He smiled at her. “Thank you for the description.”
She forced a smile in return and lifted a trembling finger to his neck. He held still as she smeared the cologne down one side of his neck and then the other. She didn’t let her fingertip linger on his skin. Pulling her hand back, she avoided his gaze as she stood and hurried to the sink to wash her hand.
When she returned and found him staring up at her, she knew there was nothing for it. “I’m going to have to … sniff you now.”
His eyebrows went up as he gave her a slow grin. “Okay.”
Cosette took a steadying breath. She stayed standing but leaned down to his neck and inhaled deeply. She liked the freshness of the scent but wasn’t certain this washisscent. Even though he was obviously athletic, he was a military man clear through. She was saving that one for last.
She straightened quickly and said, “It’s good—fresh and clean. It would definitely work for you, but … let’s try again.”
“Not irresistible yet?” he asked, smirking.
“Not quite.” She smiled, hoping he didn’t see how he affected her. Taking the cotton swab with the hydrogen peroxide, she rubbed off the scent, then wiped him clean again. It was a beautiful torture to be this close to him. She wanted to sit on his lap, show him that she knew how to kiss and wasn’t a child. Her mouth turned down. She didn’t know how to kiss. Her experience was limited: she’d kissed Isaac as a teenager; a guy she’d dated briefly in college—she thought his name was Mace, maybe Jace; some man Mar had set her up with after college, Tom; and Vance, who’d told her only a few days ago that she was an abysmal failure at kissing.
Cosette pulled out a different vial and held it aloft. “Okay, this is my Businessman line. One of my top sellers for men, actually. Its base note is the tang of pineapple, with top notes of bergamot and blackcurrent. Powerful, simple, and tantalizing.” She tried to pump her eyebrows but was unnerved by his proximity, and she kept imagining him with his shirt off. Dang her overactive imagination.
He laughed. “You should do commercials.”
“Yeah, that would go over well.”
He cocked his head and said, “I think you’d be amazing on commercials.”
“No thanks, I’ll stick to my lab. Mar takes care of all the other junk I don’t want to deal with.”
“Mar’s your business partner?”
She nodded. “Best friend, business partner, marketing extraordinaire. She’s the best.”
“Is she okay without you?”
“I’m sure Mar doesn’t need anyone.” Mar didn’t have any family or any close friends besides Cosette. Men flocked to her door and she enjoyed dating, sometimes going on multiple dates per day. She loved Cosette and always claimed she needed Cosette’s brilliance, imagination, and positive attitude. Cosette was aware that if she hadn’t developed her scents, Mar wouldn’t have a product to sell, but sometimes she thought that Mar could sell dirt and people would line up to buy it.
“Are you okay without your work?”
She shrugged. Today had actually been fun. That seemed crazy, as they were hiding out from her psychotic ex, but being with Isaac was all she’d hoped for and more. “I’m fine.” She put some cologne on her finger and then gently ran it over each side of his neck, taking it slow and savoring the feel of his smooth skin and his pulse thrumming under her fingertip. Luke, Caleb, and Seth all wore beards, but Joshua and Isaac were usually clean shaven. She liked beards, but she liked feeling Isaac’s skin and seeing his handsome face even more.
Pulling back, she rushed to the sink to wash her hands again. When she turned, she saw Isaac standing and stretching. Her pulse raced and she stayed next to the sink.
He walked over to her and leaned in close. “How do I smell?”
Cosette shut her eyes and breathed him in. “Delectable,” she said, before she could stop herself. Her eyes flickered open.
Isaac was leaning closer to her. He slowly, tantalizingly brushed her hair over her shoulder, his fingers doing a number on her sensitive skin. He bent down and sniffed her neck, then slowly exhaled against her throat. “Delectable,” he murmured.
Cosette laughed uneasily to hide the thrill she felt as his warm breath rushed over her skin. “My Imaginative Woman line. A sweet and femininefragrance gives each woman a sunny outlook, with iris, jasmine, and orange blossom at its heart, juicy pear and blackcurrant at the top, and patchouli at the base. An unashamedly girlyperfumefor day or evening wear.”
Isaac chuckled. “Yes, you should definitely do commercials.”
She bowed slightly.
“I’m a fan,” he said, leaning closer still. “It mixesperfectlywith your body chemistry.”
Her stomach whooshed as if she were on a roller coaster. “Th-thank you,” she murmured.
Isaac watched her with eyes full of longing. Cosette had never felt so desirable, even with the man she’d thought was going to be her husband. She recognized now that Vance was all wrong, but she still shouldn’t be so taken with Isaac so quickly.
She pulled away and strode around him. “Yours is not quite there, though. Let’s try the one I think will be our winner.”