2. Prescription For Love

“We’ve got some good locally sourced restaurants a half-hour drive from town. Next time—”

“You seem pretty certain there’ll be a next time.”

“I hope there will be.”

“Flann,” Abby said, needing to be clear for her own sake as much as Flann’s, “I’m not thinking about this as a date. We work together, my son and your sister are getting to be best friends, and one of my best friends is marrying your sister. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other.”

“Like I said, I hope so.”

Abby had forgotten how exasperating Flann could be when she’d made up her mind about something. Maybe those kisses had some amnesiac side effect, because they’d certainly affected her memory and her sanity. Grumpily, she said, “You’re being purposely obtuse.”

Flann grinned. “That sounds kinda sexy.”

Abby considered punching her in her beautifully muscled arm, just to touch her. She was such an infuriatingly gorgeous animal. “Now you’re purposefully being difficult.”

Flann looked from the road to Abby again, and she wasn’t grinning. She was smoky eyed and ohso-tantalizing. “I’m not trying to be. I do think we’re friends, but I don’t usually kiss my friends, not the way I kissed you.”

“I suppose I should say I’m sorry I let that second kiss happen, but—”

“Let it happen?” Flann snorted. “You mean it was all me?”

“No, you’re right,” Abby said, forcing herself to say the truth. “I didn’t let it happen—I wanted it to happen, and that kiss was every bit as much my doing as yours.”

“I want to kiss you again.”

Abby sighed. “Why can’t we just keep things simple.”

“Why can’t we just let what is, be? See what happens.”

“I can’t,” Abby said. “I don’t work that way. I’m not—casual. Spontaneous. I’ve never had the luxury of just doing what I wanted.” “So try it now,” Flann said.

“Part of me wants to, that’s why I’m sitting here in this Jeep with you right now. But I know myself,

Flann. Really, I do. And I’m not the right kind of woman for you.”

Flann’s brow twitched. “You mean the kind that kisses me until my brains feel like they’re gonna leak out of my ears? Because I have to tell you, I liked it.”

Abby flushed. She liked knowing she could make Flann’s brain melt. She liked knowing she wasn’t the only one set ablaze by their kisses. The power was exciting, heady, a little addictive. “I like kissing you. But I’m not going to sleep with you.”

“All right,” Flann said easily, watching the road.

Surprised, Abby said nothing. And she ignored the surge of disappointment.

“So how do you feel about venison, because one of these places makes the most amazing grilled venison with fresh squa—”

Abby stared. “Did we not just have a long conversation about how we’re not—” “I got it, every word.”

Flann slouched slightly behind the wheel, controlling the car with the fingers of one hand loosely curled around the wheel, her other hand resting on her thigh. With her tawny hair and sun-kissed skin, she resembled a big cat, deceptively somnolent when Abby knew for a fact she was dangerous. Flann had the power to strip away every last shred of her good sense.

“Somehow I don’t think so.”

“We’re not going to date and”—Flann sent her a mildly infuriating grin, making her look even more attractive—“you’re not going to sleep with me. Right?”

“More or less, yes.”

Flann nodded. “Thought so.”

“Just so we’re clear.” “Crystal.”

Flann’s sudden acceptance left Abby deflated when she should have been exultant. Determined to enjoy the day, Abby concentrated on the river running alongside the road, marveling at how wide it still was so far north of the inlet in New York City, admiring the fields and farms dotting its shores, all the while refusing to think about the danger signals blaring in her head. Flann was so appealingly stubborn, pretending she didn’t understand or care what Abby was saying. Refusing to be refused. “Hey, Abby?”

“Hmm?”

“What if we agreed, just kisses.”

Abby laughed, she couldn’t help it. Flann was so outrageously attractive. If the kiss happened again, she knew she’d enjoy it. How could she not?

“If

and I mean if,” Abby said, trying to sound stern but knowing she was failing by the little smile curling Flann’s gorgeous mouth, “that does not mean I’ll be tearing off my clothes and jumping into the nearest bed.”

“Absolutely clear.”

Fine. She could control herself, after all. And if Flann wanted to torment them both with kisses, why not? In fact, she could do a little tormenting of her own. Feeling slightly wild and not caring, she reached for Flann’s free hand and pulled it into her lap. Flann tensed for the barest second and then relaxed, letting Abby intertwine their fingers. They rode along in silence, Abby slowly stroking her thumb over the top of Flann’s hand. The contact was as erotic as if they lay naked together.

Abby needed all her willpower not to let that image fill her mind.

*