Guilty Pleasures: A Collection (5 page)

“I'd love that, too. More than anything.” He grinned, feeling lighter than air. “I know you like to travel, and it's part of your job, but we'll make it work. I promise.”

“I do love to travel, but I'm so ready to settle down in one place, and I want that place to be with you, and your daughter.” She worried on her bottom lip.

“Yeah?” He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.

She nodded. “Yes. I want to meet Addison. I heard you talking to her this morning, and I could tell she means the world to you.”

“She does, but there's enough room in my life for another special woman.
You
.”

Her smile was radiant, and he gave into the urge to kiss her. His mouth claimed hers, their connection immediate and intimate and filled with promise and passion.

When he finally lifted his head, she released a soft sigh of contentment. “I'm one lucky girl.”

“And me, I'm just a regular guy, asking the 'Girl Most Likely' to give him a second chance,” he said, reminding her of what he'd once written in her yearbook, and how much that statement meant to him now. “What do you say?”

“I say
yes
.”

# # # # # # # # #

“I’ve made my New Year’s resolution. Care to hear what it is?”

Shane Witmer glanced up from the pepperoni and mushroom pizza he was sharing with his best friend, Alyssa Harte, as they sat in a booth in the back of his casual restaurant, The Pizza Joint. Having known Alyssa since they were five years old, he’d learned long ago to read her moods and expressions. This afternoon, there was a determination about her he’d seen many times before, and when Alyssa put her mind to something, she usually accomplished her goal.

“New Year’s isn’t for another four days,” he pointed out as he reached for a napkin. “I’ve never known you to make an early resolution. What’s up with that?”

“I thought I’d get a jump start on things.” Shrugging casually, she picked off a pepperoni slice from her pizza, popped it into her mouth, then licked her fingers slowly, thoroughly, sensually. It was a habit she wasn’t even aware of doing, nor did she realize the stimulating reaction all that licking and tasting and lapping of her tongue had on his mind and body.

Swallowing hard, he forcibly pushed those arousing thoughts from his head before they got him into trouble. Instead, he watched as she finished off the thick, doughy crust and reached for another slice. “Considering how you’re enjoying your dinner, I’m guessing your resolution can’t be about giving up pizza and diet Coke like you’ve tried in the past,” he teased.

She grinned indulgently, her blue eyes dancing with amusement. “No, we both know that’s a hopeless cause, not to mention pure misery for me,” she replied, and took a big bite of her second piece of pizza.

Shane shook his head and chuckled. He loved her appetite and the way she enjoyed food, even if she did complain that everything she put into her mouth went straight to her hips, thighs, and butt. He thought her full breasts, lush hips, and shapely bottom were perfectly proportioned, not that he’d ever managed to convince her of that fact. She also had an innate sensuality about her that was subtle, but powerfully effective to his senses.

To him, Alyssa possessed the kind of real, womanly curves that drew a man’s eyes. His gaze especially, and only when he knew for certain she wouldn’t catch him admiring her voluptuous body because
best friends
didn’t do that sort of thing. He'd spent years keeping his real feelings for her buried beneath a facade of brotherly affection. A feat that was becoming more and more difficult with each year that passed.

She exhaled a resigned breath, though she was still smiling. “I’ve come to accept that pizza and diet Coke are the two vices I just can’t live without.”

“Then I guess that means you can’t live without me, because I supply the free pizza.” She came by his pizza place at least a few times a week for lunch or dinner, and whenever the restaurant had any over-runs on pizzas or pasta orders, he dropped them by her apartment on his way home.

“You know I wouldn’t be able to live without you, no matter what,” she said, and used the back of her hand to push away the dark brown strands of hair fluttering against her cheek. “Free food aside, you’ll always be my best friend. You know all my deep, dark secrets.”

He laughed at that, but it was true for him, as well. He’d known Alyssa for over twenty years, and from the day her family had moved into the house next to his and they’d become neighbors, he and Alyssa had been constant companions. Neither of them had any siblings, and since there hadn’t been any other young children on their block, they’d bonded as playmates and close confidantes.

“So, let’s hear this resolution of yours,” he said, putting their conversation back on track, and trying to ignore the way his libido stirred once again when she absently licked a smear of sauce from her bottom lip. He was curious to know what kind of mission she’d decided upon for the coming year.

She tipped her chin up a few notches, that fortitude he’d seen moments ago flaring to life in her gaze once again. “I’ve made the decision that this year is going to be about opening myself up to a real relationship with a guy, instead of breaking up with him when things start getting too intense or serious because I’m afraid of putting myself out there emotionally and possibly getting hurt in the end.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, more than a little surprised by her admission. And unsettled, as well.

Ever since Alyssa had started dating in high school she’d never allowed herself to get seriously involved with any man—a defense mechanism he’d always suspected stemmed from issues surrounding her mother’s inability to get past the death of Alyssa’s father. It was a subject she didn’t like to talk about, avoided even, and therefore he knew there was much more to that emotional issue than she let on.

He leaned back in the booth and regarded her thoughtfully, wondering at the source of this very serious decision of hers. “So, what brought all this about?”

She meet his gaze steadily from across the table. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I’ve come to realize that while I’m finally financially stable and I love my job of being a personal shopper, my personal life sucks, which I fully admit has been my own fault up to this point since I’ve been so commitment phobic.”

Grinning wryly, she dropped her napkin on her plate, pushed it aside, and went on. “I keep feeling like there’s something important missing from my life, and I think I’ve figured out what it is.”

