Distinguished Service & Every Move You Make (Uniformly Hot!) by Tori Carrington Page A

right. Everything okay?”
    “Yeah.” He sat back down next to her. “A friend of mine—Darius? I think you know him from the diner—asked me to take over a security detail for a visiting personality in Denver while I’m here.”
    “Anyone exciting?”
    He told her.
    She made a face. “I was hoping for Taylor Swift.”
    He chuckled and picked up his coffee cup only to find it empty. When had that happened? He glanced at his watch to find the hour later than he thought.
    “Wow.”
    “I know. I was just thinking the same thing.”
    “I never really understood the whole ‘time flies’ thing, but…well, I guess it’s true.” He put his cup back down. “Well, except for the past half hour or so. That part of the night I could have done without.”
    She laughed softly. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s something you need to think about maybe. I mean, if you are still holding even an ounce of love for Janine…well, you owe it to both of you to find out.”
    “And do what?”
    She shrugged slowly. “That’s for you two to decide.” She rubbed her belly, which was flat and unfairly showed no signs of the baby growing within her. “Then again, we all make mistakes. Maybe yours is fixable.”
    He squinted at her, wondering if she was trying to fix him and Janine back up.
    But that didn’t make any sense. Why would she try to do that?
    Either it was the most unselfish thing a woman had ever done…or the dumbest.
    He decided the first one was the case because if anything was clear, it was that Geneva was no dummy.
    “So, you’re saying I should give her another shot, then?” he asked quietly.
    She dropped her gaze and something flittered across her beautiful face.
    That’s what he was looking for. Disappointment.
    She didn’t want him to reconcile with Janine at all. Rather, she was trying to make sure it was not something he wanted.
    And he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he didn’t.
    As for what either of them did with that information from there…
    He firmly tugged his thoughts away from that particular trail.
    “I should be going,” he said, getting to his feet. “Dawn comes early and I’ve got to be awake to greet it.”
    “Me, too.”
    She walked with him toward the door. He turned to face her.
    Without her shoes, the top of her head came to his nose.
    Perfect.
    “So,” he asked. “What’s the next step in the dating game, other than that dance you told me about?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe you can stop by the diner tomorrow night, say around dinnertime, if you wanted to?”
    “It would have to be late. I probably won’t be getting back from Denver until after seven or so.”
    “Okay. I’ll hold some pie for you.”
    “Deal.”
    He knew he should be reaching for that door handle, letting himself out, but, dammit, he was having a hard time convincing his feet to move.
    “Thank you again,” he said. “You know, for tonight.”
    “You’re welcome again. And thank you.”
    They both laughed at the sweet ridiculousness of their exchange.
    He took a deep breath. “Okay, I guess this is the part where I leave.”
    “Yes, I guess it is.”
    His gaze fastened on her face. “Can I kiss you good-night?”
    She was clearly amused by his question. “Is that something friends do?”
    “It’s definitely something friends do. You know, on the cheek.”
    “Okay.”
    He took her hands in his, the subtle scent of her perfume surrounding him as he leaned in. But somewhere between his genuine intentions and the actual act, right when he might have brushed his lips against her cheek, he rerouted and hit her full-on on the mouth instead…

8
    W OW …
    Geneva didn’t quite know how to respond.
    She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t imagined this, what it might be like to experience Mace’s kiss. She’d dreamed about it last night. Thought about it all day. Then each time, she’d told herself to stop because there was no chance it was going to happen.
    Yet here he