Nothing In Common Read online

  "So anyway," she was saying, "I had just finished flushing the damn thing down the toilet when the phone rang. It was my roommate, asking about the fish!"

  "Weird." Tom drank in the way Lila’s smile curved her mouth.

  "Candace was weird," Lila agreed and then broke off. She had noticed him looking at her mouth. "What?"

  "Just thinking about how much I’d like to kiss you right now," Tom answered honestly.

  Lila flushed and then frowned. She pulled her glance from his and began intently studying the mug of tea in her hands. Her face told him he shouldn’t have blurted out his thoughts. It was a fault of his—that tendency to speak without thinking. He hadn’t thought her reaction would be so negative. She’d made it clear from the start she wasn’t impressed with lame conversation, but he wasn’t trying to come on to her…at least not in a sleazy way.

  "Lila, I’m sorry." He was apologizing for his bluntness, not his desire to kiss her. He couldn’t be sorry for that.

  "We were having a nice time." Her voice was quiet, and she still didn’t meet his eyes.

  "We still are." He felt stupider than the time he’d asked his prom date’s father to buy him a six-pack of beer. Of course he hadn’t known until later the guy going into the liquor store was his date’s dad, but he’d sure felt like an idiot anyway.

  "Look, Tom," Lila began, her tone of voice telling him she was going to try to let him down easy.

  He didn’t want to be let down easy. "Don’t say anything, Lila. I’m sorry. I wasn’t coming on to you."

  She laughed. "You mean telling someone you want to kiss them isn’t a come on?"

  "I was just being honest." She still wasn’t thawing. All the ground he’d gained since asking her for coffee was lost, just like that. "I thought women liked that."

  Her lovely dark eyebrows knitted together. "Some women."

  Beginning to be exasperated, he sat back in the chair. They’d spent three hours talking without him once suggesting they go to his place, buy condoms, or read to each other from his hardbound collection of Penthouse letters. He hadn’t even told her any off-color jokes! And one little comment had straightened her spine like a broomstick down the back of her shirt.

  "So you’re saying you like lies?"

  "I’m saying I don’t like to be manipulated." Her voice was flat, and she finally met his gaze fully. "I didn’t go to Rivka’s show to meet Mr. Right."

  The tea was churning a little in his stomach, but Tom ignored it. He usually didn’t let even the most foul-tempered people get him riled, but Lila Lazin was managing to push all his buttons. He ran his fingers through his hair, another bad habit to go along with his tendency to blurt out offensive statements.

  "Why did you come out with me then?"

  She licked her lips, the tiny pink tip of her tongue stroking the fullness of her mouth in a way that made him want to groan. Lila sighed.

  "I had nothing better to do."

  Tom shook his head, as if to better hear what she had just said. Not that he really wanted it repeated. He’d heard her pretty plainly the first time.

  "Nothing better to do?"

  Now she shrugged. "I don’t date men like you, Tom. I just don’t. I’m sorry. I thought I had made that clear."

  He couldn’t believe this. All right, so maybe he had been a little spoiled in the past by the women he’d taken out, all of whom had been clearly flattered and excited to date him. Maybe he had grown a little complacent in his appeal. But nothing better to do? She didn’t date "men like him?"

  "Now we’re back to that line." He spoke loudly, as much to watch her blush as anything. He didn’t care who turned their heads to look at them in the coffeehouse. He was used to being stared at. And after all, wasn’t that what she meant when she said "men like him?"

  "Tom!" Lila’s whisper was loud and harsh. "Please keep your voice down."

  "Sorry, Lila." He couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice. "I won’t waste any more of your time."

  He got up from the table, determined to walk out of the coffee house and call it a night. His gut still burned from her words and the bitter tea. "Sensitive," his mother had always called him. "Always taking things too personally."

  Well, how was he supposed to take things? He saw an interesting woman staring at him from across the room. He asked her to get some coffee. No pickup lines, no obvious sexual overtures, at least not intentional ones. And what had that gotten him? Insult after insult! So what if her sense of humor had been just weird enough to match his? So what if the sight of her lips made him think about kissing them? To hell with Lila Lazin. He swung open the door and stalked outside. It was three hours wasted, that’s all. There were plenty of women who’d love to go out with him. Plenty!

  But that’s the problem, Tom thought with a half-muttered grumble as the cold wind hit him full in the face. There were too many women who would love to go out with him, but until tonight, there’d been too few he’d wanted to take out.

  For a moment, thinking of her soft mouth and the way he knew she’d taste, he almost went back inside. Nothing better to do. Her words echoed in his mind, and he kept walking.

  "Tom, wait."

  He turned, scowling. Lila hadn’t taken the time to fully button her field coat or to pull on her gloves, and she shivered.

  "For what?"

  "Tom, I’m sorry."

  He snorted. "Sure, whatever. See you around."

  She followed him to the spot where he’d parked his truck, and stopped him from getting in by placing her fingers on his elbow. Even through the thick leather of his jacket, the touch of her fingers was like a tiny electrical shock against his flesh. He pulled away.

  "Tom, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just that we were having such a nice time, talking and all that. Then when you said that…"

  "What, Lila?" His anger began to cool. He turned, shielding her from the wind as best he could. "What was it that upset you? I didn’t mean it as a come on. I told you that. I was just being honest."

  "Were you?"

  That stung. "Of course. C’mon Lila, do I come off like that much of an ass?"

  She looked chagrined. "No, I guess not."

  The theatre door opened, and they both stepped aside to let a stream of late-night moviegoers shuffle out. The Allen was showing a wildly popular romantic tragedy. A chick flick. One young woman’s eyes were so swollen she could barely see, and she still sniffled loudly.

  "I meant it, Lila. I still do."

  She blinked slowly. She spoke, and her words nearly knocked him off his feet.

  "Okay," she said. "Then do it."

  * * *

  Lila couldn’t believe she’d said yes, and by the expression on his face, Tom couldn’t either. She wanted to laugh, but couldn’t manage more than a wobbly smile. Her heart pattered like a thousand tiny Irish step-dancers doing the hora. Her stomach twisted.

  Tom just stood there, staring at her. She was wavering between relief and disgruntlement when he stepped forward, grasped her upper arms, and brought his face close to hers. This is it. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes in anticipation until what seemed an eternity had passed without her feeling his lips against hers. She opened her eyes to see Tom staring at her, an odd smile twisting the mouth she’d expected to be soft and warm. She stepped back.

  "What’s wrong?" She was suddenly uncomfortable. It was one thing to make such an impulsive decision. It was quite another to have to wait so long to fulfill it.

  Tom laughed. "Lost my nerve. Not quite the Casanova you were expecting, huh?"

  The light shining from inside the coffeehouse painted the right side of his face in varying shades of amber and yellow. The wind had tousled his dark hair into an untidy nest and brought high color to his cheeks. If anything, the dishevelment made him even more appealing.

  Tom reached out and grabbed one of her hands, the warmth of his gloves welcome against her bare skin. "Can I try again?"

  She s