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"I wonder why I believe that part of your story?" she murmured.
He grinned, and she bit the inside of her lip in self-reprimand for letting him think he was softening her up. He wasn’t … not really. It was kind of sad about his mom, yeah. She would’ve freaked if her mother had left. But she wasn’t going to give into those cute puppy dog eyes. No way.
"I bet you only believe me because I still find myself getting into trouble around you?"
She scowled; his smile fell.
Clearing his throat, he continued. "Anyway, my dad remarried my freshman year of college. I remember coming home for Christmas break and my room being … gone. He’d married a woman with two children." Meeting her gaze with a look she couldn’t read, he added a side note. "The oldest starts college in a year. I took her senior picture yesterday." Glancing off again, he returned to his main story. "Mandy had already married Jeff and was pregnant with her firstborn at this point. But she set up a room for me, and I spent Christmas with her."
Sighing, he continued, "It’s really weird. Sometimes, I’ll run into my dad and my stepmom around town. We’ll stop and talk a few minutes like a pair of old classmates who haven’t seen each other since graduation. But it’s nothing at all like I would’ve thought a relationship between father and son would be."
"No," she agreed. "It doesn’t sound like it."
He lifted his gaze and something plopped hard into her stomach. She wondered if it was her heart.
"Both my parents deserted me," he said. "Not that I really noticed it though. I always had Mandy. She’s my only family. I’d do anything for her."
"I see," Mia murmured. And honestly, she did. It was sad because she realized how truly they stood on opposites sides of this issue between his brother-in-law and her roommate.
Though she understood just how much they could never be friends now, she held open the screen door for him. "Do you want to come in?"
His eyes lit with a yes, but he physically took a step back. "Is your roommate home?"
The distaste in his gaze had her back stiffening. She let the open gap in the door close a few inches. "Would it matter if she was?"
This wasn’t going to work. Nothing between them could ever work. Disappointment sliced through her even as he ran his hand through his hair and murmured, "Why don’t you come out here with me?"
"Honestly, Drew," she murmured. "What would that accomplish?"
His smile fell. He stared at her for a five miserable seconds before saying, "I wonder if I could use the right words to describe how much I adore just looking at you. Every time I’m around you, it’s like … everything goes on high alert. Concentrating on anything is impossible because I’m so—" He shivered and another smile sprouted on his lips.
Mia knew exactly what he meant. She felt the same thrill around him.
"Do you even feel a little of that in return?" he wondered, his gaze probing and intense.
Sucking in a breath, she made a momentous decision and stepped out onto the front steps with him. As the door shut behind her, his stunned expression made her smile.
"Thank you," he breathed out. "I like that answer."
She laughed, but the sound caught on a sob.
"No, no," he said quickly, reaching out. "Don’t cry. I’m sorry."
He dropped his hand when she stiffened.
She whirled around, yanking open the door. "I’m sorry. This was a big mistake."
"Wait." He caught her elbow. "Mia." His thumb slid over sensitive skin on the inside of her arm, and she shivered. "I realize there’s more going on here than I know about. And it’s not just my suspicions about your roommate dating my brother-in-law." His fingers squeezed briefly before he whispered, "You have haunted eyes."
She pulled gently away and he let her go. Turning slowly, she lifted her haunted eyes to his baby blues. Compassion filled his gaze.
"I don’t want to hurt you," he said. "But I can’t ignore what’s happening between us."
Opening her mouth to confess how her own feelings mirrored his, she stopped when he held up a hand. "Don’t say anything yet. Wait until you’ve heard everything I have to say because … I did come over here today to coax information out of you about her."
Her jaw dropped. "You did?" That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She wanted more of his sweet confessions about how he liked being with her and looking at her.
"My sister’s upset," he said, his eyes entreating. "She’s completely distressed. I was ready to do anything I could for her. I still am. But as soon as you opened the door just now, I looked at you and realized I can’t help her this way. I can’t use you."
