stance that mirrored hers.
The comment was right, in part. After spending a short time with Davis, they’d morphed right back into old couple patterns. He’d stepped into the role of rescuer and didn’t think twice about bossing her around using the “it’s for her own good” excuse he liked so much. Oh, he didn’t say it out loud this time around, which made her realize he had learned something during their time apart, but everything else felt strangely familiar.
He got near her and her heart tumbled. He kissed her and her brain spun with excitement. The attraction pulled between them as strong as ever. But loving him, wanting him, had never been the issue. Accepting everything else was.
“Thanks for bringing dinner,” she said, verbally pulling Pax in another conversation direction with all her might.
He laughed. “Changing the subject?”
“Definitely.”
“Well, getting here was no problem. I live nearby and was willing to use any excuse to see you.”
“Aren’t you the charmer?” She balanced her head against his shoulder and felt the firm muscles underneath.
Both brothers made her feel safe. With Pax the emotions never boiled and bubbled. If he ticked her off, she just rolled her eyes. And he’d never made her heart hammer, while Davis had that effect on her just by walking into a room.
She chalked all of that up to her buddy-type relationship with Pax. Amazing how taking the sexual attraction and romantic-love parts out of a relationship simplified everything.
Pax pulled back and looked her up and down. There was no heat, just a joking familiarity. “You look good. Always do.”
“Why hasn’t some woman snapped you up?” She knew the answer. Because he ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction whenever they tried to tell him their last names.
“I always said women were smarter than men.”
“No arguments here.” She watched the last of the orange streaks fade away into the dark sky.
The water stretched out in front of her in a vast nothingness. The waves she loved so much during the day took on a dangerous edge at night. That was a familiar theme in her life. Hours ago it looked a soothing, shiny blue. Now she only saw a deep, mysterious black.
They stood, soaking up the evening as dishes rattled below. A shadow moved around down there. She assumed Davis was cleaning up or maybe burning off some extra energy. He wasn’t really the type to hang out on a boat and do nothing. That was Pax’s thing.
Davis was constant motion, which was why she’d agreed to buy a fixer-upper with him. She’d figured he’d spend every extra hour making it shine. So when she had stepped inside earlier and seen boxes and blank walls, it surprised her.
She also knew from the way Pax tried hard not to say anything that something big rattled around in his head. The guy was like a little kid sometimes, nearly vibrating with excitement and the need to tell.
His determination only lasted a few more seconds. After a quick glance into the open doorway, he shifted to face her. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Anything you need to tell me?”
“About?” But she knew. Pax wanted her with Davis. He never pretended otherwise. He’d called for weeks after they broke up, asking her to come back before Davis turned more miserable than anyone could handle.
“My eyesight works just fine, and what I walked in on didn’t look like two people happy not to be together.”
The kiss. Yeah, she was still struggling to set that straight in her mind. She wanted to write it off as leftover attraction or a punch of adrenaline from the out-of-control day. To her soul, she feared it foreshadowed much more.
All these months she’d been trying to get over him and failing miserably. No other man even clicked on her radar.
“The problems haven’t changed,” she said. “Davis wants to be free to go all over the world, even if it scares me to death. On his list of priorities I’m near the bottom.”
And that
The comment was right, in part. After spending a short time with Davis, they’d morphed right back into old couple patterns. He’d stepped into the role of rescuer and didn’t think twice about bossing her around using the “it’s for her own good” excuse he liked so much. Oh, he didn’t say it out loud this time around, which made her realize he had learned something during their time apart, but everything else felt strangely familiar.
He got near her and her heart tumbled. He kissed her and her brain spun with excitement. The attraction pulled between them as strong as ever. But loving him, wanting him, had never been the issue. Accepting everything else was.
“Thanks for bringing dinner,” she said, verbally pulling Pax in another conversation direction with all her might.
He laughed. “Changing the subject?”
“Definitely.”
“Well, getting here was no problem. I live nearby and was willing to use any excuse to see you.”
“Aren’t you the charmer?” She balanced her head against his shoulder and felt the firm muscles underneath.
Both brothers made her feel safe. With Pax the emotions never boiled and bubbled. If he ticked her off, she just rolled her eyes. And he’d never made her heart hammer, while Davis had that effect on her just by walking into a room.
She chalked all of that up to her buddy-type relationship with Pax. Amazing how taking the sexual attraction and romantic-love parts out of a relationship simplified everything.
Pax pulled back and looked her up and down. There was no heat, just a joking familiarity. “You look good. Always do.”
“Why hasn’t some woman snapped you up?” She knew the answer. Because he ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction whenever they tried to tell him their last names.
“I always said women were smarter than men.”
“No arguments here.” She watched the last of the orange streaks fade away into the dark sky.
The water stretched out in front of her in a vast nothingness. The waves she loved so much during the day took on a dangerous edge at night. That was a familiar theme in her life. Hours ago it looked a soothing, shiny blue. Now she only saw a deep, mysterious black.
They stood, soaking up the evening as dishes rattled below. A shadow moved around down there. She assumed Davis was cleaning up or maybe burning off some extra energy. He wasn’t really the type to hang out on a boat and do nothing. That was Pax’s thing.
Davis was constant motion, which was why she’d agreed to buy a fixer-upper with him. She’d figured he’d spend every extra hour making it shine. So when she had stepped inside earlier and seen boxes and blank walls, it surprised her.
She also knew from the way Pax tried hard not to say anything that something big rattled around in his head. The guy was like a little kid sometimes, nearly vibrating with excitement and the need to tell.
His determination only lasted a few more seconds. After a quick glance into the open doorway, he shifted to face her. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Anything you need to tell me?”
“About?” But she knew. Pax wanted her with Davis. He never pretended otherwise. He’d called for weeks after they broke up, asking her to come back before Davis turned more miserable than anyone could handle.
“My eyesight works just fine, and what I walked in on didn’t look like two people happy not to be together.”
The kiss. Yeah, she was still struggling to set that straight in her mind. She wanted to write it off as leftover attraction or a punch of adrenaline from the out-of-control day. To her soul, she feared it foreshadowed much more.
All these months she’d been trying to get over him and failing miserably. No other man even clicked on her radar.
“The problems haven’t changed,” she said. “Davis wants to be free to go all over the world, even if it scares me to death. On his list of priorities I’m near the bottom.”
And that
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