“May I get you a glass of water so you can take that pill?”
“You may.” She dipped her chin in a queenly fashion and thought she saw his lips twitch right along with a muscle in his jaw.
“Wait!” she grabbed his wrist when he turned toward her kitchen. “Take my phone with you and plug it in, will you?” She handed him the device. “There’s a charger in the kitchen.”
“Your wish is my command.” He dropped a stately bow. Five seconds later, she heard him opening her cupboards.
Traditional Florida Keys conch houses were small, usually consisting of little more than a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. But the lack of living area was overcome by the abundance of outdoor space. Chrissy’s house had a wide front porch big enough for a swing, two rocking chairs, and a bistro table. And her back patio boasted a plunge pool, an outdoor shower, and plenty of seating, lounging, and dining options.
People in the Keys tended to spend most of their time outside. And why not? The weather was gorgeous. Even on a hot day, it was nice in the shade, especially if there was a bit of an ocean breeze blowing by.
“Glasses are in the cupboard to the right of the sink!” she hollered. “Oh! And there’s a bag of rice in the little pantry beside the fridge. Would you mind shoving my phone inside it once you’ve plugged it in?”
He didn’t answer. But she could hear him getting ice and water out of the refrigerator. She recognized the squeak of the pantry door when he opened it.
Not long after, he reappeared with a glass in hand. “Your beverage, my lady.” He’d donned a haughty English accent that bore a hint of an Oklahoma twang.
He really was charming.
The jerk.
She thanked him before tossing back the pain pill.
This time when he resumed his seat it wasn’t only his thigh touching hers. It was his entire side, thigh, hip, and shoulder. “Back to fallin’ in love versus bein’ in love,” he said.
“There’s a whole other end to this couch,” she complained.
He glanced at the wide stretch of unused sofa cushions. “So there is.” He didn’t take her hint. In fact, just the opposite. He placed his arm behind her, his fingers gently twisting in the ends of her ponytail. “So you don’t like the idea of fallin’ in love because you don’t like the idea of bein’ out of control, is that it?”
“No.” She shook her head. The fine baby hairs on the back of her neck stood up the second he touched her.
After That Night, she’d gotten good at tuning out their shared chemistry, but right then? She wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion, the pain, the meds, or a combination of all three, butsomethinghad changed. She was more aware of him than ever.
“It goes back to falling in love making you do stupid shit.” She hoped he couldn’t hear the sudden scratchiness in her throat. “When you’re falling in love, you’re so infatuated, you’re blind. That rush of emotions knocks you off your feet and keeps you there. But eventually those heady feelings fade. And for so many people, they discover they’ve made a mistake. Either the person they fell in love with isn’t who they thought they were, or there are insurmountable incompatibilities that doom their relationship long term.”
“Okay.” He nodded, but she could see by his expression he wasn’t completely buying what she was selling. “So how do you square that with wantin’ to settle down and build a life? With wantin’ a father for your four kids?”
“That’s easy.” She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. “Follow my head instead of my heart. Find a good guy, a solid guy, and make him part of my life. And if heisa good and solid guy, then love will grow. I’ll wake up one day andbein love with him withoutfallingin love with him.” When he was quiet after this pronouncement, she ended with a flourish, “Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.”
He watched his fingers play with her ponytail for a long while. Then he returned his gaze to her face. “And do you considermea good guy?”
Her heart stopped beating. Her lungs stopped breathing. In fact, it felt as if the blood stopped rushing through her veins.
Why was he asking? Did he…could he…was he talking about a future together? Had the thought actually crossed his mind?
She knew he wanted in her pants. He’d made that abundantly clear. And for a while, she’d considered the possibility that something more might be in the cards for them.
But then That Night happened and she’d seen his true colors. Not since then had she entertained the idea that Wolf was the kind of man who was built to go the distance.
“You’re aniceguy,” she told him, forcing breath back into her lungs, hoping it would jumpstart her heart. “There’s a difference.”
“There is?”
Before she could answer, the sound of footsteps on the boards of her front porch proceeded a hard knock on her door. “Officer Ryan here!” The policeman’s baritone sounded through the hardwood. “I need to come in and make sure all the points of entry are locked! I also got Detective Dixon with me!”
Chrissy jumped up, glad for the distraction since it felt like Wolf had created a gravity well around them, and it was past time she broke free of it.
Chapter 15
