She sighed. “Agreed, but I still shouldn’t have kissed him just now.”

His eyebrows went up. “Why the hell not?”

“Because we’ve agreed to keep things strictly professional between us for now. As I’m sure you recall, last time I mixed business with pleasure, things went horribly awry.”

Gerry frowned. “Romain Bollinger was a worthless piece of scum. I thought you were over him.”

“Of course I am,” she insisted, horrified that anyone would think she was still pining for that horrible excuse for a man. “I’m just trying to be careful.”

“If that was a careful kiss, I would love to see what a dangerous one looks like,” he teased.

So would I, she thought, despite knowing better. So would I.

* * *

Between the kiss Jack had given her this afternoon and the one from Friday night, Mary knew he had made his intentions abundantly clear. If she couldn’t resist temptation, then she’d just have to make sure not to put herself in its path. She was not a young, naive girl anymore who would melt into a puddle at a few sexy words from a good-looking man. If anything, her experiences with love had hardened her to the point that sexy words were far more likely to put her on her guard.

And yet, all weekend—and then all day today during the shoot—she’d been replaying his sinfully sexy words: Next time you invite me in, I’m going to make love to you.

She didn’t think he had said it to shock her or even to turn her on.

He’d simply said what he was feeling…and what he clearly believed would happen the next time they were alone together in her house.

When she and Gerry finally wrapped the shoot, Howie and Larry got up out of their chairs and showered her with compliments. She tried to be gracious as she thanked them, but at the same time, she wondered where Jack was. Would they think it was strange if she asked about him?

Fortunately, before she could make a lovesick fool out of herself, Howie said, “Jack had to take care of some urgent business back at the garage.” He turned red as he realized what he’d just admitted to her about where they worked. “I mean, our office. But he said for you to call him if you need anything at all.”

Despite the fact that Mary had been reminding herself again and again all afternoon that she and Jack needed to keep their distance, disappointment came swift and strong.

“We’re going to help Gerry get his equipment loaded into his van,” Larry said. “Can we give you a lift anywhere after that?”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ve got some errands to run. I’ll see you both at the commercial shoot in a few days.”

After kissing Gerry goodbye on the cheek, she wound her scarf tightly around her neck and shoved on her hat. Yesterday she’d needed a brisk walk through the city to try to walk off her attraction to Jack. Today, she needed to try to burn through her irritation with herself…and to keep herself away from the phone so that she wouldn’t give in to the temptation to take him up on his offer to call if she needed anything.

Because, Lord help her, she needed him.

* * *

By the time Mary arrived home her feet were killing her, and all she wanted to do was collapse into a bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book.

So what if kissing Jack again sounded a thousand times better than the bath-wine-book combo? She’d just have to get over it.

It was incredibly comforting to come home to a house full of voices. She was going to miss the girls a great deal when they headed to their respective homes for the holidays.

The scent in the air was one that always reminded her of Italy at Christmas. “You bought a tree,” she exclaimed as she walked into the living room.

Yvette grinned down at her from her perch on top of the ladder. “Surprise!”

Janeen put on a Christmas record and pulled Mary into an impromptu jig that made her momentarily forget that she wished she were somewhere else, with someone else.

“We’ve got cookies and eggnog, too,” Susan said from the kitchen.

After Mary went into her room to put down her things and take off her heels, Susan handed her a glass so that they could toast each other. “To you, Mary, for taking all of us in and giving us a home away from home.”

Mary hadn’t spent Christmas with her family for the past thirteen years, but tonight she felt as if she was finally part of a family again. As they clinked their glasses together, she was afraid she would spoil the moment by crying, but then Yvette said, “We’re dying to find out how your shoot went today with the gorgeous Mr. Sullivan.”

“It went fine,” she said in her primmest voice.

“Ooh,” Janeen said, not fooled in the least, “you’re blushing.”

Mary lifted her free hand to her face and felt how hot it was. “We’re just business associates,” she protested.

“From the way the two of you look at each other,” Susan noted, “it sure seems like more than just business.”

Mary hadn’t realized they’d been that obvious when she’d invited him inside the other night. But she had just finished dancing with him in the rain, and it had been so wonderful, how could she not have stars in her eyes?

“He kissed me.”

Everyone’s eyes grew big—including Mary’s—at what she’d just admitted.

She was supposed to be setting a good example for the young models, which meant teaching them that it was a bad idea to get involved with a business associate. But her long walk home through the city hadn’t done a darn thing to push away the memory of how it had felt to have Jack’s hands in her hair, his hard heat against her, his delicious mouth pressing against hers.

“I’ll bet he’s a great kisser, isn’t he?” Yvette said with a dreamy look on her pretty face.

This was Mary’s chance to explain to them what a mistake the kisses she’d shared with Jack had been. Instead, she nodded and said, “The best.”

As a group, the girls spontaneously hugged her. “When are you going to see him again?”

“I’ll be shooting a TV commercial for his new invention in a few days. I’m sure he’ll be there.” She hoped her voice sounded more nonchalant than she felt. How on earth was she going to make it through a handful of days without seeing Jack? Especially when he was all she could think about…

“Or, you could call him now and invite him over tonight,” Janeen suggested. “We wouldn’t mind having a gorgeous man in our midst, would we, girls?”