The prompt for the day is address. See if you can find it.





The open cell phone in Will’s hand caught her attention. “What the closest pizza place?” He asked with one lifted brow.
 
“Delmonico’s.”

He repeated the word into the phone.

 “What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to order dinner. Pepperoni okay?”

Any idiot could recognize the man was ordering pizza, but she wasn’t sure how he managed to get into the house after she decided it was the last thing she needed tonight with the unpredictable Clint lurking around. “Yes. Pepperoni is my favorite. Banana peppers too.”

He ordered the pizza giving the right address without even asking her what it was. Will turned and winked at her.

“Thanks for letting me get dinner without some huge fuss about wanting to fix me some grand dinner since I rescued your car.”

As if, she wasn’t even sure what she had in the pantry beside rice cakes and peanut butter. Many nights it served as dinner. “Can you take a rain check?”

His eyes twinkled announcing his amusement. His head dipped and he kissed her hair. “I was teasing you,” he spoke into her hair, sending a tiny chill down her neck and across her shoulders.

“I knew that.”

“Uh, huh. Go get changed. We have thirty minutes before dinner. Enough time for you to start on laundry while I carve out a car sized shaped space in the garage.”

 The man went all alpha on her all of the sudden. It wasn’t totally off-putting, but surprising. Weren’t they at the stage where they tiptoed around one another? “Why would you do that?”

 His chin went down as his eyebrows went up. The look conveyed disbelief she’d question his actions.

 “Explain it to me. Obviously, I’m missing something.”

 His head shook slowly side-to-side as he held open his arms. “Come here”

 Tonya had no problem walking into his open arms and resting her cheek against his chest. His arms closed around her. It had definitely been a hug-worthy day. In fact, she might not ever leave his embrace.

 He spoke next to her ear the words too loud, taking her a second to decipher what each one was. “I’d do just about anything to spend time with you. Imagine you figured that out by now. As for the garage, I don’t want your stalker undoing my automotive work.”

 Stalker. The word had her stumbling back backwards breaking out of the embrace seconds before she never wanted to leave. “Stalker, how did you know?”

Today's prompt is arm. See if you can find it. Tonya and Will are on her front porch with Sebastian.



Sebastian carried the cookie almost a foot away, scarfing it down in three bites. His long tongue rolled out searching for any missed crumbs. Finding none, he eyed Will speculatively. The canine’s rigid walk highlighted his natural caution as he approached the still squatting man and sniffed his open hand. “Yeah, get a good sniff. I’ll be around a lot. Might as well get familiar with the scent.”

The keys she’d worked out of the lock dropped to the porch with a metallic clatter scaring the dog to hide behind Will. That might be progress of some sort. “That’s all I can take.” Will rocked to his feet, and shook out each leg.

The white bag remained on the cement near Will’s legs, but more importantly close to Sebastian. The dog moved almost silently toward the bag. It was as stealthy as her overfed pooch had ever been. Her expectation was for him to grab the bag and run similar to a cartoon character. Before he could enact his impulsive plan, Will picked up the bag without even a backward look.

“I’m holding onto the last dog treat since I’ll need it later.”

Need it later. Hmm, someone thought he was staying. “Thanks for following me home. You’ll probably want to get home and eat.”

His silence rattled her, causing her to ramble filling in the empty space between the two of them. “Yeah, I’m going have to do laundry.” No sign he took the hint. “I’ll have to clean out the garage to get the car into it tonight.” Nothing. “I know I should invite you for dinner, but…”

He placed two fingers on her lips stopping her babbling and effectively wiping her mind clean of any coherent thought. “Invite me in.”

His fingers still rested against her lips. Using her right arm, she pushed open the door behind her. His hand dropped as he walked past her into the house. Sebastian followed in a rush not even bothering to glance at her. Tonya scooped up her keys and followed. What just happened?

Today's prompt is great.



A glance in her rear view showed Will following at a safe distance. Didn’t she read something about you could judge a man by how he drove as an indication how he’d be in bed? Those who careened through the streets running red lights and rolling over curbs demonstrated a me-first attitude they brought to the bedroom. A considerate driver equated a thoughtful lover. Her seductive thoughts came to a screeching halt when she remembered the laundry and garage cleaning. What she needed was an assistant. Someone to keep her clothes ready, her house clean and her shopping done. A wife, that’s what she needed.

