Yeah, but what if she only sees you as an older brother?
I take a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
If that’s all she feels for me, then I’ll take care of her the same way I’ve taken care of Rachel, and I’ll probably remain single for life.
Chapter 12
Nova
Sitting on the side of my bed, my fingers brush over the corner of my mouth where Easton’s lips touched mine while I stare blankly at the floor.
When Easton plowed into me, and I fell, a panic attack hit so hard that I froze, just like all the times when Trent used to beat me.
But instead of being engulfed in pain, Easton started peppering my face with kisses, shocking me to my very core.
Holy crap! Easton Rowe kissed me.
Well, partially, but that doesn’t matter. His lips touched mine.
It’s getting harder and harder to hide my love for Easton. We’ve fallen into a routine of watching TV or talking about the good old days after Rachel and Lainey go to bed. I’m getting used to having him to myself for a couple of hours every night.
A knock at my door makes my head snap up. Thinking it’s Rachel, I quickly get up from the bed and open for her.
I’m surprised to see Easton. “Oh. Hey.”
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, and it makes me think of the ‘partial’ kiss.
“Rachel is taking a nap,” he says. When he steps into my bedroom, I quickly move backward. After he shuts the door, he asks, “How do you feel?”
My tongue darts out to wet my lips before I murmur, “I’m okay.”
When he reaches for my cardigan, my heartbeat speeds up, and I’m engulfed in a hot wave of shame.
“You can stop wearing this,” he says while tugging it down my arms.
I feel super self-conscious about the light marks on my bicep, but then Easton brushes the pad of his thumb over the area. I glance down at where he’s touching me, and tingles rush through me.
My eyes fly back to his face when he says, “I’m sorry I made you fall.”
I let out a nervous chuckle. “Accidents happen.”
His thumb brushes over my skin again, and I become aware of the fact that there are only a few inches of space separating our bodies.
Needing to put his mind at ease, I add, “I’m really okay. Please don’t worry about me.”
Easton lowers his hand to his side and stares at me until I begin to feel incredibly awkward. Worried that he’s upset about what happened, there’s a tremor in my voice as I ask, “Are you okay?”
He takes a deep breath before nodding. For a moment, it looks like he wants to say something else, but then he steps away from me and opens the door again. “Let’s head downstairs.”
Following him out of the bedroom, I suck in a desperate breath. When we take the stairs down to the first floor, I hear Frances, the housekeeper, in the kitchen. Every time we’ve interacted, she’s been very nice to me.
Frances smiles when she notices us. “What would you like for dinner? I can prepare the meal, then you can just warm it up when you’re ready to eat.”
Easton glances at me. “Any preferences?”
I quickly shake my head. “No, but Lainey mentioned she’s craving pizza.”
“Pizza it is, then,” Frances says while letting out a chuckle. “That child would live on pizza if we gave her half a chance.”
