Colby's eager fingers stilled. That didn't sound very promising. "Why do I hear a but attached to that statement?"

He released a heavy breath and shot her a regretful smile. "But, I have to be at the station earlier than normal tomorrow. I have a pile of paperwork and back to back school tours."

The neon green numbers on the dash clicked to eleven o'clock, mocking her. There went her seduction plans. Her inner-vixen rolled her eyes and fell asleep. Could he be regretting making their arrangement? Or had it been the alcohol talking, and now he'd changed his mind?

"Another twenty-four-hour shift?" she asked, squeezing his muscles tighter.

"Twenty-four on, forty-eight off."

That explained why Emma had stayed behind at his parents' house. Colby had mistakenly a.s.sumed Jason was on the same page as to where their night was headed, but then, that would've implied a parental-approved booty call, which now that she thought about it, kinda icked her out.

"Then I guess it's probably best if you just drop me off." She flinched as the words left her mouth. There was no way he'd missed the ring of pouting in her voice. She stole a glance out of the side of her eye and the beam of a pa.s.sing car highlighted his amused smile, confirming as much.

Well that's awesome. Everyone knows there's nothing s.e.xier than desperation.

Perhaps she should just embrace the spinster life now. Get right on the whole cat thing, buy a few dozen muumuus, and call it a night.

"But," Jason said, interrupting her depressing thoughts with that dreaded word again. "I was hoping that you'd have dinner with me Friday night."

Colby's spirits perked up as if they'd received a shot of B-12. It was entirely possible the man was just throwing her a bone, but it sounded as if he did want to see her. Maybe their arrangement was still on, and her seduction plans weren't canceled but rather momentarily delayed.

Except...

"I'd love to," she replied honestly, trying and failing to conceal her mounting frustration. "But weekends are crazy at the restaurant. I know I traded shifts last weekend for Emma's birthday, but I really shouldn't make a habit of it. If the head chef starts skipping out, everyone will." Pressing her thumb into a stubborn knot at the base of his neck, perhaps with a bit more force than necessary, she counter-offered with, "Sunday I get off work at five though."

He grimaced. "I'm on shift that day."

Of course he was. So much for the heavenly exception she'd thought she had. At this rate, she'd be lucky if she got laid again in this century, much less in the next few days.

Jason shook his head and the soft hairs on the back of his neck tickled her fingers. "So this is what I've been missing by not dating, huh? Coordinating work schedules, synching up calendars. It's a d.a.m.n miracle anyone figures it out."

Colby's head snapped up. Color her optimistic, but that sounded like he hadn't dated anyone since Ashleigh died. But that couldn't be right. The man was s.e.x on a stick. He was gorgeous, smart, kind, and a freaking hero in their town. Magnolia Springs didn't exactly have a huge dating pool to begin with, and a catch like Jason floating around would've been like a beacon to every single female in the Greater New Orleans area.

From their conversation the other night, Colby knew that Jason wasn't in the hunt for a relationship. But in the last four years, there had to have been at least a few one-night stands.

Could it be there was never anything more significant than that?

She knew it was none of her business. She wasn't in the market for a relationship either, so his dating history shouldn't matter. But suddenly it did. And she had to know. Telling her reasonable inner voice to stuff it, she blurted, "When was the last date you went on?"

Smooth, Colby. Real smooth.

"Last real date?" Jason scrunched his forehead in thought. "Junior year at LA Tech. Dinner and a poetry reading." He shot her a look. "Totally Ash's choice, by the way, and I blew off work to do it."

Colby's selfish heart did a tap dance. She turned to look out the window, biting off a grin. "You rebel, you."

"Reformed rebel," he corrected. "Sadly, that stuff doesn't fly when you're the captain of the fire department, owner of a gym, and the father of an impressionable girl." He paused and added, "No matter how badly I want to see the woman in question."

Colby couldn't help herself. Letting her smile fly free, she looked back at Jason and goose b.u.mps tingled at the heat in his eyes.

"Any chance you're available Monday?" he asked, holding her gaze for a beat before returning his attention to the road.

In lieu of the exultant whoop she wanted to scream, Colby leaned close to Jason's ear. Brushing her lips across his skin, and grinning at his sharp intake of breath, she whispered, "I'm always off on Mondays."

"Well, hallelujah."

They both laughed as the truck rolled to a stop in Sherry's empty driveway. Monday was still five days away, but at this point, she'd take it. Besides, there was virtue in delayed gratification, wasn't there? The important thing was making sure Jason spent the time between now and then thinking about her-and how good they'd be together when the blessed night finally arrived.

