“I love cotton candy.” Taking a bite of the pink fluff, she closed her eyes and let the sugar dissolve in her mouth. “Heaven.”
“Show me.”
At the sound of his deep voice, her eyes popped open wide.
“Just a little taste.” The laugh lines crinkled around his eyes. “Please.”
Before she could change her mind, she stuck one finger into the ball of pink fluff. “Open.” She barely recognized her own voice.
Mike complied. She raised her sugar-laden finger and placed it into his waiting mouth, watching intently as his lips closed around her finger. Warm, wet and welcoming. A rush of dizziness assaulted her, but that was like a small wave compared to the heady rush she received when he nibbled on her fingertip with his teeth. A tidal wave of sensations surged through her. Such a simple act threatened her very being.
She wanted what she’d never realized she was capable of wanting. What she’d never allowed herself to desire. She wanted passion. Wanted to soothe the ache that pounded in every part of her body. She wanted Mike.
And she couldn’t allow it.
Slowly, she pulled back, wiping her now cool finger against her denim shorts. “Well,” she murmured. Flustered and embarrassed, she turned away.
Mike cleared his throat. “You and Pete do this often?” he asked.
“What?” His question had her pivoting back to face him in an instant.
He smiled, the charming grin that came naturally but knocked the wind right out of her.
“Carnivals. Do you and Pete do this sort of thing often?” he asked.
“Oh.” She exhaled a sigh of relief. “No.” They talked, ate in fancy restaurants when he wasn’t working, attended work-related functions. His and hers, but mostly his. Not once did they let loose and have fun.
Why had she allowed herself to believe that was enough for her? Because safety and security were more important to her than a good time. Had her feelings changed so drastically in such a short period of time, or was Mike just the catalyst, forcing her to face things she’d buried for too long?
“I guess Peter doesn’t relax often enough to enjoy something like this,” Mike said.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“It’s a shame. He used to love this place when we were kids.”
“Did your parents take you?” She immediately placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That was thoughtless. I was comparing my own childhood to yours and spoke without thinking.” How could she have been so careless?
He shrugged. “No problem. Pete and I were abandoned a long time ago. We made out okay.”
His words startled her. He smiled, but she didn’t buy the act. Orphaned wasn’t the same as abandoned. She wondered if he recognized the distinction.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Pete never told you?”
She shook her head. “Not in detail.” And she hadn’t pushed. So why force Mike to talk now?
He exhaled a sigh. “My aunt and uncle weren’t the best parents. Very little love and even less laughter.” He spoke without rancor, but as he looked over the park, he clenched his jaw and donned a closed expression. The carefree man of earlier in the afternoon had disappeared.
Obviously he hadn’t come to terms with his past as completely as he’d have her believe. That was something she could relate to. “So that’s why you two are so close, even when you’re not on the same continent,” she said.
“Yeah. We didn’t choose the same paths, but we’re close.”
“Looks like the Novack brothers made good.”
He shrugged. “One brother never stays in one place and the other looks for the easy way. I’m not sure I’d call that making good.”
“Law school isn’t taking the easy way,” she reminded him. Neither was traveling the globe to the world’s hot spots.