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Our bodies weren’t touching anymore.
Inches separated us as we stood there staring at each other.
His eyes locked on to my mouth, and unthinkingly, I licked my lips.
When attraction was the driver of silence, there was a unique feel to it. This was a different kind of quiet, not like the kind he’d given me when I was sharing vulnerable truths. It held a distinct weight, a throbbing pulse that built and built and built the longer it lasted.
“Maybe we should get dinner another time,” he said. His voice made the hairs on my neck stand straight up.
I blinked. “Why?”
Then he leaned in and tapped the end of my nose. “Because you stink.”
I smacked his stomach and left the dark, quiet alley to the sound of his booming laugh.
Chapter Sixteen
CHARLOTTE
Burke had been back in Florida for only about twenty-four hours before the quiet in the carriage house drove me over to Daphne and Richard’s.
The door slammed against the wall, the poor recipient of my hurried movements.
“I need advice.”
Richard froze, a spoon halfway to his mouth.
Daphne patted the cushion next to her on their faded blue couch. “Talk to me.”
When Richard offered the spoon up to me, I stopped in the kitchen. “What is it?” I asked.
“Gazpacho.”
Humming appreciatively, I took a slow taste of the cold vegetable soup he always made for us when the weather started turning warm. “Delicious,” I gushed.
And change was definitely in the air. The night before, I’d kicked off my blankets in the middle of the night because my feet were hot.
Even though fall was generally my favorite time of year in Michigan, summer up north was a very, very close second. The days were luxuriously long, the sun not setting until after ten at the seasonal peak,and even though the humidity always had my hair frizzing out to high heaven if I tried to wear it down, it seemed to me like everyone slowed down to enjoy the heat after the long gray of winter.
I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and sighed happily while Richard filled it to the brim. He placed a piece of crusty bread on the rim, and I dropped a kiss on his bearded cheek.
Daphne was working on her cross-stitch, and she tilted the wooden hoop in my direction so that I could see the design.
FUCKOFF, it proclaimed in bold magenta thread surrounded by some pretty blue flowers.
“Very nice,” I told her seriously. “Where are we displaying this one?”
She held it away from her face to study it with narrowed eyes. “I’m thinking I’ll put it by the front door.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“What’s up, Charlie Brown?” she asked.
I swallowed the bite of bread in my mouth. I’d lost a bit of my fervor now that I was sitting in front of actual people, but I knew that if I could talk to anyone about this, it was Richard and Daphne.
“Burke is back in Florida.” I had another spoonful of soup. “And I don’t know exactly when he’ll be coming back.”
Daphne hummed, eyeing me over the embroidery hoop. “He’s not needed here?”