Feeling emboldened by the shadows and their miraculously synched schedules, Colby unfastened her seat belt and slid across the bench seat, her linen pants whispering across the leather as she closed the sliver of distance remaining between them. "Sounds like you've got yourself a date, Captain."

Even in the dim light of the truck's cab, she could see the wickedness of Jason's grin. "I can't wait."

With a flick of his wrist, the engine fell silent. The headlights went next. They were alone, in the dark, s.e.xual tension snapping, with no preteens sleeping nearby, and no one to interrupt. Jason tossed his seat belt and then one of them moved. She didn't know whom-didn't care, either-because then she was in his arms. On his lap. Her thighs straddling his hips, his warm hand curved around her neck, and his mouth just shy of touching hers. Right where she wanted to be.

The sound of her harsh, impatient breaths and staccato pulse pounded in her ears. Cinnamon-scented breath fanned across her skin, setting off a fire of antic.i.p.ation in her blood. She swallowed, her gaze shifting between the planes of Jason's lips to the swirling desire in his caramel-colored eyes. What was he waiting for? If the man didn't kiss her soon, she was pretty sure she was going to explode.

An emotion sparked and crossed his face; it almost looked like fear. But before she could read into it or ask what it meant, his mouth came crashing down on hers. Colby sighed, her breath mixing with his. Gripping one hand around the headrest to anchor her, she slid her other down the front of his b.u.t.toned shirt and melted into his arms.

She still wasn't close enough.

Jason deepened the kiss, and she slid her arms around his waist. Dragging her nails up his back and then curling her hands around his broad shoulders, she pulled herself up hard against him, smashing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s into the wall of his chest. Jason growled his approval. Plundering her mouth with his lips and tongue, he inhaled her as the steering wheel dug into her back. The pale skin was going to bruise, but she didn't care. He tasted of cinnamon and temptation, and smelled like heaven.

No one had ever kissed her like this. Devoured her, as if the world could fall apart around them, and it wouldn't matter. The only thing that did was happening right there in the cab of his rapidly overheating truck. His mouth shifted lower, and the rasp of his stubble against the tender flesh of her neck set off an ache between her legs.

She wanted this man.

In her arms.

In her bed.

In her life.

Colby's mind tripped at the thought before she whisked it away. Now was not the time to overthink. She had all night for that. Right now was about Jason and the delicious things he could do with his mouth. She squirmed in his lap, and the resulting moan he issued turned the ache into a raging fire in her blood. He pressed up against her.

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" he asked, his raspy voice sending a shiver down her spine. That shiver became an all-out shudder when his lips brushed her ear, whispering what he wanted to do to her...things he promised to do to her soon. And Colby planned to hold him to those naughty promises.

Every. Last. One.

A sudden bright light flooded the cab. They sprang apart like two h.o.r.n.y teenagers caught making out after curfew and Colby laughed, breathless, as she pressed her fingers against her swollen lips. She had wanted to give him something to think about, and that should've done the trick.

With a triumphant grin, she glanced outside the fogged up pa.s.senger's side window and did a double-take when she spotted a familiar car-more specifically, a magenta colored Bug-whip into the wide driveway.

Oh, G.o.d.

Colby smoothed her mussed hair as she quickly ran her sleeve along the window, hoping to clear the steam away from her sister's all-knowing gaze. A minute later, Sherry propped an elbow through her opened window and mouthed the word, "Busted."

Gleeful eyebrows-if it were possible for eyebrows to be gleeful-wagged up and down as her sister leaned forward to toss Jason an exaggerated wink. Then with a laugh, she turned off her engine.

Neither of them spoke as Sherry gathered her things and skipped up the drive, stopping to turn and wave before closing the front door. Blood that was already pumping through her body flooded Colby's face. Yep, that had just happened.

She was a grown woman. Hooking up with Jason had been Sherry's idea in the first place, and Colby had no doubt she'd been doing the very same thing on her own date tonight with a waiter from Robicheaux's. But that didn't stop Colby from squeezing her eyes shut and wishing she could rewind time. Biting her lip, Colby stole a glance at Jason from the corner of her eye and found him smirking. "What?"

The smirk became a smile as he combed a hand through his hair. "Just trying to decide if it would've been worse if that had been Cane."

A flare of annoyance piqued at the mention of her brother. Colby still had no clue why he reacted the way he did the other day, or why he thought her love life was any of his business. But she also loved the overbearing brute and knew he had his reasons. They would just have to make sure he never found out about their arrangement.

Going for levity, Colby said, "It's a toss-up. Sherry will taunt me forever, and Cane would've kicked your a.s.s." The smile on his face dimmed and she nudged him with her elbow. "Dude, I was joking. Who cares what Cane thinks? This is about us."

