Page 31 of Whatever Will Be

Trent’s heavy footsteps plod right behind me and I try to dismiss the suspicion he’s staring at my ass.

“You can search the kitchen,” I toss over my shoulder and break for the dining room.

A china cabinet that used to display antiques but now primarily exhibits the twins’ artwork seems an unlikely place to discover grilling tools. However, I start opening drawers because I’m sure not going back to the kitchen while he is in there. The kitchen is too small a space to share with Trent Cassini when I’m in the middle of a flashback.

I moaned into his mouth. I tried to ride his hand.

Fuck.

A random linen table napkin gets picked up and squeezed into a ball, a futile attempt to crush the intense physical attraction I can’t escape from.

“No luck.”

It’s a mystery how he crept up behind me in those hiking boots. The sound of his voice shouldn’t be a lust trigger but it is and I feel my thigh muscles tighten even before I turn around.

Easily six foot two, Trent fills the doorway and leans one thick arm against the frame, as if he’s demonstrating that he could keep me boxed in at his discretion. His sweatshirt does little to hide the fact that he’s stacked with more muscle than any ordinary businessman has a right to be and again I wonder about him.

Who he is now.

What he likes.

How he fucks.

STOP!!!

Trent waits for my inner monologue to quit running.

“Thanks for checking,” I tell him, dropping the napkin and proceeding to open random drawers in order to hide the blush that surely gives me away.

He doesn’t budge. “I can keep on looking.”

“All right.” I open a drawer and find candles. I open another one and find…more candles. “You can look in the living room if you want.”

“Where do you sleep?” he asks.

Trent is still posed in the doorway. I search his face in an effort to figure out what he’s really asking. He stares back at me, waiting for an answer.

“In the master suite on the first floor. But I’m sure there are no grilling tools in there.”

“Didn’t think there would be. I just wanted to know where you sleep.”

I open another drawer filled with candles. They seem to be multiplying of their own free will. Slowly, I shut the drawer and give him my full attention.

“I thought you said you don’t flirt, Trent.”

“I’m not flirting. I’m making conversation.”

I cross my arms, a classic defensive pose. “I suppose sooner or later we will have to address what happened between us.”

“Sure, we can do that.”

His expression is maddeningly unreadable. He hasn’t shaved today. This only adds to his gruff and sexy vibe.

I start to chew my lip, an old habit, and stop myself. “I was having a lot of emotions that night. I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

He rolls his eyes. “Shit, I like you better when you’re not so clenched and nervous.”

“You don’t make me nervous.”

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