After the police finished with the crime scene--now that her daughter was the new owner--she would find out how to go about reopening the restaurant. Star's restaurant wasn't a big moneymaker, but once they got started up again, she should be able to draw the hostess salary she'd been making before. Then she could reconsider her commitment to ToughMan's Fitness Center. But the electric bill was due and she'd need money for textbooks and class tuition for the coming semester. Let alone groceries to buy and the new shoes her daughter needed. The bills were piling up and the income from the gym would help keep her head above water for a while.

"Would you like some coffee?" she asked, unable to step away from the heat of Parker's body or his intent gaze.

"I should go," he said, but he didn't make any move to do so. He didn't release her from his visual embrace either, and Maggie felt as if she were caught in some kind of erotic spell. She tilted her head, and her lips parted. When he lowered his head and his lips covered hers, she realized this is what she'd wantonly invited him to do. She couldn't seem to break the spell. Her body felt liquid and pliant. Kissing Carl, then kissing Parker had been like comparing a mosquito bite to a bee sting.

His arms tightened around her waist. It seemed natural to melt into his embrace, enjoy the hard planes and angles her softer body fitted into. On automatic pilot, her hands slid along his biceps and around his neck. She threaded her fingers through the back of his hair, sliding them downward, dipping into the top of his turtle neck shirt and touching the tip of the puffed skin she'd glimpsed only once. She was jolted from her sensual fog when he suddenly pushed her away.

Her lips felt swollen and trembled as she tried to speak. "What--"

"I should go." He'd said it before, but this time he walked toward the door. He turned when he got there, but avoided making eye contact. "I'll call you."

His statement was too vague to mean anything. He combed his fingers though his hair as if frustrated about something. Her, she guessed. Hadn't he already made it perfectly clear he didn't want a personal relationship with her? Then dammit he shouldn't be bringing gifts of trees, paying special attention to her daughter, and...and, standing too close. In the end, she decided the less said about the incident the better. "I'll get your jacket."

"Maggie, I--"

She thrust the jacket forward, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say. She thought she might be sick if he apologized for kissing her again. "If you come by the gym tomorrow night, I'll introduce you to some of the people who knew Starlene."

He shoved his arms into the sleeves of his jacket. "That's a good idea. Since the gym is across the parking lot from the restaurant, maybe someone will remember seeing something that night."

"Maybe," she said, thankful he'd apparently decided to forgo the apologies this time. There wouldn't be a next time. She just hoped she could hold to that promise.