Annie jerked her attention away from the mirror and her mind away from Hollis’s butt. Really, her mind was wandering into places that were completely unlike her. This was hardly her first date…non-date…dinner with a woman. She’d had a date every few months or so and found them all pleasant. She wasn’t antisocial, she’d just never felt the urge to get seriously involved with anyone. She hadn’t met anyone who interested her beyond friendship, and why complicate matters?

Hollis felt complicated already.

Snippets of their conversations, the memory of Hollis’s quick grin, her dark piercing gaze, ambushed her at the most inopportune moments, breaking her concentration, distracting her in the most—all right, she’d admit it—pleasant ways. The thrill that rippled through her when she thought of Hollis was exciting. And dangerous. She didn’t want to be out of control. She didn’t want to have feelings that might take her places she’d regret. As much as she wanted to forget Jeff, she remembered all too well the exhilaration his attention brought into her life, the anticipation with which she’d waited for him to call, the often dreamlike wonder she’d experienced when she was with him—as if she had wandered into someone else’s life, a fairy tale in which the world sparkled and she was beautiful. God, how shallow could she get. And here she was obsessing over whether her blouse brought out the green in her eyes. History was not about to repeat itself—she wouldn’t let it.

Resolutely, she turned her back to the mirror, twitched aside the lace curtain covering the leaded-glass window in the foyer door, and checked the street in front of the house. Again. She dropped her hand as if the curtain were on fire.

“Let’s go outside, honey.” Maybe if she moved around she could work off some of her nervousness.

“Wait,” Callie cried. “I forgot Buttercup.”

“All right. Go find her.”

While she waited, Annie checked her bag to make sure she had her beeper, money in her wallet, her cell phone, and the pale pink lip gloss she’d tried for the first time. Just in case she needed a touch-up. Stop. God, just stop!

Callie came running down the hall with a small yellow bunny clutched in her left hand. She had declared the bunny to be named Buttercup and had taken to carrying it around everywhere in the last few days. Annie grabbed the extra car seat she kept by the door. “All set?”

“Uh-huh. We’re ready for dinner.”

“Good. Let’s go, then.” Laughing, Annie pulled open the door and stepped directly into Hollis’s arms. The car seat clattered to the floor. “Oh!”

“Hey!” Hollis grasped her around the waist, and they ended up in a loose embrace. “Hi. Am I late?”

“What? No. I don’t know. Are you?” Annie nearly rolled her eyes. Apparently her IQ had just plunged fifty points. Hollis’s body was firm and warm and her mouth was very, very close. Annie took a deep breath and her breasts brushed Hollis’s. Her nipples hardened. Oh. Bad. Very bad. “Sorry. Wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“That seems to be going around these days,” Hollis murmured. She didn’t let go. “I was afraid you were going somewhere without me.”

“Oh. No. We were just going to wait outside.” Annie slipped her arm around Callie’s shoulders and pulled away from Hollis. She wished her shirt was looser. She wished her brain would start working again.

“Well, I hope you’re both hungry.” Hollis squatted and held out a small box of crayons and a coloring book with the main character from the movie Brave on the cover. “I thought you might like something to do while we’re waiting for dinner.”

Callie looked up at her mother. “Can I?”

“Yes.” Annie’s throat tightened. No flowers or wine for her. Hollis had brought Callie a present instead. Oh, Hollis was a lot more than charming. “Dr. Monroe is a friend.”

Hollis looked up, her blue eyes swirling with midnight stars. “Thanks.”

Annie barely resisted the urge to run her fingers through Hollis’s hair. She couldn’t remember ever wanting to touch anyone so badly. She backed up a step. “That was really nice of you, thank you.”

“No problem.” Hollis silently congratulated herself. She hadn’t been sure what a four-year-old might be interested in, but she’d made a quick call to her sister-in-law, who informed her that every boy and girl over two had seen the movie. Fortunately, the Rite Aid half a block from the hospital had everything in the kids’ section. Callie was already paging through it, chattering excitedly about which picture she wanted to color. Her delight made Hollis’s heart lift. She probably should spend more time with Bruce’s and David’s kids, but sometimes being around them made her heart hurt, even though she loved them. She glanced at Annie. “Guess it’s a hit.”

“Good call.”

Annie’s voice was husky and her eyes had gone from summer green to the shadowy secret depths of the forest. Her full lower lip gleamed a delicate pink, moist and tantalizing. Annie looked as if she was struggling not to touch her, and Hollis tightened everywhere. She was pretty flexible in bed, but more often than not made the first move. Right at that moment, she would’ve been content to let Annie do whatever she wanted. Anything, just to keep that look in Annie’s eyes. She straightened and cleared her throat. “I’m glad she likes it.”

