Chase set down the picnic basket and then knelt to unknot the twine from around her. "I'm used to cataloging genomes all day. What do I know about kites?" she said with a self-disparaging chuckle. "Kites, I know. So you relax and eat." He flipped open the lid of the basket in invitation, then sat on the other side of her. She watched for a moment as Chase's nimble fingers worked at the knots, but decided she'd better look away. It was too easy to fantasize about how those hands would feel on her body. No good could come of such musings. She turned to poke through the lunch Chase had packed. For some reason, she assumed it would be prepackaged "kiddie" fare that she'd seen advertised on television. Things that came in abnormal shapes and strange colors and didn't seem to resemble food at all. Instead, she discovered turkey and swiss on thick wheat bread, potato chips, carrot and cucumber sticks, granny smith apples, bottles of water and a couple sodas.

"Wow, this looks good."

Chase cast her a curious look. "You sound surprised."

"I just didn't expect real home-cooking."

He leaned over her and peered into the basket. "What in there is home-cooking?"

Abby playfully pushed him and grabbed a sandwich. "In my book, this is cooking. I can barely prepare

a bowl of cereal."

Chase returned to the stringy mess. "You'll have to come over for dinner then. I make a mean beef stroganoff- even meaner than my coffee." "Mmm," Abby closed her eyes and moaned, half at the sandwich, half at the idea of his stroganoff.

When she opened her eyelids, she discovered he was studying her, his pale gaze locked on her lips.

Self-consciously, she reached up to brush the corner of her mouth. His eyes followed the motion, and she fought the urge to moan again. His gaze alone had the ability to make her want to do things she had never even considered before. Like make love in an open field, in broad daylight...

"Did you bring pretzels?"

With Willy nearby. Willy! Abby stopped staring at Chase and turned to look at the little boy who stood there oblivious to the tension between the two adults.

"Pretzels? Yes, he did. They're right here. There you go." Abby knew she was talking ridiculously fast, but she couldn't seem to control it. She was embarrassed. Embarrassed that she could feel so out of control. Embarrassed that she was very much learning to like the sensation.

Chase tried not to laugh at Abby's nervous babble. It was cute, and he liked it. A lot. Of course, he couldn't think of much he didn't like about the lady. There were a couple things, like when she put up her guard and got all starchy. And there was Nelson. He definitely didn't like that about her.

But he didn't have to worry about either of those dislikes, because she was just a friend, so neither was going to affect that relationship. He wouldn't let it. He looked over at Abby, who now talked at a normal speed with Willy. The breeze played with the tips of her hair that stuck out from the bun on the back of her head.

She was wearing the infamous bun, but the style was different from the one she'd worn in high school. It was looser, with tendrils escaping the knot to caress her cheek and the back of her neck.

She had an amazing neck, long and elegant, like a portrait on a cameo. Chase returned his attention to the kites, concentrating intently. He was going to stop thinking things like that about her. She was a friend. A friend. And he didn't notice the curve of a friend's neck. Or the shape of a friend's mouth. Hell, he'd never noticed whether Mason had kissable lips or not. Of course, if he had, attraction to Abby wouldn't be an issue.

"Did you see that last spin I did?" Willy asked, moving to plunk down beside him.

"I sure did, buddy."

"It's too bad Abby had problems with her kite. It's probably because it's old," Willy stated.

Abby smiled over at the little boy. "Or I'm just not a good kite flyer."

"Nah, I had problems when I first started, too," Willy reassured her. He squinted toward a group of

boys down by the water. "Hey, that's Charlie. Can I go say hi?"

"Sure, but don't get wet."

"I won't!"

"Famous last words," Abby said as she watched him dash across the field toward the other boys.

"Yep." He continued to fiddle with the strings, although his fingers itched to toy with the stray strand of hair blowing across Abby's cheek.

"Want me to try?"

Chase looked at the kites for a minute, then shoved the jumble away. "Nah. When I get home, I'll just cut the strings and start anew."

"You can do that?"

"Of course you can. You aren't going to tell me you studied so much in grade school that you never flew

a kite before?" Chase said the words teasingly, but Abby didn't seem to appreciate the jest.

