He wrapped his arms around her and drew her against him. She marveled at how the back of her head nestled perfectly against his broad shoulder, how safe and secure she felt at this moment. When his hands moved down to her waist, then clasped around her, his palms covering the band of her jeans as he embraced her tighter, it was as if he’d given her something she hadn’t known until this moment she was starving for. Closeness. Connection.
“Riley,” he whispered in her ear.
Hearing her name broke the spell, and she pulled away from him, her heart hammering. Embarrassed, she couldn’t meet his gaze. She’d had a moment of weakness, and she couldn’t allow it to happen again. Steeling herself for his anger, she said, “You should go.”
A pause. “Not until you look at me, Riley.”
Slowly she turned around, keeping her distance. Instead of censure, she saw acceptance.
“Thank you,” he said, his smile gentle.
Stunned, she blurted, “For what?”
“For giving me your trust, even for a moment.” His smile widened. “I intend to earn the rest.”
Unable to help herself, she asked, “Why? Why would you bother with me?”
His smile dimmed, but the sweetness in his eyes hit her very core. “Because I want to. The last thing you are to me, Riley McAllister, is a bother. I aim to show you that truth too.” He took a few steps backward. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“What?” she asked, fighting to keep her feet in place so she didn’t make a fool of herself running after him. “Why would you do that?”
“So we can figure out a schedule for the repairs. Operation Erma must go on.” He grinned, then turned around and walked away.
Was he actually whistling? What nerve. If he thought things had changed between them, he was wrong.
She was lying to herself and she knew it. When she remembered how good his well-muscled arms felt around her, the feel of his heartbeat against her back... she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
Chapter8
The cell phone on Riley’s nightstand buzzed, jerking her out of a dream. A wonderful dream about her and Hayden and... Well, she would savor that dream for a long time to come, but right now she had to answer the phone before she threw it against the wall. She picked it up and looked at the screen. Melody. Sitting up in bed, she answered the call.
“Hi,” she said, her tangled hair falling in a curtain around her face.
“You’re up?” Melody sounded surprised. “I figured you’d still be asleep. I was going to leave you a message.”
“What time is it?” She squinted at the old clock radio on her nightstand. Seven a.m. She should have been up an hour ago. “I’m putting you on speaker,” she said as she scrambled out of bed, then switched over the audio. “I’m running late.”
“For what? Why haven’t you called me? I’ve been worried about you and Mimi.”
“I’m sorry.” Riley threw off her T-shirt and sleep shorts and hurried to her suitcase. She was down to her last outfit and would have to do laundry today at some point. “I’ve been making Mimi breakfast every morning.”
“Wait. You? Cooking?” Melody chuckled. “I never thought I’d see that happen.”
“Yeah, well, every once in a while, I go crazy and do something domestic.”
“Anytime you want to do that around here, you have my blessing. What else is going on in small-town America?”
Riley filled her in on her plans for Knots and Tangles and fixing up Mimi’s home. “There’s so much work to do around here.” She slipped on a sports bra, a scoop-neck short-sleeved shirt, and then jean shorts. “I had no idea.”
“Wait, hold up. You’re working at the yarn shop?”
Riley finger-combed her hair into a ponytail, realizing she had a lot to explain to Melody. She decided to leave Hayden out of the updates. If her friend knew about him, or worse yet, how Riley felt about him, she would never hear the end of it.
“Yes, but just until Mimi can work full-time again.”
“How is she doing?”
Riley slid her sandals onto her feet. “Ready to get back to normal. We see the doctor tomorrow and find out when she can use crutches.”
