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His head snapped up, blue eyes startled.
Turning away before she could read too much into his expression, or he could read too much into hers, she scrawled her name on the sheet, ignoring the way her hand shook slightly.
Plastering an overly grateful smile on her face, she said, “Thanks,” and tried to give the pen back to him.
His eyes flared wide, and he pulled back as if scared of the pen. Shaking his head, he waved her to keep it. “It’s yours anyway.”
“Don’t you need it to sign in?” she asked.
He stared at her a moment as if he wanted to figure out what was going on in her head. Then he apparently gave up trying and lowered his gaze as he nodded. “Thanks.”
The pen slipped slowly from her hand. She had no idea why she stuck around, but she remained seated beside him while he signed in his name and set the clipboard on Samantha’s vacated seat.
He stared at the pen in his hand. She could almost hear the inner debate in his head, wondering if he should try to foist it back on her or just keep it.
Deciding to save him from such daunting indecision, she reached out and tugged it from his fingers.
Though he let her take it without a word of protest, he tracked the departing tool as if silently saying goodbye to an old friend. Then his gaze shifted to her.
She held her breath, knowing she should really stand up and go now, but she couldn’t seem to move.
“I didn’t know if you’d really show up tonight or not.”
One corner of his mouth hitched in amusement. “Neither did I.”
Paige patted his knee. “Well, I’m glad you did.” She realized she shouldn’t have touched him when he immediately focused on her hand. She’d been attempting to be friendly—and nothing more—but even a friendly touch was too much between them. She pulled her fingers back to her own lap.
Needing to escape, she surged to her feet and hurried to the main event of the evening. When Kevin called her over to the imitation tree that was rapidly growing from the floor up, she joined him, grateful for the distraction.
While others strung vines of holly and festive streamers around the room, she and Kevin buried themselves in the tree project. Though she made sure not to look his way, she heard Samantha call to Logan for assistance with untangling a huge ball of lights.
Always aware of where Logan was, she cracked jokes with Kevin as they put their heads together and hooked faux tree limbs around the metal-pipe trunk.
Stepping back after they finished, Kevin scratched his head and made a face. “There’s just something about imitation trees that looks so…”
“Fake?” Paige supplied with a grin.
“Exactly.” When he caught her teasing smile, he smirked and bumped his arm against hers. “Smart aleck.”
Chuckling, she bent down and fiddled with the tree’s skirt. “Don’t worry. Once we get the ornaments and lights put on, it’ll look better.”
Finishing her task, she glanced up at Kevin because he hadn’t responded yet. He was absorbed in looking at her butt, making her self-conscious, hoping she hadn’t sat in something earlier and had a huge stain or nasty smear across her back pockets.
Quickly darting his gaze away, Kevin cleared his throat and tugged at his ear, pasting his attention back on the limp, tilted tree.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, straightening and wiping at her knees she’d been sitting on before discreetly brushing off her backside.
Face infused with hot, embarrassed color, Kevin mumbled, “Nothing. Uh…I think I know what this thing needs.” Holding up a finger, he instructed, “Wait right here.”
As he darted toward an opened cardboard box full of decorations, Paige frowned after him, confused by his odd behavior. Then she checked on Logan, telling herself she needed to know if he had a row of lights strung out yet for them to wind around the tree, though really, she just wanted to peek at him.
His attention was already on her, and his lips twitched, his expression gleaming with amusement. When their gazes met, his blue eyes flared. He jerked away to focus on his job where he already had two series of lights unraveled and strung across the floor.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, utterly confused.
First Kevin. Now Logan. What the heck? She had sat in something, hadn’t she? She swept a hand over the back of her jeans again, wishing someone would tell her if she’d made a mess of herself.
“Nothing,” he said, only to chuckle under his breath.
