Lovey was handing out party favors, pink bath bombs wrapped in cellophane and tied with shiny pink ribbons. The women were all standing now, chatting and milling about as they prepared to drag their men out of the kitchen and away from the food.
"Thank you so much, Lovey." Sidney gave her a big hug. "This was just wonderful."
"We all had to meet Aubree." Lovey grinned. "I couldn't wait to see that baby."
"I'll call you tomorrow," Sidney said to Katelyn. "I'm so glad we met."
"What's she calling you about tomorrow?" Tanner asked in a low voice behind her.
Katelyn turned to face him. "A job, apparently."
"That's good. Right?"
"More business is always a good thing. This being self-employed is a little scary."
"You're doing okay, though … right?" He eyed her.
"It takes a while to build a business. But I'm doing okay."
He was being nice to her. Apparently making an effort to be friends, as she'd requested. But Tanner using all his charm and those gorgeous blue eyes catching hers and holding her gaze was making her lower belly flutter and heat race over her skin.
Dammit.
"You look really pretty tonight," he murmured.
She glanced down at her gray sweater dress and big plaid scarf. "Really?"
"You always look pretty."
"No, Tanner. No, no, no."
"What?" His forehead creased.
"When I said we could be friends, I didn't mean for you to flirt with me."
"I'm not flirting."
"Oh." She shoved a hand into her hair at the back of her neck. "Okay, then."
"It's true."
"What?"
"You're pretty. No, that's not right. You're gorgeous."
Her heart went all soft and melty and she looked away. Okay, maybe she hadn't thought this through. Being friends with Tanner was just too dangerous. There was still a tug of attraction between them, something about him that made her skin tingle and her girl parts heat up. Maybe it was better to keep him at a distance, to maintain that animosity between them. "Okay, what I meant was for us to be, like, frenemies. We look like friends but we're really not."
"What the hell is a frenemy?"
"I just explained it."
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Make up your mind, Katie."
Her heart stuttered at the nickname.
A bunch of goodbyes were called from the foyer as people took their leave. Katelyn moved past Tanner into the empty kitchen to finish clearing up. Most of the food had now been consumed by the men, so there wasn't much to put away in Lovey's fridge. She'd already loaded up the dishwasher and she grabbed a sponge to wipe the counters.
"You just walked away from me."
She looked up at Tanner, who'd followed her.
"And what are you doing cleaning? Are you Cinderella?"
"I'm just helping out," she muttered. "Maybe you should go back to hating me."
"Maybe I should just do this." And he crowded her up against the counter, cupped her face with one big hand, and kissed her.
Oh my God.
Her heart stopped, then raced frantically. His mouth on hers was hot and demanding. Helpless to resist him, her hands found his waist and held on as she moaned. He went in with his tongue and she opened to him, kissing him back in a seductive sliding of lips and tongues. Her stomach did a flip of lust and her knees went weak.
Tanner. She knew him, she knew his kisses, she knew his mouth. He'd been the best kisser, sometimes soft and coaxing, sometimes fierce and urgent, always with the power to turn her on and make her wet.
His big, hot body pressing against hers had fire streaking through her veins. The taste of him inflamed her senses even more, and she dug her fingers into his muscles through the soft fabric of his shirt. His pelvis tipped and she felt his arousal too. Oh God. Memories flashed through her mind's eye, memories of sex with him, him inside her, his hands all over her, his mouth tasting her everywhere. A needy sound rose in her throat as he kissed her again and again.
A throat cleared behind him and they both froze.
"Fuck." Tanner leaned his forehead against hers briefly, then pushed away and turned.
Trembling, Katelyn saw Lovey standing there, staring at them.
"Sweet cheese-its," Lovey breathed.
Katelyn opened her mouth to drag air into her lungs, looking briefly at the ceiling. Great. Just fucking great.