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The rub of his thumb against her knuckles made her knees tremble. His words both terrified and elated her, making her dizzy. If Jim Miller pushed hard enough, he could ruin her dad. With the reporters’ questions and Dad’s disapproval of Bjørn, Bjørn could’ve told them he’d thought it better to keep searching and cut her father’s leadership off at the knees.
But once again, Bjørn had pushed aside any bad feelings between him and her dad to make the situation better. He lifted her hand and brushed soft kisses against her bruised knuckles. Her stomach flipped.
“You’re wrong, Bjørn Rebel.” Her breath that had been bottling up in her chest came easy.
He lifted his eyebrow in question. “Not possible.”
She chuckled softly and leaned forward. “I do need you.”
His gaze pinned her as they focused with intensity. He cupped her cheeks and captured her lips in a kiss that seared to her very soul. With Bjørn, she felt cherished, but more than that, he respected her. He might not swoop in the instant trouble churned, because he trusted her abilities to handle her own problems. But she could also count on him when she did need him.
A car horn beeped, and Bjørn smiled against her lips. “Looks like we have to go to work.”
She kissed him again with a disappointed sigh. “Yeah.”
He pulled away and waved at a man getting out of his truck before turning back to her. “What was the boxing match over?”
She swallowed, suddenly embarrassed to hash it out. She peeked a glance at the man digging in the backseat of his truck and determined to rush the words out before he joined them. Puffing out her cheeks, she blew out a frustrated breath.
“That was my ex.” She cringed, and Bjørn shifted, crossing his arms. “He dumped me when he found out about my scars.” She resisted the urge to rub her arms. “He just wanted to prove he was still a jerk.”
“What did he say?” Bjørn’s voice lowered.
“Just a bunch of nonsense about me being a sob story and you only being with me to gain publicity for your business.” She shrugged, hoping the move didn’t show how much the words still hurt.
“Why that—” Bjørn’s expression turned hard as granite as he clenched his jaw. “Now I wish I had backed you up. I could hold him while you beat the snot out of him.”
Her laugh burst out with a snort, and she quickly covered her mouth. Bjørn’s entire countenance softened as he smiled at her. She threw her arms around his neck and put all her happiness in the kiss, not caring that a stranger approached and would probably tell her dad when they got back.
The approaching man cleared his throat, and Sadie pulled back with a soft sigh. She moved to step away, but Bjørn snaked his arm around her waist and held her close to his side. The stranger’s eyes narrowed as he stopped before them and looked between her and Bjørn.
“Sadie, this is my brother Gunnar.” Bjørn looked down at her. “Gunnar, this is Sadie.” The tone of his voice held something she couldn’t quite pinpoint but sounded a lot like love.
Her neck heated as she tried to contain her smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“So,” Gunnar said, a scowl on his face as he dropped his bag to the ground. “You’re the reason we can’t get any work done.”
