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She kept her chin up. “I wasn’t attacked.”
“That’s where thealmostpart kicks into the equation.”
A chill danced over her skin. “I interrupted a robbery.” And, yes, at night, right before she closed her eyes before bed, she would still see the guy in her mind. Tall. Broad shoulders. Wearing all black. Including black gloves and a black ski mask that covered his face.
“According to the owners of the house, nothing was taken,” Brady noted, his gaze watchful.
“That’s where theinterruptedpark kicks into the equation,” she retorted, voice crisp. “I was planning to do an open house at that location. When I let myself inside, I found the…”Incredibly scary guy waiting.“I found the would-be robber. I immediately ran out.”And he chased me. He grabbed my shoulder, but I sprayed my mace back at the eye holes in his mask.“I got in my car, rushed away from the scene, and called the cops as I fled.” By the time the authorities arrived, the intruder had been long gone.
A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Two days ago, you received a delivery of a dozen roses.”
Unable to help it, Noelle gaped at him. “You’ve been gone for five months.” Five months, four days, and three hours. Jeez, she needed tostopthis nonsense with him. Why had she counted? Why couldn’t she get a normal hobby? Her new year’s resolution was to take up quilting or something else to occupy her time. But back to the matter at hand. “How do you possibly know so much about my life?”
“Because I make it a point to know.” Grim.
“You mean Elliott went running to you.” That had to be the case. “He’s worrying over nothing. So the flowers didn’t have a card with them. So what? It’s the holiday season. Everyone is busy. The florist probably just lost the card. Or maybe it was from a secret admirer or—”
“Or a stalker,” Brady cut in, voice rasping. “Some asshole who tried to get you at an open house and is currently locked and loaded on you.”
Noelle blinked. Chill bumps covered her arms. “You are always so bright and cheery. My own personal Christmas card.”
His fierce expression didn’t alter. If anything, he looked even more intense. Square jaw. Slightly hawkish nose. Brutally carved cheekbones. How one man could look both extremely dangerous and delectably gorgeous was beyond her. Just a talent he possessed.
“It’s been five months,” Noelle said. “You go completely off-grid, and instead of coming back and greeting me with an…I don’t know…Merry ChristmasorHappy Holidays…you appear and start telling me that I have a stalker. I don’t.” God, she hoped not. “But your concern is noted.”
His eyes narrowed. Blue chips of ice. “Your brother is worried about you.”
Your brother.As Noelle understood exactly what was happening, humiliation flooded through her. “Elliott told you to check on me. Not just to check the security here, but to actually check up onme.Ugh. This is crazy. I’ve talked to the police. They are looking for the robber—”
“A man you can’t identify. A man who had his face covered the whole time.”
“Again, you’re being way too bright and cheery,” Noelle chided him. “Your optimism is a thing to behold.” A sniff from her. “I like to think of him more as…A man they will catch soon.Or…a man who has fled the area.” Option two was her favorite.
The ice hardened even more in his gaze. “Or a man who might be watching you right now through the giant floor-to-ceiling windows of this lobby.”
Automatically, her gaze shot to said floor-to-ceiling windows. And she saw the darkness staring back at her through them. Because it was so dark, she would be easily seen by anyone outside.
She would be seen and so would Brady. Any onlooker would also see their somewhat, ah, compromising position. “It’s going to look like we’re making out.” Her hands rose and pressed against his chest. That ever-so-muscled chest of his. “Space, Brady.”
A small growl escaped him. “That’swhat you’re worried about? Someone seeing me get a little too close to you?” He gave a hard, negative shake of his head and did not give her the requested space. “Why the hell didn’t you contact me the minute this shit happened? You could have been hurt, you could have been killed, you could have been—”
“Uh, how would I contact you?” Noelle interrupted to say. “There isn’t exactly a phone number to get you when you go all dark ops on me. Besides, why would it matter? I’m just the little sister of your buddy, remember?” A line he’d thrown at her so long ago. One that had ripped out her heart. “Someone who tags along and gets in the way.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t push me.”
Shepushedagain with the palms of her hands. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. Look, it’s…sweet-ishof you to stop by, but you don’t need to pull some protective big-brother routine with me.” Noelle barely contained an eyeroll. “I have one brother. I don’t need two. Dealing with Elliott can be hard enough.”
Brady stepped back.
Her hands slipped to her sides as she jumped from the desk. A broken piece of red ornament crunched beneath her heel.
“I’m not your brother,” he said, voice still growly.
No, you are not.“I’m fine. The cops are on the case. I’m taking extra precautions.” She marched past him, crunching more ornaments, as she made her way toward the broom closet.
“Precautions, huh? You mean like staying by yourself when everyone else has left the office? Great precaution job there.”
Her hand curled around the knob of the closet door. “The facility was locked. It was secure. You only got inside because you had a key.”