 The rest of the short drive home kept her busy trying to figure out polite ways to send Will home. Not that she wanted to, far from it. With the laundry, garage, and her need to keep the delicious lawyer out of the current cesspool that constituted her life, honesty had merit. “Natalie, as a car would you recommend me coming clean with the man with the wonderful hands?”

A laughter bubbled up at the realization she just asked her car for advice. The main issue with being secretive is you couldn’t tell anyone. The car made an ominous knocking sound and hesitated for a second. It almost stalled, but the engine caught again. Her laughter stilled. It sounded like her car answered with a resounding no. Of course, it did. “I thought honesty sucked too. Dinner might be a nice thank you, although he might be expecting something served a little more horizontal in nature.

The entrance to her neighborhood came up fast, forcing her to turn on her blinker. Almost home and no great excuses to hurry her sexy Good Samaritan on his way. All she really wanted to do was peel off her funeral dress, then she’d start on Will. The car made another ominous knocking sound. She wasn’t sure if Natalie commented on her plans or worse, Clint did something to her fuel. Didn’t people put sugar in the gas tank? Wasn’t sure what it did, but the result was the car didn’t work.

     No sign of her hot to trot neighbor. Great, if she had to push Will out of the house he would make it to his car. Her hand hesitated switching off Natalie. What if she didn’t start tomorrow? She’d get up extra early in case she needed a taxi.

Will somehow managed to be at her car door to hand her out. Impressive, she almost wished her neighbor observed. It would only make the woman more determined to sink her claws into the man. Tonya stared at his outstretched hand for a second. Oh yeah, there were actually men who assisted women from cars who weren’t carjackers. Get a grip, girl. Act like this is something you’re used to.

Her hand rested lightly in his as she stepped out of the car. A cacophony of barks greeted their arrival. Ah yes, Sebastian, her faithful hound and occasional relationship wrecker. Her teeth slammed down on her bottom lip causing a small pang of pain. No way would Will enter her house after his last canine encounter. That solved the problem of how to send him on his way, but she did want to send him on his way.

The smell of garlic drifted on breeze reminding her of the nearby pizzeria. Sharp nails on glass scratching indicated Sebastian destroyed her impromptu sheet curtain. Damn. Couldn’t just slap a blanket up over the front window without causing questions. Another reason Will needed to go. “I bet you’re not looking forward to seeing my dog.”

“You’d be wrong.’ He rattled a small sack. “I brought a secret weapon.”

The small white sack contained a weapon. “I’ll put him up so you won’t need a weapon.” Her back stiffened as she tried to tug her hand out of his grasp, but he held on.

“Stop it.” He angled his head until they were eye to eye. “Seriously, you’d think I’d hurt your dog.”

Well, not now, Tonya had to admit with him looking at her with a mixture of incredulity and horror. “Um, no, not you, of course.” His expression didn’t change.

“What’s in the bag?”

His face relaxed as he explained. “Last night, I went online to figure out why Sebastian took such a dislike to me.”

“I wondered that too.” The fact he went home and immediately search for ways to win over her dog impressed her. Most men would insist she’d get rid of the ankle biter or at least cage him. “I’ll need my hand back to open the door.”

       His face flushed as he dropped her hand and took a step back. What was with that? Men thought women’s actions were incomprehensible. Yeah, right. A wiggle with the house key loosen the door enough for Sebastian’s nose to work its way into the tiny sliver.

       “No, no.” She reached down to push her dog back inside.

        Will squatted and opened up the sack to shake out decorated dog treats. They looked like gourmet bakery cookies, but cost even more. Tonya priced them at the Pet Bakery at the Fashion Mall. She decided she didn’t love her dog that much or more appropriately she couldn’t afford the treats. With her luck, Sebastian might expect the luxury all the time. Might even go off his grocery store brand dog food in protest.

      He used the dog treat gesturing in the direction of the door. He squatted with the treat in hand. “Let him out. This is neutral territory. He considers the house as much as his as you do. I came into his house without even a proper introduction. My appearance brought out the guard dog in him.”

