I got this.”
“You cooked. It’s only fair I clean up, or at least help.”
She stood and carried her plate over to the sink next to him. He glanced at her profile. He’d never had a date make more than a token resistance to being waited on. Most usually accepted it as their due and would excuse themselves to touch up their makeup or simply arrange themselves in a sexy pose nearby. Allison scraped off her plate and then rinsed it and placed it in the dishwasher. She helped clear the table and pack up the leftovers.
He drew the line when she picked up a sponge. He took it from her.
“I was just going to wipe down the table.”
He held her now empty hand and tossed the sponge next to the sink.
“Why do I have the feeling if I let you, it wouldn’t stop at the table? You’d move on to cleaning some other part of the house?”
She closed her eyes and frowned. “I clean or bake when I’m nervous.”
“We can wait.”
“I think I’m more nervous about the waiting than anything else.”
“That’s easily solved. We can go upstairs right now.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Only if you’re sure it’s what you want.”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
Jim kissed her softly and tugged her hand so she’d follow him out of the kitchen and upstairs.