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“Talk?” She blinked, trying to read his expression in the darkness. Since when did a man stop kissing a woman in order to talk?
A low chuckle escaped him and he stretched out on the lounger pulling her down beside him. There was barely room for the both of them. “Lindsey, I think it's obvious how much I want you. But I promised you could stay here without strings. This wasn't part of our deal.”
He was sweet, the way he spoke so earnestly. “I know.” She wasn't sure what else to say. She rested against him for a moment, cherishing his closeness.
“I guess what I’m saying is that I don't want to give you a reason to leave,” he admitted. “I would never want you to feel uncomfortable.”
His concern touched her heart. She'd never wanted a man as much as she wanted Austin. True passion had been missing from her life for what seemed like forever. It was difficult to walk away from it now. She angled up to look into his eyes. “Maybe I'm looking for a reason to stay.”
“I'd like that.” Then hastily added, “I mean, that you stay. Not that I pressure you for anything more.”
She rested the palm of her hand on his damp chest, trying to put her feelings into words. But before she could gather her scattered thoughts, she heard the screen door open.
“Mom? My tummy hurts.”
They froze at the sound of Josh's voice. She scrambled off the lounge nearly falling flat on her face. “I'm coming, Josh,” she said loudly. Then in a whisper she added, “Likely too much pizza. I'm sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I understand,” he assured her.
She headed inside to Josh, both glad and sad to have their kiss interrupted.
What was she thinking, playing with fire? She was lucky Josh had interrupted when he had before she managed to get burned.
Josh finally fell asleep, after she'd given him some anti gas pills she'd found in Austin’s medicine cabinet. By the next morning, Josh was tired but otherwise felt fine and insisted on going to school.
She'd been tempted to keep him at home, but had decided against it, knowing her son had already missed more than enough school. The biggest problem was that she and Austin both had the day off.
And she couldn't help reliving their heated kiss at the side of his pool.
Was he planning to pick up where they'd left off?
Did she want him to?
Months ago, she'd accused him of trying to take over her life. And while that was sort of true, the real reason she'd pushed him away had been because she'd known it would be like this between them. Hot. Sensual. Intense. Far too tempting.
She needed to get a grip. After dropping Josh off at school, she didn't go back to Austin’s. Instead, she’d decided to go to the bank to check on the status of her loan.
The loan officer kept her waiting almost twenty minutes. When he finally returned, she could tell by the serious expression on his face that the news wasn't promising.
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Winters, but as a high-risk borrower, you don't qualify for a loan.”
Stunned, she stared at him. “How is that possible? I have the house as collateral. And I need to pay for the repairs from the fire.”
“Yes, but the house is in need of repairs, and unfortunately your credit rating is, well…” he shrugged. “I’m sorry.
“Sorry?” She glared at him. “What do you suggest I do?”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, tugging at his tie. “There are places that will give high risk loans to people in your situation for a much higher interest rate. You may want to try for one of those.”
Annoyed, she grabbed her purse and stood. “Thanks for nothing.” She turned and walked out of the bank, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. A high interest loan because she was high risk. The payments were going to be difficult enough, without adding a high interest rate to the mix.
Depressed, she headed over to her house to check on the status of the repairs. Stepping inside, she was glad to see there was some evidence of work that had been done to date. There were bits of wiring scattered around the floor, along with the fine sheen of drywall dust, yet the place was empty.
Where were the construction workers? Was it a holiday of some sort? It was the middle of spring, it couldn't possibly be Columbus Day. Or President's day. She frowned. Memorial Day was at least six weeks away.
As she turned to leave Austin stepped through the doorway, surprised to find her there. “What is it? What's wrong?” He looked concerned at seeing the frustration on her face.
“Where is everyone? Why aren't they working?”
