KISS Page 4

  Michael shifted from one foot to the other. He glanced at the molded form of a woman wearing a red, satin bustier and garter belt.

  Kat bit her bottom lip as she watched Michael's face turn the exact shade of red as the bustier.

  "Thanks for the compliment,” she replied, attempting to put him at ease.

  He stared at the bustier, pushing his glasses further up on his nose. “The, uh, compliment?” he asked.

  "About the game on Saturday."

  "Oh, right, yes ... the game.” He tore his eyes from the display and walked toward her. “You did a fine coaching job."

  "Well, I had help,” she replied grudgingly. “Jared Martin seemed to work wonders with Allie."

  Michael gave her a small smile. “Allie's mother is due to come in for a cleaning this afternoon. I'm sure I'll hear all about it again."

  "I'm sure you will,” she murmured, suddenly wishing he would leave. The last thing she wanted to do was stand there and make small talk with him, especially since he seemed so uncomfortable.

  Michael placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “So, I came to ask you ... maybe you, well, maybe you'd like to go to that ‘Oldies Under the Stars’ concert next Friday."

  "Next Friday? Why, I—"

  What could she say without hurting Michael's feelings? The thought of spending a Friday evening with Summerville's dentist while he discussed the benefit of his new tooth-whitening system set Kat's own teeth on edge.

  "Is it Martin?” Michael's voice had an edge. “I mean,” he continued quickly. “We, uh, well, at least I saw you kiss him. Have you changed your mind about MegaMart?"

  "No, o-of course not."

  Michael sighed, his face relaxed. “I'm glad, then I guess you would consider accompanying me to the concert?"

  The bell above the door to KISS jangled again. Kat looked over at the entrance but Michael's shoulder blocked her view.

  A deep voice rang out. “Kat's going with me."

  She peeked over Michael's bony shoulder to see Mr. Moneybags standing by one of the display cases. Arms folded over his broad chest, he braced one, lean hip against the counter. His gaze strayed for just a second as he looked at the garter belts and panties on display. Then he looked at her, the golden flecks in his eyes burning bright.

  Kat met his look squarely. “I beg your pardon,” her voice turned frosty. “I never said—"

  "Sure you did,” Jared replied easily. He dropped his arms and approached. “Don't you remember? At the game the other day, you said you liked Oldies."

  "No, I don't remember,” her voice dripped with acid.

  Michael watched the bi-play between Kat and Jared. His face fell. “Oh, well. Then I guess I'll be seeing you around town, Kat."

  "Michael wait,” she laid a hand on his arm. He looked down at it then up at her. He opened his mouth to speak then shut it.

  Sometimes, she wished Michael Benton would stand up and fight for something, in this case, her. If he'd only put up a fuss, get angry—show Jared Martin that he cared, that Kat was his girl...

  "I'll be seeing you around, Kat."

  His eyes grew sad, but Kat noted something else in them—censure. He made his way around Jared and walked out of KISS, the door slamming behind him.

  "Nice to see you again, Benton,” Jared called out on a cheery note. His golden-brown eyes settled on her face. “He surrendered too easily."

  "You—” she almost said ‘idiot’ but remembered Lilith's words about getting more with honey than with vinegar. “Hurt his feelings,” she chose instead.

  Jared shrugged. “I'll make it up to him and get my teeth whitened. I'm sure he'll be thrilled. That's all I heard about at the game on Saturday."

  "That's a rotten thing to say.” She glanced at his face. His smile dazzled—no way did he need to get his teeth whitened. They were perfect. His smile—perfect, his body—a perfect complement to her body. She fit flawlessly against him when he had kissed her. Kat's five-foot eight-inch frame molded to every hard angle and plane of his...

  He gave her a level look. “At least I'm sincere. How about you?"

  "Huh?” She shook her head to clear it of her crazy, lustful thoughts. “What do you mean?"

  Jared grinned. “Admit it. He bores you to tears."

