Satin Pleasures by Karen Docter

Dan’s narrowed gaze. “Don’t do that,” he admonished. “You’ll give me a complex.” He reached into his pants pocket to pull something out. When his fist opened, paper fluttered like snow on her desk.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Giving back your check.”
    The personal check she’d left with his aunt last Friday was unrecognizable now. “That was meant to pay for the repairs you made on my car. I can’t let you do this.”
    “Why not? The cost of the parts was negligible, not worth a quarter of what that check was made out for.”
    “But, the labor—”
    He looked insulted. “I don’t expect payment for lending a hand to a friend!”
    Too used to carrying the heavy burdens of her world, she didn’t often receive help from someone else. Dan’s generosity to a relative stranger meant more to her than any prettily-wrapped present. “I don’t know what to say,” she whispered past the huge ball clogging her throat.
    His expression softened. “The response is ‘thanks’.”
    Standing, Tess walked around her desk, bent over and pressed a kiss to Dan’s cheek. “Thanks,” she said huskily.
    “You’re welcome,” he murmured, his gaze dark, unreadable. “Tess, I—”
    With an abrupt shake of his head, he flashed one of his melt-your-stockings kinds of grins. “My time’s up. I’m sneaking out before Dragon Lady comes in and mistakes me for a late-morning snack.” Rising, he moved toward the door and opened it. “I hope you’ve left time open for you today, for whatever Anthony’s planned for your birthday.”
    Tess had to clear the misunderstanding about her canary. Dan had been so nice to her, and she was treating him shabbily by letting the lie ride. Only a birdbrain would have taken this farce so far. “My parents are taking me to dinner. But, Anthony and I aren’t—”
    Emily peeked around Dan’s broad shoulder. “Tess, your next appointment is here.”
    The interruption made her frown. “I’ll be another minute, Emily.” She’d take twenty minutes if necessary.
    Dan shook his head as Emily left. “That’s all right, Tess. I’ll get out of your hair. Remember thirty’s a big one, though, and make some time to celebrate. Have fun!” With a wave, he was gone.
    The urge to go after him was strong. A celebration didn’t sound appealing without Dan, yet explanations about the mix-up with her canary needed to be made, and she still wasn’t convinced removing Anthony as a player was in her or Dan’s best interest. Did she want to take the next step in their relationship, change their status quo?
    It was selfish, but she was enjoying the simpler aspects of Dan’s friendship. Yes. He teased her mercilessly whenever he got the chance. His well-developed sense of humor was a large part of his appeal. So was the fact he carried no expectations of her, made no demands. She could relax her guard with him.
    Yet, the intense, hot emotions that often shone from his eyes when he looked at her hinted of so much more that she was missing. The day he kissed her on the bridge, she’d yearned for another, the fleeting caress awakening uncertainty, desire, and longing inside her. Making love with the oh-too-manly shopkeeper would be exciting and passionate, even fun. But she hadn’t risked opening her heart since her fiancé had brutally pointed out how little she had left to offer a man.
    The first thing to suffer from her eighty-hour-plus work week was her social life. The sad truth was her last real date took place years ago and her two best friends and confidants were canaries. All her spare energy belonged to her parents and the mountain of medical bills which grew larger with each of her father’s surgeries.
    “So, put the man out of your head,” she murmured.
    That sentiment lasted through two appointments and halfway through the lunch break, when Emily opened the door to her office with a sharp knock.
    Tess swallowed the pastry she’d filched from the break room. “Please,