She stirred in his arms and snuffled her nose against his chest, burrowing like one of her storybook pals. But despite the snuffling, the burrowing, and the bunny panties, Molly had been every inch a woman.

And he was in big trouble. In one afternoon, he’d undone everything he’d been trying to accomplish by ignoring her.

She slid her hand from his chest to his belly. Here and there the last shafts of sunlight glazed her hair with little reddish sprinkles like the ones she’d used on yesterday’s sugar cookies. He forced himself to remember all the reasons he’d tried so hard to keep her at a distance, starting with the fact that she wasn’t going to be part of his life much longer, which could very well piss off her sister, who happened to be the owner of the team he intended to take to the Super Bowl this year.

He couldn’t think about all the ways a team owner had of making it tough, even for her star player, not right now. Instead, he thought about how much passion had been locked up inside the small, quirky body of this woman who was and wasn’t his wife.

She snuffled again. “You’re not a bust-out. As a lover, I mean.”

He was glad she couldn’t see his smile, because giving her even the smallest advantage generally meant he ended up swimming in the lake with his clothes on. He settled for sarcasm. “I sense a tender moment coming on. Should I get a handkerchief?”

“I just mean that—Well, after last time …”

“Don’t tell me.”

“It was all I had for comparison.”

“For the love of—”

“I know it’s not fair. You were asleep. And unwilling. I haven’t forgotten that.”

He tucked her closer and heard himself say, “Maybe it’s time you did.”

Her head shot up, and she looked at him with a million emotions on her face, the main one being hope. “What do you mean?”

He rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean, it’s over. It’s forgotten. And you’re forgiven.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “You mean it, don’t you?”

“I mean it.”

“Oh, Kevin … I—”

He sensed a speech coming on, and he wasn’t in the mood for any more talk, so he started making love to her all over again.

Chapter 19

19

Yes!

—notes for Chik article,

“Do Jocks Only Want One Thing?”

Molly sat in the gazebo staring out at the cottages and daydreaming about last night instead of getting ready for the community tea she’d invited everyone to attend on the Common that afternoon. She’d driven into town after breakfast to buy an extra cake along with some soft drinks, but refreshments were the last thing on her mind. She was thinking about Kevin and all the delicious things they’d done.