"Why are you thanking me?"
He shrugged. "Because you gave a damn. Because you tried. It's not a part of me I want anyone to see. I'd rather you hadn't. But I do appreciate you wanting to help."
"Let me guess. If you had it your way, you'd deal with everything all on your own. Not let anyone see your grief."
His jaw went tight and Kate wondered why she had to push it, why she cared in the first place. Why didn't she just say "you're welcome" and get the hell out of there?
"That's the plan," he replied with a slight edge.
"You let Hildie in. You're not totally alone. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to let someone else in, too."
Tension came over his expression. "You offering?"
Kate flinched. She could feel herself go pale. No. Of course not. She wasn't offering. She didn't want to be the one he leaned on, the one he let in. She was just . . . whatwasshe doing? Did she want to be the one? As soon as the question presented itself, she knew, deep down, she did. She wanted to be the one to make him grin like the devil, to feel safe and not alone, to hold him, give him strength…
Holy crap.
Her heart pounded. She couldn't breathe. She frowned at him, shaking her head, telling him "no" with her look. A look she was pretty sure bordered on horrified.
She scrambled off the bed as Devin reached for her. "Kate."
She stopped a few feet from the bed. "This was a mistake. I'm sorry. Again. I keep saying that, don't I?" Panic made her voice tremble, made her want to run. "Maybe it's best we don't interact anymore."
Devin rose from the bed with a determined look on his face and started toward her. Kate backed up. He kept coming. Inches from her. They backed up together. Until the wall stopped them. Where was the door? Devin's front pressed against hers, his thighs, hips, groin, and torso pining her to the wall. His hands came up, his fingers diving into her hair as he cupped her face.
He was going to kiss her, and for Kate it felt like if she let him, she'd be branded. The final step to throwing away her heart. Still, her eyelids slid closed and her nerves sparked, making little fires go off under her skin. She was struck by how much she wanted him, struck so hard that in one smooth, panicked move, she dropped through his arms and darted out the bedroom door.
Devin MacLaren could hurt her far worse than Holden ever had.
Breathless, she hurried down the steps and out the door. As soon as she was outside, she broke into a dead run, speeding around the corner of the house and nearly colliding with Lucy.
"Jeez!" she rasped, startled.
Lucy grabbed both of her arms, worry instantly overtaking her features. "Wha—"
"I think I'm in love with Devin," Kate blurted with all the doom and horror she felt.
The back door slammed. Her head whipped around.
"Kate!" Devin's voice rang out.
She turned back to Lucy. "Please get me out of here."
And thank God for cousinly love because that's exactly what Lucy did. She practically shoved her into the passenger seat of Ian's Range Rover and took off as Devin came around the corner in nothing but his briefs. Lucy jammed the gas pedal, tossed a wave out the window, and left him standing in a cloud of dust.
"Holy cow, Kate," Lucy breathed after turning out of Devin's driveway. "Are you freaking kidding me?"
Kate leaned her head back against the seat and started laughing. Lucy reached over and felt her forehead for fever. "I'm not sick. Well," she said, her laughter dying, "maybe I am." She let her head roll to the side and stared at the scenery speeding past.
"Kate," Lucy said at length. "Did you mean it?"
Kate rolled her head the other way to look at her cousin. "Lucy," she said with all sincerity and finality, "he lets his dog sleep on the bed."
A bewildered look flashed across Lucy's face, but then she nodded in solidarity. "Yeah. I had moments like that with Ian. The biggest was when we were fishing. He was joking around and said I'd miss him when I left. And I realized I would, so much that it hurt to think about, you know?"
Kate leveled a glare at her cousin. While she was still trying to come to terms with how she felt, she hadn't thought of the fact that she'd be leaving soon.
"Sorry," Lucy said. "Maybe you don't have to leave. Maybe he feels the same."
