Yeah, it would be. And she hoped her mother would be proud. It’d only been two years since she’d passed away and it still hurt. She’d been the kindest woman in the world, and her spirit had never broken—except when it came to Chloe’s father. He’d crushed Mary Franklin in a way no one and nothing else could. She’d waited for him to return until her dying breath.

Chloe had met Gage right after her mother had passed, and he’d been the best distraction. But with the anniversary of the restaurant coming up and Gage in town, her mother’s presence and all the sadness and joy that came with it lingered in her mind. She tried to stay positive, but lately she was sure she was failing her mother’s memory. Failing her business. Failing to live up to the legacy her mother had left behind.

“Did the article come out yet?” Natalie asked.

The local newspaper had done an article featuring Honey’s and a retrospective on how her mother had turned her own home into the bar and grill twenty years ago. The journalist had promised the article would run this week, but still nothing.

“No. I’m keeping an eye out for it.”

Natalie nodded and hopped up on the counter, dangling her legs against the cabinets. “So…are you going to tell me about last night with hottie McSearchy?”

Chloe grabbed a potholder and hustled the sizzling pan to the sink. “It was fine.”

“Uh-huh. Is that why you look equal parts mad and happy?”

She sighed. “I got some of what I wanted.”

“Some? Tough cookie to swallow when your heart is set on the whole batch.” Natalie winked. “So he didn’t give up the man meat, huh?”

“Jesus,” Chloe said around a smile. “Did you seriously say ‘man meat’?”

“What? I’m just asking.”

“We messed around,” Chloe said. “But no main course.”

“Ah, rough.”

Tell me about it.

That ache to feel Gage’s skin against hers—to lock her legs around him as he buried himself inside her over and over—was becoming overwhelming. She was getting cranky waiting for him to give up on the romance thing and give in to the lust that’d gotten them this far.

“I mean, the other stuff is good and last night was great.” Her face warmed—one recollection of his tongue and feeling him deep in her throat was all it took to get her worked up. “I just want sex. Is that so wrong?”

“You’re preaching to the caterer,” Natalie said.

Chloe raised a brow. “Really?”

“What? It’s so hard to believe I want a fun sweaty night of…of…” She frowned at the ground, searching for the word.

“Passion?” Chloe offered.

Natalie snapped her finger, her big eyes wide. “Yes! Passion.”

Oh boy. Maybe Chloe should stop bitching, because the one thing she had with Gage was passion. So much it freaked her out.

“He wants romance. A date.” Chloe shuddered.

“But until he gets his romance, he’s not putting out?”

“Yep.” Chloe sighed. After last night, it was clear Gage would only give her as much as she gave him. The longer she was hell bent against romance, the longer she’d go without sex. Unless there was a way to break him.

“Well, while you’re busy not having sex, I’m going to my shop to not have sex either. Wanna do girls night later this week and we can drown our celibate sorrows in some Rocky Road while watching a Nick Sparks movie?”

“Sounds like a date,” Chloe said, which was the most hypocritical thing she could have said. There she stood, not having sex with a man she wanted to have sex with while the smell of burned food and irritation crept in around her.

She was not caving. Not developing feelings. Not giving in.

Nope…she was perfectly fine.

The pan hissed at her as if sensing her mood. So she scowled back and crossed her arms.

“Perfectly fine.”

Gage zipped his pack and glanced out the window of his temporary office—a rustic cabin in the forestry department. The team was waiting on him so they could continue their training. But all he could think about was the other night with Chloe.

She was going to send him to his grave with a permanent hard-on and enough cold showers under his belt to start a drought in North Carolina. She was smart and sexy, and out of all the women he’d met, she was the only one who challenged him on a level that made him stand up and take notice.

He knew what she was doing. She was stringing him along, hoping he’d give up and give in. Little did she know that the more they played this game, the more determined he was to win.

A little distance from her, however, had given him enough space to think. After all…what in the world would he do if she ever gave him what he wanted? He wanted to try the romance thing with her for at least a night to get an idea of what it’d be like.

And if she did agree to something where they expected more than hot sex whenever he happened to come through town? Then he just hoped she’d agree that a long-distance relationship was best. He couldn’t give up the independence that let him rescue anyone wherever duty called him. He had to be able to go wherever someone needed him.

The glimpse he’d gotten into her mind all the times he’d been here before left him wanting more. He wasn’t a fan of the no-sex thing, but one meal, one date to look at her and see her in a new way wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe then they’d both know if this was worth pursuing.

Yet she pushed back at every attempt he made.

She had said sweet things to him, though. Score one point for him.

The woman was irritating at worst and sexy as hell at best. And that was just scratching the surface. There was a lot more to Chloe Franklin. And that was what Gage was trying to get to.

He knew her mom had died a couple of years ago, and he knew that they’d been very close.

He replayed the first few times he’d been with Chloe. She’d clung to him, and there’d been a sadness in her. He’d felt it in her every touch, in every plea she gave him to be touched back. He’d only found out later that her mom had died so soon before Chloe had hooked up with him, and it had been then that he realized why she’d been so hungry to lose herself in his arms. Why she’d consumed him and begged to be consumed in return.

He’d tried asking her about it the next time he came into town, but she’d shut him up with a kiss on his mouth and a hand on his cock.

So he had come up with unique ways to get her to open up without her knowing. Asking basic, simple questions that gave insight to her deeper feelings. Like how she loved chocolate but only ate it when she was stressed or sad. She’d eaten a lot of chocolate after her mother had died. But still, she’d never opened up to him about it. Or about her life.

He’d had women open up to him from day one in a ploy to pin him down, but it was the one who wouldn’t let him in who’d hooked him from moment one.

And he was sure now that she liked him. And damn it, he liked her—she was perfect for him. Well. Almost. He had to break past her aversion to romance first.

But…what if he couldn’t?

He shook his head. No, he still had time. He could wear her down and show her having a relationship built around more than sex wasn’t so bad.

“You about ready?” East walked in, fully geared up, just like Gage was. Camo, painted face, pack strapped to his back, tools and weapons at the ready.

Enough about romance—Gage was looking forward to today. He’d rather be out in the field, but while waiting for the next mission, he’d busy himself taking a new Search & Rescue team through difficult drills. Come hell or high water, they’d be ready. And if they weren’t? He’d be there with them to pick up the slack.

First order of business: take the recruits through a mock rescue. The guys would go out, follow the clues East and Gage had set up, then finally find the mock victim. Gage and East were in camo in order to stay hidden while following and watching the team’s performance. The team in training was in bright orange so they’d be easy to spot while they completed the mock rescue.