Blazing Midsummer Nights (Harlequin Blaze) by Leslie Kelly Page A

out.
“I’d love to.”

5
     
M IMI HAD ALWAYS enjoyed the impromptu backyard cookouts with her neighbors, and this weekend’s was no exception. At first, she’d worried about Xander’s presence, considering she simply couldn’t decide how she felt about the man. In the end, though, she was glad he’d stayed. Very glad.
He was, in truth, incredibly charming. Friendly, funny, easy to talk to. By the end of the night, he’d made her completely forget she was mad at him for taunting her about the way they’d met, and about her relationship with Dimitri. She’d also forgotten she’d promised herself she wasn’t going to let herself enjoy being with him.
She couldn’t help enjoying his company; nobody could. He was just the kind of man everyone wanted to be around. He helped Obi-Wan with the grill, ran out for ice to fill the cooler for Anna, spent a half hour talking firefighter stuff with Will, who swore he intended to write a character just like Xander in one of his plays.
And he kept murmuring under-the-breath jests to Mimi. Mostly innocent, but occasionally he’d say something that reminded her of the way they’d met, and she’d laugh against her own better judgment, even while she quietly threatened him with bodily harm if he dared to tell anyone else what had happened Friday night.
There was more than flirtation, though. More than that bad-boy grin, or the knowing smirk. At one point, when she’d been busy helping Anna bring out side dishes and condiments, she realized Xander had gone back to the magnolia tree and finished what she’d started this afternoon. She’d found a half dozen magnolia blooms piled up on the table in front of her vacant chair. They were in full, creamy-colored bloom. Fragrant, soft, exquisite.
When she raised a curious brow, he shrugged. “I didn’t want you to risk any more raging dragonfly attacks,” he told her. “I might not be around to catch you next time.”
The gesture made her melt a little, deep inside. “I’m not the type of woman who waits around for a man to catch me.”
“That’s okay, I won’t make you wait.”
They stared at one another for a long moment, then she lifted the blooms in her arms, bringing the entire bunch to her face and inhaling deeply. Rubbing the petals against her face, she smiled in contentment as the lovely fragrance filled her nose.
Looking over the armful of flowers, she saw Xander was still watching her closely. He lifted a hand and rubbed his jaw, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. She saw his throat move as he swallowed hard and realized he was affected by her sensual delight in the flowers—their scent, their beauty, their softness. After a moment’s hesitation, she drew the bouquet close again, brushing the petals of one across her lips.
She heard his tiny, almost inaudible groan. He shifted a little closer and inhaled, as if wanting to share the moment, and the warmth of his tall, rock-hard body radiated toward her.
“I’d never even seen real magnolias before I moved to Georgia,” he murmured, reaching up and scraping the tip of his index finger against one big blossom.
“They’re my…”
“Favorite flower,” he concluded. “I know.”
Of course he did, she’d told him earlier. But she suspected that even if she hadn’t, he’d have realized it. He was intuitive; he noticed things.
She suddenly had the strangest thought—did Dimitri know her favorite flower?
All the things Xander had said about how little Dimitri knew her had stuck in her brain, gnawing at her.
Did Dimitri know how badly she sometimes just needed to let her hair down and laugh? Did he realize how much of her real self she subdued every day in order to fit in to the world she wasn’t even sure she liked? Did he know what she wanted, and how she wanted it…which sounded like an incredibly sexual question but could really be applied to every part of her life?
Did he even know her real name?
Honestly, in all the time they’d known each other,