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clients scheduled – she’d left the entire day open in order to celebrate her birthday with her grandmother and then get caught up on some odd tasks.
    “Karen?” The voice that called from the other side of the door stopped her in her tracks just as her fingertips were about to brush the doorknob.
    Memories of the night before rushed back to her, sweet and vivid and a little terrifying when she really thought about them. On the verge of facing Jed for the first time since the kiss, she stood frozen like an idiot with her heart pounding away in her throat. What was about to happen? She let herself wonder for approximately two seconds before she had to stop herself regretting that she hadn’t worn sexier underwear.
    At least her bra and panties matched – she was reasonably sure of that, although it was kind of hard to remember getting dressed that morning when her thoughts kept zooming back to the memory of Jed’s short beard scraping her jaw, his tongue wrapped around hers…
    “I’m here.” She called out the first thing that came to mind and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal the man she’d barely been able to stop thinking about for the past twenty-four hours.
    He looked just like she remembered – sexy as sin – and her already elevated heartbeat sped ahead at the sight. Instead of a button-up with rolled-up sleeves, he wore a black t-shirt. It clung to his muscular torso and revealed the goldmine of well-done ink that covered his arms. “Hey.”
    “Hey.” He stood in the doorway for a moment, silent with his thumbs tucked into his pockets.
    She let herself admire him for a few seconds as a cloud of butterflies came to life somewhere between her hips and her heart.
    “Can I come in?”
    “Sure.” She stepped back, unable to resist thinking of his last text. Sorry about last night? What the hell did that mean? Was he sorry he’d kissed her? Sorry he hadn’t done more? Wondering had driven her to tune-out in front of her computer screen, courtesy of her favorite ghost hunting show.
    He breathed a barely-audible sigh as he strode into the room, looking like he was on the verge of saying something important. Instead, he paused in front of her computer. “You watching this?”
    The barest hint of heat crept into her cheeks as she glanced toward the screen, where one of the paranormal investigators was daring a spirit to approach some sort of EMF reader. “I was.”
    “I had no idea you liked this stuff.” Jed’s mouth curled in the tiniest of smiles.
    “Let me guess – you think it’s ridiculous?” Jed wasn’t exactly the kind of guy she’d peg as a fan of ghost hunting shows.
    He shrugged, his broad shoulders straining his t-shirt in a way so sexy it made her head spin. “I’m just surprised is all. I’ve never watched more than a few minutes here and there.”
    “It’s a little sensationalistic at times, but the locations they visit are really cool – seeing the historic old places they explore is my favorite thing about the show and—” For once, she stopped herself mid-babble. Forget ghost hunting TV! Who gave a crap about whether the abandoned prison was haunted when there was last night’s kiss to discuss, and maybe even relive?
    She reached for the mouse and shut off the show. “I won’t inflict my reality TV upon you.”
    “Reality?” Jed arched a dark brow.
    Her cheeks warmed a little more. “They say it’s reality. And I figure it’s probably not all staged.”
    “Mmm.” Jed was definitely smiling now. “There’s no telling, is there?”
    “I guess not.” Karen turned to her printer and lifted a fresh print from the tray. She wasn’t going to argue about the existence of ghosts. Not now, and not with Jed.
    The silence that filled the studio was absolute, unrelieved by even a questionable EVP clip now that she’d turned the show off.
    “About last night,” Jed eventually said, his deep voice banishing the quiet, “I’m sorry. I came here to