Jumped by Colette Auclair Page B

piano and double doors with a scene from an aspen forest carved into them. She kept up her punishing pace.
    This was getting absurd. “Bethany!” he said. She didn’t stop. This was no way to examine a building. “Bethany!” he said, louder.
    He jogged to close the distance between them. When he was next to her, he said, “Bethany, slow down.”
    They were in a hallway off the foyer that ran parallel to the front of the house. As she turned, his momentum carried him right into her. He wanted to flirt because of the unexpected physical contact, but he did the gentlemanly thing and grabbed her arms to steady her. To his surprise and delight, she was grinning madly. She was power walking on purpose. Her competitive streak was as strong as ever.
    â€œWhat gives? By the way, I think we ditched whoever was following us somewhere back by the piano.”
    Bethany exhaled a laugh. “Whatsa matter? Can’t keep up? And, uh, you can let go now.”
    Finn let go of her arms. Which were firm and soft at once. “Sorry.”
    â€œS’okay.” She looked around and shrugged. “Here’s the hallway.”
    â€œThis house is amazing,” Finn said. “Even when viewed at Mach one. You trying to get a run in?”
    She dipped her head, which he found endearing. “Just funnin’ ya.”
    He did his one-corner smile. “Yeah, okay, but can we slow it down to a jog? I’m not aging as well as you. And it’s hard to take in the architectural details when they blur by.”
    â€œNow that we’re alone . . .” Bethany began.
    â€œYeees?” Finn’s brain switched gears from architecture appreciation to Bethany appreciation.
    Bethany chewed the inside of her lip, one of her “tells.” She was uncomfortable about something, and Finn hoped it wasn’t him. Or if it was him, that it was because she wanted to jump him right there in the hallway.
    She inhaled. “How did you and Melissa become such good friends that you got invited to the wedding? No offense, but it’s weird that you’re here. I was wondering about it today.”
    He licked his lips. Bethany still cut to the chase faster than anyone he knew. “I told you. I built their house. You get to know owners pretty well, and she and I had been acquaintances first.”
    â€œIs this code for you dated her?”
    He laughed. Melissa was great, but he’d never been interested in her. In truth, he hadn’t been interested—not really—in anyone since the divorce. “No. No code. We never dated. You can ask her.”
    â€œSo you were on the crew that built her house and you became buddies? Because you hung out after work?”
    â€œThat’s what you think?” He laughed. “I designed her house, then oversaw the construction.”
    Bethany’s eyes, which were the color of an overcast sky above the ocean, widened considerably. Her mouth opened, too. He had shocked her with his success. Why so surprised? A frisson of anger bloomed in his center and adrenaline surged into his arms. In a second he’d gone from wanting her to wanting to bean her.
    â€œThen you’re . . .”
    â€œAn architect. Imagine that. Despite everything, including your father.”
    She stared at the runner in the hallway. She rubbed the back of her neck, another sure sign she was uncomfortable. She looked at him and spoke quietly. “Congratulations. That’s great for you.”
    He waited for an acerbic addition to bring up the rear, but none came. He met her gaze. “Thanks.” Then he nodded—the flash flood of anger had evaporated—and looked at the framed watercolor of an alpine landscape on the wall next to him.
    â€œDo you work for a firm? I don’t even know where you live,” she said.
    â€œI have my own firm. You know how I am with authority.” He smiled at her, trying to ease the tension