Annie was an inch away and her gaze seemed locked on Hollis’s mouth. “She does. Very much.”

Hollis’s hands trembled. Her insides burned. She wet her lips. “I just took a chance. You never know until you try, right?”

“No, you never do.”

Annie’s voice was soft and sensuous and every inch of Hollis’s skin hummed with pleasure. The sounds of children playing ball in the street faded and the still night closed in around them. “Annie, you look beautiful. I want—”

Annie’s pupils flickered and the hazy desire in her eyes disappeared. Her gaze sharpened. “We should go.”

Hollis caught herself a second before she would have put her hands on her. She hadn’t been thinking, and she was always thinking. She wasn’t impulsive—decisive, yes, but she always knew what she was doing and why. She’d asked Annie to dinner to get to know her and to find a way through the defensive shields Annie used to keep her at arm’s length. She wanted in—inside Annie’s walls, where the warmth of Annie’s smile waited. She didn’t know why, but she’d figure that out. Chemistry, probably. Something as simple as that. Trying to kiss her before they even had a single date wasn’t very smart.

“Right. We should go.” Hollis forced herself to move, even though she wanted to stay exactly where she was until Annie looked at her the way she had just a minute before. Carpe diem—too late for that now. She sucked in a breath and grinned down at Callie. “Hey. Do you like Mexican?”

Callie looked at Annie. “Is that a movie?”

“No, baby, it’s food. Come on.” Annie swung Callie’s hand. “You’re going to like it.”

Hollis picked up the car seat, hurried down the steps, and opened the rear door of her FJ Cruiser just as Annie reached the sidewalk. “I’ll have this secured in a second.”

“Thanks.” Annie stepped back as Hollis moved aside, careful that they didn’t touch. “Come on, Callie, climb in.”

Annie buckled Callie in and handed her the bunny and her new coloring book and crayons. She closed the door and settled into the passenger seat, grateful for the bucket seats. At least there was no possibility that her body would accidentally brush Hollis’s. If Hollis got any sweeter before the evening was over, she was going to have a hard time remembering they were colleagues. After Callie was born, she’d shaped a safe, stable life, with no room for uncertainty. Hollis was a cipher whose very presence made her world tilt.

Hollis reached between the seats and squeezed her hand. “Everything okay?”

“Yes,” Annie said evenly, gently easing her hand away. “Absolutely fine.”

Chapter Seventeen

“You sure Mexican’s okay?” Hollis asked as they crossed the parking lot to Casa Ranchero, a low-slung, one-story restaurant painted in bright oranges, greens, and yellows. Annie had been quiet on the short drive. Her subtle withdrawal of her hand when Hollis had casually touched her was obvious too. Hollis wasn’t sure where she’d gone wrong, but she’d pushed some button that had sent Annie backpedaling until they might have been strangers again. She didn’t plan on letting that go on for very long. Annie was hard to figure, and usually Hollis read people pretty easily. So far Annie only seemed comfortable letting her see her professional side—there she was solid and sure, certain of herself and the best treatment for her patients. Hollis had nothing but respect for her, even though they were at odds philosophically. Personally, though, Annie was exactly the opposite—introverted, guarded, and wary. She’d slipped up at the barbecue, revealing things about Callie’s biological father and her past, and now she seemed determined to avoid anything else touching on the personal. Annie had good reasons to be wary—just thinking about the people who had abandoned her made Hollis’s stomach curdle. She knew what it was to lose a huge chunk of her heart, and she’d had a loving family to help her get through the first shock of it. Annie had had no one—just loss upon loss. Hollis hurt to think of Annie in pain.

“Hollis?” Annie said softly. “Something wrong?”

Hollis gave a start and realized she’d slowed until she was barely moving. She shook her head, feeling her face warm. “No, I’m really sorry. My mind wandered there for a minute.”

“I understand. Mine does that a lot lately.” Annie grinned ruefully. “Guess that’s going around too.”

“Well, I promise to stay focused the rest of the night.” Hollis quickly squeezed Annie’s hand but didn’t try to hold it. Annie would have to declare the limits first. But she let go of her anger—Annie didn’t need her anger. Annie probably didn’t need her to fix anything at all, although that was her default setting. It’s all she knew how to do—the only safe thing she could do. “Forgiven?”