“Oh, boy . . .”

After a night of having fun, tension slowly started to creep up her neck. The martini buzz had faded, leaving behind a slight headache. . . . Oh, right; she hadn’t eaten, and Reid had forgotten to give her one of the sandwiches. With a groan, Addison headed for the galley kitchen right off the main room, separated by a breakfast bar with three stools in front. She vaguely registered that the condo was nice enough with an open floor plan. But her good mood was busted.

Addison did manage a smile when she spotted a hot pink sticky note stuck to the refrigerator door: I put some random things in the fridge, but come up and have breakfast before Cam has to get on the road. Love ya, Mia.

With hope in her heart for something substantial to eat, she opened the fridge and spotted bottled water, a bottle of Chardonnay, three different kinds of beer, a couple of apples, Diet Coke, sliced veggies and a little jar of ranch dip. Bummer. On the counter sat a box of Wheat Thins and a bag of honey mustard pretzels. Nice, but not what she wanted. She wanted the damn sandwich.

Well, what she really wanted was another kiss from Reid. Addison groaned. “That’s not true. I’ll just order a pizza, I guess,” she grumbled, but then thought that a salad would be healthier. But then she fisted her hands on her hips. So what? She thought about all of the times when she ate salad instead of what she really craved. She was a pleaser and pleased everyone but herself. The closest she’d come to defiance was refusing to do the reality show with Garret, and look where that got her. Dumped.

Addison lifted her chin. Well, that was about to change. The next thing that came down the pike that she wanted . . . she was going to grab it with both fists and . . . well, she wasn’t quite sure, but it was a start. A new beginning. She smiled. From this moment she was going to live life to the fullest. “Perfect name for the boutique.”

Addison grabbed a bottle of water and decided to head to her bedroom and change into some sweats. After taking a gulp of cold water, she walked down the hallway, pausing to check out the half bath before walking into the bedroom. Cream-colored walls, a queen-sized bed and a flat-screen television. Again, nice enough, and she smiled when she spotted her suitcases perched in the corner like little soldiers. She toed off her shoes and was about to open the big, bulging suitcases when she thought she heard the doorbell ringing. She took another swig of water and headed that way, thinking it must be Mia bringing Cam down to meet her after all. “Here’s hoping she also brought dinner. . . .”

Addison swung the door open and there stood Reid, holding up the bag of sandwiches. Well, she’d been right about the dinner part. She blinked at him in surprise and squeezed the plastic bottle so hard she put a dent in it.

“I was ten minutes down the road when I remembered your sandwich. I thought you might want it.”

“Th-thank you.”

The next thing that came down the pike that she wanted she was going grab it with both fists. . . .

Addison reached out and took the bag from him. He turned to go. No . . . “Reid?” When he turned around she held up the bag. “Aren’t you going to join me?”

“Oh yeah, if you want me to.”

“I just asked.”

Reid grinned. “Okay, then. I’ll take that as a yes.”

After he walked in Addison put the bag and her dented water bottle on the table and turned back to face him. She looked at him for a moment, gathering her courage.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded and took a step closer to him. Since she’d taken off her shoes he stood several inches taller than her, making her plan a little bit harder to pull off. She swallowed; took a deep breath. Her pulse pounded.

She couldn’t do it.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Do you have a beer?”

“Three bottles of random brews. I don’t remember, except one is Blue Moon.”

“I’ll take either of the other two.”

Addison nodded but stood rooted to the spot, trying to gather her nerve, but after a moment she turned toward the kitchen. She took one more step but then did a 180, and, ignoring her knocking knees, which made her walk a bit funny, she quickly closed the gap between them. Coming up on tiptoes, she grabbed the front of his shirt, fisted her hands in the material, and tugged, well, a little too hard.

A button or two went flying and, caught off guard, wide-eyed Reid tumbled forward. With a surprised grunt Reid smacked into Addison with enough force to send her off balance in a backward little tiptoed trot. Because her knees were basically Jell-O she stumbled, trying, without any luck, to stop, and instead gained momentum while taking Reid right along with her. They did an interesting kind of backward tango. Reid, apparently trying to help the situation, or perhaps trying to fling her off, swerved sideways, swinging them away from the glass-topped coffee table. Addison hit the arm of the sofa and fell backward, tugging Reid with her. She landed on the cushions with a little bounce, her hands still fisted in his shirt.

