Page 41 of Just One Kiss

No, I did. I’m so sorry. (And so embarrassed!)

Well, thanks for both making and ruining my night.

???

Making it with a knockout photo and ruining it because I know I’m not the one you’re wearing that dress for.

She stared at the screen, trying to decide how to respond, when the sound of her doorbell shot a wave of panic through her. She clicked her phone off, gave herself one more glance in the mirror and walked downstairs.

What was Josh saying? And why was he saying it? Was this a case of him wanting her only because someone else had taken an interest?

On the other side of the door was a man who wasn’t Josh. A man with no emotional baggage that related to her in any way. A man who deserved her undivided attention on the off chance that this could actually turn into a relationship. She had to at leastsee.And she couldn’tseeif she didn’t put Josh out of her mind.

She deserved to be happy. She deserved to have someone take care of her for a change.

Didn’t she?

She pulled open the door and Dr. Willette gave her a once-over. “Wow. You look . . . really great.”

“Thanks,” she said. “And you look . . . handsome.”

He did, too, in a buttoned-up sort of way. He wore black dress pants, a blue shirt and a tie. He looked like a man who’d paid attention to what he was wearing for their date.

On her first date with Josh, he’d worn jeans and a vintage Pink Floyd T-shirt. Of course, he’d been sixteen—it was hardly right to compare.

“I hope you like Italian food. I made us a reservation at Capri.”

Of course he’d picked Capri. It was the restaurant where she and Josh had had their first real date a million years ago. She’d only eaten there a handful of times in recent years, but it was a local favorite—the kind of restaurant that didn’t quite know what it was.

With an Italian name, one might expect a strictly Italian menu, but in addition to pasta and chicken parmesan, Capri served a burger and steak fries that were to die for. They also had fried chicken, lobster and steak on the menu.

So much for picking a lane and staying in it. Capri broke all the rules of business, but it worked. People loved it, and it was one of the few restaurants that could do a variety of food well.

“Have you been there before?” she asked, knowing he hadn’t grown up here.

“Actually, no. Always hear good things about it though.”

She smiled, grabbed her purse and tucked her phone inside. “I hope you don’t mind if I keep my phone close,” she said. “For Jaden’s sake.”

“Not at all.” He pulled her front door open and motioned for her to go first. He followed her out onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind him.

“How’s Jaden doing?”

Carly’s heels clicked on the sidewalk as she headed toward his black Audi. “Good, mostly. He’s bored. He wants to do more than he should—typical teenager.”

“Aren’t you going to lock the door?” he asked.

She turned toward him. “It’s Harbor Pointe. No one locks their doors.”

His eyebrows twitched. “I do.”

“I think it’ll be okay.”

He hesitated a second, then finally moved toward her, looking genuinely worried.

“My dad is the sheriff,” she said. “He mostly sits behind his desk drinking coffee and playing Solitaire.” She didn’t actually know that for sure, but she knew there weren’t many break-ins and most of the crime in Harbor Pointe was related to bored teenagers looking for trouble.

He opened her car door and she realized she was having trouble thinking of him as anything but “Dr. Willette.” She couldn’t go on a date with someone if she couldn’t even call them by their first name.

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