Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) by Kristen Painter

kissing him was.
    Instead, I got up to clear the table. He grabbed my hand as I reached for his plate. “You’ve done enough work. Let them sit and I’ll take care of them. Later.”
    His voice was husky, and by the light in his eyes, I knew he was feeling the same thing I was. That old spark. Whatever chemistry we’d had in college hadn’t really petered out. Not enough to be forgotten, anyway.
    “I have dessert,” I said lamely. “Berry tart.”
    He stood and, still holding my hand, led me to the couch. “Sounds good. But maybe in a few.”
    He sat and patted the cushion beside him. “C’mon, relax for a minute. We can watch a little TV and just chill. I promise I’ll do the dishes in a bit. Only fair since you cooked.”
    That was sweet. And generous, since my cooking hadn’t been much more than heating stuff up. I sat and reached for the remote. I settled on a comedy skit show that might be worth a few laughs. That seemed safe.
    When I leaned back, he put his arm around me. “Thanks for dinner.”
    I glanced at him. His eyes were on the screen. “Thanks for helping me out with the truck this morning.”
    “Anytime, Jay. Anything for you.” He looked at me. “You know that.”
    My insides did a little flippy-gooey thing. Snowballs . This was not good and really good and I was in trouble. And I wasn’t sure I cared. I made one more attempt to change the mood we were entering, but all I could do was repeat what I’d said a minute ago. “I have dessert.”
    “You’re all the dessert I need.”
    Then he leaned in and kissed me, tasting of wine and the sweetness of the tomato sauce. Yes, there was a little garlic in there, but hey, we’d both eaten it. So whatever. It was kissing. And it was good kissing.
    Cooper’s mouth was soft and warm, and his heat spiraled through me in lazy swells that looped around my bones like a warm summer breeze. Kissing him made me happy. It reminded me of our time together and how amazing that had been.
    There was nothing like a first love. And Cooper was mine. Had been mine. I reluctantly but firmly broke off contact. “I don’t know if we should do this, Coop.”
    “Why?” His fingers tangled in the ends of my hair. “Because you like the vampire?”
    It wasn’t news that he knew about Greyson. “I do like him.”
    “Do you like me too?”
    “Yes. But it’s more complicated with us.”
    “Because of our past? If anything, that should make it easier. We know each other. Know how well we get along. How good we are together.”
    “When we were in college. We’re different people now.”
    He shrugged one shoulder. “Not that different. Sure, we’ve both matured. You’ve gotten more beautiful. More confident. And a hell of a lot sexier.”
    I blushed. How could I not? “I don’t exactly feel more confident right now.”
    He smiled. “I just…I just want to know you haven’t counted me out.”
    My heart melted a little. “I haven’t. But are you saying you don’t care that I’d be seeing you and Greyson?”
    “Do I care? Yes. But you’re allowed to like more than one guy. All that matters is which one of us you choose in the end.” His expression turned sly and cocky, very much the Cooper I knew from college. “Which I know will be me.”
    I shook my head. “I know one thing that hasn’t changed about you since college.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Your ego.”
    He laughed.
    I got up. “I’m getting us some dessert.” I headed back to the kitchen.
    He leaned back, crossing one long leg over the other so that his right ankle rested on his left knee. “If opening the box caused Spider to talk, then we need to find out what was in the box.”
    I nodded as I took the tart out of the fridge. “Already working on that. Birdie Caruthers is trying to get me a visit with Francine Gresham. That’s who owns the house. Or did, until it was sold.”
    He nodded, then paused. “How do you know Birdie? Wait, let me guess. Greyson.”
    I made a little