Barely Behaving

Niall laughed. “I wouldn’t call it hideous, but it was conservative, except for the price tag. I’ll try to remember tangerine with yellow and turquoise.”

“Just go into Bergman’s and look a little lost. Women will fall all over themselves to help you.”

“I can certainly manage to look lost. That won’t be a problem. I’m not sure about the falling all over themselves business.” On some men, the modesty would’ve been calculated. Niall actually seemed clueless that the single women of Colthersville would be on him like white on rice.

“Trust me on this. I’m sure and I’m a woman.”

“I noticed.” The husky note in his voice and the look in his eyes trailed heat through her.

Awareness arced between them. She eased her tongue along her dry bottom lip and he clenched his jaw. A whine and a scratch at the back door eased the tension of a man and a woman in close quarters and brought them back to two neighbors chatting in the kitchen. Niall opened the door.

“I know where the clinic is, but other than that I’m clueless. What and where is Bergman’s?” he asked as the Big Dog lumbered in and ambled over to sniff Tammy.

Time for her to go. She didn’t trust Big Dog with his crotch-sniffing and enormous jaws. No one could ever accuse Niall of being a shallow pet owner—he hadn’t chosen his animals based on beauty, that was for sure.

She headed back down the hall toward the front door. “It’s the local everything store. Just watch out for Henrietta Williams, the owner. She’s a woman with a mission—finding a husband for her daughter Candy.”

Niall followed, his masculine scent of soap and deodorant teasing her from behind. “And what would be so bad about that?”

He had to ask? “You could wake up and find yourself married before you knew what hit you.”

He reached around her, close enough that she felt his body heat, and opened the door for her. “I’m ready to settle down.”

Tammy stepped out onto the porch, away from temptation. He was sexy, single…and looking to get married?

What a shame.

3

NIALL TOOK the long way to Tammy’s via the sidewalk rather than across the yard. Despite the warmth of the day, the temperature had plummeted when the sun disappeared. Between the crisp air and the colorful Christmas decorations on the houses, it felt and looked like late November.

Multicolored lights blinked on a Christmas tree in Tammy’s front window. A plastic nativity set glowed on her front lawn. He wasn’t sure whether he was the luckiest or the unluckiest sod in the world to be living next door to Tammy Cooper. She was sexy, flirty and simply being around her threw him seriously off balance. Niall didn’t do off-kilter. He expected things to be a certain way and they usually were.

His stomach rumbled as he knocked on the front door. He was starving. A fast-food lunch snagged from a drive-thru along the way had been a long time ago. He’d accept a meal from Genghis Khan.

Tammy opened the door with a smile that did dangerous things to his pulse.

“Hi, come on in.”

She looked and smelled a whole lot better than Genghis. She’d changed into a black shirt and pants that hugged her feminine curves. Bracelets encircled half the length between her wrist and forearm. Her scent, an exotic blend of spices, tantalized him. A harem girl fantasy popped into his tired, overwrought brain and refused to budge. Her wearing only those bracelets and a bunch of veils. Smooth gold skin. Navel ring. Her exotic fragrance.

Niall stepped inside and her arm brushed against his. Heat sizzled though him at the brief contact. What kind of heat would an intentional caress generate? Maybe he was simply tired and hungry but she blew his composure to hell. He turned to face her as she closed the door behind him. “I brought a six-pack of beer. Unfortunately, it’s warm, but I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”

She took the package. “You didn’t have to do that, but thanks.”

Niall looked around the room, convinced that was a better plan than gawking at her.

If his kitchen was happy, her house was nearly ecstatic. From outside, it looked like the other neighborhood houses, but inside it was bright and bold. Yellow-gold walls and furniture in a mix of reds, purples and bright blues created a room that was comfortable and inviting without being fussy. “This is great.”

For a moment he glimpsed something akin to insecurity in her eyes—as if she’d been nervous about his response to her house. Quick as a flash it was gone and she smiled, obviously pleased by his response. “Yeah. I like it. Sort of vintage meets eclectic. I’m still working on it, but it’s been fun. That’s one of the great things about living alone. You only have to please yourself.” She arched her brow. “I bet Mia never let you keep your workout equipment in the dining room.”

