He returned with a massive gift bag, which he passed to her. She set it on the counter and reached inside.

She had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t a beautiful leather tote with floral appliqués done in a rainbow of colors.

“It’s gorgeous,” she said, not able to believe this was for her. It had to have cost a fortune. The designer name alone caused her to consciously keep her lips pressed together so her mouth didn’t hang open.

“I thought with the flowers and everything, you’d like it.”

She looked inside. There were compartments for pens and a cell phone and sunglasses. The lining felt as soft as lingerie, while the leather itself was smooth and buttery.

“This is amazing,” she breathed, “but it’s too everything.” She looked at him. “Kane, this is way more than a ‘thanks for looking after my cat’ gift.”

“It’s what I got you. If you like it, then keep it.”

“Like it? I’ll probably insist on being buried with it.”

“Good.” He smiled. “I saw the bag and I thought of you. That’s why I got it.”

He’d thought of her? As in she’d been on his mind while he’d been traveling? That little bit of information was actually just as thrilling as the gift itself.

“Thank you,” she said. “Seriously, it’s so beautiful and I love it.”

“Good. What’s the wine?” he asked.

Not the smoothest change in subject, she thought humorously. But very Kane-like. Based on what she knew about his life, he didn’t buy many women presents. That would require them to be around more than a day.

Did that mean she was getting to him a little? That she was starting to mean something? She was torn between hope and the need to protect her heart.

She handed him the wine bottle. “A lovely Merlot and on sale with my club card, so I’m a happy camper.”

He opened a drawer. From it he pulled some fancy cork puller thingie that just zipped the cork right out.

“Cool,” she breathed.

He poured them each a glass of wine.

“Were those steaks I saw you putting into my refrigerator?” he asked as he handed her a glass.

“Uh-huh. You have a barbecue on the patio. I know what you’re thinking, but meat cooked on a barbecue doesn’t count.”

“Of course not,” he murmured. “Everybody knows that.”

She grinned and touched her glass to his. “To our dreams. May they all come true.”

Later, when they were finished with dinner and sitting in the living room in front of a fire, Willow curled up in her chair and tried not to read too much into the evening. Kane had bought her a present, they’d shared wine, a bottle of his after they’d finished hers, had a great dinner and plenty of conversation. They were a man and a woman who had been lovers more than once. In some circles, this could be considered a date. While she wanted it to be, she had a feeling Kane wouldn’t agree with her assessment.

The problem was, she liked him. A lot. He was all tough on the outside, but inside, he was a soft cream center.

“For a vegetarian, you like a good steak,” he said.

“I know it’s a flaw. I can be good for months and months, then every now and then I get a serious craving.”

“I would have thought you’d lean more toward fish or chicken.”

“That makes more sense,” she admitted. “But I tend to jump in with both feet. I love steak. And Dodger Dogs, because what’s a baseball game at Dodger Stadium without them?”

“A much smaller experience.”

“Exactly.”

She smiled at him. He didn’t smile back, but there was an expression in his eyes—a heat—that filled her with contentment and more than a little need. She had a sudden vision of them making love in front of the fire.

Of course there were logistical problems. With the kittens now climbing around and trying to get out of their box, it was a little too much like having an audience.

“You want me again,” she said happily. “Wanting me is one of your best qualities.”

“You’re assuming.”

“Not really. I can see it in your eyes. They get bright with a kind of fire. It’s pretty thrilling. I get all tingly inside and start thinking about taking off my clothes.”

His gaze narrowed. “You’re drunk.”

She looked at her glass and didn’t have a clue as to how many she’d already had.

“Tipsy, maybe. Extremely mellow.” She giggled. “How can you tell?”

“I doubt you’d talk about the fire in my eyes if you were sober. Or getting na**d.”

“Oh. Good point. You’re logical and straightforward in your thinking. I like that. It’s so macho. I suspect a cross-section of my brain would look like a kaleidoscope. Very beautiful and intriguing, but not much world order.”

“No one wants you to change.”

“Does no one include you?”

“Yes.”

Ooh, that sounded promising—although promising for what? She’d lost her train of thought.

“You kept the cats,” she said, watching the kittens cuddle against their mother. “I’m glad. You need life in your life.” She giggled. “I mean you need something else alive in your life.”

“Does this happen often?” he asked, pointing at the glass.

“Almost never. I don’t like being out of control. It’s too scary. But here, with you, I’m completely safe. It’s so strange. You’re the only person who has ever made me feel special and safe. Like I can resist that.”

“Don’t trust me, Willow. I’m not one of the good guys.”

“Of course you are. You’d never hurt me. Not physically, anyway. Emotionally, I’m not sure. There could be a good trampling in my future, but it will be worth it.”

She had a feeling she was saying too much, but she couldn’t figure out how to stop talking. Besides, if he wasn’t a good guy, why was he trying to warn her off.

He stood and crossed to her chair, then held out his hand and pulled her to her feet. After setting her wineglass on the table, he stared into her eyes.

“We’re not dating,” he said.

“Of course not.”

“This isn’t going anywhere.”

“Can I hum while you say all this, because it kind of feels like it needs a soundtrack.”

He sighed. “Are you sober enough to make a rational decision about staying the night?”

Ah. At last they were getting somewhere good. “No, but I’m sober enough to say take me hard, big guy.”

He pulled her into his arms. “That works for me.”

