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"Isabella.Look at me."
She didn't want to look at him because she didn't want him to read anything in her expression, but he was waiting, and slowly she lifted her gaze to his.
"You're not weak.You're incredibly brave.Annoying but also courageous," he added with a smile.
"You're super annoying, too," she said, because it was easier to say that than anything else."But you saved my life tonight."
"You saved mine as well."
"So, we're even."
"You like to keep score, don't you?"
"How else do I know if I'm winning?"
He grinned."Good point.Yeah, we're even."
As they gazed at each other, something shifted inside of her.She felt a tingle that had nothing to do with fear or the cold, and everything to do with the heat running between them.
Nick suddenly let go of her and stepped back, giving her an odd look that she couldn't read at all."Let's get out of here," he said.
"Good idea."She looked down at the floor where she'd dropped the boxes.One lid had flown off, but everything was still intact.
"We'll take these downstairs to the kitchen.The thieves didn't get in there," Nick added."It looks normal."
She could use a little normal right now, so she grabbed one box while Nick grabbed the other and they headed down to the kitchen.
ChapterTen
While Isabella sat down at the kitchen table, Nick busied himself filling the teapot and rifling through his grandmother's selection of herbal teas, thinking tea would calm everything down."I see chamomile and jasmine," he said."What would you like?"He deliberately didn't look at her, because he was feeling rattled since he'd put his arms around her in the bedroom.He'd actually liked seeing the vulnerability behind her hard edges.Maybe he'd liked it a little too much.
"Chamomile sounds good, although I'm not much of a tea drinker."
"I'm not, either, except in this house."He turned on the stove and then finally faced her."My grandmother thought tea was the answer to every mood.If you were happy, you celebrated with tea.If you were sad, tea would comfort you, and if you were stressed out, it would help you relax."
"Were you a moody kid?"
"I wouldn't say moody, but sometimes I had a chip on my shoulder.My grandfather would knock it off as soon as I arrived for the summer.And I'd have a good three months before I picked it up again."
"Why the chip on your shoulder?"
"My parents."He crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter and waited for the water to boil."They dragged me all over the world, whether or not I wanted to go.I was always having to change schools, start over, and when I got old enough, they'd send me here for the summer so I was completely out of their hair."
"That doesn't sound fun."
"It was the opposite of fun, unless I was here.Then I had people who actually gave a crap about me and wanted to talk to me, to hear what I thought.My grandfather was the greatest guy.I don't know if you ever met him."
"One time.I liked Marcus.He was much warmer than my grandfather.He had a great smile, and he was funny, too."
"He was.He had a sharp mind and was very passionate about giving back to the community.He was all about protecting the people in his neighborhood.Everyone was family to him.He took their well-being seriously."
"Is he the reason you became an FBI agent?"
"He was part of it.I didn't start out in law enforcement, though."
Surprise ran through her gaze."You didn't?What did you do?"
"Finance.I liked numbers, so I went into financial investments after college."
