A few weeks later Abby smiled at her phone display then dropped her chin onto fisted hands. She'd opened the Justchat app. It was time to officially give up on Carter. With all the lies she told, he'd never forgive her. She wasn't even sure she wanted him to, knowing the c.r.a.p his friends had texted about her. Totally childish and so ... so ... caveman. The Jackson-dousing incident had sealed the lid on the entire fiasco. Besides, this guy had no baggage. Yet. Why couldn't everyone be like the chat guy? She left the messages on her screen as a reminder that not all guys are dumba.s.ses.

Traveling To Survive: You said a while back that life would be less complicated if you'd taken the safe road ... less complicated equals BORING. Doesn't sound like you (from the little I know). I'm traveling out of the country for a while with work. Will try to talk but may not have a chance. Be good ... and brave.

She Hearts Dogs: Perhaps YOU should be brave if traveling ... and safe. My curiosity is killing me-you're not some kind of military spy or diplomat, are you?

Traveling To Survive: LOL. I wish. Nothing that exciting, just an average-joe-business-guy with customers in strange lands. Talk to you later.

She-Hearts-Dog: Later She kept smiling when the next customer entered then acknowledged a small crowd window shopping through their store before she rushed off to Carter's building for the scheduled maintenance. She left Caroline in charge. Her friend had done a great job, not only with advertis.e.m.e.nts but also inventory. While Abby hadn't looked, apparently the blogging thing was getting a lot of followers too. After the nacho and beer night, Caroline had recommended they add in a few gift items. Things that would catch someone's eye in the window and offer an alternative to flower gifts-or complement them. They now offered amazing jeweled gift boxes that could be included or center-pieced in a bouquet or plant for any occasion. Perfect for, say, an engagement ring or anniversary item.

The beer and nacho night had been a great idea, one they chose to repeat twice. In the kitchen/break room at Carter's office, she felt the dirt in the ficus tree she prepared to water and fertilize.

"Great," she muttered. "Is it that hard to dump coffee in the sink? Plants don't need caffeine. Neither do people." She reached in her pocket for the fertilizer stick and hoped it would counteract the mold.

"That depends on whether the person has spent two days on an airplane with a bunch of people who don't speak English."

She squared her shoulders. She hadn't seen Carter since the come-to-Jesus meeting with Jackson. Purposely avoiding him had been difficult at first, but then the office buzz said he was overseas on a project. Guess he made it back.

Good, it was time to put this thing between them to bed. Ahem, scratch that. Time to put it in the past. "How was the trip?"

He shrugged and the shift of his shoulders was laden with stress and fatigue. "Long." Judging by the shadow on his face, he'd come straight to work from the airport. Without a shave.

She swallowed hard. Hadn't bargained for the s.e.xy, scruffy look.

Nor the way his eyes seemed to dig right into her head and pull all sense away. She cleared her throat. "Have you talked to your friend Jackson lately?"

He shook his s.h.a.ggy hair. "Nope. I've been away for work. Haven't had time. Normally we keep up through text messages but-I've been busy."

Even with the lapse in time, he was hard to ignore. He scratched his head with vigor and smiled. "Abby, do you like baseball?"

"Huh?" She was brain dead. What did baseball have to do with anything?

"Baseball. I have tickets to the Astros for tomorrow night. Do you want to go?"

"With you?" Still brain dead.

He snickered, "Yeah. Unless that's a problem. I could give you both tickets, I guess, but I was kinda hoping to go."

"But you bought them to go with-" Oops, she snapped her mouth shut before she said her.

"I bought them because I like baseball. If you can get away from the shop, go with me. If not, no problem, I know you're busy." He stepped away from the wall in the lounge, stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to leave. "You look great, by the way."

"I love baseball."

He'd already stepped through the doorway. He turned back. "Yeah?"

"What time?"

"I'll come get you around six-thirty. Will that work?"

She nodded. Would he last nine innings? The man was a walking zombie. She hoped he got some sleep before the game.

By the third inning, the Astros were down by five and had gone through two pitchers. This wasn't going to be their year to make the playoffs unless something big happened. Carter frowned at the display over the stadium. Hey, if they couldn't win, at least he had good company and plenty of beer while he watched. Abby seemed filled with nervous energy. Every time a ball appeared to head for the stands, she leaned into him and clenched his arm. The Astros couldn't seem to seal the deal though. On the last one she groaned and slapped the counter. "Oh, my G.o.d. Get it out already!"

He laughed. "You're really getting into this, aren't you?"

"I love baseball. My brother played and I went to all his games. Dad took me. It was probably the only thing we did together, mainly because my sisters were too girly to stand the summer heat. When I was in college, that was all Dad and I could talk about without arguing."

