Page 50 of Passion in Bloom

Chapter 17

Heather

As soon as the wordsleft my mouth, I wondered if I’d lost my damn mind.

What am I thinking?

It seemed I wasn’t thinking at all. Between my mind being blown from sex with Roarke, then the instant shift into damage control as his house turned into an indoor waterpark, my brain hadn’t had a chance to operate at a normal speed.

I wasn’t sure how else I could be a walking contradiction. One second I was pissed that Roarke couldn’t butt out of my life, and then, the next, I was pretending that I was born with some kind of automatic hospitality to offer?

“Are you sure?” Roarke asked.

That he’d double-check meant the world to me.

That he’d be cautious and mindful of overstaying his stay with me was important.

He’s not David.

Roarke is not David.

For starters, he wasn’t giving me any red flags that he’d try to take charge of any situation with me. And that counted. I needed to know that.

“Yeah.”

I would be sure. It couldn’t be a mistake waiting to happen, offering Roarke to stay at my place.

In the back of my mind, it almost seemed like tit for tat. He’d let me sleep over for a night when I was locked out, and here I was, paying him back in kind.

No. Not in kind. He’s not expecting me to offer him a place to stay. I’m not obligated. Todd had already more or less given him an alternative cabin to check out on a short notice.

I didn’t have to let Roarke stay with me.

But I wanted him to.

I wanted to help him, and for the first time ever, I felt damned good about being able to make someone’s streak of misfortune turn around.

“Thank you,” Roarke said, not wavering in looking directly at me. “I appreciate it.”

“Maybe take a few things,” Todd said. “I’ll have people out to assess the damage and all. I’m sure they’ll wanna see how bad it is here.” He shrugged, looking at the soggy mess. “I told ya the owners are talkin’ ’bout tearing these cabins down, so I won’t be surprised if this makes their mind up faster.”

I sighed, rubbing my arms. While it should’ve worried me to lose my rental, I was sure Todd would give me time to find something first. This close to the holidays, it’d be tricky to look for an apartment. There was no way in hell I’d talk to Jerry about any of his options, either. Come the new year, though, I bet I’d be living somewhere else. “I’m going to go get changed.”

Roarke nodded, going toward what looked like a front closet and grabbing a coat for me. “Don’t freeze out there. Maybe you can wait and I’ll drive you to your cabin?”

“Nah.” I accepted his coat, instantly warmer from the thickness of the fabric. “Take your time to get what you need.”

“I can drive ya back,” Todd offered.

I shook my head. “It seems like you two are discussing things here.”

Before I could exit, though, we all turned at the sound of someone coming down the path. That squeaky bike sure made it hard for Nevaeh to hide her approach. She didn’t seem to want to hide now, gawking at us all wet. The door was still open since Roarke and I entered, and she moved her confused gaze from me, to Roarke, to Todd, then back to her uncle.

“What the hell happened he—”

She didn’t completely finish her question, covering her mouth as she gagged, as though she’d puke.

Again.