Shane didn’t care for the direction this conversation was heading, and felt his stomach churn with unease. “And what’s that?”

“Most of our friends are getting married, settling down, and having families of their own, and I realize that I want that, too. I really do. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone, like my mother has.”

“But that means opening yourself up when it comes to an intimate relationship,” he said, knowing that was one of Alyssa’s greatest weaknesses when it came to other men. She was much better about expressing her hopes, dreams, and feelings with him, but he knew that as her best friend she believed he posed no real threat to her heart or emotions. Then again, she had no idea how he truly felt about her, and if she ever discovered the truth, he knew he stood to lose that close friendship they’d shared for so many years.

Bracing his arms on the table, he tried to keep his own feelings out of the equation. “So, the big question is, are you ready to put yourself out there in an intimate and emotional way?”

“I guess I’m willing to try, and that’s what my New Year’s resolution is all about,” she said quietly as her fingers wiped away the condensation on her glass of diet Coke. “It’s past time I finally get over my fears and insecurities or else I’m going to end up an old maid.”

She grimaced at that notion and shook her head in dismay, which had the alluring effect of tousling her hair over her shoulders. Her soft, lustrous hair was the object of some of his most seductive fantasies, the kind that had him imagining how those silky strands would feel clutched tightly in his fists in the throes of passion . . . or caressing his heated skin as she moved above him, over him . . .

“So, enough about me and my pathetic love life,” she said, waving a hand in the air between and snapping him out of his erotic daydreams. “What do
you
have in mind for a New Year’s resolution?”

He couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around that particular question, especially since he was still reeling from her announcement—and how her decision might affect
them
and their relationship. His biggest fear was that he now stood to lose her to another man. For good. And that possibility settled in his belly like a cold, hard knot.

She was watching him expectantly, waiting to hear what kind of changes were in store for him for the New Year. Except he had no clue, and told her so. “You know, I haven’t given my resolution much thought.”

“Well you should.” Reaching across the table, she gave his arm an affectionate squeeze. “We need to make this next year one we’ll both remember.”

He was now certain it was going to be one he’d never forget, no matter what the outcome. “Tell you what, I’ll give my resolution some thought and get back to you on what I come up with.”

She stacked up their empty plates and placed them on the small pizza tray. “Well do it quick, because New Year’s is only four days away, as you pointed out.”

Shane laughed at her insistence, knowing she’d be hounding him about a resolution until he came up with one. “I hear ya. You’ll be the first to know what’s in store for me for the New Year.”

“By the way, I received an invitation for Drew and Cynthia’s annual New Year’s Eve bash,” she said, mentioning their mutual friends who’d recently gotten married. “I’ve already R.S.V.P.’d. How about you?”

He nodded. “Already done.”

“Good.” She grinned, her eyes taking on an optimistic glimmer. “Who knows, New Year’s Eve could bring all kinds of surprises for the two of us.”

Before he could reply to that, one of his waitresses came up to their table, interrupting his conversation with Alyssa. Shane was grateful for the distraction since he didn’t want to think about what kind of
surprises
were in store for his best friend, especially if it meant her pursuing the opposite sex in her quest to find a marriageable candidate.

“Shane, we need some change for the register,” his employee said, and gathered up the dirty dishes and silverware to take to the kitchen on her trip back.

“I’ll be right there.” Sliding out of the booth, he stood and glanced at Alyssa. “Can I bring you a piece of cheesecake?”

“How about one to go?” she said, not one to refuse dessert of any sort. “Work awaits me at home. I have some billing statements I need to get done for the jobs I did for Christmas and the holidays.”

After taking care of getting the cash for the register, Shane packed up a generous portion of cheesecake for Alyssa and gave it to her in a handled paper bag. Since it was dark outside, he walked her to her car and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek—wishing like hell he had the right to claim that luscious mouth of hers in the kind of deep, fiery kiss that would brand and possess and no doubt shock her senseless.

He watched her slide behind the wheel and blew out a taut breath that did nothing to ease his frustration. Instead, he summoned one of his easy-going smiles. “Be careful going home.”

“I will be.” She buckled herself in and started the engine of her practical Chevy Malibu. “Good night, Shane.”

“‘Night.” He closed the car door, waited for her to pull out of the parking lot, then made his way back into The Pizza Joint and his office.

He sat down behind his desk, but instead of immersing himself in the stack of paperwork that needed his attention, he leaned back in his chair and scrubbed a hand along his jaw, wondering what the hell he was going to do now that Alyssa was so determined to put herself on the market and find Mr. Right.

For years he’d watched her date guy after guy, mostly stuffy, corporate types that looked visually appealing, but were much too staid for her vibrant personality, which made those men very easy for Alyssa to break up with when the relationship showed signs of developing into anything significant. Alyssa’s predictable behavior also made it easy for him to sit on the sidelines and be the loyal best friend she could always depend on, through good times and bad.

A part of him didn’t think she’d be able to follow through with her resolution to open herself up to a guy emotionally . . .
but what if she did?
Tonight he’d seen the yearning in her eyes, the loneliness, the desire to give a real and stable committed relationship a try. Would she latch on to the next man to come into her life, just because she desperately wanted marriage and a family of her own?

That possibility was enough to make him realize that he wasn’t prepared to lose Alyssa to another man.

Not now.

Not ever.

And that meant it was time for him to make his feelings and intentions known—but in a gradual, subtle way that wouldn’t scare her off.