Niall grinned at the thought of his Nautilus machine sandwiched between Ethan Allen dining room pieces. “How’d you know?”

“Woman’s intuition.” Her slow smile spiraled heat through him. “Come on. If you don’t mind hanging out in the kitchen. You can put a dent in the chips and salsa while I make the salad. You must be ravenous.”

“I wouldn’t turn food down. Thanks for inviting me over. Something smells good.” His stomach growled as backup.

“Bread and baked potatoes. The steaks will only take a minute.” He followed her, mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the curve of her back. She pointed to a small hallway to the right. “Bathroom and two bedrooms over there. This is really more of a cottage than a house but it’s mine.” The note of pride in her declaration was unmistakable. “And here’s the kitchen.”

At least a dozen flickering candles, of various shapes and sizes, casts shadows on the walls, creating a cozy intimacy in the galley kitchen despite the regular lighting over the sink. From the wax puddles, Niall surmised Tammy was into a candlelit kitchen, guest or no guest. Vintage Al Green crooned from a cabinet-mounted CD player. Lots of atmosphere. Very sexy. Very relaxing. “Very nice.”

“Thanks. Have a seat and I’ll get you something to drink. How about one of those beers you drooled over earlier?”

“I’m holding you to it.” Niall settled on a stool at a tile-topped island that doubled as a table in the compact kitchen. A large bowl of chips, salsa and guacamole sat in the middle of the island.

“One beer coming up.” She opened the fridge and bent forward, molding her black slacks across her heart-shaped bottom and damn near giving him a heart attack. “Help yourself to the chips and salsa. Be careful with the salsa. It’s hot.”

“That’s what you said earlier. I’m sure I can handle it.” He stared at the smooth expanse of skin bared by her shirt riding up above the waist of her pants, not nearly as confident he could handle himself around her.

She straightened, two beer bottles in hand and a smile lighting face. “Ah, a man after my own heart.”

She pulled a couple of frosty mugs from the freezer and opened the bottles. “How do you like it? Head or no head?”

Holy mother of Christ. His earlier harem girl fantasy supplied a mental image that left him happy to be seated. It promised to be one long night if he continued to read sexual meaning into her every utterance. “Head, please.”

She offered another slow, sexy smile that sizzled through him. “Coming right up.”

Yeah, he was.

“I like head, as well. There you are.” She carefully placed the beer on the tile in front of him.

“Thanks.”

She sat across from him. Her foot skimmed his calf, sending heat spiraling through him. “Sorry,” she murmured as she shifted.

The moment pulsed with a sensuality that left him breathless. Her scent. The candles. The music. Her touch. Her provocative comments.

“Please. Have some.”

He gave way to temptation and sampled what was in front of him. “Good chips and salsa.” Hot enough to keep him awake but not incendiary. He took a long pull of beer, relishing the cold bite of hops and foam against his tongue and throat. “Ahh, just the thing at the end of a move.”

“Why Colthersville?” she asked. Niall noticed her upper lip was slightly larger than her lower lip, giving her mouth a sensuous pout.

“I grew up a Navy brat. Sixteen different schools from kindergarten to high school. Of all the places we lived, I liked the south the best—the people, the weather, the food. Plus I spent my summers in a small town, Raeburn, with my grandparents. I knew from the time I was a kid, small-town life was for me. When I heard Dr. Schill was selling his practice, I went for it. Colthersville seems like a nice place to settle down and raise a family.”

Slightly embarrassed, Niall realized he’d just offered a long-winded soliloquy of his life. And that was probably more information than she wanted or needed. She was too easy to talk to. “What about you? You said you’d only lived here a couple of months?”

Tammy sipped her beer. White flecks of foam clung to her upper lip. She swiped her tongue along the full line of her mouth, devastating his concentration and composure. “My roots run deep in Colthersville. I was born and raised here. I only bought this house eight months ago. I’d been living with Pops after Earl and I split up.”