       Sebastian provided companionship on lonely nights, but it never occurred to her he might object to company. He could be jealous. Her fingers cautiously pushed the door open expecting the worse. In his current position, there was so many other places Sebastian could bite Will. Her puggle plunged out of the front door dancing on feet too small for his sturdy body. His dance abruptly halted when he spotted Will. His large protruding eyes focused on the treat in Will’s outstretched hand. He took one-step in Will’s direction before looking back at her. Was he asking permission?

Her two fingers exerted a moderate bit of pressure until the hood popped with a click. It didn’t fly open, but it did unlatch. So simple, even Clint could do it. Forget Peeping Tom, the man sabotaged her car. Now, she’d have to clean out her garage tonight.

“Now, you’ve learned something.” Will’s voice took on a suggestive turn as he spoke into her ear.

Yeah, she learned something, all right. Locking the car, blocking his calls still left her vulnerable. Her fingers remained under the hood rim as she angled her head to reply. The whisper soft kiss surprised her. Two teenage boys hooting nearby tainted the moment. “Work it.”

The catcall had Will backing away. “Sorry. Not the best place to kiss you. I couldn’t help myself.” His lips tilted up with his excuse.

 Stupid boys ruined the moment. Why did she care what they thought? Hands free of the hood, she stepped toward Will wrapping her arms around his neck. “There’s never a bad place.” She rocked forward on her toes to reach his lips, ignoring the loud remarks from across the parking lot.

 His lips followed hers with a sensual leisure that melted any remaining resistance. What was the reason they shouldn’t get involved. One of the teens, probably egged on by the other, yelled, “Get a room.”

 The thought had merit. Whoa, girl.

 She allowed her heels to drop breaking the kiss. His hot gaze threatened to set her ablaze. The expected kiss didn’t come. Instead, he stepped back, as a slow wicked smile grew.

 “Start your car. If it catches I’ll follow you home to make sure it’s okay.”

 Her eyes remained on his face until he winked. Oh yeah, follow me home.

Readers,
Tonya had car problems last week. She's depending on Lynne to drop her off at her car, but she has a big surprise waiting for her. The prompt is ring.

EXCERPT

“Hurry up. I have a book club meeting tonight. I need to get refreshments.”

Tonya stumbled into a table in the dim room before she found her purse. “I’m not sure why you have to be that way. If you don’t want to take me home just say so. Besides you have a chef for a husband, why do you worry about refreshments?”

Lynne clapped her hands together briskly. “Hurry.” They walked down the hallway noting the closed doors and the dark offices. Unlike Tonya, most people didn’t stay long hours. They put in their eight and headed out, possibly to job interviews.

“Why can’t Marc whip up something?” Her friend grimaced at her question.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what everyone thinks in my book club. I imagine some of them are even excited about coming to my house because of the superior refreshments.” Their heels clicked in tandem as they descended the stairs. They made the turn hitting the ghost of stale smoke.

“I wish Jon would smoke outside like the other smokers. He’s not fooling anyone. Oh, I imagine the snacks are the highlight of the book group considering the gloomy books you guys pick.”

A door slammed in the distance. The building turned creepy once everyone left. She knew since often she was one of the last to leave.

Lynne playfully hip checked her as they reached the ground floor. “Picky, picky. True. The book we were reading when you visited was on the dark side, but they all aren’t.”

“Tonight’s book. Is there a happy ending, a satisfied feeling that several hours haven’t been wasted throwing the reader into a deeper funk than when she started the novel.” Her friend didn’t speak immediately, which was answer enough.

“Well, the narrator is dying from some incurable disease and reflects back on her life with the highlight being the day she got to ring the church bell.”

They both opened the exterior doors at the same time stepping out into the daylight. Tucked away in the copier room, she forgot a few hours of daylight remained. Lucky her, she could use them to get her car hauled somewhere if Marc couldn’t get it started.

“Hmm, sounds like a feel good story. I appreciate Marc looking at my car too. It’s no wonder you have to make refreshments.” Her friend’s laughter puzzled her. They headed toward the blue sedan, one of the few cars left in the parking lot.

“Me bake? No way. I’m heading over to the gourmet bakery on the south side.”

An electronic chirp unlocked the car allowing them both to slide into the sun-warmed interior. A twist of the key brought the car to life complete with a jangly commercial and heat blasting out of the vents. Lynne adjusted the dials until the air conditioning kicked on. “It was cold this morning.”

