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Chapter Twenty
Hill stepped out of the bathroom after a quick shower and found Andi dressed again and sitting cross-legged on his bed as she scrolled through her phone. He would’ve invited her into the shower with him, but he didn’t feel comfortable having her see what he referred to in his head as his old man’s bathroom with the bench and handrails he’d had to install on the wall.
She hadn’t noticed him yet, so he stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her as she scrolled. She’d gathered her hair into a messy bun atop her head, and her cheeks still wore the flush of a night well spent. Effortlessly sexy. He had no idea how a woman like her was sitting there on his bed in front of him right now. Part of him kept expecting to wake up from an erotic dream.
She turned finally and caught him staring. An indulgent smile lit her face. “Hey there.”
“Hey.” He stepped inside the bedroom. “You’re dressed. I can lend you a T-shirt to sleep in if you need it.”
She set her phone on the side table and pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them. “I’m not going to sleep over. Since this is a just-friends thing, I thought we should maybe not blur lines.” She glanced at the bed with a little frown. “Plus, to be honest, I’m not sure I could fall asleep with a guy next to me.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, facing her. “Because you’re a bed hog or something else?”
She sighed and looked up. “The last time a guy slept next to me was that last night with Evan. He wrapped an arm over me, and I’ve never felt so scared or so trapped as I did those few hours. I’m afraid if I wake up in the middle of the night with your arm around me or something, I’ll freak out.”
The admission made Hill’s heart twist. This sweet, lovable woman couldn’t even be held without being reminded of the terror she went through. He reached out and squeezed her foot. “I’m sorry.”
She gave him a little nod, a humorless smile touching her lips. “Me too. You’d be fun to cuddle with. Maybe some other time, on the couch.”
“Deal,” he said, trying to keep his voice light. “I can walk you back over to your side, make sure you get in safe.”
“I’d like that,” she said, taking his hand and letting him help her to her feet.
He walked her out of the bedroom, and she snagged her shoes from where she’d left them, the spell that had woven around them tonight already receding. Reality was a pushy sonofabitch. She leaned into him with easy affection, softening some of the unease moving through him. He had the overwhelming urge to sayDon’t go, but he knew that wouldn’t be fair. He needed to give her the space she was asking for. And she was right, it probably was best not to blur boundaries. Sleeping over, waking up next to someone, could be more intimate than sex.
He unlocked the front door, the humid night air and the sound of crickets enveloping them, and walked Andi over to her side. She turned to him, shoes hanging from one hand, and smiled at him. She pushed up on her toes and kissed him—a soft, lingering kiss that had his blood heating again. When she pulled away, she gave his T-shirt a little tug. “I had a really great time tonight.”
“Me too,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“We should do this again sometime soon,” she said, her smudged mascara making her blue eyes even brighter.
“We should.” He considered her, an earlier idea creeping back in. “You wouldn’t happen to be available Saturday night, would you?”
She gave him a flirty look. “I could be. Why? What’d you have in mind?”
He cringed. “A completely cheesy, embarrassing firehouse event that I somehow got roped into participating in. It’s going to be horrible.”
She laughed. “Well, with a sales pitch like that…”
“I know. Sorry.”
She leaned back against her front door, gaze curious. “What kind of cheesy event?”
“My best friend, Ramsey, is in charge of this year’s charity event for burn victims, and he got the brilliant idea to do a bachelor auction,” he said, dread in his voice. “And somehow he guilted me into agreeing to participate.”
Andi’s expression lit with interest. “A bachelor auction? Like people bid on firefighters to take on dates?”
“Well, to take to that night’s event, which apparently will involve food, booze, dancing, and karaoke.” Hill braced himself for ahell no. He would sayhell noif he could.
But Andi bit her lip, her eyes smiling. “Tipsy firefighters and karaoke? This sounds amazing.”
He laughed at her enthusiasm. “It’s going to be a nightmare. But I was thinking if you wanted to go, maybe I could give you the money to bid on me? Save me from a night of awkward conversation with a stranger?”
She snorted. “You introverts are so adorable. Stranger danger means a whole different thing to y’all. And of course I’ll go and bid on you.” She tilted her chin up haughtily. “As if I’d let some other chick or dude get their hands on you. No way. I’m an only child. I don’t share.”
Relief moved through him, and he cupped her face to kiss her soundly. “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t seen me with a few drinks in my system and a karaoke machine within reach. It can get ugly real fast.” She gave him a knowing nod. “I’m talking show tunes and power ballads.”
