It Takes Two by Erin Nicholas Page A

was trying to do homework on the fibromyalgia. If he was there she’d be distracted and very likely tuck the books under the bed and forget about them. Like she’d done eight months ago when she’d first started dating him.
    Of course, that wasn’t entirely accurate. She’d started with the books on her bedside table. She hadn’t moved them to the floor and pushed them under the bed until the first time Shane spent the night.
    “You can work if I’m there.”
    She raised an eyebrow and waited. Finally he sighed.
    “If I was into puzzles and stuff you could work while I was there.”
    “Exactly.”
    “How long will you be gone?”
    “A week. Maybe two.”
    His jaw dropped. “ Two weeks? ”
    She shrugged. “However long it takes to get my work done.”
    “Fine. I’ll follow you up there on my bike. Then I can go and sightsee or something while you work.” He dropped his voice. “Right on your ass is one of my favorite places to be anyway.”
    She pushed him back. “No. You’re not invited.”
    He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re not driving that far alone and you’re not spending two weeks away from me.”
    “Wow, you been taking stalker classes?”
    He sighed. “I know. It sounds creepy. But I don’t like this.”
    She smiled in spite of agreeing that he was overreacting. “I’ve been away from home, away from you, before.”
    “But you’ve flown. And stayed in nice hotels. And had work functions where there were other people around who knew you. This whole cabin thing doesn’t sit right.”
    For god’s sake. Why hadn’t she told him she was going to Boston to stay in the Four Seasons for a work conference? Dammit.
    She tried to appeal to his practical side. “You’re going to take off work and drive over five hundred miles to babysit me?”
    Of course, this was the man who’d brought a helium tank, a ring toss and a cotton candy machine into a bar to show her how he felt. Practical wasn’t the perfect word for Shane.
    “Yes,” he said. “Besides, I love Mount Rushmore.”
    There was no way she was going to win this argument. “You want to sleep outside on the porch? Fine. Whatever. I’m not telling you when I’m leaving.”
    He grinned. “God, you’re a lot of work.”
    She rolled her eyes. She’d heard that a time or two from him as well. “Look who’s talking.” She headed for the door before anything stupider happened. “You better bring the Kahlua too.”
    “Love the sound of that.”
    “Yeah, it’ll help you keep warm. It’s only March. It’s gonna get chilly outside at night.”
     
     
    Shane could honestly say that a yoga studio was in the top three on the list of places he never thought he’d go. Yet here he was. Because Emma Dixon was a pain in the ass.
    He needed to talk to her and since she lived with Isabelle, he’d suggested the bar or a coffee shop. She’d said he’d have to come to her studio because she had a late class.
    He knew it was actually because she wanted to see him totally uncomfortable in her girly shop.
    He loved girly stuff. On girls. Around girls. Because of girls.
    But he didn’t do pink, he didn’t do instrumental music, he didn’t care about smelling things that would relax him and he didn’t do workouts that included sitting with his eyes closed. He wasn’t completely convinced he could sit on the floor with his legs crossed like that anyway.
    “You’re just in time,” Emma said with a huge grin as he stepped through the front door.
    “I need to know how serious this knitting thing is with Isabelle,” he said without preamble. He didn’t want to start breathing in too much of the aromatherapy fumes. He might get mellow or something.
    Emma’s eyes widened. “She told you about the knitting?”
    “Yeah.” Knitting. Wow, he hadn’t been expecting that.
    Then Emma’s eyes narrowed. “You mean about the knitting ? Like with yarn and needles and stuff?”
    He frowned. “Yeah. Is there another kind of knitting?” Oh great.