“Three,” Damian says casually. “He seems like a decent guy who could use a little help.” My jaw falls.Three times?That means Damian has helped him out almost every time he’s been here.
I don’t know Pete’s whole story, but he’s been hanging around since Holly and I moved in. He really is a decent guy who could use a helping hand. He’s never been anything but polite and pleasant to me, always asking about my day. He helps Holly shovel snow out of her parking spot. He’s a genuinely good guy who’s fallen on hard times for whatever reason.
“And I like that he looks out for you,” Damian finishes.
Oh. “Me?” My pulse kicks into double time.
Damian glances my way from the side of his eye. His gaze is hot on my face, the confines of his sports car suddenly too small. “Yeah, Brielle. You.”
Air whooshes out of my lungs, my mind frozen on that one word. I have to remind myself to breathe. Act natural. Finding out Damian doesn’t want to see me accosted in front of my apartment complex doesn’t mean anything more than that he’s less of a dick than he wants people to believe underneath all that surly attitude.
I reach out and turn the radio on, totally calm and collected. It automatically syncs to his phone, and a playlist simply titled “Maine” comes up, a song from the band Boston set as the first track. The same song I was listening to in the office the day he told me to shut it off. I put the volume on low and lie back in my seat, a strange feeling coursing through my limbs. It must be the sleep deprivation that’s causing it. Because it can’t be the makings of a crush.
No. Absolutely not. It’s definitely the lack of sleep.
Chapter 13
Brielle
“Wow.Thisisreally…remote,” I say, looking out at the rough, untamed landscape around us. We haven’t seen a car in miles. Snow still clings to the ground, even though it’s completely gone back at home.
He growls low from the back of his throat. The sound of it sends a spark of heat down my spine. “This is what nightmares are made of,” he grumbles.
I grin and look over to Damian. “Are you scared of the great outdoors, Damian Edgerton?”
“No. I just prefer the city. Where there are more people than cows.”
We have passed a lot of cows on the drive up here.
Our GPS lost connection about an hour ago, the unmarked roads all but useless to the navigation system anyway. Luckily, Leon warned us about that and gave Damian the rest of the directions. I read off the next step as we got closer to the lodge.
“It should be right past the gas station on the left,” I tell him, pointing to the broken-down building with one pump from the 1960s out front.
“Thank fuck.”
“How many murders do you think that gas station has seen?” I ask. I can see him seething, but he refuses to rise to my baiting. I laugh. I am enjoying this side of Damian far too much. He’s always so polished and in control, seeing his with a little sweat on his brow is worth the 5:30 a.m. wake-up call.
Ten minutes later, we pull up to a small wooden cabin surrounded by trees. A couple of other cars are already parked outside, so Damian pulls his Mercedes up next to them on the gravel drive. I grab my bag from the trunk, but Damian takes it from me, along with his own.
“You ready for this?” he asks.
I pull in a deep breath and straighten my shoulders. “Absolutely.”
“Relax. You look like you’re going to war,” he grumbles.
He carries both bags in one hand and threads his fingers through mine with the other.
It’s still weird, doing this with my boss. But also, not weird. Which is weird.
The whole thing is weird.
I knock on the door, and within a couple of seconds, Pam is there greeting us. She still looks chic, but with a more down-to-earth vibe. She’s paired wide-leg jeans with a white T-shirt tucked in, and a dark blue flannel over it adds warmth and style.
“Welcome to our little oasis, Mr. Edgerton, Brielle.”
“Please, call me Damian.” He drops my hand to shake hers. Then, to my surprise, she leans in to me for a hug. I didn’t take Pam Vitale for a hugger, but I’m all about it.
Damian leads me into the cabin behind Pam. He doesn’t take my hand again, and I suddenly feel like I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it.
