family? Not so much.”
The chaos and noise level earlier might have been extreme, but there was no missing how much they all cared. “They’re warm and loving. They care about you. And they’re fun!”
Kids talking over adults. Adults yelling over each other. They were a vision of a life she’d never even glimpsed growing up.
“Fun?” He stopped in his tracks, turned and placed his hand over her forehead.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Checking for fever.”
His grin did crazy things to her insides, and his touch…oh, his touch was hot, stirring up emotions and desires she’d dreamed about so often it was hard to believe they were real.
“So, tell me. Why are you here?” His husky voice spiked her body temperature even higher.
“I had to get out of the city,” she said, then told him about how the Bachelor Blogger had targeted her after he’d left, the ensuing article tying her to the murder case and the subsequent threats.
“I’m sorry I left you twisting in the wind. I never thought that blogger would go after you.”
“I know. The thing is, there’s no one else I trust to have my back. I knew I’d be safe here with you.” She glanced up at him, hoping he didn’t read in her face the pure longing she felt in her heart.
He reached out and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said in a rough and determined voice.
“I know.” Because she knew him. “We do make a good team. I’m sorry I just showed up on your doorstep, but in my defense, I did try to call you.”
He winced. “Service is sporadic around here, and since it’s easy enough to find people, I don’t worry too much about keeping my cell on hand.”
“I left a message.”
This time he let out a low groan. “I’m pretty lazy about listening to those. I must not have seen your number come up, or I would’ve called you back.”
“That’s because I called from a disposable cell phone.”
“Smart.” He nodded, approving. “Now that youmention it, I do remember getting a few calls from a number I didn’t recognize.”
“Well, I came anyway. I hope you don’t mind the surprise.”
“If you’re in danger back home, I’m glad you came here.”
“Like Coop said, two of us injured is the equivalent of one healthy human being.”
“Way to stroke my ego.” He grinned.
“I’m not too worried. Your ego is pretty solid. How’s the rest of you?” she asked.
“Amazingly, I’m feeling pretty good. How about you?”
She glanced down. She’d left the brace back at the B and B. “I’m sure you noticed the limp.”
“How about the pain? The flexibility? Will you—”
“I don’t know.” She cut him off, not wanting to discuss the future of her career. “Time will tell.”
He inclined his head. “Fair enough.”
Another thing she appreciated about Rafe. He instinctively knew when to back off. “Listen, there’s one small problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Angel only has a room available for two nights. I can call around to local hotels, but I didn’t realize there was a festival coming up that was such a big attraction. I may not find anything.”
He waved away her concern. “You don’t have to. You can stay with me.”
She exhaled in relief. “I hoped you’d say that.”
There was just one more thing standing between them. The words were unsaid, yet as loud as the wind. She swallowed hard, knowing she had to bring things out into the open. “What about us? What about what you said that night on the roof?”
“I said a lot of things. Just so we’re clear, what exactly are you referring to?” he asked. But from his deepening gaze, he obviously remembered.
She gathered the remainder of her courage. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. What those words implied.
And she needed to know. “You said I was gorgeous. That I had curves to die for. When the blogger quoted you, I didn’t know if you meant it or if it was
The chaos and noise level earlier might have been extreme, but there was no missing how much they all cared. “They’re warm and loving. They care about you. And they’re fun!”
Kids talking over adults. Adults yelling over each other. They were a vision of a life she’d never even glimpsed growing up.
“Fun?” He stopped in his tracks, turned and placed his hand over her forehead.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Checking for fever.”
His grin did crazy things to her insides, and his touch…oh, his touch was hot, stirring up emotions and desires she’d dreamed about so often it was hard to believe they were real.
“So, tell me. Why are you here?” His husky voice spiked her body temperature even higher.
“I had to get out of the city,” she said, then told him about how the Bachelor Blogger had targeted her after he’d left, the ensuing article tying her to the murder case and the subsequent threats.
“I’m sorry I left you twisting in the wind. I never thought that blogger would go after you.”
“I know. The thing is, there’s no one else I trust to have my back. I knew I’d be safe here with you.” She glanced up at him, hoping he didn’t read in her face the pure longing she felt in her heart.
He reached out and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said in a rough and determined voice.
“I know.” Because she knew him. “We do make a good team. I’m sorry I just showed up on your doorstep, but in my defense, I did try to call you.”
He winced. “Service is sporadic around here, and since it’s easy enough to find people, I don’t worry too much about keeping my cell on hand.”
“I left a message.”
This time he let out a low groan. “I’m pretty lazy about listening to those. I must not have seen your number come up, or I would’ve called you back.”
“That’s because I called from a disposable cell phone.”
“Smart.” He nodded, approving. “Now that youmention it, I do remember getting a few calls from a number I didn’t recognize.”
“Well, I came anyway. I hope you don’t mind the surprise.”
“If you’re in danger back home, I’m glad you came here.”
“Like Coop said, two of us injured is the equivalent of one healthy human being.”
“Way to stroke my ego.” He grinned.
“I’m not too worried. Your ego is pretty solid. How’s the rest of you?” she asked.
“Amazingly, I’m feeling pretty good. How about you?”
She glanced down. She’d left the brace back at the B and B. “I’m sure you noticed the limp.”
“How about the pain? The flexibility? Will you—”
“I don’t know.” She cut him off, not wanting to discuss the future of her career. “Time will tell.”
He inclined his head. “Fair enough.”
Another thing she appreciated about Rafe. He instinctively knew when to back off. “Listen, there’s one small problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Angel only has a room available for two nights. I can call around to local hotels, but I didn’t realize there was a festival coming up that was such a big attraction. I may not find anything.”
He waved away her concern. “You don’t have to. You can stay with me.”
She exhaled in relief. “I hoped you’d say that.”
There was just one more thing standing between them. The words were unsaid, yet as loud as the wind. She swallowed hard, knowing she had to bring things out into the open. “What about us? What about what you said that night on the roof?”
“I said a lot of things. Just so we’re clear, what exactly are you referring to?” he asked. But from his deepening gaze, he obviously remembered.
She gathered the remainder of her courage. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. What those words implied.
And she needed to know. “You said I was gorgeous. That I had curves to die for. When the blogger quoted you, I didn’t know if you meant it or if it was
Similar Books