Jason nodded and let out a breath, worry still etched on his forehead as he wrapped his hand around the keys to start the engine. Apparently, the sight of one sibling and the mention of the other was a mood killer. Colby flipped down the visor and checked her makeup in the mirror in the hopes of minimizing the teasing she knew was coming the moment she stepped inside. Then she glanced back at Jason with her hand on the door. "I had fun tonight."

He slid her a boyish grin. "Me, too."

Jason's smiles always did decidedly funny things to her tummy. Squeezing the door handle to keep from launching herself back into his arms, she asked, "Pick this up Monday?"

He took her unoccupied left hand and brought it to his mouth. "I won't be able to think of anything else."

Mission accomplished.

Then he pressed a kiss against her opened palm and Colby's eyelids fluttered.

Now, neither would she.

Jason deserved a d.a.m.n medal. Or at the very least, a freaking fist b.u.mp. Driving away from Colby tonight, when every fiber of his being screamed for him to go back and pick up where Sherry had interrupted them, had to be one of the hardest things he'd ever done. But he'd done it. Gritting his teeth, fists clenched around the smooth steering wheel, but he'd managed to do it. And despite the cold shower he knew awaited him, he was almost certain it had been the right decision.

But d.a.m.n it sucked.

As he drove home on autopilot, he told himself that accepting her tempting offer would've destroyed any chance he had with her. All night long, his old man's words replayed in his mind. The puzzle pieces aligned, the game changed, and his plan shifted. Now, a summer fling with Colby was no longer going to be enough. But if Jason had any shot of making her stick around Magnolia Springs at the end of this, he had to play his cards right. He had to get his head on straight and his plan in place. One wrong move, one moment of weakness, and she'd slip through his fingers in a few short months.

At the four-way stop, Jason leaned back against the headrest. She wasn't going to make it easy. Colby Robicheaux was temptation incarnate. And she was a woman on a mission. He reached into the glove compartment, grabbed his pack of spearmint gum, and then pushed his foot down on the accelerator. The rising hum of the engine matched his frustration. He'd been out of the game for a while, but he could still read signals. Especially when they were as loud as Colby's. That woman wanted him all right. Just maybe not in the same ways that he was beginning to want her.

Oh, he wanted her physically; that was a d.a.m.n given. But he also wondered if she could be the right fit for Emma's mother. Watching them together tonight, he knew he couldn't ask for a better person for the role. As for what his dad had implied before, that's where it got sticky. Holding Colby in his arms tonight, looking into those endless smoky gray eyes, a warmth had flickered in his chest. And it scared the living h.e.l.l out of him.

It was time for him to cool off, regroup, and think up a new strategy. One that, if things went his way, could have a whole new objective in mind. An entire summer sounded long, but with a woman as hurt and stubborn as Colby, time was not his friend.

The flickering sign for Jake's Seafood caught Jason's eye as he made a tight right turn on Stinson. Known for supplying restaurants and boiling aficionados with the biggest and freshest Gulf coast seafood, the weather-battered establishment was like an omen. If he wanted to break through Colby's defenses, the first thing he had to do was get her to fall back in love with Cajun food. The cuisine was part of her heritage. It was a staple of her family's restaurant. And it was a major wall keeping her from healing from the past.

While Jason enjoyed cooking, a true chef he wasn't. A plan like this called for the absolute best. Normally with the new chef in town, Jason would turn to Robicheaux's, but this required an outside job. Copeland's, Acme, Brennan's. Jason needed to call in the big guns.

Next, he would move on to helping her rediscover her love of their city. New Orleans was magical when you let it in. From its people, to its century-old superst.i.tions and traditions, to the art and music that influence every facet of daily life, the city burrows into your soul. Jason would bet his Saints season tickets that though Colby fought it fiercely, New Orleans was still a part of her. Maybe buried deep, but it was in there. Just like the starry-eyed girl he remembered, who wore her heart on her sleeve and believed in love, was still inside her, too.

Jason pulled into his garage and turned off the engine. This plan felt solid. It meant delaying what he wanted, what his body was aching to do, that much longer. But it felt right. Despite what he'd told Colby, he was starting to realize he wasn't in this for a hookup or a casual fling. As much as it sucked, he knew he couldn't take Colby to his bed until she could take a tearless carriage ride with him through the French Quarter-while eating a beignet from Cafe Du Monde.

With his new plan now firmly, if not begrudgingly, in place, Monday night couldn't come fast enough.

Chapter Eleven.