She brushed the stray lock of hair from her face and looked back to where Willy was playing.

"Did I offend you?"

"No."

Uh-oh, here comes the wall, clattering down around her like a steel cage designed to keep him and

everyone else out.

"Listen, Abby, I didn't mean that in a negative way."

"I know you didn't."

Chase frowned. She still didn't look in his direction. The tendril of hair returned to her cheek, and he

couldn't stop himself from reaching out to smooth it back.

She turned wide smoky brown eyes to him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You should never be ashamed of your

education and your success. Hell, I would have done anything to have your brains."

She stared at him for a moment, and then he wasn't sure whether it was his apology or the shock of his touch, but the wall lifted.

"I'd have done anything to have fit in like you did. To have a normal childhood like you did."

His life, normal? He bit back a humorless laugh, afraid she would misunderstand his bitterness. "Believe

me, no one would want my childhood."

Her gaze roamed his face. "I just wish I had been normal."

"You were normal. What wasn't normal?"

"I've never flown a kite. I grew up on a bay, and I don't know how to swim. I never went to school

dances or parties. I never even went on a real date."

Chase frowned. "How could you be with Nelson and never have been on a real date?"

Abby toyed with a blade of grass. "We met in microbiology. We were lab partners. He'd come to my dorm room to study or we'd go to study groups. From there, we just sort of became a couple. He never officially asked me out."

"But you went out together, right?"

"Yes, but it was never really a date, it was just sort of an assumed arrangement. I don't think I'm a hopeless romantic, but I would have liked at least one real date where he actually asked me, then arrived at my door with flowers or chocolates. I know, I know it sounds hokey."

Chase thought about her words. "It doesn't sound hokey. Although Nelson does kind of sound like a prick."

He expected her to get defensive at his insult, but instead a burst of laughter rushed from her. "I bet Nelson has never been called that before."

"But overall, you're happy with him, aren't you?"

Chase found her delay telling.

"We're content. We have common goals. We're both very dedicated to our work."

"If that's the best you can say about the relationship, I can see why there aren't any hot dates."

Abby fiddled with the grass again, and he worried that he'd overstepped his bounds.

"Maybe I don't inspire him to get-hot," she murmured.

Chase captured her chin and turned her face until their eyes met. "Then he must be blind, because everything about you gets me hot."

Abby tried to look away, but he held her fast, brushing the soft skin of her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm not saying this to make you uncomfortable. I'm saying it because it's true. Your lips, your eyes, hell, those adorable little freckles across your nose. The way you look in those pants. Everything about you makes me want to drag you into bed."

Abby looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Yet you turned me down last night."

"Are you offering again-right now? Because I couldn't take advantage of a lady who was drunk. But I could easily take advantage of a lady with a mere hangover."

Abby watched him for a moment longer, and then she broke into a smile. "You're a nice guy."

"You don't have to be so surprised about it."

"I thought bad boys were notoriously not nice."

Chase sighed. "Yeah, this is one of those moments when I really, really regret my decision to reform."

Abby reached up and touched his face, her fingertips brushing over his skin like whispers of silk. "I have to admit, at times, I regret it, too. But we're doing the right thing."

Her fingers left his jaw and moved to hold his hand that still caressed her cheek. They sat looking at each other for a second longer, then she simply turned and got him a sandwich. Chase couldn't recall an afternoon that had been nicer, or more maddening.

Chapter 13.

Abby spoke to Chase every day for the next week. Many evenings, he would be outside working when she pulled into her driveway after work.

She liked to think he was waiting to see her, but she knew that realistically he was just getting some remodeling done on his place. Still, she looked forward to seeing him at the end of the day.

So when she drove into her driveway on Friday evening and didn't see him outside, she felt more than a little disappointed.

She walked up on her porch and paused, searching his yard again. No, he definitely wasn't there.

She went in the front door and dropped her briefcase in the foyer. What did she expect? She couldn't expect she was going to see him every day. That was a bit impractical. Who saw their friends every single day?

She went to the kitchen and straight to the fridge. She stared at the well-stocked shelves for a few moments. Finally, she just grabbed a diet soda, popped the tab and went to sit at the table.