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She moved away from the door and to the edge of the porch. Elijah pushed away from the truck, coming toward her until he stopped at the base of the stairs. He placed a hand on the railing and then peered out in the distance. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“So?”
That got his attention, though she couldn’t tell if he was amused or irritated.
A small tendril of frustration flickered through her chest. What was she doing? This wasn’t who she was. She refused to let him control her. Scarlett lifted her chin and pretended to have all the confidence she had somehow left behind in Germany. “I don’t owe you anything.”
He cocked his head and his eyes narrowed slightly. Lifting his hand, he dragged his thumb along his jaw and then broke eye contact. “No, I don’t suppose you do.”
“Then what do you want?” she demanded. “Because as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to talk about.”
Elijah’s mirthless chuckle tugged at her. Clearly, he wasn’t thrilled about the situation they found themselves in. He could just tell her it didn’t mean anything and that it was manipulative and wouldn’t happen again. Or was she wrong? Did it mean something?
The flutters in her chest went into overdrive.
Did it mean something to her? All the sensations from that moment accosted her, hitting her over the head and pointing out that she’d never felt that way with anyone before.
No. It didn’t mean anything.
She was just starved for attention. What she really needed was to find someone else who could give her what she craved—what she came here to do.
“What’s going on here?” Lucas materialized out of nowhere, causing Scarlett to jump. Her eyes flew wide as he moved past Elijah and headed up the stairs. He paused beside Scarlett, studying her before glancing toward his brother. Then he laughed. “Don’t tell me that you can’t handle being bossed around by a woman, Elijah. I know you like being in charge, but come on!” He slipped an arm around Scarlett’s shoulder and pulled her closer to him in a sideways hug. “If you had to be subservient to a female, it couldn’t get much better than Scarlett, right?”
She didn’t want to look at Elijah. She knew that if she did, she’d be frozen, unable to move. And yet that was what she did. Her eyes landed on him and stayed there, waiting for him to say something charming, witty, or even bordering on disdain. This could go so many ways.
Tension mounted between the three of them and Lucas must have felt it. Or maybe he got bored. Either way, he grabbed both of Scarlett’s shoulders and made her face him. “Well, don’t mind him. He’s just a big grump who doesn’t know how to have fun.”
“I know how to have fun, Lucas,” Elijah said. “I just don’t go throwing myself at everyone I come across.”
Once again, Lucas draped his arm around Scarlett’s shoulder and guided her toward the door. He rolled his eyes. “Seriously, don’t even listen to him. You staying for Annabel’s birthday dinner? If so, I call dibs on sitting by you.”
Scarlett could feel Elijah’s gaze burning a hole right in the back of her head. He probably wanted her to leave, and she couldn’t blame him. He’d practically admitted that he didn’t think their kiss was appropriate. Heck, he probably thought she’d thrown herself at him.
The embarrassment melted like hot iron into the indignation that hovered beneath the surface. If she’d wanted to throw herself at him, she would have done so. Their kiss was nothing but a way to distract him so she could get away.
She briefly glanced at Elijah just before they entered the house. “Sure, of course I’ll sit by you.”
Lucas grinned, then pushed the door open and motioned for her to head inside. She didn’t bother looking back at Elijah. At this point she didn’t care if he was upset. If he wanted to spill the beans about their kiss, then he could. The chances that anyone would take his side were slim anyway. The more she thought about it, the more she had to admit that Annabel would tell him he shouldn’t have been messing with her to begin with.
Scarlett wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point she’d found herself alone. Lucas and Elijah had disappeared behind her. Maybe they’d gone down a hallway or slipped into the living room to talk about something. It was odd that Lucas wasn’t escorting her all the way to the kitchen. But she brushed it off. The workday was all but done, and Elijah had been gone from the Keagan ranch for most of it.
The more likely reason for them to go missing was to catch up on what needed to be worked on tomorrow.
So rather than go looking for them, she continued to the kitchen. Charlotte was pulling out potatoes from the oven that were wrapped in tinfoil. Annabel and two of her youngest brothers were filling bowls with toppings for the potatoes. They had green onions, bacon bits, chili, cheese, and so many other options she couldn’t keep track of it all.
Annabel glanced up when she entered and her smile widened. “There you are. I thought you might have left. You okay?”
One of the brothers—Caleb, if she was right—shot a look in her direction. It wasn’t anything that made her worry that he was interested in what might be happening, but it was enough of a reality check to remember this family didn’t really keep secrets.
That meant one thing.
Elijah wasn’t going to keep their kiss a secret.
Regret was the first emotion that seemed to slap her in the face. Why did she have to be so impulsive? There had to have been other options. She shouldn’t have even thrown water at him.
But he’d laughed at her. He deserved it.
Scarlett nodded stiffly. “I’m good. We… could we actually…”
