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was out here last year, visiting my mom. She had terminal cancer, and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her while I still could. But after the funeral I got back to find my business partner had run off with my fiancée. So I sold what little they left behind and moved back here. No, darlin’, you’re not the only one to make life-changing decisions after a breakup.”
    Danny turned in his arms, gazing up into with her beautiful amber eyes. “You didn’t mind that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing?”
    He bit his lip to keep from laughing, because he knew she was completely serious. Shaking his head, he pulled her closer. “Did it feel like I minded?”
    “I don’t know,” she replied, a playful smile flitting over her face. “I might need a little more convincing.”
    “Oh really?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. He enjoyed her playfulness. “You sure you’re up for it, little girl?”
    “Are you kidding? I’m just getting started. I think the question is, are you up for it?”
    “I think I’m in trouble.” He laughed with a groan.

Chapter Five

    Danny was sitting at the library’s main computer, running an overdue book report when she heard the hushed whispers of her two student aids.
    “Oh! My! God!” Blonde-haired Tiffany gasped. It wasn’t an unusual reaction from the easily excitable youth, so Danny didn’t pay her much attention.
    Nor did she pay too much attention to her companion, Mariah’s, reply. “Girl! Who is that?” They were always discussing the various attributes of their fellow classmates. She probably should have reprimanded them, but they were harmless, and simply too funny to be mad at.
    “Well, he’s not a student, that’s for sure. I would definitely remember someone that fine!” Tiffany sighed as she stared dreamily at the object of her attention. “Look at that body, all tall and muscled.”
    “Yumm! And he looks so dark and dangerous with those wicked blue eyes and dark goatee,” Mariah agreed, actually licking her lips.
    Curiosity and a vague sense of déjà vu got the better of Danny, and she turned to get a peek at the object of their lusty gazes.
    No! She felt her breath freeze in her lungs. What in the world was Gabe doing here? Not that she was ashamed of him, just the opposite. She just didn’t want him to see her in her nerdy environment, hair back in a bun, reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. She considered ducking below her desk, but he’d already spotted her, and an amused grin spread across his face.
    Forcing herself to stand, she stifled a groan as her aching body protested. They’d spent the weekend days with him instructing her on bike riding and the evenings with him riding her. Now Monday evening, she was still feeling the after effects, and the lecherous grin on Gabe’s face told her he had noticed.
    “Hi, beautiful,” he whispered as they met at the library’s highly polished counter. “I just couldn’t stay away.”
    Danny’s body burned. Lord, just being near him made her tremble. And to make matters worse, she distinctly heard giggles behind her. Turning a sharp eye on her assistants, she tried to sound authoritative. “Don’t you girls have some filing to do?” But it came out slightly breathless, completely ruining the effect.
    Tiffany winked as she and Mariah headed off anyway, whispering, “He’s way hotter than Professor Brain-dead, Ms. D.”
    As they sashayed off, Gabe raised a dark eyebrow. “Professor Brain-dead?”
    Danny winced. She could have gone the rest of her life without explaining that. “It’s what the students call my ex.”
    Gabe chuckled. “Well, it’s nice to know I meet their approval.”
    Danny flushed. It was like comparing a Porsche to a Pinto. “So uhm, what are you doing here?” she asked, trying to change the subject. He was already so self-confident. He definitely didn’t need his ego stroked.
    “Well you said you always take the bus home, so I thought I’d give