Page 31 of Lakesides and Longing

She marched into the kitchen and caught a nice view of his backside as he bent over to pull the muffins out of the oven. She had the urge to smack it, but she wasn’t sure they were at that level yet.

How she wanted to be though.

He set the pans on the top of the stove and examined them. She stood next to him and crossed her arms.

“I’m tired of this,” she said. This dancing around was ridiculous. They had eight weeks of summer left, and they’d never survive the tension without something happening. So something needed to happen.

“Of what?”

“Of pretending like we aren’t madly attracted to each other.” She hopped back on the counter so she was facing him. “We’ve got eight weeks. Let’s make the best of them.”

He crossed his arms and slid closer to her. “And what happens at the end of the eight weeks?”

“You leave, and I move back to Mackinac.” She wouldn’t really move back, but right now that’s what Lukas thought and so she’d keep up the charade, but she was never leaving.

“What if I don’t want to leave at the end of the eight weeks?”

She jerked her head around. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, I’m not a summer romance kind of guy. I fall pretty hard. What if I fall for you?”

She dropped her eyes. She wasn’t prepared for that kind of response. “I thought you weren’t into hippy artists.”

He chuckled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers leaving a blazing trail on her cheek. “I’m not. But I might make an exception for you.”

She flushed. “I don’t know. You know I’m not really interested in anything long-term.” Never again did she want to put herself in a position of getting hurt. But maybe she was. Blake was…different than any other guy she’d known.

He nudged her knee. “Come on, don’t be all embarrassed. I’m glad we’re clearing the air. We needed to. I like you, I’m not going to lie. I think you’re incredibly hot. You make me laugh, and you make me think. Plus you’re amazingly talented at a lot of things, tough as nails, but also incredibly vulnerable.”

He moved in front of her, and her heart raced. She stared at his chest because she didn’t dare look him in the eyes. She clutched at his shirt, and he hissed.

“Then why don’t you do something about it?”

She finally met his eyes and saw torment there.

“Because you’re Lukas’s sister, and he trusted me here with you. I’m not about to break that trust.” He set his hands on the counter on either side of her. “Not gonna lie though. The thought of you with any other guy makes me want to punch something.”

She chuckled. “We’re not going to be able to hold out all summer. You know that. There’s too much chemistry.”

“Speak for yourself. I have the willpower of a monk. I’m used to seeing what I want and not getting it.” He pursed his lips and frowned.

He let go of the counter and sauntered from the room. Paige stared after him wondering what on earth happened to him that made him so strong.

Tormented, but strong.

CHAPTER22

That night, Blake grabbed Tria’s leash when he saw Paige stretching and yawning. It took all of his willpower to not go over and kiss her.

Clearing the air between them was a good thing, but now he knew exactly what she wanted, and he couldn’t have her.

But damn if he didn’t want her.

He didn’t know how they would manage to sleep in the same bed together and not have something happen.

“I’m taking Tria for a walk,” he said.

Paige glanced up at him. “So late?” It was nearing ten.

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