Free A New Resolution by Ceri Grenelle Page B

hearts of lonely souls for eons. She straightened her posture, after realizing she’d been slouching against the car and staring at his mouth. She needed to regain control of the situation, and if this persistence was a hint of things to come, they weren’t going to surrender anytime soon. She’d give in but on her terms. She couldn’t let herself get carried away with the fantasy these two men stirred in her mind. Lord, but it had been a long time since she’d felt a naked body against hers.
    “Fascinate you? Please, your charmer lines won’t work here.” She paused before giving her answer, wanting a moment to think the consequences of this choice over. On the one hand, she was being completely ridiculous, making such a big deal out of dinner with guys who just wanted to be friends. On the other hand, would going out to dinner and risking her emotional safety go against the personal edict she’d committed herself to? The attraction she felt for both men was prodigious and odd enough, but it was currently fostered in her mind alone. What would voluntarily spending hours with the men in reality do?
    No. It was just dinner, and these were men who could possibly be her friends. They didn’t seem intimidated by her distant demeanor, although, if she was being completely honest with herself, she was much friendlier with Kieran and Nolan than she acted toward anybody else of her acquaintance. She looked back up to Kieran, thinking she could perhaps muster the willpower not to faint in front of the two gorgeous men if they were in a public setting.
    “Fine.” She pushed against his arm to move him out of the way. Her abrupt answer seemed to have disarmed him enough to finally deactivate the human barricade.
    “Fine?”
    “We’ll go to dinner.” Lore unlocked her car and opened the driver’s door, her hand resting on the frame. “Not at your place. Somewhere else and during the work week.”
    “Did you find another job?” His genuine pleasure at the prospect was heartwarming. To have this man as a friend would be delightful—and dangerous for her self-control.
    “No, not yet. But I’m not looking at the moment. I have a decent amount of savings to just—”
    “Explore? Create? Cultivate?”
    “Perhaps nothing so…artistic, Mr. Famous Photographer.”
    “Not famous, just kind of known. I think you’ll benefit from an evening out with Nolan and me.” Lore recognized his attempt to deflect the conversation away from himself, but she let him get away with it.
    “Why is that?”
    His large hand rested over hers atop the car door. The nail beds were caked with red and green paint, making her imagine what a wonder it would be to stumble on Kieran in an artistic mood. She didn’t think he would be the type of artist who withdrew and shut himself in a studio for hours without any contact with the outside world. No, he would share his talents and express his marvel of the world through wild colors and passionate bouts of artistry.
    “We’ll show you how being artistic is not as out there as it’s made out to be.”
    If only he knew how much she admired his artistic sensibilities.
    “Is Nolan an artistic type?” Lore asked as Kieran took a step forward. She tried to remain relaxed, not wanting to give away how his proximity made her heart spin like a propeller. “I never figured him as such.”
    He leaned down to whisper in her ear, his stubbly cheek brushing against hers. “Let’s just say there was an incident not too long ago with paint and naked bodies that proved he could be powerfully artistic when he chooses to.” With that tantalizing image, she felt lips brush her cheek and a wisp of breath grace her jaw. “I’ll call you later for the whens and wheres of our date, okay, sugar?” He backed away, removing his hand from the car to tuck into his jeans pockets, making him look like a fiendish rogue, the kind of man you wanted to hop on a motorcycle with and do bad things to.
    “Not a date,”