Ginny was watching him while she sipped her coffee, both hands on the mug. Her blue eyes regarded him, eyebrows raised.
“I’m going to do it,” he said. “I can’t see any reason not to.”
She smiled, though it was not as wide and cheerful as usual. “You’re sure?”
“Are you not?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. You did your due diligence. They know your budget. The company is obviously legitimate.”
“But?”
She looked out the window at the dreary day and took her bottom lip between her teeth.
Which sent his mind reeling far, far from real estate developments.
She spoke, and he forced himself to focus on her words, not her lips. “I’m feeling very cautious because of”—she waved toward nothing in particular—“you know. Everything. I suspect my reservations have nothing to do with truth and everything to do with my own issues.”
That made sense, but… “Are you sure there’s nothing else?”
“That guy Sokolov rubbed me the wrong way the other night. But considering the day I’d had and the fact that he bumped into me—”
“He wasn’t exactly graceful.”
“But he was gentlemanly about it,” she said. “And he could have stolen my phone if he’d wanted to. I wasn’t even paying attention when he found it.”
“Me, either. So there’s that.” But she didn’t look convinced, and her smile was far from the cheerful, honest one she’d given him earlier. This felt polite, maybe forced. “It’s just me, Kade. Don’t let my unfounded worries stop you.”
He considered all she’d said. Her worries did seem unfounded.
The truth was, without the money Sokolov offered, Kade’s project was dead for another year.
“Honestly,” he said, “meeting Sokolov felt like a gift from God. I think I’d be a fool not to accept his offer.”
Her smile widened to the one he was coming to love. “Then what are you waiting for? Call him.”
After he called Sokolov, they tossed the remains of their coffee and headed to the office store in town. Kade left Ginny in the car and ran in to collect the fax and the things he’d sent for printing earlier that day. He made one last vital phone call while he waited in line.
When he climbed back in the car, he settled the poster-sized artists’ rendering and the bag filled with proposals in the backseat and faced her. “Just got off the phone with Collier’s secretary. I’m on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“It’s all coming together.”
“This calls for a celebration.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Dinner?”
Her smile faded. “You must be busy. Don’t feel like you owe me anything for my help. You can just take me home.”
What? Was that what she wanted? To go home? Based on her initial reaction, he didn’t think so. “Wow, woman. You sure know how to make a guy feel wanted.”
“I don’t mean it like that. Just… you’ve wasted enough time with me for one day.”
He leaned away and faced her. “Wasted time? Is that what this was?”
“Oh.” All joy leached from her face. “I just mean, not for me. This was great. But you must have better—”
“Why do you do that? Why do you always assume you’re in the way? Unwanted?”
She turned toward the window.
Because she’d been treated that way by the people who were supposed to love her most in the world. He brushed her hair back so he could see her profile. “Just so there’s no misunderstanding,” he said, “I came for you today because I’d thought about calling you all morning, but I didn’t want to seem too eager.”
She turned her head just enough that he could see her eyes, but she didn’t look at him.
“I spent the afternoon with you because I like you. I like spending time with you.”
“But all my baggage—”
“Doesn’t change that.”
She nodded almost imperceptibly.
“And I invited you to dinner because I can’t bear to part with you yet. I want to celebrate my victory, and there’s no one I’d rather celebrate with than you.” She was still looking beyond him, so he shifted to catch her eyes. “Your family were idiots if they didn’t realize how special you are.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw the beginnings of tears before she blinked them back.
“I, however, am highly intelligent, despite my reading disorder.”
She smiled at that.
“And I know quality when I see her. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good. I know the perfect place to escape this dreary day.”
Twenty minutes later, he dropped Ginny beneath the portico of a restaurant and parked. Then, he snatched his laptop case and the bag he’d gotten from the copy store and jogged through the rain to the door. This was his favorite steakhouse in the world. The food was delicious, the service excellent, but it was the ambience that made it perfect.
The hostess said, “Two for dinner?”
Kade rested his hand on Ginny’s back. “Near the fireplace, please.”
Ginny’s eyes lit. He’d thought she’d like it here.
They were seated at a table for two about ten feet from the flickering flames. The floor-to-cathedral-ceiling stacked stone fireplace was the centerpiece of the dining room. The scent of the wood fire filled the space. Exposed beams overhead and knotty pine siding gave the room the feeling of a rustic lodge. It wasn’t crowded tonight, probably owing to the pouring rain and it being Monday. All the better for him, because it meant they had good seats, and he wouldn’t have to share Ginny with anybody.
She looked around. “How have I never been here?”
“You like it?”
“It’s absolutely wonderful. I love it.”
“Me, too.” He tried to hide the swell of pride. “I helped build it.”
Her attention snapped to him. “You did this?”
“The owner’s a friend.”