  Kat did not intend to admit anything to Jared. She turned and made her way toward the counter at the back of the store. Jared strode behind her and stopped when she rounded the counter by the cash register. She pulled a box of bras out from underneath then changed her mind. The last thing she needed to be doing was handling lacy bras under Jared Martin's dark scrutiny. She didn't think her hormones could take it.

  The box slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.

  He grinned, leaning over to glance at the array of intimate apparel on the floor. “You seem very skittish. I didn't seem to bother you at all the other day when you kissed me."

  "That,” she said in a clipped tone, “Was a huge mistake.” She bent to retrieve the box and stashed it back under the counter.

  "Could have fooled me.” He replied, leaning his head over the counter.

  "It was excitement, nothing more,” she said from her position under the counter. She rose to her feet quickly, bumping her head on his chin.

  "Oh!” she cried out, rubbing her forehead.

  Before she could say anything else, Jared rounded the corner, his tall frame crowding the small space between them. “Are you okay?” Concern etched his face.

  "I'm fine,” Kat replied testily as she rubbed her forehead. “Just get out of here,” she shooed him away, but he didn't budge.

  "Let me see,” he murmured as his fingers probed her forehead. He applied gentle pressure. “Does this hurt?” he asked. “Looks like you might have a bump there."

  Kat stood stiffly, inhaling the citrusy scent of Jared's cologne. When the tips of his fingers grazed her hairline, she almost swooned from his gentle touch. From her vantage point, she could see the ‘v’ of the polo-style shirt he wore. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down on the smooth expanse of his tanned throat. Something about gazing at his wide neck and shoulders did strange things to her insides. Her stomach fluttered, as though a million, tiny moths beat their wings.

  Kat stole a glance at his smooth, sculpted chin. “As long as you're okay, too,” she managed. His lips were a hair's breadth from hers.

  "I don't know about that, seems kind of sore,” he replied, running the fingers of one hand over his chin. “Maybe you should kiss it and make it feel better."

  "Oh you!” She shoved him away and squeezed by. “What do you want?” she asked. “I haven't got all day."

  "I came in to buy something."

  She swallowed. Hard. Kat didn't want to serve him. She didn't want to watch him handle her merchandise again ... or did she?

  "I'd like to buy something for my—"

  Kat smiled thinly. “The blonde?"

  Jared scowled. “Who?"

  "The blonde I saw you with in a magazine photo."

  He laughed. “Ah, I remember. That picture in People Magazine. The blonde is the daughter of an old family friend. I gave her a job at MegaMart as a favor to her father."

  Kat snorted. “I'm sure."

  "I want to buy something for my sister.” He looked at the loungewear display. “That,” he pointed to a teal-colored, embroidered, spun silk nightshirt. “I think she'd like that."

  She sighed. “Do you really have a sister?"

  "Absolutely. She's eight years younger than me. Dawn's twenty-eight."

  Kat filed that little bit of information away in her mind. Maybe she'd ‘Google’ the name Dawn Martin, and see what she could find.

  "What size?” She walked over and removed the gown from the curved form. When she turned, she noticed him staring at her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. Her skin warmed as her pulse skittered out of control in response to his perusal.

  "I'd say she's just your size,” he replied, his voice soft as a caress.r />
  Kat felt an odd sensation in the pit of her belly. Desire swirled through her then pooled deep inside, settling between her legs. She shifted to relieve the growing ache there.

  "If there's nothing else you want, I'll wrap this for you. Is it a birthday present?"

  He shrugged. “No, not exactly. More like a ‘thank you.’”

  "I'll bet,” she muttered. If Jared Martin were thanking a woman for something, that woman wasn't his sister and ... Kat could only imagine what he would thank her for.

  She rang up the sale. He removed a credit card and handed it to her.

  "Will that be all?” she asked, making her voice sound professional. She swiped the card in the slot on the credit card machine.

  "No, actually that isn't all. I'd like to take you to lunch."

  She handed his card back. Her eyes locked with his. “Look,” she told him as she grabbed some tissue imprinted with KISS’ logo. She shook out the crisp, pink sheets and laid them in the bottom of a pink box. “I'm not going to lunch with you, and I'm certainly not going to that concert with you, either.” An image of her nestled with Jared on a blanket under the stars on a moonlit night swirled through her mind. She pushed the picture to the furthest recess of her brain.