It wasn’t, but Tonya didn’t feel like debating it. There was too much to do. Messing with a contrary vehicle had no place in her timetable. Laundry topped the list unless she wanted to reuse underwear. Nope, rather go commando than sink that low. If things went well, maybe she’d hear from Will. A text would be welcome considering her rotten day. Nothing where she’d have to look decent, especially since she was as far from that as possible. 

The drugstore came into view and Lynne clicked on her turn signal. Her undependable vehicle sat with hood up and the bottom half of a male body extruding from it. Something poked at the back of her mind. Not right, not right, the words kept lighting up in big red letters similar to the symbolism in subtitled movies. Having her car break down wasn’t right.
Her eyes focused on the tight ass and long legs attired in dress pants. Nice. She couldn’t say she spent much time ogling Lynne’s husband rear view, but she knew the superb butt wasn't Marc's. “Lynne. That isn’t your husband?”

“Oh, I didn’t mention that there’s some melt down at Marc’s restaurant?”

“No.” Her hand slid over her hair feeling the disarray of escaped tendrils. It probably resembled a bird’s nest. “Who’s under my hood?” The question sounded strangely provocative.

“Have a breath mint.” Her friend shoved an open roll at her. She chewed one vigorously well aware of the need. 

“Thanks.” She growled her appreciation aware disaster day had a few more jolts left. Will backed out from the hood and waved at them. His tie tucked into his shirt, his sleeves cuffed, and a few sizable grease spots decorated the front of his blue dress shirt. Damn, he looked good, even dirty.

Tonya’s hand depressed the door handle wondering how she could delay the encounter when Lynn spoke. “Get out there. He’s waiting on you and I have to get the bakery before it closes. I preordered napoleons and éclairs.”

“I’ll remember you forgot to tell me Will was my road service crew and  you bragged about the yummy desserts I won’t get.” She hoped her words might make Lynne feel a little guilt.

“I’ll save you an éclair.”

“You better or else,” she mock threatened, while smiling at Will heading her way.
Her friend drove off with a spritely beep and a wave for both of them. Coward. Although, it would be a hard drive to reach the bakery in time. A less caring friend would have had her take a taxi.

Will grinned at her, while offering her a greasy hand in greeting, then pulling it back. “I’m dirtier than I realized. I do have good news, though.”

“What’s that?” She rooted through her purse until she found the plastic wrapped tissues and handed them to Will.

He struggled to extract the tissues from their plastic sheath without success. Tonya grabbed the package back. “Here, let me do it.” Their fingers touched sending a hormonal alert through her body. Tiny little hormone suited up in yellow slickers and raced through her body screaming something about blast off. Okay, her fifth grader teacher was right about her overactive imagination. The chemistry was still there. Did he feel the same?

Today's prompt is stutter. The week before Sebastian had awaken Tonya with puppy kisses and she inadverently announced to the neighborhood her lack of a love life. It's still morning, let's join Tonya.





What else could happen? After filling Sebastian bowls, she turned the radio on. Strains of a soft rock ballad filled the kitchen. The tune had her waltzing around the kitchen imagining Will holding in his arms and singing softy in her ears. The man would be a wonderful dancer. Unlike so many men who refused to dance, he’d take every opportunity to dance with her.

Sure, she was making up her own little fantasy, but wasn’t why they were called fantasies. The song ended and a perky deejay came on. “Rise and shine, if you’re heading to work you’re already be late. It’s nine ‘o’clock.”

 The cold cola she’d just opened dropped out of her hand hitting her big toe. Cursing, she scooped up the rolling drink can. “God, what else?” Her hand slapped over her mouth before she could even finished the statement. Nothing else please. Sebastian licked up the sticky trail of soda left behind. “N, no, no, don’t do that. “ Her stuttered words on no impact on her pooch. “Go ahead; I don’t have time to clean.”

Breakfast forgotten, Tonya rushed through dressing. With any luck, she’d park in the rear lot, sneak in the backdoor and slip up to her office. No one would see her and if anyone did, she’d claim car trouble.

 Her usual work standby clothes were at the cleaners or dirty. Didn’t have the time or energy to create any new outfits from what was clean. Instead, she donned the black dress hanging in the back of her closet. It was her funeral, graduation, or other boring occasion that being a relative made it necessary to attend. The plain dress made her feel somewhat like a pilgrim. It’s only redeeming grace was that it would serve as a constant reminder to go by the dry cleaners for her regular clothes.

