“I have to admit that I was a bit jealous when I first met him.”
“Really?” She craned her neck to look up at him. “Why?”
“Well, he is your ex-husband. You guys seemed very chummy.”
She shook her head before he could say another word. “We’re chummy now because we were friends before we got a divorce.” Macy tried to pretend she did not hear sarcasm in his voice. “We have two kids together. I thought you would understand that in order to co-parent, we have to get along.”
“Can I ask why you two split?”
She really didn’t want to talk about Mario, especially when her body just wanted to be completely satisfied by Duke, but she felt she owed him that much of an explanation. “Let’s just say that there were times that Mario just looked at me like we were buddies. And then one day this woman left a message at the house for him, letting him know that she wasn’t pregnant after all.”
“Ouch.”
“It’s okay.” Macy shrugged. “At that point in our relationship, it was much more of a relief. I wasn’t in love with him. I loved him and always will because he’s one of my best friends, but I’m not in love with him.”
“And you haven’t dated anyone since because of him?”
“No, I haven’t dated anyone because I was too busy running my own company.”
“And now?”
“And now, I’m listening to my inner Grandma V’s voice and taking time to stop and smell the roses.”
“Who?”
“My Grandma Virginia,” Macy explained. “My mother’s mother.”
She wanted to let Duke know at that moment that she was falling in love with him, but decided to save it for a more intimate setting. He looked down at her with half-closed lids. He was staring at her lips. And every time he did that, it made her blood pulsate.
“So, back to what I was saying,” she brazenly said. “We’ll have the house to ourselves.”
Duke returned the sly smile. “Are you asking me to a sleepover?”
The image of them having a pillow fight on her bed filtered through her mind, though she highly doubted that kind of rolling around in the bed would happen. But the thought of what could happen made her stomach flip. She was ready. She was beyond ready. These cold showers she was taking every night were about to end.
“Maybe not the kind I used to have when I was a kid.”
Duke cleared his throat and put a little distance between them. She’d gotten to know his body very well in the past few weeks. She knew he was as turned on and excited as she was, but his body reacted more physically when he was turned on. She thought it was cute how he would try to pull away. The first time she could recall him doing that was on Thanksgiving when they’d been interrupted by the phone call. She smiled, appreciated his being aroused by their kisses. At least she wasn’t the only one.
“Be careful, Ms. Macy. I just might take you home right now.”
A chill crept down her spine. Her cheeks heated in a blush. She wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders and realized she could feel his heart beating. “And is there a problem with that?”
Dropping his hands from her waist, he took hold of her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
Following his cue, Macy grinned and allowed Duke to maneuver her through the now-crowded floor full of dancers. The wea
ther wasn’t cold enough for a long coat, and even if it were, there was so much heat pumping through Macy’s veins, she would have been fine outside. Duke stopped at the door. Macy looked up at him, feeling a slight disappointment. Had he changed his mind?
“Look.” Duke pointed up toward the doorway. “Mistletoe. I think it’s only proper that we practice the custom.”
Before she could say anything, his lips had recaptured hers with the same kind of passion he’d shown a few minutes ago. Macy felt her blood pulsating. Knowing that the kids weren’t going to be home all weekend long made her feel like a horny teenager. She giggled before deepening her kiss. “We should go. Now.”
Duke reached for the door, but it was already opening. Macy was too busy grinning from ear to ear to pay attention. From across the room she could hear Serena whistle crassly at them sneaking off.
“Well, damn, Duke Rodriguez, if you aren’t the hardest man to get a hold of.”
Macy was still smiling and blushing when she turned to face who was at the door. The first thing she’d noticed was that Duke had dropped her hand, causing her to look at who was speaking.