“Wow.” She took in the space, her gaze resting on the fireplace. “That’s magnificent.”
“Thanks. My friend’s idea. I just made it happen.”
She turned to him again. “I’m impressed.”
He shrugged that off. “Anyway, order anything you like. Dinner’s on me.”
After they ordered their drinks—iced tea for her, Coke for him—he reached for his laptop bag. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted you to see the proposals.”
She leaned forward. “I’d love to.”
He dug in the sack and handed her one of the full-color bound packets he’d had printed, then watched as she looked.
The cover had a scaled-down version of the artist’s rendering of his development. She murmured, “It’s beautiful. Now that I’ve seen the property, I can really picture it.”
She opened to the first page, then flipped through the proposal one page at a time, uttering little “mms” and “oohs” as she went. Finally, she flipped the cover closed. “This is perfect.”
He blew out a long breath. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I can’t think of a thing I would have added.” She glanced at the cover, ran her fingers over the picture. “I can’t wait to see it in real life.”
“You and me both.” He took the proposal and slid it back in the bag and into his laptop case. “Enough about my stuff. Tell me about your real estate business. How is that going?”
She filled him in on her business, making him laugh with her stories about strange things clients had done. The food was delicious, the fireplace warm and cozy, and the company perfect. They never ran out of things to say. And he never tired of looking at her.
When dinner was over and they were the last customers in the restaurant, he knew it was time to go, little though he wanted to.
He stood and took her hand. Her fingertips were cold, so he led her to stand in front of the fireplace. She warmed them while they gazed at the
flames. “Why don’t you wait here, and I’ll get the car and crank the heat?”
“Don’t be silly. The rain won’t hurt me.”
He was about to argue, but when she looked at him, her blue eyes wide, her pink lips so close…
He’d been thinking of kissing her all day. But the car, with the console—so awkward.
And in Dunkin’ Donuts after talking to contractors all afternoon? That seemed about as romantic as a bologna sandwich.
But here… The place was empty. It was just Kade and Ginny and a crackling fire, and he couldn’t wait another moment.
He slid his hands on either side of her face, his fingertips just reaching the soft strands of her hair. He bent down slowly, waiting for a sign she wanted him to stop.
She didn’t flinch or move or maybe breathe. He didn’t either as he closed the distance and touched his lips to hers.
They were soft and tender. She tasted of the chocolate dessert they’d shared. Delicious and perfect.
Her hands rested on his hips, then slid around his back, and he deepened the kiss while his body reacted, ached for more.
When he nearly exploded with desire, he forced himself to stop. Mustering his self-control, he leaned away.
She rested her face against his chest, and he pulled her into an embrace and kissed the top of her head.
He hoped she was feeling some semblance of what he was, because that was mind-blowing.
And he was falling for this happy, free-spirited woman.
This woman whose life was in danger.
Chapter Nine
Though Ginny told Kade she could handle a little rain, he insisted he get the car and meet her outside. When he parked beneath the portico, she rushed outside.
By the time she reached the car, Kade was holding her door open for her. She started to thank him, but on the way to his eyes, she got sidetracked by his lips.
She’d never experienced a kiss like that. Soft and tender, warm and insistent. She’d never responded to a kiss like that, either. She’d read about those kind of kisses in romance novels, kisses that make your toes curl. Kisses that make all rational thought flee. She’d always thought those kisses the stuff of fairytales.
She’d been wrong.
Kade’s lips had been perfect.
Right now, they smiled, and her eyes lifted to see the heat in his eyes.
She had to breathe. To think.
To get in the car. Right. She slid into the seat.
A moment later, he joined her. By the time they were on the highway, he’d pulled her hand into his.
The ride was quiet but not uncomfortable. She couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss, and about the things he’d said earlier tonight. That he wanted to be with her. That he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
Thank heavens it was dark and he couldn’t see her silly smile.
Did he have a similar one on his face? When she glanced at him, his eyebrows were lowered, his mouth closed tightly.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
He squeezed her hand. “Nothing.”
Well, that wasn’t true. She shifted so she could see him better. “Please tell me the truth. I don’t appreciate being brushed off.”
He glanced her way. “I was thinking about our earlier conversation.”
“Which one? We’ve had a lot today.”
“About your parents.”
Her too-full stomach twisted. “Let’s not talk about that tonight.”
“Okay.”
But she could tell he was thinking about it. “Let’s focus on your meeting tomorrow. Assuming the project gets approved, what’s the next step?”
“We’ll break ground as soon as possible.”
“Within a week? A month?”
“I’ve got everything in place. We just need the town on board and the funding to come in, and we can begin as soon as NEB is available.”
“That’s so exciting.”
“Yup.”
