Free Smokin' Hot by Lynn LaFleur Page B

people there on Saturday night for the darts tournament. Whoever wins gets their meal comped and free drinks for the rest of the night.” She took a sip of her iced tea. “Sometimes I’ll schedule myself off on a Saturday night and play in the tournament.” Her grin returned. “I’ve won twice.”
    The mental image of the petite Dolly beating all those tall men in darts made Julia laugh. She’d love to see that.
    “Stephen will be hard to beat tonight if he won his race today.”
    Julia paused with her glass raised halfway to her mouth. A sudden chill chased away all the warmth she’d felt after talking with Stephen. “Race?”
    “Stephen and four or five other guys race their motorcycles the first Saturday of every month. They each put one hundred dollars into the pot. Stephen usually wins.”
    Slowly, she lowered her glass back to the table. “Stephen races motorcycles?”
    “Oh, yeah. He’s good at it, too. Like I said, he usually wins that race every month.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’d better clean up in here and shower if I’m going to make it to work by five.”
    “I’ll take care of the kitchen.”
    Smiling, Dolly reached across the table and squeezed Julia’s hand. “Thank you, sweetie.”
    Julia’s mind whirled while she emptied the dishwasher and loaded it with the dirty dishes and utensils from Dolly’s baking spree. Stephen raced motorcycles. That didn’t mean he was an adrenaline junky like Cole. Dolly said the race occurred once a month. Julia didn’t know if someone hooked on adrenaline could wait a whole month for a “fix.” Cole certainly hadn’t. He’d done something to make his blood thunder through his body every few days.
    The more she thought about Stephen’s racing, the more she realized she had no right to question anything he chose to do. They barely knew each other. It would be a long time—if ever—that she could call what they had a relationship. They were still in that getting-to-know-each-other stage. Perhaps she’d fallen in bed with him too quickly, yet she’d wanted to make love with him as much as he seemed to want her. As long as they desired each other, she saw no reason for them not to be together sexually.
    She added detergent to the dishwasher and started the wash cycle. For now, she planned to enjoy her time with Stephen and not worry about anything but deciding what she would wear on her date tonight.
     
    The way Stephen’s eyes lit up when she opened the front door showed her he approved of her choice of white capris, a pale lilac tank top, and a short-sleeved, dark lilac blouse that she left unbuttoned. His gaze swept all the way down to her white sandals and back to her face. “I’ve changed my mind about going to O’Sullivan’s. Let’s order a pizza, stay here, and make out.”
    Julia laughed at the hopeful expression on his face. “No.”
    “Damn it. I never get nothing.”
    She reached up and patted his cheek. “You poor baby.” Grabbing her keys and purse from the accent table by the door, she pushed him back and stepped over the threshold. “My mouth has been watering all day for fish and chips. You aren’t getting out of taking me to O’Sullivan’s now.”
    He slipped his arms around her waist from behind as she locked the door. “I hope you have something in mind for later to make up for my suffering.”
    She looked at him over her shoulder. “Did you buy the condoms?”
    “Two large boxes, just like you told me to.” He took her hand, led her toward his Mustang. “Of course, I had to put up with the ribbing from James at Caldwell Apothecary when he said I must have big plans for the weekend.”
    He opened the passenger side door for her. “You could have told him you were simply restocking,” she said after sliding onto the seat.
    “A small box is restocking. Two large boxes means plans.”
    “Is that part of the guy code?”
    “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you ’cause you aren’t