  He smiled, just stood there and grinned as if he knew what she was thinking.

  Kat looked up. “What?” She folded the nightshirt and placed it in the box.

  "If you don't go to that concert with me, what'll you tell your dentist friend?"

  She stuck her nose in the air. “What I do with Michael is none of your concern."

  "Which is probably nothing,” again he grinned.

  Kat favored him with a sour look.

  He kept his eyes on her as she folded the tissue over the gown. “Great logo, by the way. It'll look even nicer flying under MegaMart's banner."

  "Fat chance of that happening,” she hmmphed.

  "We'll see,” he smiled. “You could give me a chance to convince you."

  "About throwing in the towel and joining the MegaMart family?” she asked snidely.

  "It never hurts to keep an open mind."

  She rolled her eyes. “Another one of your rules?"

  "No, it's not. It just makes sense, that's all. Don't close your mind to new ideas. Besides, if I were to apply one of my ‘rules’ in this case, it would be, ‘Turn your enemies into friends and never turn one of your friends into an enemy—they know too much about you."

  Kat's cheeks turned pink as she thought about her new plan to find something she could use against him.

  "Anyway,” Jared continued, “Like I said, if you don't accompany me, he'll probably wonder why, because, as you say, this is a small town and everyone knows everyone's business."

  "So?” She put the cover on the box and reached for some pink curling ribbon on a spool. “What of it?"

  "You'll hurt the poor guy's feelings."

  She cut a length of ribbon from the spool. “Oh, so now you're concerned about hurting his feelings? Which, I might add, you did—not me by butting in."

  "You're a softy, admit it. You don't like to hurt anyone."

  Kat tied the ribbon around the box and yanked on it. She reached for another piece. Her fingers trembled knowing Jared watched her every move. She had to stop acting so foolishly!

  It was time to turn the tables on him and invoke Lilith's plan to befriend the enemy.

  Kat took a deep breath and said, “Maybe you're right."

  He blinked once, surprise registered on his face. “I am?"

  She tied the other piece of ribbon around the box. Schooling her features, she peeked up at Jared. She'd give this her best shot and play the ‘nice’ game with him. If he let down his guard, she could get in and find out something useful—something she could use against him to win her fight for the town she loved.

  It had nothing to do with her attraction to him. Nothing at all...

  She slid the scissor blade across the ribbon. It curled and bounced against the top of the box. She did the same with another piece and pulled her fingers through the springy, pink curls.

  She handed the box to him. “I'm a bit busy today, but maybe we could do lunch tomorrow. I certainly wouldn't want to hurt your feelings, after all, you're still a visitor to Summerville, and now, well, you're a customer."

  Jared just kept staring at her. Kat continued. “We could discuss MegaMart.” She nearly choked on the words, but she managed to get them out. Lilith, Lilith, I hope you're right about all this.

  He shook his dark head, a wary look in his coffee-brown eyes. “I thought you just said you didn't want to go to lunch with me."

  "Well, as I think about it, I know how to return a favor. And it suddenly dawns on me that I owe you one.” She drew out the last few words, hoping she sounded ... seductive.

  He lifted one dark brow. He started to say something then stopped, a confused look on his face.

  Kat bit back a grin and decided that she owed Lilith one of Fred Meyer's giant, homemade ice-cream sundaes.

  "You helped Allie,” she explained. “Going to lunch with you is the least I could do to say thank you."

  He reached for the box. She smiled charmingly, letting her fingers brush against his as she passed it to him, ignoring the fluttery feeling in the pit of her belly the touch of her fingers against his produced.

  "I hope your sister enjoys the nightshirt,” Kat told him, imagining a tall, cool blonde wearing it. She squashed that image down.

  "Then I'll see you tomorrow,” his eyes traveled over her face. A few seconds went by before he turned on his heel and strode out of the store.

