She raised up on her tip-toes and pecked him lightly on the cheek. Whew. That wasn't so bad. Quick and painless. No reaction. No sense of attraction whatsoever. Like kissing her uncle. Almost. Except Uncle Henry had always smelled like tobacco and Sawyer, on the other hand, smelled of a unique combination of fresh soap, tropical sea air, and hot author. She needed to get out of there.

Sunny laughed. "It's okay. You're right, Emma. My name is unusual, but I like to think of it as... special also."Special?Sam cocked his head as he studied Sunny. Almost all of her hair had escaped out of her ponytail now. She wore a baggy pink sweatshirt and had on the kind of drawstring plaid pants that would've set Bozo the Clown's heart pitter-pattering with envy. Her yellow tennis shoes were covered with dog hair.Yeah, special was one word for her.

Wait a minute,” Sandra said, sounding skeptical. “You were really stuck?”Things were starting to get worse.Her mouth dropped open and she began to laugh—the kind of laugh that would have been music to his ears if she were laughing with him and not at him.Things were definitely worse.

I do think you should change in private. You don't see me ripping off my clothes in front of you, now do you?"He gave a deep fake sigh. "Sadly, no.

He cocked his head and sent her a dimpled smile. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"Where am I going? "I don't know. Probably the library.""On a Friday night?" He made a show of horror. "What the heck are you going to do there?""Oh, what most people do at their local library—three way orgy, summon up the dead, if there's time, jam up the copy machine with Canadian quarters. Same old same old.

Ah, like how Sharon Parker’s bra kind of found its way into your locker?” He leaned in, resting his elbows on the table. “Are you going to constantly bring these things up the entire time we’re dating?”“Sorry. Just using my prior knowledge to try and gauge what kind of fake boyfriend you’re going to make.” “Well, if your bitterness is any indication of the kind of fake girlfriend you’re going to be, I won’t hold my breath for you to fake put out.

Careful,” he chided with a grin. “First you talk marriage and now you're telling me what to eat. You're sounding more and more like a real girlfriend every day. Just remember, this is still our first date, so keep your hands to yourself tonight. I'm not one of those guys.

Jack had a way of sneaking up on her, like a cold or...a chin hair.

He couldn’t help it. The need to soothe and touch her was overwhelming. He lifted his hand to trace the delicate curve of her cheek. “You’re with me so you’re in the perfect place. And by the way, you’re beautiful—inside and out.” She gave him an uncertain smile. “You could have said that in front of my cousin, you know? It would have killed her.” “I’m saying it now.” “But nobody’s here to hear it,” she said with a nervous catch of laughter. “You’re here,” he said huskily.