She looked into his surprised face, mere inches from hers. His mouth was within reaching distance if she just raised her head. “S-sorry.”

“What were you trying to do?”

“Um . . .” Okay, she was invested, so she decided to see this thing through. “This . . .” She raised her head, pressed her mouth to his, and kissed him. He braced his hands against the wide leather cushions of the sectional sofa and quickly got with the program, kissing her back with sweet, sizzling passion. Addison loved the sensation of having the entire length of his hard body pressed to hers, and she wrapped her arms around him, feeling the ripple of muscle in his back. She moved one hand up into his hair, threading her fingers through the softness at the nape of his neck. Taking the lead, she retreated, licked, nibbled until he made a noise in his throat and pushed her back into the cushions, kissing her with a deep hunger that had her wanting more and more.

Finally, Reid rolled her to the side, pinning her between the sofa and his body. He came up on one elbow, resting his head in his hand. “Did you get what you wanted?” With raised eyebrows, he traced his fingertip over her moist bottom lip.

“Yeah . . .”

“Next time?”

All she could do was nod.

“All you have to do is ask.”

Addison swallowed when he traced the fingertip from her bottom lip over her chin and oh so slowly down her neck, and stopped just when he reached the swell of her breasts. “Kiss me.” Her throaty response wasn’t a question but a demand.

Reid readily complied, lowering his head and capturing her mouth and kissing her slowly, thoroughly. Addison splayed one hand on his nearly exposed chest, feeling his warm skin, silky chest hair, and his deliciously defined ab muscles. She explored each intriguing contour until she came to his belt buckle blocking where she wanted to go. She teased back and forth, dipping below the leather, smiling when she felt his muscles clench in response.

Addison had never really taken the initiative during sex, but she felt a sense of feminine power, taking the lead.

He moaned and shifted and the big bulge beneath the worn denim told Addison that this was quickly going way beyond a stolen kiss. She knew it was time to stop, but when Reid slid his hand beneath her sweater, touching her bare skin, arousal trumped reason. His thumb rubbed back and forth just beneath her bra, causing a hot tingle that turned into a sweet, deep, aching need that only he could soothe.

God, she wanted his mouth on her breasts, his hands between her thighs. She arched her back, offering him more. She gasped when his hot mouth found her neck, kissing, nuzzling, while his callused thumb moved back and forth, upward over the silk and lace, teasing, promising. . . .

“Addison?” The whiskey-rough sound of her name on his lips washed over her like a caress, a question, and a plea at the same time.

Addison tried to think, to grasp on to reason. Reid was little more than a stranger, a possible client. She simply didn’t do this sort of thing, but spontaneity was beginning to have its perks.

“Reid . . .” Her husky voice was an invitation, and he accepted with the deft unclasping of her bra. The rest of her sentence dissolved into a moan when he cupped one breast, rubbing his thumb over her eager nipple. Any remaining shreds of resistance were smothered by a bone-melting, mind-blowing kiss.

Strong, sure fingers unsnapped her jeans and slid the zipper down. He parted the denim and slipped his hand inside the gap, toying with the lace of her thong. Her belly quivered and she arched her hips, urging him to pull her pants downward. Still kissing her, he started to tug.

And then he stopped.

It took a moment for Addison’s sex-addled brain to register that Reid had gone very still. He removed his hand from her pants and the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing. Addison frowned and in a panic wondered what she’d done to turn him off like a faucet. Wait. . . . Oh God . . . Okay, no, she’d had a bikini wax.

“R-Reid?”

She heard his audible swallow. “Hey, I’m sorry. I let things get, um, out of control.”

Really? Because she’d been the one who had almost ripped his shirt off and then kissed him. Her heart started to thump. She didn’t like where this was going.

“It was wrong of me to take advantage of you.”

“Advantage of me?”

Reid ran a hand down his face. “Yeah. Look, when my sister broke up with her boyfriend, not the guy she’s marrying, but another guy she was serious with . . . she . . .”