At five-foot-six, she was at least three inches too short, a cup size too small in the curves department, and several lovers shy of the experience a man like him was no doubt used to.

None of that had stopped her from trying on six different outfits, doing her makeup three times, and trying her hair four different ways before settling for a sloppy topknot with tendrils framing her face that went well with the simple black dress she’d settled on. It left a good portion of her legs and back bare…all in the effort to look as sexy as she could for him. For this nondate. Sheesh.

She needed to get a life.

The problem was that she didn’t want a life…she wanted him. Every sexy, tantalizing, irresistible inch of his six-foot-three frame.

The buzzer went again and she jumped, grimacing. Showtime.

She rushed to release the entrance lock for downstairs. Ethan was knocking on her door less than a minute later.

She opened it, keeping the kittens back with one wary foot. “Hi.”

“Hi, Sunshine. Is there a reason you’re blocking the door?”

“The kittens.” She scooted back, keeping the cats away from the opening as she widened it to let him in. “Come on in and I’ll get my jacket.”

Ethan moved swiftly, grabbing Beethoven as the black-and-white kitten tried to make a break for the hall and shutting the door immediately upon stepping inside her apartment.

“Thanks. They want to go exploring, but with my luck they’d end up at the manager’s apartment. She’s allergic to feline fur and was very dubious about letting me get the cats.”

Ethan grinned. “I can imagine.” He whistled as he looked around. “Nice place. Exotic.”

That’s what she’d been going for. She’d decorated with Byzantine colors and rich textures like silks and velvets as well as faux fur throws on her sofa and chaise longue. It fit her, but usually surprised people that did not know her well. Even some who did.

Ethan didn’t look surprised, only intrigued.

“The cats like it, too…too much sometimes,” she said ruefully, looking at her gorgeous drapes, now shredded near the bottoms.

Ethan’s gaze followed hers and he laughed as he scratched Beethoven’s head before putting the kitten down. “There’s a spray you can get that keeps the cats off your furniture and the like.”

“Will it stop them shredding my curtains?”

“I don’t know. My sister swears by it, though, and she’s got four cats.”

“Four?” Beth asked faintly. Two were enough to wreak more havoc than a marauding army in her opinion.

“She’s got kids,” he said with a shrug, as if that explained it.

Beth hadn’t spent much time around children, but maybe it did. Maybe each child had insisted on having his or her own pet…or maybe his sister hadn’t wanted any of the kids to feel left out and gotten them each a kitten. Being an only child, those kind of family dynamics were a mystery to her. But she found them interesting. She’d always wondered what family life was like in a “normal” household.

She used to dream of finding out. She didn’t dream of that anymore. Mostly because she’d come to realize her dreams were more fairy tale than hopeful fantasy.

She grabbed her vintage velvet dress coat from the back of the chair where she’d left it in preparation. “I’m ready to go, if you are.”

“Dinner’s not for another hour.” He took the coat and laid it back over the chair.

Then he shrugged off his own leather jacket and put it on top of hers. And she let him. Without a protest. Weird. This man brought out more than one unexpected reaction in her. Even odder…she then just stood there staring at him and trying really hard to remember…this was not a real date.

But his dark sweater clung to his muscular chest in a mouthwatering way. He looked so hot…in every way.

He cocked his brow at her and her stomach dipped. “Um…if not dinner yet, then what?”

“I thought we could have a drink and talk a while before we go.” He looked around her living room again. “I want a chance to soak in who you are away from the office so I can relate to that person in front of Prescott.”

It sounded reasonable, but Ethan Crane was the last person she wanted to invite into her life on a more personal basis. Why hadn’t she given that thought more credence before agreeing to do this job? Probably because she hated making decisions based on weakness. And she definitely saw her feelings for Ethan as a major weakness.

She took a fortifying breath. “I keep the drinks in the kitchen. What will you have?”

“I’m partial to beer, but I don’t suppose you keep that on hand.” He managed to look sheepish and way too kissable all at the same time. “It’s the Texas boy in me.”

“Dark ale in a longneck bottle all right?”

His eyes narrowed. “Who do you keep that in the fridge for?”

“It’s football season,” she said with a shrug.

“So?”

“I like Sunday football, but don’t tell my mother. It’s not nearly as politically correct as baseball.”

“Who do you watch it with? Hyatt?”

There had been a time, but Alan wasn’t the football fan she was. He preferred participating in, not watching…any sport. She was sure Ethan would be the same way. “No. By myself.”

“So, you drink the beer?”

“And eat peanut butter-filled pretzels? Yes. It’s all part of the experience.”

“Maybe I’ll join you next Sunday.”

“You like to watch football?”

“Sunshine, I’m from Texas. Of course I like to watch football.”

“And drink beer.”

“I’m not sure about the peanut butter in the pretzels, though.”

“I suppose I could spring for a bag of regular ones…or some popcorn if you’d rather.” What was she saying? Was she inviting him to invade her football season ritual?

“I could bring my own.”

Somehow as they’d been talking, they had also been moving closer together and now their bodies were practically touching. She stared up into his face and forgot what she was about to say. How had he gotten so close? Had he been the one to move…or had she? Oh, gosh…she was not going to survive this assignment. She just knew she wasn’t.

“Ethan?” Her voice came out a breathy whisper.

Not good. She sounded like she was issuing invitations, and she wasn’t. Was she?

“Yes, baby?”

Oh, man. Warmth and moisture pooled between her legs. She needed to eradicate that particular word from his vocabulary, but she couldn’t even get enough breath to protest it.

“What’s happening?”

“Don’t you know?”

She thought she did, but she couldn’t believe it was happening between them. Sexual desire so strong it literally pulled their bodies closer. Or was it all coming from her? No. He didn’t touch her, but he watched her lips, his eyes filled with predatory green lights. It excited her until her body shook with it.

A plaintive little wail and soft fur rubbing against her ankle snapped her attention back to some semblance of reality. What in the world had she been doing? She’d come this close to kissing the man and more than likely the whole moving near one another thing had been her doing. Even if it hadn’t, it was sheer insanity to give in to her physical attraction for him at this stage.

Never mind letting someone else shred her heart for her, why not offer it on a silver platter and be done with it?

She jumped back and swooped down to pick up Mozart. “Are you hungry, sweetheart?”

The kitten meowed back and Ethan laughed. “I take it that was a yes.”

“I think so.” She smiled. “I’ll just get your beer and feed the kittens before we go. I can’t believe I almost forgot their dinner.”

She’d been ready to leave the condo without feeding them. Guilt swamped her. Some pet owner she was.

“I have a feeling they wouldn’t have let you forget.”

“Um…look around like you said you wanted to, and I’ll be right back.”

“Sure.”

She took her time feeding the cats and getting his beer, using the solitude to regain her equilibrium. That was the plan anyway; it wasn’t working too well. Knowing he was in her living room, looking around with an eye to try to get to know her, did things to her body and her heart she didn’t even want to think about.