  Kat blew out a breath as she watched him exit KISS and tried to ignore the faint tremble that coursed through her.

  * * * *

  The little minx was up to something, Jared thought as he stood in front of Meyer's Sweet Shoppe a few hours later. As he visited Summerville's shops and emporiums on the main drag, all he could do was think about Kat. Her sudden mood shift baffled him. Maybe she really liked him, and didn't want to admit it. Well then, he'd play on that, build on it ... use it to his advantage. He also hoped she was considering kissing him again as she did on that soccer field. The feel of her pressed against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck made his head spin. When her lips collided with his...

  "Coming in?"

  He turned to see a man standing in the doorway of the Sweet Shoppe. “Fred Meyer,” the man stuck out his hand. “And you must be Jared Martin."

  Jared sized him up quickly as he shook Fred's hand. Meyer was tall, his brown hair slightly gray at the temples. He wore faded jeans and a t-shirt that read, ‘Meyer's Sixty-Two Flavors.’ Underneath that, Jared noticed three columns of printing. He read aloud from the top of the first column, “Macadamia Fudge. Sounds good."

  "It is. Why don't you come in and have some?"

  Jared shrugged. Why not? The day being hot and sultry, the ice cream would cool him down. Or was it KISS that made his blood heat? Each time he'd been in Kat's store, surrounded by all that sexy, classy lingerie she designed, his body temperature shot up by about ten degrees. And her. Kat made him hot ... everywhere, especially when she kissed him. Their bodies had been on fire from the summer sun—or was it for each other? Confusion set in and he didn't like it. Maybe she only kissed him to throw him off, to make him lose his focus.

  Now, standing in front of Meyer's Sweet Shoppe, Jared realized he had an excellent opportunity. Fred Meyer was the leader of the town's civic association. Jared couldn't pass up this chance to pick this guy's brain and see how he felt about MegaMart. Located three stores down from KISS, Meyer had to know Kat. Maybe Jared could find out more about Miss Upstart. There had to be something about Kat that he could use...

  To what? Pressure her into selling out to him? While that had appeal before, it didn't now. Jared realized he didn't want to change one thing about KISS and not one thing about Summerville, for that matter. The town had too much charm. It was too damn small, too.
The public school system in Summerville housed fifty students. Time stood still in Summerville, and Jared liked that. He felt a pang in his chest ... if only time would stand still for his father, too.

  It was time for Jared to shift gears. He wanted Kat to listen to this plan. He knew she'd like it once she did, but he couldn't beat her over the head with it. He'd have to ease her into his way of thinking.

  He followed Fred Meyer to the counter in the front of the Sweet Shoppe and took a seat on an old-fashioned, swivel-style stool. For just a second, Jared had the craziest desire to spin around on it.

  Fred instructed a young man behind the counter. Jared watched the kid pile two scoops of creamy ice cream on a crunchy waffle cone. The boy handed it to Jared.

  He licked the icy-cold mass of chocolate fudge ice cream. He swirled it on his tongue, and savored the taste of the dark chocolate chunks laced throughout the frozen custard.

  Jared's eyes nearly crossed from the sweet, creamy taste.

  "It's all homemade,” Fred told him, grinning.

  "It's delicious. What's your secret?"

  Fred laughed. “Exactly. It's a secret family recipe."

  Jared beetled his brows. “You didn't serve this to those Soccer players last Saturday."

  "Well, they like my soft-serve. And it's easier to give soft-serve to kids than it is to dish out the hand-cranked stuff."

  Jared stopped eating for a second. “What do you mean, ‘give?’ Don't you charge them?"

  "Never do.” Fred ambled from behind the counter and took a seat next to Jared. “I never charge those soccer kids or their coaches. I can't. I used to play soccer myself. Someday, if I have kids, my kid will too.” Fred smiled.

  Jared shook his head and sighed. “You're giving away your store."

  Fred shrugged. “It's mine to give away."

  Jared took another lick of his cone then placed it in the dish in front of him. “Have you thought about MegaMart?” he asked, wiping his lips with a paper napkin.