Talking Dirty With the Player(15)

She huffed out a breath. “Remember that time you and Joe took all the chocolate chips out of that cookie? And then replaced them with cat food?”

Expecting some snark, he was caught momentarily off-guard. “Yeah? So what?”

“And then you gave it to me and I ate it?”

A memory spilled through him. He’d been at Joe’s, and Judith had gone off at them for eating all the cookies in the pantry. She’d been all of ten to their fifteen. So they’d gotten revenge. “You did eat it,” he said, remembering. “All of it.”

One corner of her mouth curled up in another smile. Man, he liked that smile of hers. A rare and beautiful thing.

He felt himself smiling, too. “And then you asked for another one.”

“I did.” Her fingers moved and the shutter clicked. “But I didn’t like it as much as the first one.”

“And ever since then you’ve had this really strange craving for cat food.”

Her smile deepened. “No, not cat food. Fish-flavored chocolate chip cookies.”

“Well, what do you know?” he couldn’t help commenting. “Judith Ashton can smile after all.”

Her head jerked up and an expression he couldn’t catch flashed briefly in her gaze. Then it was gone. She looked away again. “And you can be an actual person for a change.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She came over and to his surprise, sat on the couch beside him, and handed him the camera. “Here. Look.”

On the tiny screen he saw himself, sitting there with his hands loose and relaxed, an unguarded, boyish smile on his face. Not at all his usual look. The image made him feel uncomfortable and rather exposed. “Christ. I look old.” He tried to make it sound joking.

Judith took the camera back. “You are old.”

“Gee, thanks.” He turned to her. She was gazing down at the little screen, cycling through the images. Her lashes were very long, black and silky, her skin a creamy, delicate pink. The scent of her, sunshine and roses, wrapped itself around him. Such a feminine, sweet scent for such a sophisticated, controlled woman.

She hadn’t always been like that. Once she’d smiled and laughed with him. Given him all the attention and affection he’d craved so badly. All the things he’d never gotten from his father after his mother had died.

His heart ached at the memories, like the burn of overused muscles after a hard game.

Of course that had been before Joseph had warned him away. Before Caleb had made the decision that caring about another person was just too hard. Too painful.

“What?” She didn’t look up.

“I take it back. Your studio photos are pretty great.” Disquieted by memories, Caleb pushed himself up from the couch. “Send me the best of those images when you’re ready. I need to show them to the charity to see what they think.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “You don’t want to choose a few yourself?”

“No. I trust your judgment.”

“Well…uh…okay. Did you want that quote with the image?”

He waved a hand as he moved toward the doorway to the waiting room. “Yeah. That would be cool.”

“But what quote do you want?”

God, he didn’t care about the stupid quotes. He just wanted to get out. Get away from the sudden, aching regret that was choking him. “I don’t know. You find one you like.”

“Caleb, this has to come from you, not me.”

His chest felt tight and hollow. Like a drum. “Nah, I’m no good at that kind of thing. You pick one. I need it by tonight, okay?”

He didn’t wait for her response. The heat of her as she’d sat next to him and the scent of her body had caused the walls to close in, and he needed to get out of there quickly. Get away from her before he did something stupid like touch her again.

Judith Ashton was off limits. Seriously off limits. Because she didn’t want casual and casual was the only thing he could give her. Casual was the only thing he could give anyone.

Caring hurt. It always had.

…

Judith couldn’t stop looking at the image on her laptop. Caleb Steele sitting on the black velvet couch, hands loosely clasped. Smiling. And a smile that was far more charming, far more natural than anything she’d seen on his face before. A smile that was boyish and delighted all at once.

A smile that brought back way too many memories of the man she’d fallen for a long time ago.

A familiar, dangerous hunger began to gather inside her. She could still feel the touch of his fingers behind her ear when he’d pushed her hair back, could still feel the warmth that had shot through her. His mouth had been so close. Within kissing distance…