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head in his direction, first looking at the house, then at his face. “I
guess it’s time to find out,” she said and reached for the door handle.
    Before she had a chance to open
the car door, he grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. She opened her
mouth to question him, but her response died out as his mouth came down over
hers, hard and fast.
    The kiss had been quick, heated.
Demanding and…cinnamony. Before she could react and deepen the kiss, her lips
grew chilled by the absence of his.
    Didn’t see that one coming, she
thought, slightly breathless. Not because she didn’t know he was attracted to
her—she’d felt that much. Nevertheless, it caught her off guard, something that
happened rarely. Or, rather, something that, until yesterday, used to happen
rarely.
    She didn’t see fireworks, but
there had been stars. Her original thought about him looking potent was only
half-true. He was potent. If he made love like he kissed….
    Her mouth tingled. His lips
weren’t anywhere near hers, but she thought she could still feel them on her
mouth.
    Part of her wanted to ask him
what the hell he was doing. The other half wanted to pull him back by the lapel
of his shirt and leave him breathless. So much had happened and continued to
happen. Could she handle this attraction to him on top of everything else?
    Opening her eyes, she met his
intense gaze. His normally bright green eyes were now clouded with restrained
desire.
    Her planned witty response turned
into, “What was that for?”
    “It just seemed like the thing to
do,” he said with an easy smile as he released her from his arms and reached
for his door handle.
    It just seemed like the thing to
do? Well. She wasn’t normally the forward type, but if he didn’t try that
again, and soon, she would definitely take the initiative. Consequences be
damned.
    As Lana got out of the car, she
glanced around. The once colorful array of flowers needed tending to. And the
house could use a coat of paint. She and her mother had made plans to do that
during the summer.
    Lana walked up the stairs and
stood next to Cole on the porch. This was the first time she’d been back in
over a month. She just couldn’t bring herself to, until now. She reached into
her purse and pulled out the keys to the house. Taking a deep breath, she
unlocked the door and pushed it open.
    Holding her breath, she stepped
inside.
    Nothing had changed, but it
seemed like something should have. There should be books everywhere, music
playing, the smell of flowers coming through the open windows. Her mother.
    “The electricity should still be
on,” she said, her tone thick with emotion. “My mother had it on one of those
budget plans, so it’s paid until the end of next month. She liked having her
bills paid before they were due, so any that could be paid for in advance
were.”
    She was rambling, and she didn’t
care. “I loved growing up here. It was always warm and welcoming. Now
it’s…lifeless.”
    He took her hand in his,
squeezing gently. “What are you going to do with it?”
    “I don’t know,” she replied,
shaking her head. “I had always assumed I would move in eventually, but
eventually keeps getting further away.” She turned, glanced at him, and studied
the bare-bones room. “I should put it on the market if I’m not going to move
in, but I keep hoping it’ll feel right someday.” Today, though, would not be
that day.
    Pushing aside the bittersweet
memories, she led Cole down the hall. “I guess the most logical place to start
would be with her office, or her bedroom. Those were the main places she kept any
documents. I didn’t throw any of those away.” She didn’t need to elaborate that
she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go through her mother’s papers, except
those she needed. Eventually, most of it would go in storage, but that would
have to wait until she could deal with things a little easier. Right now,
everything played too fresh in her mind.