On her way through the kitchen, she grabbed a new cola and a granola bar for breakfast. Already late and no time left to fix her lunch either. She pushed another soda and granola bar into her oversized purse. Not very healthy or delicious for that matter, she included a bottle of water. Just call her Miss Nutrition.

 Dark clouds loomed overhead. Of course, it would rain, especially since she couldn’t remember the location of her umbrella. With any luck, she’d arrive before the storm if the person in front of her would try to drive at the posted speed. The urge to pass was strong. The shape and size of the sedan shouted undercover cop. It might not be, but no reason to press her luck.

 Tonya replayed the night before reliving each moment including the delicious dinner. Too bad, she acted like a pig and ate everything. It could have been lunch today if she’d showed some restraint. Easing up on the alcohol, might have helped her make a better impression too. Still, couldn’t help she had no real tolerance for alcohol. Will, strangely liked her, despite her offensive remarks. What did that say about the two of them?

 An odd smell crinkled her nose. What was it? The sedan in front of her turned, but the smell remained, which made her nervous. Any information she knew about cars came from a radio auto talk show that featured more jokes about the brothers’ lives than useful car tips. Could be the stale smell of dog? A couple of weeks ago, she hauled Sebastian to the dog wash. The place allowed ten minutes at the self-wash, which was never enough time to dry her pooch appropriately. Sure, she spent time, shampooing twice and conditioning.

 Didn’t have the damp wool smell of wet dog. It was more of a hot smell. Her eyes dropped to the thermostat whose needle hovered over the red. Damn it. Seriously. Tonya signaled and pulled over to the shoulder of the road.

 Smoke snaked out from under her hood. Never a good sign. Her auto expertise consisted of pulling over whenever anything appeared wrong. Her father had drilled that one bit after she continued to drive the family car without oil and it seized up. In her defense, how would she’d have known it was out of oil? Of course, her father pointed out the lights and warning sounds the car emitted. The ones she managed to overlook by turning up the radio. Car care was an area in which she didn’t excel. Why did the car pick today to die an inopportune death?

 

Hello friends,  
Our prompt today is ruthless. See if you can find it.



Wet, sloppy kisses on her face gradually awakened Tonya. Her lips tilted up while her eyelids remained closed feigning sleep. With Will’s looks, a person would think he’d be a better kisser. At least have more experience. Maybe that was the real reason Marc fixed him up. A small sigh escaped her. It would be a difficult job, but she’d tutor him.

A thought tickled at the back of her mind. Today was a work day, she remembered that much. Didn’t make sense for Will to stay over. Carried away with the heat of the moment plus too much alcohol, and the desire to block out the reality of Clint did not equal a connection. Talk about a cold splash of water. Her eyelids popped open just in time for her right eyeball to get a thorough swipe from Sebastian’s tongue.

 “Ugh!” Grabbing the sheet, she wiped at her face. “Sebastian, how many times have I told you that is not the appropriate way to wake me up.”

 The overlarge adoring eyes and wagging tail prevented her from being mad at a creature who could be ruthless in his affections. “Okay, I get it. You want to go out.”

 Her arm served as a restraint to keep her pup’s kisses at a distance as she slid out of bed. Her flannel nightgown made her grimace. “Good thing, Will didn’t stay considering my sexy nightgown choice.”

 Sebastian danced in front of her and gave a yip as if agreeing. She shook her head at the coffeemaker as she passed it to open the back door. Steam wafted off the carafe of hot water. Didn’t do a person much good to have an expensive automatic coffee maker, when she failed to add the coffee. “Well, now, I guess that’s a sign of how my day’s going to be.”

Her brows lowered at her words. Didn’t she know any better? Hadn’t she heard on one of those talk shows that you spoke your day into existence? Her hand reached up to push her hair out of her eyes. She expected the worst and inevitably got it. Today would be different. What could she speak into existence? There was the possibility of becoming a millionaire, but it bordered on the greedy side even if she could use the money.

 Besides when you spoke things into existence, weren’t they supposed to be something that could happen? Tonya bit her lip while wrestling with options. Sebastian trotted toward the door after initiating as many flowerpots as he could. Normally, she’d yell at him, but this year she never even planted anything. Just empty pots were targets of Sebastian’s urinary effort.

