Fan The Flames (Man Of The Month Book 3) by Michele Dunaway Page A

to help?”
    “Yes,” Colleen said.
    “While we work, you two can plan your date.”
    “It’s not a date,” Scarlett said. She met Brad’s intense gaze and swallowed. Hard.
    His full attention was focused on her and the prickle of awareness traveled her spine. “Really, you don’t need to do…” Brad began.
    “I think it’s a good idea,” her father chimed in, cutting off Brad’s protest. “Scarlett needs to get out of the house. You still have some gowns from the military balls. I saw them upstairs. It will do you good to get out on the town. Have some fun.”
    “I have fun,” Scarlett protested.
    “When?” Her mother accompanied that with an arch of an eyebrow. “Listen to your father. Brad, take Scarlett. She could help you out and she needs to be social. It’ll give you a chance to reconnect face-to-face. You haven’t seen each other in what? Two years?”
    Brad could tell when he was trapped. Yet, this wasn’t all bad. A good opportunity, in fact. A step in the right direction for honoring Todd’s last wishes. “I’d like it if you’d accompany me,” he said. “Would you join me at the Mayor’s Ball?”
    Scarlett also knew when she was beaten. Besides, she owed Brad something for letting her live here. He’d come up with a plan when she’d been looking at having to move back in with her parents. Surely she could help him out with this one thing.
    “I’ll treat you to a mani-pedi and a haircut,” her mother threw out.
    “Well, how can I refuse then?” Scarlett said. She shot Brad a slight smile, and was again disconcerted by the stark intensity she saw in his brown eyes. She found herself once again remembering their brief kiss and suddenly had the urge to scratch beneath the surface and see what made him tick, especially now that there was nothing to stop her. She lived in his house. They had to coexist. They’d reconnected on the phone. But for the tiniest second, she hesitated. Then she threw open Pandora’s box and said, “I’d be honored to join you.”
    His intensity never wavered—it was as if he could see through her, almost as if seeing something she couldn’t. “Great,” Brad replied. “Then we have a date.”
    A date. Now that she’d committed, those two words sent both a jolt of panic and a flutter of excitement through Scarlett. She’d started dating Todd in October of her freshman year. She’d missed the whole dating scene. Then again, date was a word loosely used. Brad needed someone to accompany him, that was all. A buffer to ward off the overzealous. The man hadn’t had a long-term relationship since he’d left for the Navy. Not that she kept track of his love life. While she’d known Brad since high school and hung out with him and Todd, he’d always been aloof. Distant. During their recent conversations, she still sensed he held something back.
    Her mother pulled the pork chops out from the broiler, and the microwave dinged that the potatoes were reheated. The scene held an undercurrent of promise, of simple pleasures brought by spending time with good friends and family. She found the glasses and began to pour everyone water. One great thing about moving home—St. Louis had some of the best-tasting tap water anywhere in the country. Perhaps the future wouldn’t be so bad, after all, if she gave it half a chance.
    *   *   *
    As they ate broiled pork chops, microwaved mashed potatoes and canned green beans, Brad couldn’t remember a better meal. Zoning meant his apartment kitchen was a sink, mini-fridge and a microwave. His bathroom was simply a toilet crammed into a tiny closet beneath the eaves. In fact, his above-the-garage abode was simply a one-room studio, the only one like it on this block.
    She’d agreed to accompany him to the dance. The thought thrilled. They’d attended dances together before, but she’d been with Todd and he’d had a date, usually some blonde or brunette. He never dated redheads. Ever.
    There was only one