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But now?
I wanted to kill my uncle. Not only had he brought the gorgeous Rush into my house, but he’d left me alone with him.
And I’d let King do it.
I knew for a fact that my best friend knew how to turn the water beneath a sink off. And the whole thing about Rush missing out on their dinner plans had been ridiculous.
So why hadn’t I called King out on all of it? Why had I let him leave a man I barely knew alone with me?
I knew the answer before I even finished the question.
Because I trusted him.
Them.
Yeah,them.
There was no way my uncle would ever put me in any kind of danger, and I’d heard enough about Rush to know the man was much more than my uncle’s employee. So that answered the question aboutwhyI trusted my uncle, but what about Rush? Why wasn’t I hurrying through patching him up and getting him out the door? Why wasn’t that tight ball of fear that pretty much lived in my stomach full-time crushing the little butterflies that were dancing around my insides? Why wasn’t my first thought… myonlythought about protecting my secret?
“Do you really believe that?”
Rush’s soft voice broke through my confusing thoughts. I turned my head to look at him full-on.
God, he really was beautiful. I could still feel his arms around me as if it had been only yesterday that he’d come to my aid. Night after night, I heard that little hitch in his voice as he reassured me he’d gotten to me on time.
“What?” I asked, not to stall for time but because I really had forgotten what he’d said.
“Do you really not believe in love stories, Christopher?” Rush asked. He leaned forward a bit, but he was careful not to disturb Pip. I was mesmerized by the way his lips moved as he spoke. “That moment when your heart beats just a little bit quicker when you meet someone you know in your gut is different? The nerves that come with those first tentative touches.”
Rush paused long enough for me to realize I was staring at his mouth. I forced my eyes up. It turned out his mouth was the safer bet because his eyes burned with something the old me would have fantasized was desire.
“That first kiss?” Rush continued. “The sigh of relief when you know everything is going to be okay. That you’re finally going to be getting the happily ever after it feels like you’ve been waiting your entire life for…?”
I had no clue if he was still talking about the books or something else. This time, Ididfind the need to stall for time to process everything that was happening, so I responded, “Do you?”
Good Lord, why had I asked him that? I’d meant to tell him that no, I didn’t believe it… not for me anyway, but as usual, the words I intended to say got mixed up with the ones that formed the question I really wanted an answer to.
Rush smiled softly and glanced down at Pip. His big hand dwarfed the kitten as he continued to pet him. The mere thought of those strong fingers drifting over my skin made my insides feel hot.
When Rush’s eyes lifted to meet mine, I felt ensnared.
Trapped.
With no desire to escape.
“Absolutely,” Rush said.
His answer shouldn’t have lit that little spark inside of me that I’d purposefully doused years earlier. The one I’d worked to snuff out from the moment I’d realized that I’d never be strong enough to search for my own happily ever after.
“Does every love story unfold like they do in those books?” Rush murmured as his eyes shifted toward my kitchen and presumably the three boxes of romance novels sitting on the island. “No, not likely,” he continued. “But I think that’s the point of those stories… everyone’s love story is different.” Rush paused for a moment before adding, “Different but no less magical.”
I wasn’t sure how long I stared at him in mute fascination before I caught myself. “Not everyone gets a happily ever after,” I said softly as I pulled out some latex gloves and began putting them on.
“No… no, they don’t,” Rush agreed.
I could practically feel his eyes on me. It was unnerving, but it didn’t scare me. Not like when other men watched me.
I pulled my penlight out of my medical kit and forced myself to look at Rush. He hadn’t moved, and I was right about the whole watching thing. I flicked the light on and said, “I want to check the cut to make sure there’s no glass in it.”
