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Eli turned her hand over and shoved it back into her lap, her shoulder pulling away from Sarah. Confused, Sarah bit her lip and tried to get Eli’s attention. She was so confused. Everything had been going so well, but she couldn’t figure Eli out. Anger burst in her chest, which surprised her, but the anxiety was at least at a minimum for the time being.
“Why do you keep doing that?” Her voice rang out in the quiet den.
Eli’s jaw clenched before she slowly moved to stare Sarah in the eye. “Doing what?”
“Pulling away.”
“You’re leaving in a week.” Eli stood up and stalked over to the window, checked the fireplace, and was about to leave the den, when Sarah raced and grabbed her hand again.
“I’m confused.”
“You’re a guest in my house, Sarah. Nothing more.”
Sarah’s lips parted in surprise. “Is this about Bridget?”
“God no. Nothing is about Bridget. You are leaving in a week.”
“I don’t get it.”
Eli bounced on her toes. “Just leave it alone.”
“No. I want to know. I’ve been here eight days now, and I suck at reading people, so tell me what is going on.”
Sighing, Eli shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans and rolled up onto her toes and back onto her heels. Sarah waited impatiently for an answer, any kind of answer that she could get. Eli waved her hand around. “You leave in a week, Sarah. That’s just it, nothing more. You’re my guest, and I want to make you comfortable here.”
Narrowing her eyes, Sarah realized she wasn’t going to get much more of an answer no matter how many times she asked or how much she begged. Sighing, she crossed her arms and turned toward the fire with a burning desire to ask more questions and to know more, but she withheld. Something in Eli’s stance told her it would better not to.
When she twisted back around, Eli was surprisingly still there. Sarah gave in to Eli’s silent request to drop the subject. “Sit down.”
“What?”
“Sit down. Relax. You’ve been out all day. Let me make dinner, you drink your tea by the fire, read a book, whatever it is you want to do, and let me do what I can for you. I’m not going anywhere in this weather as it is.”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” Sarah raised one eyebrow, daring Eli to object again, but she didn’t.
Taking a risk, Sarah walked around Eli and gripped her hand as she went. She gave a squeeze, brushing her fingers over Eli’s firm bicep. She resisted the urge to lean into Eli’s strong body as she took the next step toward the kitchen. She had to make amends, had to make everything right again from all that she had messed up. She would distract herself well enough with food and perhaps when she was done and they were eating, Eli would be more amenable to having a conversation.
* * *
Eli stayed put on the couch, trying to figure out what she was doing. She’d thought she had a plan for dealing with Sarah, but every time they were in the same room together that plan went right out the window. And that question? What was she supposed to do with that?
Eli rubbed her hands over her face and tried to hide as much as she could. She was at a loss. Each time she was in the room with Sarah something changed. She wanted to stand back, to be firm in her resolution not to do anything, but then there was Sarah, standing by the window in the den staring at her like the world rested on her shoulders and everything depended on the next move she made.
And the touching.God, the touching.It wasn’t anything big, nothing that was over the bounds, just a slide of hands here and there, a squeeze of fingers, and Eli was done for, melted. She would do anything Sarah told her to do. She hadn’t known what else to say to her, but Eli could tell Sarah hadn’t understood what she meant when she’d said Sarah was leaving in a week.
She needed to explain it better, but again, every time she and Sarah were in the room together, she either had no words or all the wrong words. The hand on her shoulder startled her. Eli jumped until the second hand joined the first on her other shoulder and Sarah’s voice flitted over her ears, her breath on Eli’s skin.
“Dinner is ready.”
“That was fast.” Eli twisted and looked up at Sarah, who stood behind the couch, leaning down. A serene smile slid across Sarah’s lips before it vanished.
“I didn’t want to get too fancy.” Her voice sounded far away, and Eli realized she had probably hurt her in her failed attempt to explain everything jumbled in her brain in one freaking line.
Immediately, Eli stood up and rounded the couch. Just like she knew would happen, she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing Sarah’s hands and squeezing as they faced each other. She had to make it right, had to explain better, but once more, words failed her. She said the only thing that came to mind. “Want a drink?”
“What?”
