Page 74 of Enemies in Paradise

“I’m fine,” I hurry to answer, but my traitor stomach growls.

He doesn’t even try to hide his laugh. “I’ll get your clothes going, then raid my parent’s fridge. Mine is pretty empty since I eat mostly at Britta’s or the Garden.”

“Really, I’m fine. You’ve already done enough. I’ll take a shower and climb into bed.” If he keeps being the Bear everyone has told me he is, I’m in real trouble.

“Cassie.” His low voice rumbles across the walls, all the way through my chest. “You’re hungry. I’m going to feed you. I don’t know what, but it will be here before you finish your shower.”

As soon as the wordshowerleaves his mouth, his confidence falters.

“Or bath.” He blinks hard and swallows. “Whichever one you take. That’s your business, not mine.”

Despite his assertion back at the shop that he didn’t see anything when I lost my towel, his face tells a different story. A streak of red travels from his collar to every piece of flesh visible above his beard, and he rubs the back of his neck.

“I’llbebackinaminute,” he says so quickly, the door shuts and Bear is gone before I decipher what he’s said.

One thing easy to decipher, though, is that Bear is as attracted to me as I am to him. Those feelings, at least, haven’t changed. It isn’t doing either of us any good, however. It’s one more complication in this very complicated relationship. Er, connection. Whatever it is we have.

Based on the fact he’s feeding me, doing my laundry, and giving up his apartment for the night, maybe none of his feelings have changed. Maybe, despite everything that’s happened, whatever he said yesterday about having feelings for me since the first time we met, he still feels.

What I see in him, on the other hand, is completely different from what it has been. I wrote him off immediately. Too young. Too small town. Too awkward. But my attraction to Bear has been growing every time I see him again; every time he drops his guard and shows a softer side to me.

Bear is so much more than Zach’s little brother or the nemesis standing in the way of my dreams. He’s more than a body and face perfect enough to grace the cover of a romance novel.

Bear is kind, thoughtful, funny, protective, and a thousand other things—including a book lover—that could make me fall in love with him.

Which means we may be headed for even more trouble than when we hated each other. Falling in love with him could mean not only giving up another fight, but also another dream.

Unless…we find a way to both get what we want…including each other.

Chapter 24

Bear

I make it downthe apartment stairs on shaky legs and carry Cassie’s laundry to the washing machine. I stayed chill until I mentioned the shower, then my whole façade came crashing down. The word triggered the memory of her losing her towel, which I’d successfully kept in check for almost an entire hour, despite the fact I had to look at her in my jersey for most of that time.

I dare any other straight man to attempt that feat. No one can ever accuse me of not having incredible willpower.

As if looking at her in my jersey or not thinking about her in the shower weren’t hard enough, the first load of her laundry that I dump into the washer is full of her… under things.

Red, black, pink, silky. Animal print.

They rain down into the metal tub. I force myself not to take a second look and drop a detergent pod inside, then slam the lid shut. I wipe the sweat from my forehead and walk to the house.

I’ve seen a lot of Cassie today. But it’s not the image of her towel-less or her fancy skivvies I can’t get out of my head. As hard as it is, I tuck both away. Dwelling on them feels like invading her privacy.

What I can’t unsee is her wearing something of mine.

Myjersey.Myname onherback.

That’s the image that makes my legs rubber as I take the snow-shoveled path from the garage to the back door of the house.

Molly greets me there with her ball in her mouth. When she doesn’t go to work with me, she helps take care of Mom. I let her into the yard and take the ball from her. She wags her tail frantically while waiting for me to throw it, and I’m grateful for the distraction.

I’m also grateful it’s cold outside. I need something to cool me down. It’s not just Cassie in my jersey or the memory of kissing her I can’t get out of my head. Thoughts of her using my shower and sleeping in my bed flood my brain with the same force as the burst pipe at the shop.

Even now, playing fetch with Molly, my eyes keep drifting up the stairs to my apartment, where Cassie is either in my jersey or in my tub.

After a few more tosses with Molly, my body temp has lowered enough that I can go inside without spontaneously combusting. Molly follows me, barking her displeasure about cutting our game short. But I still need to get something for Cassie to eat and clean up the shop.

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