I startled so badly I nearly lost my perch.
“Holy shoot. Webb?” I peered over the edge of the roof again, and sure enough, there were the world’s thickest forearms, folded in judgment over the world’s broadest chest. My heart gave a little squeeze that had nothing to do with my situation and everything to do with the memory of Webb’s stony face back at Panini Jack’s. “What are you doing here?”
“Me?” He snorted. “You’re on your roof without a ladder, Luke.” There was a tremble of something in his voice, and I couldn’t decide if it was anger or amusement.
God, why did all of my worst and most embarrassing moments happen around this guy?
“Am I?” I said airily. “I hadn’t noticed. I’m enjoying the lovely view. So much… snow.”
“And how are you planning to get down?”
I sniffed. “I’ll figure something out. Eventually. Probably.”
“Fair enough. And when you don’t, I’ll have them inscribe that on your tombstone.Here lies Luke Williams, who would have figured something out… probably, eventually,” he said dryly. “Now, move back from the edge so I can prop the ladder back up there.”
“You know, I’m not certain I’m ready to get down, but thanks anyway.” I stuck my chin in the air stubbornly, though I was pretty sure he couldn’t see me. “I might stay up here a while longer. Doing yoga. Meditating. Expanding my consciousness.”
“If you don’t come down, you won’t get to see what I brought you.”
“You brought me something?” I peeped over the edge again, reluctantly curious. “Is it arsenic?”
He snorted. “No. Jeez.”
“Another Rusty Spike?”
“Definitely not,” he said with feeling. He shaded his eyes as he looked up at me. “I wouldn’t do that to anyone ever again.”
“Even though I’mnothingto you?” I shot back.
Dang it.I hadn’t intended to bring up the scene at breakfast, but apparently I was spending all my shame pennies that afternoon.
Webb hesitated. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded earlier. I was blindsided by the scroll thing. I told you last night that I want to be friends, and I mean it. I just… wasn’t a very good one to you earlier.”
Hmph. “I was blindsided, too. And it’s not like Iwantto be handfasted to you, you know. I barely knew what handfasting was before this morning. Heck, I’m still not sure I know. But if I were going to inadvertently betroth myself to a guy, my baseline minimum standard would be to pick a guy who could have the slightest inkling of attraction for me.”
Webb opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, then shut it again. “Can you come down? I’m getting a crick in my neck talking to you.”
I pondered how much I cared about his neck—sadly, a lot—and whether I was ready to face the further embarrassment of being on ground level with him—nope.
I lay back down against the shingles. “I appreciate your concern, but just leave the ladder propped up here, and I’ll come down later. Also, it must be said, you are terrible at apologizing.”
“I’ll apologize when you come down. And… I brought ice cream.”
I sat up and leaned forward again, eyes narrowed. “Ice cream?”
He held up a white plastic bag that had been lying on a snowbank. “Two pints of Boston Cream Pie.”
“That’s… that’s my favorite,” I said suspiciously.
“No kidding. You’re always buying out Chuck’s entire supply so there’s none left for m—for anyone else who’d like to buy some.”
I rolled my eyes, but I had to admit I was getting cold… and ice cream, even in the dead of winter, was my kryptonite. “Fine, then. Hoist the ladder.”
Webb did more than hoist it—he kicked away the snow on the ground to find a stable place to set it, and when that didn’t work to his satisfaction, he braced the ladder with both hands.
“Come on down,” he directed. “Take it slow, okay?”
Once again, I rolled my eyes. “I know how to descend a ladder. I got up here, didn’t I?” I swung myself carefully off the roof and onto the top rung and quickly clambered down. “I don’t need your… h-help.”
