Footsteps sounded and she glanced up to see Vander in the doorway. She swore she could smell the mountain air clinging to the man.
“You should have sent Ben in to wake me,” she said.
“You needed sleep.” His voice was a tender growl.
She stared into her coffee. “I don’t usually sleep like that.”
“I know.” The certainty in his voice made her glance up sharply.
And there it was again.
That look.
Not lust or nonchalance.
Care.
The kind she’d tried very hard not to need from anybody.
Ben shouted from the living room. “Vander! You paused it!”
“Coming.”
But he didn’t move right away.
Summer tightened her grip on the mug. “You’re making this harder.”
Pain flickered across his face before he hid it again. “I know that too.”
God.
She looked away first because she had no defense against a man who answered honestly.
He finally stepped backward toward the living room again, giving her space exactly when she needed it.
Her breakfast felt warm in her stomach. The little duplex felt full and safe.
And deep down, she knew the truly dangerous thing wasn’t the threats the cameras were watching out for.
It was how badly a piece of her already wanted this to become permanent.
Chapter Seven
Pope waited in Summer’s living room while she got Ben ready for school, and the whole damn situation made him feel off-balance in ways he couldn’t explain.
The little duplex felt so homey with the scent of coffee filling the air and Ben’s books lined up neatly on a bottom shelf. Morning light spilled through the curtains and cartoons played low on the television Ben forgot to shut off before thundering down the hall to his room to get dressed.
Part of Pope felt wildly out of place sitting in the middle of a routine he wasn’t part of. Another part of him felt like maybe he’d been searching for exactly this without ever realizing he needed it.
That thought settled heavily in his chest, and he sat forward with his forearms braced on his knees to try to loosen it.
His gaze drifted toward the corner as he remembered lying on the couch bed that morning with the distinct feeling someone was watching him.
His eyes snapped open and he found Ben sitting on a little stool three feet from the couch.
Just staring at him.
The kid didn’t speak. Didn’t move.
