Page 42 of Trouble Walked In

Her ex had already been cheating on her, she’d later foundout, which was probably why their relationship had felt so distant and uninvolved. He’d barely noticed she was there by the end of it. Renic, on the other hand, always seemed so present and focused. He had a way of making her feel like she was the only person in the room.

When her marriage was falling apart, she’d wondered what life with Renic would be like. What would his arms feel like as they pulled her close for a kiss? Guilt had forced those thoughts away, back then. She was married. She had obligations. She had no right to long for something more. So she’d never acted on the impulses. Then her sisters’ pain had driven all those thoughts away and replaced them with anger and betrayal.

Until now.

She followed Renic, feeling like a delinquent for ignoring her responsibilities all day, conflicted because she was still high from the fun afternoon, and more than a little turned on watching Renic’s ass as he walked. She kept picturing him naked, then reminding herself she shouldn’t be thinking things like that. She had work to do.

Renic walked with her to the passenger side of the SUV and clicked the door lock, but when he reached for the door, he glanced back at her. “What? You forget something? You look like you’re being chased.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I just realized how royally screwed I am. My phone is dead, so everyone’s probably freaking out about where I’ve been. I have so much that still needs to be done that I won’t be able to sleep until after the wedding. I don’t know what I was thinking, running around all day like this.”

He stepped a little closer. The smile on his face was warm and inviting. “You weren’t thinking about everyone else, for a change. You were enjoying yourself. It’s allowed.”

“Not when there’s a wedding coming up.” Guilt tap danced on her stomach. “The bride is depending on me. It’s the biggest day of their lives and if I’m not ready, I’ll let them down.”

Renic put his hands on her arms and squeezed. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. The wedding’s not until Saturday, right?”

“Yes, but the bride and groom and their parents arrived this afternoon.” The warmth of his hands soothed a little of the panic, but only a little. “There’s a lot of decorating and rearranging to get done, which can’t happen until everything is cleaned and polished. All of the rooms have to be spotless and ready for the rest of the guests that arrive on Friday. The rehearsal dinner’s Friday night. Today was the last chance to spruce everything up. To make it perfect.”

“You have a team helping you. I’ve seen them. They’re a well-oiled machine. How could they not be, working with you?” Renic said. “They’ll get it done. Trust them to have your back and they won’t just surprise you, they’ll lift you higher than you could ever get by yourself. I speak from experience on this. My team is the reason I can be where I’m needed right now.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but your team has been with you a long time, and mine includes a twenty-year-old college kid and Mark, who has a winery to run. He’s only pitching in this week because he had a break before he starts the next phase of winemaking. We should get back.”

She tried to reach around him to open the car door, but his grip on her arms tightened.

“When was the last time you took a minute for yourself?”

She thought about it. She couldn’t remember the last time, if there ever had been a time at all. Her life revolved around her sisters, then her husband, and now the inn. “It doesn’t matter.”

His smile faded, and a serious frown replaced it. “Yes, it does. Come on, Lizzie. We’ve just listened to some amazing music from a kid so raw he has no idea how talented he really is. We had great food and excellent beer. It’s a few hours, not the end of the world. We can get it all done.”

“We?” She should pull away from him, but she felt glued to the spot by his hands and his gaze. “There’s no ‘we,’ here. There’s just me, and a lot of work, and no time to do it. Can we get going? Please.”

“Hang on a second.” He looked concerned and more than a little annoyed. He let go of her arms. “Don’t you ever spend a few hours doing somethingyouwant to do, not because someone else wanted you to do it?”

She closed her eyes so she didn't have to meet his gaze. “People depend on me, and I like making them happy.”

He pressed forward. “That didn’t answer my question. Name the last thing you did, besides lunch with me today, that wasn’t driven by an event or someone else’s needs and wants.”

She sagged against the SUV’s back passenger door, trapped by his warmth and attention. “Today wasn’t about me. It was about Della.”

He gave her a look that said quite plainly that he didn’t believe her. “You enjoyed the past few hours. Don’t bother denying it. You enjoyed it so much you lost track of time. When was the last time you did that?”

She huffed out an impatient breath. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is I have responsibilities. I need to get back.”

He put one hand next to her shoulder and leaned in until his breath tickled her cheek. “You’ve lived your whole life in the shadows, haven’t you, Lizzie. You make everyone else’s happiness possible. But who’s looking afteryourhappiness?”

She looked away.

She knew the answer to his questions, and the lonely truth stung and threatened to launch tears that she refused to let anyone see. “I don’t need looking after. I do just fine on my own.”

“Is that all you want, Lizzie? Fine?”

She couldn’t think straight with him so close. The heat of his body warmed all the right places, and his questions seemed to say one thing, but mean another.

Longing flared inside her, hot and intense. She hadn’t experienced anything even close to desire for so long she’d almost forgotten what it felt like. She tried to push it aside, but it clung, as stubborn as her anger for Renic used to be.

“What do you want right now, Lizzie?” Renic’s whisper was a caress across her ear.

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