Page 33 of Guarding Bristol

Humor glinted in the depths of his eyes.“What kind of hours do you work?”

She shrugged.“It varies.Mostly I work regular day shifts, but we all do the occasional weekend and take on-call shifts too.I got called in last night due to a perforated appendix.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything more.

Now that they’d exhausted the obvious small talk topics, he didn’t seem interested in keeping the conversation going, which wasn’t exactly a surprise.Time to change the subject, because she didn’t want him to go yet, and she was sure he was itching to.

“Isn’t the view amazing?”She glanced out the window, shook her head to try and clear away the vision of that hard body pressing hers flat against the wall.Or a bed.“I’ll never get tired of it.Not sure if you’ve had much of a chance to explore yet, but about a half mile down that way, there’s a trail that winds up into the woods, and there’s a fantastic lookout point at the top.Do you like hiking?”

Eric had loved it, but then Rangers were pretty much always outdoorsy-types.

“I don’t mind it.”

Jeez, he really sucked at making conversation.“Or the lighthouse.There are great trails leading up to it too.You should definitely check it out while the weather is good.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”His stare held hers, setting off a rush of heat deep in her belly.

She took a hurried sip of her water.Why was her throat so damned dry all of a sudden?

He eased back in his chair a little, finally seeming more relaxed.And goodlordthe man was nice to look at.“So how come you’re eating over here in the corner all by yourself?”

She shrugged.“Needed a change of scenery and a decent meal after work, and Cassie was busy.So I took myself on a date.”

He nodded once and kept studying her, and something about his gaze made it seem like he could see inside her head.“Tough day at the office?”

Okay, he was perceptive.“Yes, actually.But the view, the meal, and the last-minute company have done the trick.”She toasted him with her water glass.

“You sure it’s not the wine?”

Her lips twitched at his dry humor, glad that he was thawing out a little.“A glass or two of wine never hurts on days like this.”

He looked away from her to glance around the bar, and as though someone had flipped a switch, his expression shifted.The warmth she’d glimpsed in his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by an unreadable mask.“Well, I should get going.”

“Of course.”She tried not to feel dismissed.

He stood.Paused to look down at her for a second, and a tingle rippled through her.“Thanks for dinner.”

“You’re welcome.Bye.”Her gaze lingered on him until he disappeared out the door.

Bristol let out a sigh and finished her ice water in a single gulp.It did nothing to cool the sudden heat suffusing her body.

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