Merry and Bright Read online

  Ned.

  And in that flash, from a distance of twenty-five feet or more, Cami wondered how she could have ever mistaken the two men. Ned wasn’t as tall or built as Matt, instead a comfortable height for looking straight into his eyes, a nonthreatening bulk that brought to mind a scholar rather than a tough boxer or basketball player, as Matt’s physique did.

  And that wasn’t the only difference between them.

  There was the fact that the nice, kind, sweet Ned would never have taken advantage of a dark night and a mask, kissing a woman simply because the opportunity presented itself.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said, and moved into the room, eyeing Matt inquisitively. “Tarino.”

  “Kitridge.” Matt turned back to Cami. “Enjoy the ball.”

  Enjoy the ball? She’d enjoy kicking his butt, that’s what she’d enjoy, but before she could tell him, he was gone.

  When they were alone, Ned smiled curiously at her but, true to form, didn’t ask. There was no reason why that should annoy the hell out of her, but it did. Her dress was wrinkled across the front where she’d been mashed against Matt, her hair was half up and half down thanks to his busy fingers, her mouth was still wet from his.

  And Ned didn’t appear to think anything of it. Frustrated, she grabbed her mask from the window seat and went to move past him, noticing that his tux was wrinkled, too—sort of endearing, really—and that his shoes—

  Oh, my God.

  His shoes were still black leather, identical to the ones Matt had worn, and still identical to the ones in the bathroom stall from earlier. Lifting her gaze to Ned’s face, she was further disconcerted to find him blushing slightly. His usually perfectly groomed hair was standing up on end, and he still wasn’t meeting her eyes. “You’re late,” she said slowly. “But you’re never late. You’re wrinkled, but you’re never wrinkled. You’re blushing, your hair is a mess . . .” She stared into his guilty eyes. “It was you in the bathroom. You’ve been making out with someone else.”

  Ned shifted from one foot to the other, jamming his hands into his pockets. “Technically, it’s not someone else, if you and I have never made out.”

  “But . . .” No, she refused to ask why not her, why it was never her.

  “I’m so sorry.” His voice was rough with the apology she hadn’t gotten from Matt. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “Wait.” She couldn’t think. Funny how her brain could work on an entire city plan, formulating for population and roads and more, and yet now, here, she couldn’t process a thought. This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. He was the office geek. She was the prize here!

  “Cami, Jesus.” He squirmed. “I don’t know what to say. It’s just that you . . .” He lifted a shoulder. “You scare me.”

  “What?”

  “And Belinda—”

  “Belinda. Belinda Roberts?” The daughter of the ex-mayor and a city mail clerk? Who was still in college and giggled when a guy so much as looked at her?

  “She’s sweet and caring,” Ned said defensively.

  Which, apparently, Cami was not.

  “She makes me cookies,” he said. “Oatmeal raisin, because of my cholesterol.”

  Cami could have done that. Probably. If she’d even known he had cholesterol issues.

  And if she’d known how to work her oven.

  “She doesn’t argue or disagree with me at work,” Ned said. “Or make me feel as if my ideas are stupid.”

  “I don’t—” But she did. She couldn’t help it. Many of his ideas were stupid. And she had little to no tolerance for stupidity.

  “I’m really sorry,” he said again, softly, with surprising thoughtfulness. “I really didn’t intend for you to find out like this. I wanted to come here and talk to you like adults.”

  “Right,” she said. “Because adult is screwing the file clerk in the women’s bathroom.”

  “Again, very sorry.” He looked desperate for a change of subject. “I intended to tell you tonight, but then I found you in here with Matt. What did he want anyway?”

  “Uh . . .” Ms. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle. “Nothing.” If nothing meant the hottest, wildest kiss she’d ever experienced.

  “Okay, then. Well . . .” More shuffling, this time accompanied by a longing look at the door. “I hope this isn’t going to be awkward.”

  She just laughed.

  Ned’s flush lit up the dark. “You look really great tonight. Your dress—”

  “You can go now, Ned.”

  “Thank you.” In a cowardly blink he was gone.

  Men. Cami kicked a file cabinet closed as she left.

  It turned out Cami was grateful for the masked part of the ball after all—who’d have thought—because it allowed her to stay virtually “hidden” for the hour she forced herself to stay and smile and make nice. Trying to forget the kiss, she danced with Adam and Ed from her department, and she danced with eager-beaver Russ from the Permit Department, though surely her feet would never recover. She danced with a few others as well, mostly because it meant less talking.

  And then she made her escape, leaving the festivities that had been meant to boost everyone’s low morale. She drove home reliving the mortifying portion of the evening. In her quiet condo, she decided to grow from the experience. And then she buried herself in the work she’d brought home because, as it turned out, work was all she had.

  The next morning, she went into her office early, and to protect herself, she put a sign on her door that said STAY OUT OR DIE.

  But apparently the new mayor couldn’t read because half an hour later, Matt stuck his head in, wearing one of those wicked smiles that had always annoyed her in the past but that now inexplicably scraped at a spot low in her belly.

  “Hey,” he said. “Busy?”

  Just looking at him reminded her of last night. Of his bone-melting, heart-stopping kiss. Of how he’d held her as if he could do nothing else. How he’d gotten hard and rocked her hips to his. She’d dreamed about that part in particular, damn it, and remembering brought the heat to her face. She shouldn’t be picturing the mayor with a hard-on. She especially shouldn’t get hard nipples at picturing the mayor with a hard-on. “If I say yes, I’m busy, will you go far, far away?”

  His grin spread.

  Good God, could the guy be any more gorgeous? Or annoying? Or sexier? Now it wasn’t just her nipples going happy, but things were happening between her thighs, too. “Didn’t you read the sign?”

  “Yes.” He pulled a pen out of his pocket. Clicked it on. Eyed her with a mischievous lecherousness.

  “Don’t even think about it,” she warned, gritting her teeth when he underlined the STAY OUT part. Then shut the door—with him on the wrong side.

  He smiled.

  She did not. But she wanted to, damn him, so she got up, walked around her desk, and reopened the door, silently inviting him to leave.

  “Ah,” he said. “Someone forgot to eat her Wheaties this morning.”

  “And someone forgot he was an ass—”

  “Still mad, I see.” He nodded as if this was perfectly acceptable to him. “How long do you plan on pouting?”

  She gaped. “I am not pouting. I never pout.”

  “Then what’s this?” He rubbed his thumb over her lower lip, which was indeed thrust out petulantly.

  The touch electrified her, and she struggled with her reaction. If his expression went smug, she was going to have to kill him.

  But he didn’t look smug at all. He looked as shocked as she felt.

  In the startled silence, a woman walked by her office. Danielle was a city clerk but looked like a stripper, and when she saw Matt, she stopped and smiled. “Hey there, big guy. Nice dancing with you last night.” She made some promises with her bedroom eyes and body language before moving on.

  “Big guy?” Cami shook her head. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. Please just go away.”

  “Yeah.” He looked at her for a long moment. “But only b