Carter sighed.

"What? Something wrong?"

"No. I just think I died and went to heaven. I've never been around a woman that enjoyed it as much as I do."

In the fifth inning. A loud tune played and the overhead screen flashed the words KISSCAM! The ballpark cameras then searched the crowd and zoomed in on couples, enticing them to kiss-or not. Young. Old. In-between. It didn't matter. While the new pitcher warmed up, they watched and laughed.

"I love the kisscam! It's so fun."

"Everyone does. It's hilarious when they zoom in on two people obviously not comfortable with each other-say a brother and sister."

"Or a first date."

Carter nodded. Abby's eyes lit up as she grinned at the next photo. She'd worn lipstick again. Not the red she'd had on at his office that day, but a pale pink. Still, it had the same effect and he wished the camera would settle on them.

Instead, it found an elderly gray-haired twosome. The man leaned over the woman, bent her back in her chair, and kissed the h.e.l.l out of her. Both laughed the entire time and when they sat back up, the woman gave a big thumbs-up to the crowd, who applauded vigorously. "That was definitely not a first date."

She laughed. "I'd love to be on the kisscam. With someone I actually wanted to kiss, of course."

Touche. She stared in admiration at the pitcher, who was now ready to sail the first pitch past a ready batter.

Her concentration amused Carter. He reached a hand under her chin and pulled her face around. "You don't need a camera for an excuse to kiss someone, Abs." To prove his point, he leaned down and brushed his mouth lightly against the pink of hers. He'd thought the pa.s.sion from before a fluke. At least he wanted to believe it, because the last thing he needed was to get involved with another woman. Only, this wasn't really involved-she was just-fun, he guessed. He wasn't sure how to describe Abby, nor what the proper term was for his thoughts. Thoughts concerning her polished fingernails against his skin. He groaned and pulled away from the kiss.

"What? What's wrong?" Her half-lidded eyes were no longer focused on the ball field or the score.

He grinned. "Nothing's wrong. See-who needs a camera? Want a beer?"

She nodded and he trotted up to the beverage stand. He wasn't looking for an escape, but a little breathing room-or thinking room-was necessary.

It had been ages since the kisses at his office and, as much as he'd wanted another right away, her involvement with Jackson had cooled those jets. Or he thought so, before he went away for a month to manage the project overseas. He was snowed under the entire time with work, yet he still managed to think about her. He chalked it up to an overstimulated and over-worked imagination. It hadn't made sense that kissing Abby actually set off anything more than just a desire for temporary female companionship.

He could see her in the seat while he ordered and paid for the beer. Her ponytail, pulled through her cap, was sweet and cupped against her neck. Tonight's kiss wasn't what he'd expected. It had been an experiment, driven by a need to prove the unimportance of the ones in his office. The experiment failed miserably.

Beers in hand, he returned to the seat and handed hers over. "Abby, just to be sure there are no more surprises ... Are you seeing anyone right now? Like Jackson or Roger, or any of my other friends?"

Her eyes popped open and she spit the gulp of beer back into the cup as she choked. "Roger? Are you kidding me? You really think I'd date-him?"

He held up a hand and shrugged. "I never would have thought you'd go for Jackson, but obviously you did. Roger? He's really a nice guy once you get to know him. Most girls don't ever get to that point because he sucks at first impressions."

"You're right about that." She set the beer down and entwined her fingers on her knees. "I'm not seeing Roger-or Jackson-or anyone at the moment. Are you?"

"I'm not sure. There's this one girl." He winked and took a sip from his gla.s.s. "She's cute and likes everything I do. Kisses great, but ... "

Abby's hurt registered and he knew he'd better not take it too far. She looked away.

"She always has dirt under her fingernails. It's not a big deal really because she works with plants. She covers the dirt by painting the nails with this awesome red polish. Pretty s.e.xy actually."

"Is that right? Another plant girl."

"Not another plant girl, just one, and then she has this amazing way of humming when she kisses-it's almost like a purr."

He grinned as she frowned and shook her head. The ponytail bounced across her shoulders. "I do not."

"Oh, yes you do. It makes me wonder what you do when you-"

She landed a quick jab to his rib.

"Ouch." He rubbed where her elbow landed.

"Keep wondering, buddy, 'cause that's not on the radar at the moment."

He hitched a brow. "It's not? Not even a remote possibility?"

Abby sc.r.a.ped her teeth across the pink lipstick, which he knew tasted of candy, and his body went rigid. The announcer overhead boomed out, "Okay, folks, it's time for the seventh inning stretch. Everyone stand up-and streeettttcccchhh."

