Page 39 of Three Rules I'd Never Break

“I remember what you told me that night. Please know I’m not like that.”

“You sure don’t seem to be. It’s nice.” I stifled a yawn because I didn’t want Eli to hear it and suggest we hang up.

But that man didn’t miss anything. “You’re tired. I’ll let you go.”

“Eli, thanks for calling tonight.”

He was quiet for a few heartbeats. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

Now I had something to look forward to.

* * *

The next morningI woke up to another text from Eli.You’re on my mind a lot. That night, he called again.

But on the fourth day, after waking up to agood morningtext from Eli, I hadn’t heard from him at all. When the sun dropped below the horizon and I hadn’t heard from him, I opted to send him a quick message.

I hope you had a good day. I refused to hop on the worry train. There were other explanations for the missed call that didn’t involve police shoot outs.

A couple of minutes later he replied:You busy?

I’m almost through my pile of books. The store is all in order, and Tessa is asleep, so no, I’m not busy.

The Eli knock sounded at my back door. I almost tripped running down the hall.

“Hi.”

He scrubbed his jaw, exhaustion evident in the lines on his face. “Hey. I was going to grab some barbeque.”

“I’ll grab my purse.”

“And shoes?” For the first time since I’d opened the door, he smiled.

“If you insist.” I hollered back as I walked into my room.

As fast as I could, I threw on shoes, then looked down at my leggings and t-shirt.

“You look fine.” Eli could apparently see through walls.

I poked my head out the door. “Were you spying on me?”

“You’re beautiful, Delaney. And I’m hungry.”

“Don’t become a motivational speaker.” I swung my purse onto my shoulder and grabbed his hand. “I’m ready.”

He squeezed my fingers. “You texted me as I pulled out of the station. Good timing.”

“Bad day, huh?”

He nodded as he pulled open the truck door for me. “I might be a bit quiet tonight.”

I hopped into the truck, then squeezed his hand. “I’m perfectly okay with that.”

His lingering gaze nearly set my clothes on fire. Whatever it was he wasn’t saying with words had me swooning.

Funny thing was, the urge to kiss him didn’t have my fingers itching. I wanted to hold him, to wrap my arms around his middle, rest my head on his chest, and chase away the dark clouds.

Chapter 14

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