 Her initial wish was for Clint to find someone else to obsess over, but she abandoned it as being too cruel to some unknown woman. She swung the door open while announcing her wish. “For a change, I’d like to have mind-blowing sex.”

 Tina, her neighbor, looked up from watering her glorious cascade of blossoms. “You and me, both.” She saluted with her right hand as her left clutched a leopard skin spotted watering can.

 She heard her. Tonya almost slammed the door before Sebastian reached it. The dog aware of the vagaries of his owner made a dart for the opening. Canine inside, she leaned against the door. Well, that was rude of her. Should have said good morning. Still, it was hard to find a follow up statement, after she announced to the neighborhood the state of her love life.
 

Wouldn't it be great if all surprises were golden and bubbly as our picture prompt today. Let's find out what's in store for Tonya. She just bid the delightful Will good night. Now, I skip ahead to their goodnight phone call on the same night.




“Yeah, it’s me. Surprise.” That sounded stupid. Help would be nice here. Could she look up on her computer a script for phone conversations for a man you’d like even though it might not be the wisest choice? There probably wouldn’t be any scripts. If there were, it wouldn’t include the word, surprise.

“Actually, it is a surprise. Wasn’t sure you’d call me back. I think I did almost everything wrong. My inactivity on the dating scene shows.”

‘Seriously. What did you do wrong?”

“Everything.”

“I think that’s my response. Explain. I couldn’t see anything.”  A low laugh teased her ear.

“You’re too kind. I suspected Marc might attempt to fix me up. He’s been more worried about my love life than I am. Even though I knew what was going down I still lingered at work. Could have went home and changed clothes to be more approachable. “

“You looked great. The loosed tie, and all, had the sexy lawyer look going for you.”

 A relaxed chuckle greeted her comment. “That’s another thing. I talked about work. There’s no bigger career turn-off than a divorce lawyer.”

Mentally Tonya agree, but wasn’t about to admit it. “Hit man?”

“No, there’s that extreme bad boy angle that many women would consider hot.”

Damn it, the man was right. “Ah, but you’re not the bad guy. You usually represent women to help them get what they deserve.”

“True. Sometimes. More than they deserve, although, that isn’t the way most women see it. I represent the breakup, the heartache, the worse time in a person’s life. “

“Yeah, you’re a regular grim reaper of relationships.”

“Hey!”

“Oops, sorry.” Her eyes rolled upward at her verbal stumble. “I didn’t say you were. I was kinda following your imagery and providing some of my own.”

“Alright. I guess it’s easy to pull lawyer metaphors out of the air.”

Today's prompt is Gray. Will is inside the house and Sebastian is attacking his pants legs.

Her words had no effect on the dog who continued to growl and pull at Will’s pants legs.  “Stop it, now. Bad dog.”

Outside of prying his mouth open, she didn’t know how she’d calm her dog. He’d been difficult in the past with visitors, but never this bad.

“Do you think he knows I’m a lawyer?” Will asked, looking mildly amused.

Instead of outrage that her dog was destroying an expensive suit, he looked more entertained. Well, at least, Will had a better attitude than could be expected. How could she get Sebastian to stop? “Sebastian,” she tried to put enthusiasm in her voice that she wasn’t feeling. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

The dog halted his assault and looked up expectantly. She moved toward the kitchen keeping her eyes on her dog unsure if he’d turn and go back to biting Will’s trousers. As she passed the key rack, she picked up his distinctive gray leash. Sebastian’s hopeful mien transformed into dog euphoria as he pranced right up to her, waiting for her.

Feeling guilty for tricking her dog, she snapped on the lead, led him to the garage and pushed him in the darkness that smelled like gasoline and slightly soured milk. By the time, she’d let Sebastian back in her garbage would probably be scattered over the garage.

The miscreant taken care of she leaned against the door for a few seconds buying time. Unfortunately, Will followed her through the dark kitchen.

“Does your dog object to all your dates?” His warm voice sounded mellow, not the least bit upset that her dog had made him into a chew toy.  The shadows made it hard to read his expression.

