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his hand moving over hers in a soft caress caused her nipples to tighten. The erotic sensation surprised her so much she jerked her hand from his.
    The face swimming before her mind's eye wasn't Jason's. Damn you, Mike .
    "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward.” He crossed his arms, looking uncomfortable.
    "No, I'm the one who's sorry.” She glanced at Garrett who stared at her with raised brows. “I've been on edge the past couple of days."
    Jason's smile returned. “Then how about you let me take you out tonight to relieve some of that stress? We can go see a movie. Nothing heavy, just a couple of new friends getting to know each other better over a tub of popcorn. Wha'd'ya think?"
    She was tempted. “To tell you the truth, it sounds like heaven, but—"
    "But nothing,” Garrett chimed in, his smile so big he could hardly contain it. “Ethan and I are gonna go check out that new arcade tonight, so there's no sense you sitting home alone."
    "Yeah, Mom, go see a movie.” Ethan turned to Jason. “See a scary one. They're the best."
    Jason leaned over in a conspiratorial manner. “I agree. But you know how girls are. What if she cries?"
    Ethan grinned and shook his head. “Not my mom. She saw The Exorcist like five times."
    "Five times?” Jason raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment. “She's a pretty tough chick, huh?"
    Ethan's chest puffed up with pride. “Yep. And she's not afraid of snakes, either. She caught one for me just the other day."
    At that, Jason looked genuinely impressed. “No kidding. Well, I'll keep that in mind.” His gaze met Sara's and she couldn't help but blush.
    "So do I have myself a date tonight or what?"
    Sara glanced first at Garrett and then Ethan. They were both nodding furiously. Grinning, she said, “It's a date."
    * * * *
    Mike stalked into the kitchen and pitched his keys and bag on the table. Why the hell couldn't he have kept on driving when he'd spotted that Sara's Bakery sign on Velp Avenue?
    He dropped down on the chair and took a sip of his coffee. He scowled at the cup. And she makes a great friggin’ cup of coffee, too. Why couldn't it have tasted like tar so he wouldn't have a bullshit reason to stop in again.
    Like tomorrow. Damn her.
    He wished he could reverse time and walk through the door of her bakery again. So he could do what he should've done in the first place—tell her to go straight to hell. Or take her straight to bed. Mike wasn't sure which he'd rather do.
    Okay, so he knew he wasn't completely over her, even after all these years. He could admit that to himself. It wasn't as if he'd ever give her the satisfaction of knowing it. But damn, he'd really thought if he came face-to-face with her again, whatever mysterious reason there was for this lingering attraction would disappear as soon as he laid eyes on her.
    He'd never been more wrong.
    She was as beautiful as she'd been at eighteen. And she certainly had more fire. Sara had been on the shy side as a teenager, but she'd obviously gotten over that. Standing there shooting flames at him from those gorgeous brown eyes, she'd been breathtaking.
    Mike couldn't remember the last time he'd been so turned on.
    Until she'd brought up his father.
    He set his coffee down and massaged his temples with both hands. Damn, why'd he come back here? He should've told them to pitch the old bastard in the city dump and donated the house to charity.
    But then he'd come face-to-face with Sara and knew exactly why he'd been drawn back home. Closure. He needed it like a death row inmate needs absolution. He'd been living in limbo for eight long years and the thought of finally having that closure was too great a temptation to resist.
    "He's the love of my life."
    With a frustrated sigh, Mike reached for the bag and pulled out the humongous chocolate muffin. Since it had been close to twenty-four hours since he'd eaten anything substantial, he polished it off in four bites. And damn if it wasn't as good as the coffee,