Nine

It was, Willow thought happily as she left the bathroom and sauntered toward the kitchen, a perfect day. If this were a cartoon, little forest animals would be running around and collecting her clothes after making a flower wreath for her hair.

“So you’re a morning person,” Kane said. He stood by the counter, making coffee. He’d pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. She happened to know for a fact there was nothing on under either.

Of course she was a little scantily clad herself. In the absence of a robe, he’d offered a clean white dress shirt. It was ridiculously big on her, but she liked wearing it anyway. Wearing his shirt felt intimate.

“I sometimes enjoy the morning,” she said, unable to look away from his face. He was better looking now than when she’d first met him. She wasn’t sure if that was because he was more relaxed, or because she was getting to know him.

“Are you tired?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. You?”

“I’ll nap later.”

She laughed at the thought of Kane napping and at the pleasure of knowing he felt comfortable enough with her to joke around.

He pushed the button on the coffeemaker, then walked over, bent down and kissed her.

She surrendered to his embrace, letting her body ease into his. His hands slipped under his shirt to rest on her bare butt.

“Again?” she asked as her blood heated.

“You’ll be sore.”

“I’m a big, tough girl. I can handle it.”

He kissed her again and stepped back. “Maybe after breakfast.”

He meant coffee, she thought with a grin. Kane didn’t keep much food around. He was such a guy, she thought affectionately. But a really good one. Sure he was tough and dangerous, but not to her. With her, he was gentle and kind and funny. He made love to her with a thoroughness that left her quivering from the inside out.

“You’re smiling,” he said.

“I was thinking about last night.”

“Okay.”

She laughed. “Now you look like a lion after the kill. Very self-satisfied.”

“I didn’t kill you.”

“I’m not sure about that. I distinctly remember dying a few times…from the pleasure.”

The fire returned to his eyes and she felt an answering need inside. But more important than that was his smile. He relaxed around her. She knew enough to wonder if that ever happened around anyone else.

“So you must be hungry,” he said. “For breakfast.”

“Starved.”

He motioned to the refrigerator.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I know what’s in there. A few condiments and a box of baking soda.”

His expression turned smug. “You think you know everything.”

“I do. The government often contacts me to help them out of difficult situations because of that.” She walked to the refrigerator and pulled it open. Inside she found…food.

She stared at it for a second, then looked at Kane.

“You went to the grocery store,” she said.

He shrugged. “While you were still sleeping.”

“You have food in here. You hate food.”

“I like food just fine. I knew how you felt about eating, and I had a feeling you’d be back, so I got a few things.”

She looked at the carton of eggs, the package of vegan bacon, cheese, English muffins, juice, not to mention bread, lunch meat, a bag of salad and cookie dough. This was for more than just a single breakfast, she thought as she closed the door and stared at Kane.

“You thought I’d be back?” she asked, wondering if she could dare read any significance into that statement.

“You’re stubborn.”

She moved in front of him and placed her hands on his chest. “You’re a big, tough guy. You could keep me away if you really wanted to.”

He sighed. “Willow, don’t make too much of this.”

“Stop saying that to me. You invite me in with one hand and push me away with the other. So here’s the thing.” She sucked in a breath and braced herself for the explosion.

“We’re dating,” she told him. “You can call it what you want, but that’s the truth. We’re an item, a couple, a set, a pair. Whatever. You want to keep seeing me and I want to keep seeing you. That’s dating. Welcome to the real world.”

The fire fled his eyes and his expression hardened, but he didn’t back away. So that was something. Then he covered her hands with his and pulled them away from his body.

“There’s a reason I don’t do this,” he told her.

“Do what?”

“Date.”

“Okay. Hit me.” She smiled. “That’s slang for tell me what you mean.”

He narrowed his gaze. “I do slang.”

“I wasn’t sure. You nondaters can be so tricky.”

He ignored that. “Getting involved requires trust, and I don’t trust anyone. It requires change and I don’t change.”

He was so wrong, she thought, feeling sad for his inability to see the truth. Whatever he might tell himself, he did trust her. He never would have given her the key to his house otherwise. How hard would it have been to take Jasmine and her kittens to the pound? But he hadn’t.

As for the not changing issues, from where she stood—which was deliciously close to Kane—he already had changed. The gift he’d brought her from New York. The food in the refrigerator. Hello, all big changes.

But instead of saying that, she murmured, “Don’t worry. Dating me is fairly simple. There are only a few rules and you’re a pretty bright guy. I think you can handle them.”

Then she held her breath because she knew this could go either way. Kane could accept her offer or he could throw her out. Honestly, she had no idea which way it would fall.

He stared into her eyes. “What are the rules?”

Relief poured through her, although with enough happiness to make her float. “Let me just start by saying I’m a fabulous girlfriend. I’m going to spoil you for everyone else.”

“I think I can handle that.”

“Good. Okay—I want you to call when you say you’re going to call, show up on time, not see anyone else.”

He still held her hands in his. Now he pulled her close and rubbed her fingers. “I’m not interested in anyone else.”

She nearly purred. Talk about exactly what she wanted to hear. “I’m glad. Let’s see. What else? Oh, compliments. Compliments are always welcome.”

“And gifts?” he asked.

“Not required. But I wouldn’t say no.” She grinned. “But where you’re concerned, I rarely say no.”

His eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn’t read. “I’m not good at this, Willow. You’re asking a lot.”

“I have every faith in you.”