“That was nice of Agent Malone, don’t you think?” Tess asked from the doorway a little while later.
“I guess.” He typed the Wi-fi password he’d been given on his computer’s keyboard.
“Well, to thank him, I’ve invited him to have dinner with us. His sister-in-law left some food in the fridge, instead of freezing it all, so we’ll eat in about fifteen minutes, okay?”
“I’m not hungry,” he lied. Actually, he was starving—being a growing teenage boy and all—but he didn’t want to eat with the guy. “I’ll reheat it later.”
When Tess didn’t answer him, he glanced at her over his shoulder. “What?”
Her pinched expression told him she didn’t believe he wasn’t hungry. “Nothing. I’ll bring your dinner in here so you can eat while studying for your finals.”
He shrugged as he turned back toward the monitor. “Whatever... thanks.”
A few seconds passed before he heard his sister leave. With a few clicks of his mouse, he was in a hacking chat room and looking for a new challenge. It didn’t take long to find one. Settling into the chair, Andy got ready to do his thing.
Chapter Eight
Tess wiped her mouth with a napkin and sighed happily. “I think that was the best eggplant parmesan I’ve ever had! Did your sister-in-law make it?”
Shaking his head, Brian swallowed a mouthful of food. “Nope, it’s one of Bonnie’s specialties—she’s my uncle’s girlfriend. I’m sure she’ll probably stop by soon to see if there’s anything you need.”
“Think she’d be willing to give me the recipe? Not that I really have a lot of time, but I do like to cook whenever I can. Every Sunday and once or twice during the week, depending on Andy’s schedule and mine.”
Brian smiled. Even with her hectic life, she still tried to give her brother a sense of routine and normalcy. She reminded him of Uncle Dan. It couldn’t have been easy for the older man to suddenly become the sole father figure for three orphaned teenage boys, yet he made sure KC, Sean, and Brian became men their parents would’ve been proud of. “I’m sure she’d be more than happy to share her recipe. She loves to cook, and I don’t think she’s ever made a bad meal in her life.”
“Well, she’s got me beat. More than once, I’ve had to throw out my culinary attempts and order pizza—not that Andy minded, of course.” She stood and gathered up the dishes. “When we order a large pie, I get two slices, and he eats the rest. I swear, he’s a bottomless pit.”
Getting to his feet, Brian helped her clear the table. “Most teenage boys are. Imagine three of them in one house. Uncle Dan had to order three large pies for the four of us, and there were never any slices left after we plowed through them.”
As Tess filled the sink with water to wash the dishes, Brian grabbed a towel and waited for her to hand him things to dry. In the meantime, he struggled to think of something to keep the conversation going while not getting aroused—well, more than he already was. Tess Bingham had been wreaking havoc on his hormones ever since he pulled up to her neighbor’s house earlier, and she’d come out wearing a pair of snug jeans and a tucked-in V-neck T-shirt. The woman had curves in all the right places, and he’d found the sway of her hips mesmerizing.
The only thing that had kept his attention in check was the presence of her teenage brother. But now that Andy had been out of sight for the last hour or so, Brian found it increasingly difficult to ignore the woman standing beside him, especially when her shoulder brushed his as she handed him another plate.
“Brian?”
“Huh?” He glanced down to see that she was holding a glass out to him. “Oh, sorry. Zoned out for a minute there.”
After he took the glass, she laid a damp hand on his arm. “Everything okay?”
There she was, with everything going on in her life right now, and she was concerned about him. It hadn’t been just her words, but the tone of her voice and the way she touched him.
Without conscious thought, Brian leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. Electricity zapped between them, but it was a soft gasp that made him realize what he’d just done and pull away. Her cheeks were bright pink, and a combination of shock and desire flared in her eyes. She licked her lips slowly.
Uh-oh.
Brian stepped back, remorse filling him as he quickly put the glass he was still holding into the cabinet. “I—I’m sorry, Tess. I didn’t mean to do that.”
He couldn’t look her in the eye, so his gaze darted around the room. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, then pulled them back out, unsure of what in hell he was doing. “You’ve got so much stuff going on, and you don’t need any further complications. Besides, I don’t do relationships, and you’re not a one-night kind of girl. Not that I don’t find you attractive—I do—but if we hook up, it would be just sex—nothing more.” He was rambling without a filter, but didn’t know how to stop. “Not that I’m asking you to sleep with me—damn it. I need my mouth to catch up to my brain.”
Running a hand down his face, he sighed, still refusing to look at her. “Um, anyway, let’s just forget it happened and go back to where we were five minutes ago, all right? In fact, let me get going. I’ve got to be at work early tomorrow morning for a raid.”
He strode toward the doorway leading into the great room and then halted at the threshold. Taking a deep breath, he turned around. Her back was to him as she faced the sink, and her head was slumped down between her shoulders. Nothing was worse than feeling like you’d kicked someone when they were already down. Damn it. “I really am sorry, Tess.”
Without another word, Brian got out of Dodge as fast as he could.
“I—I’m sorry, Tess. I didn’t mean to do that... let’s just forget it happened and go back to where we were five minutes ago.”
Easier said than done.