He didn’t seem excited at all. Or particularly happy. Did he regret kissing her? It hadn’t seemed exactly spur-of-the-moment. In fact, he’d taken his time with it. Given her time to stop him. As if that would have happened. She’d looked forward to that kiss for days. And it had well exceeded her expectations. Why would he regret something he’d done so thoughtfully? Something that had been so good?
Maybe it was the project. “Are you nervous?”
He blew out a long breath. “I’m not nervous about my project. It’s going to be fine. The events of the weekend, your sister, the intruder, what you learned today… That’s what I’m thinking about.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. Why ruin a perfectly wonderful evening with that?”
He pulled onto her street and parked in her driveway. Then, he turned to face her. “How do you do that? How do you just push it out of your head?”
Her house was dark. She hadn’t left a light on or closed the blinds, and the windows were gaping and black. Her heart thumped with fear, and she turned back to Kade. What had he asked her?
Right. How did she push away unpleasant things? “If I don’t want to think about something, I just don’t. I focus my mind elsewhere. If there’s something out of my control, I ignore it.”
“Seriously? Just like that? What a gift.”
“Sometimes. The problem is, some things aren’t out of my control. When I was a kid, I could have made more of an effort to know what my parents were doing. Not that I could have fixed it, but I could have been informed, prepared. But it was unpleasant, so I ignored it. I pretended everything was fine and lived in my own little fantasyland.”
He took her hand again. “It’s like a defense mechanism.”
“Maybe. And when I have a problem”—the dark house loomed over them—“and I don’t know how to fix it, I put it out of my head.”
“How does that help?”
“It doesn’t. Which is how I land in situations like this. By pretending they aren’t real.” Like the duffel bag her mother had given her. She’d put it out of her mind, figuring she’d give it back to her mother when she saw her again. But now… Could she do that, knowing what she’d learned?
Should she turn the money over to the police?
She had no idea.
“What are you thinking about?”
Ginny shook her head. “Nothing. Did you ask me a question?”
“How do you do that, pretend things aren’t happening?”
She put the duffel bag out of her head.
It was just that simple.
“I trust the world will make everything right because… I don’t know. I guess because I’m a decent person, so things should work out decently for me.”
Kade’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think that’s how it works?”
“I don’t know how it works, whatever it is. I know what you believe. I’m not against what you believe. It’s just…” She glanced at the clock. How was it nearly eleven? And how did they get into this conversation? “You have a meeting tomorrow. I should go.”
For the first time since they’d left the restaurant, he smiled. “You do that to me, make me forget everything else.” He opened his door.
“You don’t have to come in with me.” She swallowed and kept her gaze away from the house. “I can manage.”
As if she hadn’t spoken, he walked around to open her door. The rain had stopped, though moisture lay heavy in the air. At the house, he took her keys and turned the lock, then stepped inside. The alarm beeped the warning that it was about to go off, but Kade was in no rush. After a moment, he moved out of the way so she could follow him in and make the beeping stop. She flipped on the foyer light and turned to him. “Thank you for—”
He closed the front door. “I’m going to take a quick look around, if that’s okay.”
“Why?” Fear bubbled in her middle as she remembered the last time she and Kade had come in together. “Did you see something?”
“Nope. But unlike you, I can’t just put unple
asant things out of my mind. So if I want to sleep tonight, I need to know you’re safe. Stay put.”
Before she could raise a protest, he moved away from her. He searched the downstairs, flipping on lights as he went. He opened all the doors and looked behind the sofa. A moment later, he bounded up the stairs. She heard doors opening and closing, and then he came back down.
“I really appreciate you doing that.”
He smiled and walked past her to the door that led to the basement, opened it, and went down.
A moment later, he returned with a smile. “Nothing but dust bunnies.”
“You didn’t check the attic.”
His eyebrows lowered in that concerned look she’d come to know. “I didn’t think of that. Where’s the access?”
“I was kidding.” She put as much amusement as she could into her voice. “The access is in the second-floor hallway, but there’s no way to climb them and pull the steps up behind you. It’s designed that way to keep people from getting trapped.”
His eyebrows hadn’t budged.
“Seriously, I was kidding.”
“If you’re sure.”
Man, he was cute when he was worried. And when he wasn’t. “I’m sure. And I appreciate you doing that. As confident as I tried to sound, I was scared to come into the dark house by myself.”
“Good.”
She stepped back. “Wow, thanks.”
“You should be scared, Ginny. After everything you told me today—”
“Let’s not. We both need to sleep.”
“I’m just saying, you need to stay on your toes.” He stepped closer and took her hands. “I need you to protect yourself.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Have you been keeping your gun nearby, practicing holding it?”
She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t think he’d appreciate the truth. She shook her head.
“Tomorrow, hold it over and over until it feels natural. When the weather clears, we can go shooting again.”
“You don’t have to—” His eyebrows lifted, and she cut herself off. “Okay.”
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