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CHAPTER14
The next morning, Tanner couldn’t resist going to the kitchen to check on Emily. Eugenia said she visited her last night. He wanted to learn what they had spoken about.
Walking into the kitchen, he saw she was making bread. There was flour on the table and she was kneading the dough in a large stainless-steel bowl.
“Good morning,” he said. “What are you making?”
“Rolls, if they will rise like I want them to,” she said. “It takes several hours.”
He walked up close to her and breathed in the soft fragrance she wore. “You smell so good.”
“Thank you,” she said, continuing to knead the dough. “What do you need?”
“Did Eugenia come and speak to you last night?”
A frown appeared on her face, drawing her brows together. Her sapphire eyes darkened and a spiral of desire slithered down his spine.
“Yes,” she said
“Did you talk about me?”
Somehow he had to keep his focus on their discussions with the ghost and not how he’d like to spread her across that table and take advantage of her.
“Not much,” she said. “Mainly she listened while I explained how we cannot be together.”
Why did it seem that her not wanting him made him want her more? There was this urgent need to show her that she couldn’t live without him, and yet he knew that wouldn’t be fair of him.
But, oh, how he wanted to kiss her. How he longed to cover her mouth with his and explore every inch of her.
“Did she agree?”
“No, I don’t think so. I finally told her that I had to get some sleep so I wouldn’t be so tired this morning.”
For days, he’d been considering apologizing and had resisted and waited. But today seemed like the time for him to finally tell her he’d been wrong to act like he had. It had been a protective move to keep himself safe from her and he’d handled the situation poorly.
Picking up her hand, he stared into her sapphire eyes knowing he wanted things to be different between them. “I’m sorry about how I reacted to you being here. I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. Can we be friends?”
He pulled her closer to him and she didn’t resist. Maybe the kiss last night had softened her up to him. He hoped so, though he knew he would still not accept her as a girlfriend. But he could be her friend.
She leaned back and smiled at him. “Wow, an apology. I’m impressed.”
“You should be,” he said, his head naturally moving to the side as if he moved to kiss her. He longed to taste her and he would not be denied.
Suddenly the kitchen door swung open. “Tanner, there you are.”
His brother Travis walked into the kitchen and grinned at him. “Come see me when you’re finished.”
“Oh, he’s finished,” Emily said, stepping back. “I’ve got to get back to my bread. It needs to rise for four hours.”
Tanner dropped her hands, the spell broken.
“You were at the interview,” she said.
“Yes, we met then,” Travis said. “I’m glad to see you’re here.”
“Me too,” she said and turned her back on Tanner dismissing him. Whatever mood they’d had dissipated. There would be no kiss now. Maybe not ever, but he’d wanted one so badly.
With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair and walked toward Travis. “Let’s go. There is a lot I need to catch you up on. Aunt Rose wants to fire me.”
