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He chuckled at my food moans as I sipped the hot chocolate. “Breakfast is almost ready. We can eat at the coffee table.”
“That sounds perfect.”Because pre-dawn breakfasts on a cozy sofa with the crush you can’t have were such a smart thing to do.
I had to change the subject, take us back to somewhere inane, meaningless,friendly. “So, did my mother invite you to Sunday dinner? I missed the last couple. She’s probably mad at me.”
That ought to kill the mood. My mother and I hadn’t been getting along lately. When you come from a family full of perfect people it could be hard to fit in. Eventually I quit trying and did my own thing. But she was still determined to fix my life and fix me up and since I was determined tonotbe fixed, we now had a problem.
Valentine’s Day had been the last straw. I’d hid in the coffee shop’s back room with Liam while she tried to get me to dance/talk/date Jared Jamison. I can’t believe he snatched my cell phone like he did, the dumb jerk. He’d had a crush on me since we were kids, but I just didn’t like him that way and never would. He had always been persistent but had never gone too far. Now that I was single and back in town, his determination to go out with me had ramped back up and I was getting fed up with the entire situation.
“She did. Are you going?”
“Doubtful. She won’t stop trying to fix me up.”
His expression soured. “Like with that asshole from Violet’s who snatched your phone?”
“Yep, his name is Jared and we’ve known each other since we were kids. My mother has been friends with his mom forever. She’s an awesome lady but her son is a pest. Let’s just say he got lucky. If it had been anyone else, I would have taught him a lesson on what the wordnomeans.”
“I’ll teach him a lesson for you,” he muttered. “Just say the word.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Ultimately, he’s harmless. He caught me off guard, but it won’t happen again. I’m onto him now.”
A grunt was his only response as he turned off the stove and plated our food.
“Can I help?”
“Yeah, grab our mugs and some napkins and follow me.”
I followed him to the living room, watching the muscles in his back move as he walked. He’d put a shirt on, but it didn’t hide a single sexy ripple. I sat our mugs down then sat my booty down, suddenly becoming acutely aware that I was dressed only in undies and a T-shirt—hisT-shirt.
It was not that I didn’t trust Liam. I did. Luke and my family wouldn’t love him so much if he were a creeper. I didn’t trust myself. I had things to work out before I could be with anyone, but I found myself wanting to be with him far too much for my own good.
“This looks great.” I took a bite of banana pancake and barely bit back the groan threatening to escape. “Delicious. You have to give me the recipe so I can screw it up.”
“It’s pretty easy. One banana, two eggs. That’s it.”
“I think it might be the flipping I have a problem with. I think I flip too early and end up making a mess.”
“I’ll teach you. You fix my back and maybe I can teach you to cook.” His voice was sleepy. I watched fascinated while his chest expanded and contracted as a huge yawn escaped him.
“Tired?” I said through my own yawn. I guess they really were contagious.
He rolled his shoulders then stretched his arms over his head. “I slept about an hour, but it feels like I’ve been up for days.”
“Yeah, Jude and Levi are both on overnight shifts at the firehouse all week and I guess I don’t like being alone anymore. I don’t know...”
He leaned toward me, and his voice lowered. “You decided to go for a run to exhaust yourself, didn’t you?”
I tilted my head and nodded.
“I did the same thing,” he confessed.
“And now here we are.” My voice came out shakier than I liked as I recalled my crazed sprint through the forest.
“What happened out there tonight, Holly?” He asked quietly, eyes alight with sympathy.
I met his gaze with a sideways glance. “I think I was on the verge of a panic attack. I don’t think anything actually happened tonight. I never used to be scared of anything, but lately everything scares me. The dark, being alone... you name it and it freaks me out. You even freak me out, Liam.”
His head whipped back. “Me? Why?”
