His touch was tender, more so than when he’d brushed away her tears. The sting of the disinfectant drew a hiss from her lips, but the warm sensation of his fingers on her skin kept her focus. Gentle. Caring. Like she was breakable. Like she was important. And like no other man had ever made her feel. How had she notrealized that was missing in her other relationships until now? Not that she was in one with him. She couldn’t be. But oh, it was getting more tempting by the minute. Or should that be touch?
Suddenly he was gone, but before she could do anything beyond process his absence, he’d returned. He swept her up in his arms and carried her from the kitchen, muddling her mind further. On the plus side, she did get to experience the firmness of his broad shoulders under her hands. She was more than a little disappointed when the trip was over and he set her down on the couch.
“Stay put. I’ll clean up.”
Under most circumstances Evie hated to be ordered about. She was an independent, capable—mostly—woman. But she was still in a muddle over his touch, how he was treating her, and making her feel taken care of. Her confusion increased when he placed the broken pieces of the bowls carefully on the sink. She’d expected him to throw them out, but he’d been as careful with them as he had been with her. Why? They didn’t mean anything to him.
You’ll know the one because he’ll know what is important to you and it will be important to him.
Her grandmother had told her that on her sixteenth birthday. Told her not to rush into anything. She’d know when the time was right. Being an all-knowing teen, she’d smiled and filed those words away in a box which hadn’t been opened since. She’d tumble ‘in love’, oblivious to the intricacies of the full picture. Evie tended to see the hearts and flowers, not the thorns and storms, which probably contributed to her numerous failed relationships.
So why did she remember that now? It wasn’t like… Couldn’t be. Not with Brennan. They were too different. It was just that he was a good guy. Caring and…
She closed her eyes in an effort to block out the man. Not that it helped much. She could still feel the gentleness of his fingers against her feet, and how his arms had held her securely against his chest. Resting her head back against the couch, she took some deep breaths to calm her runaway emotions.
No. She would not get involved with her best friend’s brother. It would be a disaster waiting to happen, and then she’d have to start all over again somewhere else. She didn’t want that. She was building a life here. It was the only home she had now, since her parents had sold the one she’d grown up in and turned the world into their retirement home. Not that she minded. It had just been strange for a while, knowing it was no longer there. Then she’d fallen in love with the cabin the first time she’d seen it. Tumbled further when she’d stepped into the separate studio. Sure, it took some elbow grease to get it cleaned up and repaired before she could use it. But the potential had been there. After that, she’d taken great pleasure in decorating both the cabin and studio to her personal tastes, unconcerned with anyone else’s opinion.
This was her home. And she’d do what was necessary to stay. If that meant ignoring this rapidly growing attraction to a certain fireman, then so be it. She’d also ignore the whine of her heart at the thought.
Clearly, she needed to put as much space as possible between the two of them if she was going to survive the night with her heart intact. That and finding a way out of the bet she’d been insane to make with him over dinner. Or hope he’d win. Except that option wouldn’t get him out of her space. In fact, that would bring him very much into it. Either way, she’d dumped herself in a fire she had no way of escaping, because neither result would give her the space she was going to need if she was to avoid making any more insane offers—or fall deeper for the wrong man.
Or maybe the right one.
Ignoring the voice in her head that sounded remarkably like her grandmother, Evie rose from the couch and headed to the linen cupboard outside her bedroom. Thankfully, she had plenty of blankets since he’d need them to stay warm tonight.
Or you could keep each other warm in bed.
“Stay out of my head, Grandma,” Evie muttered as she pulled the blankets and a pillow from the top shelf.
“Everything okay?”
She jumped. “Dammit, don’t you ever make a noise?”
Brennan raised an eyebrow, and his lips twitched briefly. “I’ve been told I resemble an elephant at times. Does that count?”
“No. Here.” She shoved the pile of blankets at him. The pillow on top slipped and their fingers brushed as they both reached for it. Evie yanked her hand back from the sparks she swore should be visible. Brennan’s quick thinking was the only thing that saved the pile from tumbling to the ground. “Those should keep you warm, along with the fire. Goodnight.” She spun around and stepped into her bedroom. Technically, it was around the corner of the bookcases she’d used to break up the space. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
“Goodnight, Evie.”
She might not have witnessed the grin on his face, but she had no doubt it was there. It was clear in his voice, and her mind was more than capable of picturing it, complete with the dimple on the right side and the mischievous twinkle in his green eyes.
CHAPTER 5
As Brennan madeup the couch, he went over their interactions tonight. Had the attraction been one-sided? On one hand, he was sure they’d shared more than one moment through the evening, particularly in the kitchen when she hadn’t shut him down or dismissed his concerns and actually told him why she was upset. That meant more to him than anything. Even more than the sizzling attraction that had been sparking between them before he’d backed off and attempted neutrality while patching her up.
When he’d finished cleaning the kitchen, and left the salvageable chunks of the bowls in a container in case Evie wanted to try to put them back together, he’d gone to check on her. But she hadn’t been where he’d left her. He’d heard the squeak of cupboard doors and followed the sound.
He hadn’t caught what she was muttering, but the flush on her cheeks when she’d turned to him suggested he was affecting her as much as she was him. Which, in his eyes, had been a positive, putting them on equal footing in one respect.
When she’d handed him the blankets and their fingers brushed, she’d snatched her hand back from the spark between them. Her cheeks and the flare of attraction in her eyes werefurther proof he wasn’t the only one aware of what was dancing between them.
Maybe he was just seeing what he wanted. Especially given his suspicions concerning his interactions with Lacey and Rowan this evening.
With the couch made up into what he hoped was a reasonably comfortable, if somewhat short, sleeping area, Brennan made a quick trip to the bathroom. After a double-check of the fire, he stripped down to his boxers and settled under the blankets.
Staring at the roof, he continued his assessment of the evening. No, he was sure he hadn’t misread things. He might not have dated a lot lately, but he knew body language well enough. When people were scared, they couldn’t always tell you what was wrong and could be unpredictable. Which was why he’d researched body language to help with his job. It was a bonus if it helped him with Evie too.
There were plenty of signs she was interested, at least physically. The question was, did she want more?
