Excerpt of Love Me Tender by Nancy Fraser

Aaron, in turn, picked up the remnants of their bagel feast and followed close on her heels. Too close. When Sydney turned from the sink, he was there. Face to face. Breath to breath.

He surprised her completely when he said, "You should wear your hair down more often."

"Excuse me?" she stammered, totally caught off guard by the very personal comment.

"It's," he began, only to pause long enough to close his fingertips around an errant strand. "It's absolutely gorgeous."

Sydney closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting Aaron's touch sink into her senses. The gentle tug of his fingers as he stroked the strand of hair made her scalp tingle. When she opened her eyes, their gazes met. Reaching up, she pulled her hair from his grasp. "Don't, please."

"I'm sorry, Sydney. I shouldn't have done that."


She wanted to tell him that she hadn't minded at all, that his touch was welcome. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to voice her forgiveness. Turning away, she said instead, "You'd better get going and take those notes and pictures to your friend."

Expecting that he'd do just that, she was surprised when she felt the weight of his hands against her shoulders. Slowly, he turned her back to face him.

"I don't want my faux pas to put an unnecessary wall between us."

"It hasn't," she told him honestly. Looking up to meet his relieved gaze, she admitted, "I'm just a bit self–conscious about my crazy hair."

"Crazy? How can you say that? It's beautiful. Like I said, you should wear it down more often."

"Right. A jury would take one look at this unruly gaggle of curls and wonder why I hadn't bothered to brush my hair before I came to court."

He laughed. "You'd certainly have them distracted."

"I prefer to win my cases on merit, not on distraction."

"Spoken like a true winner," he teased.

"And that's just the way I intend to stay."

Aaron slipped behind the wheel of his car and reached for the radio. He needed a diversion ... anything to take his mind off of Sydney Thomas, her flawless creamy complexion, and that mass of untamed yet absolutely fantastic auburn curls.

He pressed the third button from the left. Tuitti Fruiti, Little Richard's latest hit, came blaring through the speakers. He adjusted the volume upward and let the wild music assault his ears.

By the time the song ended, Aaron had made his way onto Lincoln Drive and turned toward his friend Darrin's apartment. His thoughts once again went to Sydney and how different, how absolutely beautiful she'd looked devoid of makeup and out of her usual tailored suits. He wondered if he'd embarrassed her when he'd stroked her hair. Or, had she been as attracted as he had. Fortunately, he'd been wise enough to not act on his next impulse. Somehow he didn't think she'd have appreciated his kissing her. No matter how much they both may have enjoyed it.