Free Love and Other Surprises by Robin Wells Page B

a knit cap and carrying a stack of towels and a pitcher of water. The bottom of her pink gown peeked out below the coat, giving her a waiflike appearance. She looked flat-out adorable, a fact that bothered him to no end.
    “Thanks,” Matt said, taking the supplies from her and laying them on the ground. “I’ll take it from here.”
    “But I feel responsible. I want to help,” Ali protested.
    “You’ve done quite enough already,” Matt said. He wiped at the windshield with a towel. When he stepped back, shaving cream covered the front of his jacket and his slacks.
    “Oh, dear,” Ali moaned. She picked up a towel and began dabbing at his jacket, slipping a hand inside it to get a better grip on the material as she worked. Matt stood motionless as she rubbed his chest, barely able to breathe. Her soft, heady scent teased his nostrils.
    Did she have any idea what she was doing to him? Didn’t she realize he was a man? Despite the cold temperature, Matt began to break a sweat as she worked her way down his jacket. Heaven help him—was she going to try to clean his pants, too?
    “Maybe you should just try pouring water on the windshield,” she suggested.
    Much more of this action and I’ll need to pour it on myself.
    Turning away abruptly, he picked the pitcher up off the ground and sloshed some water on the windshield, clearing a wide swath of glass.
    “Thank goodness that worked,” Ali said.
    Matt raked a hand through his hair. “Thanks for the help. I’d better hurry if I want to find a car wash open.” He took out his keys and unlocked the door.
    “I’ll come with you.”
    “No!” No telling what might happen if Ali got involved. Maybe the car wash would be out of water. Maybe the hose would spring a leak and he’d get completely drenched. Maybe dogs would somersault off the roof.
    Or worse, maybe he’d give in to the urge he’d been fighting all evening and had already succumbed to once—to grab her in his arms and kiss her silly.
    “It only takes one person to hold a water wand,” Matt said in what he hoped was normal tone. “Thanks, but I can handle it.” He got in the car and quickly closed the door, hoping the metal and glass would provide protection from his insane urges. Distance was the only sure cure. He suddenly felt the need to put quite a bit of it between them.
    Ali waved as he sped away. The tin cans jingled and the streamers flapped as he drove out of the parking lot, but Ali felt none of her earlier amusement at the car’s appearance. Instead, the sight caused an odd emptiness to tighten her chest.
    Her fingers drifted to her lips where the imprint of Matt’s mouth still burned. His kiss had affected her like nothing in her experience, leaving her dizzy and dazed and confused. How could a simple thing like a kiss make her feel like the world had suddenly careened off its axis?
    Matt seemed to have recovered from it pretty quickly. In fact, he’d acted as if he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. And who could blame him? He probably thought she was some sort of jinx. Once more she’d created a problem for him, when what she’d wanted to do was convince him she was capable and competent and… desirable.
    Ali’s heart skipped a beat at the admission. There was no denying a strong, instinctive pull toward Matt. Every time he’d touched her, her senses had buzzed and reeled, and when they’d laughed together, she’d felt the same sense of connectedness she’d experienced when they’d talked about Robert. She was certain he’d felt it, too.
    But his practical nature had evidently overridden his sense of romance. Well, she needed to follow his example. He’d made it quite clear he had an aversion to involvement.
    Ali sighed as she picked up the empty pitcher and the towels and headed back to the country club. She needed to face it: a romantic relationship with Matt was not only a bad idea, but totally out of the question. No matter how appealing he was, no matter how