They stood together. She lifted her hands above her head and thrust her chest out, and d.a.m.ned if his eyes didn't try to roll back in his head. He grabbed her hand and groaned. "Let's get out of here." Carter pulled her toward the steps.

"Huh? Now? Where to? You have an emergency?"

"Yeah, an emergency need to find out exactly where that purring and stretching leads. Are you with me or not?" It was her fault, really. She'd leaned into him all night, brushing the warmth of her arm against his. She spoke in that soft way she always did and he loved it. He glanced at the scoreboard. Yeah, he loved the Astros, but they could manage without him this time. "I can take you home-or home. Your choice."

She stepped against him, her hand in his, her chest against his back. He looked over his shoulder and registered the glint in her smile.

"Well, I always did think the seventh inning stretch was a critical part of the game. A game changer, sort of."

"It could be."

The drive to his place usually took about thirty minutes, depending on traffic. When she slipped her fingers inside the b.u.t.tons of his shirt on the way, he jammed his foot on the gas and they managed it in twenty. Thank G.o.d there weren't any cops along the way. He would have landed a ticket for sure. He rushed to the door as soon as the car was in park, not willing to give her time to back out.

It was pathetic and pushy. He couldn't help it-she'd been on his mind for weeks. Invading his work, his sleep, everything. It had to stop, and tonight it was going to. He'd get her out of his thoughts for good.

As he opened the door, Abby slid her fingers around his waist from behind and dug those fingernails into his stomach. He clenched his eyes. Okay, maybe she wouldn't be completely out of his thoughts, but he'd work on that later. After he investigated that awesome purring thing. He whirled her around, slammed the door behind them, and plunged his mouth to hers.

Abby was about as close to losing her mind as she'd been in ... forever. When she'd wrapped around him from behind, he groaned. There was a mountain of heat between them just as it had been in his office, but this time she needed confirmation. She strung her fingers in his hair and pulled back softly. When his mouth moved down her neck and he pushed the neck of her T-shirt aside, she pulled harder. "Wait."

"Huh, what's wrong?" The grogginess in his voice wasn't sleep but restraint. Thick and waning restraint.

"I need to know something."

His gaze mirrored the same pa.s.sion burning in her.

"Sure. Tell me." He stepped back, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. "If you're worried about protection, I have it." He nodded toward a hallway that most certainly led to a room she wanted and feared at the same time.

"No, not that. I mean, um, that's good. I just need to know that whatever happens between us stays that way. Okay?"

"What does that mean?"

"I mean, I don't want our-whatever this is-fodder for man talk." Short of telling him she'd read all those texts about her, she couldn't exactly detail it out. Still, she wasn't interested in any other gossip about ... body parts or performance.

"You think I'd do that? Christ, Abs, has that happened to you? Someone talked about you that way?"

"No." Just you, that's all. She panted as his hands took a soft turn north toward the skin under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "But-"

"Trust me, I'm not like that." He delved his mouth against hers, his tongue wet and searching for a response, and she forgot everything.

What exactly had she wanted him to say?

He released her lips and trailed kisses across her cheek and down her neck, over her collarbone, clamping down on the soft pebble of her breast. She yelped and clung to him so tight his heart beat rapidly and his breath rasped as he licked her flesh. She kissed his cheek. His ear. Anything she could get her mouth against while she held him.

Abby blinked away the fog when Carter lifted his head. Her shirt had somehow ended up on the floor. His too. While his hands fumbled with the clasp on her bra, she stroked his chest and moved to the zipper on his pants. The cold rasp of metal sent her blood skyrocketing, but before she could reach in and grasp the spot she wanted to touch, he grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry." She tried to control her breathing. "Too forward, right? We should stop."

"No. No, it's not that-we just need to-relocate. Come on." He entwined his fingers in hers and pulled her behind him to a dark room with even darker furniture. Everything about it was incredibly male: the sheets, the furniture, even the smell. It was all him. Which heated up things even more. He grabbed something from the floor and tossed it aside before she stepped forward. "It's a little messy, sorry."

She giggled, more from nerves than anything else. "Well, at least I know you weren't planning this."

Chapter Sixteen.

Carter's over-stimulated nerves finally got a message through to his brain and jogged him awake. Silver shards of moonlight filtered through the blinds and cast a striping of color across his bed. And the body sprawled over him like a blanket.

He brought a hand up and stroked the tickling hair away from his nose and smiled as he soaked her in. Now that was a picture he wouldn't easily forget. Nor the time they spent together before he did the unthinkable-fell asleep, sated and exhausted.

Her fault, but he wasn't placing blame. More like awarding it, he supposed. The flight home, late night at the ballpark, beer, and the warmest skin ever wrapped around him. Not exactly a bad way to wear a man out.

Badeep deep.