Colby shook out her hands on Jason's doorstep, wishing her c.r.a.ppy day could shake off with the gesture. Lights blazed on the other side of his etched gla.s.s door, and from somewhere within she could hear Jason singing along-loudly-to the cla.s.sic rock blaring over his speakers. He was surprisingly in tune. She grinned, imagining him serenading a simmering pot of something delicious, wiggling his Kiss the Chef ap.r.o.n clad hips.

At least one of them was in the proper mood.

While all of the days since their nighttime interlude had dragged like the sluggish bayou behind her family's restaurant, today had sucked the hardest. She just didn't get it. There were tons of Italians in the Greater New Orleans area. Her mom's side of the family proved that. So did the yearly Irish/Italian parades and the huge St. Joseph's Day altars residents built city-wide. But make a few small changes to the menu, switching out one or two hardcore Cajun cla.s.sics with fresh, updated Italian ones, and the natives go crazy. Apparently, an act like that was akin to sacrilege.

Colby had hoped changing up the menu would bring fresh lifeblood into the restaurant. She'd also hoped it would make it easier to stomach the kitchen during the next few months. Day in and day out cooking the same recipes she'd learned alongside her father was starting to take its toll. But she hadn't come home to ruin her family's legacy, so she'd just have to suck it up. If the people wanted Cajun food, then by G.o.d, Cajun food they would get. Even if it killed her.

She rolled back her shoulders. If she weren't such a workaholic, she wouldn't have known there was an issue. Most women would've spent their day off primping when they had a hot date. Instead, her perfectionist-self just had to go in to check over the day's prep work, leading to her overhearing Cane and Sherry's hushed conversation. Listening to them worry about her, question her decisions, yet agree to believe in her regardless of customer complaints had sealed the deal. She loved her siblings more than air and this wasn't about being selfish. She could think with her head and not her heart, and doing that, everything would go back to normal tomorrow.

Tonight, however, she was dressed to impress and standing outside her childhood crush's home. Wasting way too much energy thinking about work and depressing guilt. Worrying about the restaurant could wait until morning-now it was time to focus on more enticing, enjoyable thoughts. Such as rocking Jason's world.

She rang the doorbell.

The radio cut off mid-song and she watched through the gla.s.s as Jason walked up. The eager smile on his face was the absolute s.e.xiest thing she had ever seen.

"You're late," he teased after opening the door. He leaned in to brush his lips across her cheek, and her knees nearly buckled at the clean scent of soap and aftershave. He slid his hands around hers and tugged her inside. "I was starting to think you were gonna stand me up."

Colby laughed, the annoyance of the day already lifting off her shoulders. "Everyone knows a woman has to make an entrance." She inhaled deeply, trying to get a hint of what he'd cooked. Not picking anything up, she asked, "What's for dinner?"

A muscle clenching and unclenching in his jaw was her only clue-and not much of one-before he said, "That's a surprise."

Curious, she let him pull her farther inside. But instead of heading toward the dining room as she'd expected, or even toward the more intimate kitchen table, he led her into the living room. He gently backed her against the leather sofa. "Take a seat."

Okay. No need for concern here, she told herself, sinking into the soft cushions. Just because she absolutely hated surprises, didn't trust them, and hadn't had a good one since her life fell apart twelve years ago, she didn't need to go mental. This was a date, and dates were supposed to be fun. Spontaneous. She could go with the flow.

Besides, it was possible he wanted to talk before they ate. Or watch a movie, breaking out the TV trays like they did when they were kids. She could handle that. It wasn't romantic, but she didn't need romance. She and Jason were just two old friends hanging out, throwing in some much needed benefits, and getting their freak on.

Do people still even say that?

Colby shook her head, her inner-monologue only confirming how long it had been for her. And how badly she needed this. She put on her s.e.xiest smile and glanced up at him, feeling it freeze on her face when she glimpsed the object in his hands.

A black silk blindfold.

Now that was the type of surprise she could get behind.

"And the night takes a turn for the intriguing." She bit her lower lip as Jason started rubbing the soft material between his long, work-roughened fingers. She cleared her throat and asked, "But shouldn't we eat first? You know, sh.o.r.e up our strength?"

Jason chuckled. "This is for eating." At her nose crinkle of confusion, he sank to his knees in front of her and said, "I'm going to feed you blindfolded."

Oh my.

She didn't know what she had expected from tonight, but this certainly wasn't it. Not that she was complaining. She knew very well how sensual food could be. And how turning off one sense heightened all the others. Colby swallowed hard as Jason leaned forward, gently stretching the elastic band of the blindfold.

"Do you mind?" His voice was a husky whisper at her ear. All she could manage was a small shake of her head. Already her pulse was taking flight and heat was pooling in her belly.