“Well, uhm,” she stalled, caught on the word date. Goodness, a date, most men would have ended the evening once her dog sunk his teeth into their pants leg. “It’s hard to say. True, he’s not a fan of men, but he’s a rescue and a man could have abandoned him.

“Maybe.” Will readily agreed, as he drew closer. “I’ll tell you what I think.”

Tonya watched his approach aware she needed to discourage him. It mystified her that despite her inappropriate questions and a minor mauling by her dog he acted as if he were attracted to her.  Not an ogre, but she hadn’t tried too hard to play up her good features tonight. His arms were around her before she could think of a suitable answer.  Her arms wrapped around his neck with her fingers tangling into his hair.

His lips on hers made her forget her objections, although none was that strong. His body touching hers felt right. This is the way it should be. His scent tantalized hers as she inhaled. Cologne, something line with a citrus note, laundry starch, a slight tang of sweat, with an after note of warm male. If Will were wine, she’d buy a case; no make that very bottle ever made.  A slight buzzing existed at the edge of her awareness, but it didn’t seem to fit into the scenario. Peculiar.

Will’s lips left hers allowing her enough time to answer his unspoken request. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes rubbing her check against his beard stubble.

A familiar voice came from the living room. ‘Tonya, I don’t think your doorbell is working? I tried it, but no one answered the door.”

 Marc, of course, he was coming to give Will a ride back to his car. How could she forget that? The buzzing was her doorbell.

Will cursed softly into her hair before loosening his embrace. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is the end. I found the only genuine woman in the city. I’ll be damned if I’ll let you slip through my fingers.”

Before the holidays, Will drove a tipsy Tonya home. They're at her house and she's unsure if she should invite him in, Today's prompt is New Year. See if you can find it,


 



The familiar shape of her brick house came into view. Pointing to it with one hand, she directed Will into the right driveway. ‘Here it is. Home sweet home.”

Her hand was on the door handle ready to make a run for it and leave behind the embarrassment of the evening. Her eyes shot to her keys hanging out of the steering column. Well, she’d need those. They disappeared underneath masculine fingers as Will removed the keys and swung his car door open.

What could she do with the man? It would be rude to leave him outside just because there was no way she could add another layer of craziness to her already entangled life. Her car door swung open before she’d formulated a plan. A gentleman. How rare, maybe she should rethink the whole man is too much trouble.

Sebastian’s frenzied barking and the rippling of her window sheers indicated her canine was about to shred the curtains she’d paid too much for her. Ignoring Will’s proffered hand; she vaulted out of the car and scurried to the front door, only to remember she didn’t have the keys.

Will followed at a more leisurely pace unaware that the sheers she’d paid $80 for on clearance were meeting their demise under the anxious nails of her puggle. “It’s okay Sebastian,” she yelled into the crack where the door met the frame. “Mommy’s home.”

He probably thinks I am a nut case talking to my dog. He already thinks I have some drama going on at work. The handsome man hurrying toward her shouldn’t be so appealing to her, but he was.

“Here you go.” Will handed her the keys. “My New Year’s resolution involved not having beautiful women run from me.”

His words distracted and tantalized her. Beautiful, huh, just teasing trying to get a laugh out of her. She forced a chuckle while driving her house key into the lock. Sebastian wiggled through the partially open door to dance between the two of them. At least, she could always count on her pet’s greeting.

A growing puddle near her feet reminded her, the other thing she could always depend on. At least they were on the porch. “Do you want come in until Marc arrives?”

His lips lifted into a wide grin. “Sounds great. I could discover a little bit more about you.”

Her hand rested on a door knob while she fought an urge to pull it shut. A glimpse of her mail stacked on the foyer table along with abandoned shoes would be the first thing he’d see. Great, he’d discover her slob factor.

Holding onto the knob, she forced a smile while blocking his entry. Project sincerity. “Oh, there’s nothing unusual about me. I am boring. Go to church on Sunday. Feed the homeless every second Saturday. I collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald house. My life goal is to visit every one of the states in alphabetical order. I am up to Colorado. Had to skip Alaska since it was so far away.”

Will’s laughter bounced off the brick wall and concrete porch. A big, booming sound had an echoing quality. Probably thought she was pulling one over on him.

Her cheeks ached as she kept her fake smile in place. “I’m telling you the truth.” Pain colored her response, but she hoped Will hadn’t noticed.