Page 9 of Inarticulate

“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” She nudged his shoulder and winced when his knife clattered against his plate. “Sorry.”

“No jealousy here.” Dominic jerked his chin in Keenan’s direction. “He’s good people. It just takes a while for him to warm up to strangers.”

Warm up? She merely wanted to get past the stage where she thought he wanted to stab his dinner knife through her chest.

He still intrigued her, though, and it wasn’t all due to her fluttering ovaries. Everyone spoke to him during the meal. There was no discomfort or lull in the conversations he was involved in. Yet she noticed nobody asked him questions that required more than a yes or no answer. Nothing that needed more than a subtle jerk of his head.

“Who wants seconds?” Her aunt stood and held up a dish of potato bake.

There was a mass of groans. Guests leaned back in their chairs, rubbing overextended tummies while others shook their head, or waved away the possibility of more food.

Savannah chuckled to herself at the dramatics, skimming her attention over everyone until she reached Keenan. Their gazes collided and her breath caught. A rush of adrenaline slid through her veins as she waited for another one of his glares.

The nasty look didn’t materialize. This time his focus was blank. No emotion. No expression. She broke eye contact, unable to match his unblinking stare without the threat of doing something silly like snorting, giggling, or blushing.

The man was a damn robot.

“The meal was lovely. Thank you.” She pushed from her seat, placed her dirty cutlery onto her plate, and then poked Dominic in the shoulder. “I’ll wash if you want to dry.”

He peered up at her with incredulity. “What century are you living in? We have a dishwasher. You rinse, I’ll stack.”

“Deal.” She beamed at him, her full smile holding until she turned back to the table, and her traitorous eyes focused back on Keenan.Damn it.She needed to stop seeking him out. She was too young to be shot. Or stabbed. Or kidnapped.

She was tempted to poke out her tongue, flip him the bird, even flash her bra covered tits to see if he was capable of more than an impassive stare.Whatever.She would ignore him from now on. He didn’t deserve her attention. No matter how attractive his brooding was.

“I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” she muttered to Dominic.

She ignored Keenan, who pushed to his feet to stack empty plates, and strode from the room. As soon as the dishes were done, she was out of here. Her mood had deteriorated, and she didn’t want to risk seeing Penny when holding a professional façade would be near impossible.

“About next weekend—” Dominic came up behind her and clattered a stack of plates into the sink, “—there’s a bonfire on the outskirts of the city on Saturday night. You should come.”

She sidestepped, moved out of his way, and bristled at the sight of Keenan in the doorway. “I’ll keep it in mind. I’m not sure what my schedule will be like by then.”

Dominic grinned and addressed Keenan. “Does that sound like a brushoff to you?”

The other man rested his shoulder against the frame and inclined his head.Gah.What she wouldn’t give for him to show some enthusiasm. A smile. A thumbs up. Even shooting her the bird would be a relief from all the thinly veiled disdain.

“A bonfire in the middle of nowhere isn’t my idea of fun.”

“The middle of nowhere is actually the back of a property overlooking a two-story mansion owned by a rich bastard I know.” He pulled open the dishwasher and began stacking plates. “There’ll be booze, friendly faces, and Penny. She looks forward to camp nights. It would be a good opportunity for you to speak with her while she’s in a decent mood.”

Maybe. Speaking to her cousin in a casual setting still seemed like the best way to approach the situation. But in general, it wasn’t something she wanted to think about at all. She was shoving that carnage to the back of her mind until a later date.

“Will my friend Keenan be there?” She eyed the man in question and pressed her lips tight to fight a smile.

He inclined his head. Ever so slightly. He was almost dreamy in his unwavering hostility.

She leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest, and scrutinized him. She couldn’t fathom his self-control. He was too calm, too composed, and entirely guarded. The need to taunt him until he cracked ate at her. Ate and ate and ate.

“Doyouthink I should go?”

His eyes narrowed and everything inside her stopped—her heart, her blood flow, her sense of self-preservation as she began to smile.

He nodded. Twice.

Holy shit.It was an unenthusiastic double nod, but a double nod no less.

“Whoa.” She held up her hands. “Don’t go getting excited, young man. I’ll have to see what happens.”

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