He got to her house and rang the bell.

She appeared in the doorway within moments. “Come in. I need my shoes and a little lipstick, and I’ll be ready to go.”

Sully came inside and shut the door. “Wait a second,” he said, and took her in his arms. “I thought about this all night. So before you put on lipstick, may I have a proper good-morning kiss?”

Melissa threw her arms around his neck, homing in on his mouth with abandon, but whatever she’d thought it would be turned into something she hadn’t dared dream.

His arms went around her; his lips opened up beneath hers. Within seconds, she’d forgotten lipstick and bare feet and was lost in the fantasy of being bare beneath him. One kiss turned into another, and then another, until on instinct, they both stopped and stepped back in unison.

Sully’s heart was pounding. It was all he could do not to pick her up and head for the nearest bedroom. They weren’t there yet, but he still had a need to touch her, so he cupped her cheek instead.

“That is one damn fine greeting,” he said.

Melissa shivered. “Uh…I…”

“Don’t explain it away,” Sully said, and brushed one last kiss across her lips. “You’re dynamite and lightning hiding there in that quiet woman’s body. Now go get yourself put back together, love. I’ll wait for you here.”

“My things are in there,” Melissa said, pointing to the nearby living room. She went in and put her shoes on, added a little lipstick, then dropped it in her purse.

She paused in front of a mirror to check out her appearance. Looking at herself was like looking at a stranger. She didn’t know who the hell that woman was, but she liked her.

She tapped the mirror with her fingernail. “Just hold that thought,” she said softly, and left the room.

Chapter 7

Sully was sitting in the car waiting for Melissa to come out of the car rental agency. He’d picked her up two hours earlier, and that good-morning kiss was still on his mind.

When they dropped his clothes off at the cleaners, he saw another side of Melissa as she shifted into owner mode. She introduced the employees and showed him the new dry-cleaning machine they’d just installed. He could tell the employees really liked her and were all sympathetic about what had happened to her.

He and Melissa had gone next to the insurance company, then to replace her driver’s license, and now here to rent a car. It was the last stop, and he didn’t want it to be over. When she came out smiling, dangling the keys in the air with the owner of the rental agency behind her, he got out.

The rental agent went over the details and inspection of the car with Melissa before going back inside. She mumbled something Sully couldn’t quite hear, then patted the trunk of the car and giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.