Page 41 of Delicate Escape

“It’s amazing.”

We kept eating, letting a comfortable silence settle around us. Every now and then, we’d ask each other an easy question, nothing that took a lot of thought or had any chance of stirring up demons.But it was still the best non-date I’d had in years. The simple ease of it was nice.

When we were done, I pushed the remaining boxes toward her. “Why don’t you keep the leftovers? They’ll just go bad in my truck.”

“I can put them in my fridge, but you should take them home. Especially if you don’t like to cook.”

I tried to think about the best approach to get her to keep them. There wasn’t much I could do to fix whatever was going on in Thea’s life, but I could do this. “How about we split it? Neither of us will be able to eat it all.”

Thea arched a brow at me. “And whose fault is that, Mr. Buys-the-whole-menu?”

I grinned. “Impulse control issues.” I quickly bagged up the remaining food and handed it to her. “Here. I’m going to get back to the trench. I should be able to survey the whole waterline tonight.”

Thea twisted the bag around her fingers, tightening it with each revolution, but she didn’t move toward the house.

A heaviness settled back in my gut. “There’s no rush, Thorn. I don’t set foot inside that house until you’re ready for me to be there.”

Her brown eyes cut to me. “Why are you being so nice?”

There was suspicion there, and I knew that if I didn’t tell her the truth now—and all of it—I’d lose any shot with Thea. For friendship or more. She needed to know that I wouldn’t hide things from her. Wouldn’t lie. So, I gave it to her.

“I like you. Even when you were prickly as all hell, I admired it. There’s something real about you. An honesty you don’t see a lot these days. And there’s kindness. You might try to hide it beneath those thorns you love so much, but I’ve seen it. And, somehow, it’s more potent since you’re not using it for show. You’d rather have no one see you extending a hand to someone else. That’s why.”

“Oh.” Thea’s mouth formed the shape, along with the word.

I stood, taking my Coke with me. “And you’re damn nice to look at, so that doesn’t hurt either.”

With those parting words, I walked away.

15

THEA

I hummedto myself as I gripped the kittens’ carrier with one hand and balanced the box of bakery treats on the other—goodies left over from today that would make for the perfect dessert. Shep and I had fallen into a routine of sorts over the past week and a half.

He would show up at my place around four, once I was back from the bakery or nursery, and always with some sort of meal in tow. We’d eat on the back deck, and Shep would ask questions that stayed firmly in the here and now. He was careful never to push, letting me share whatever I was comfortable with. Then he’d get to work.

And I’d just happen to wander by a window to catch him without his shirt on after an hour or so.Totalcoincidence.

I jerked out of my lusty haze and narrowly avoided colliding with a barrel-chested body in front of me. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Careful, darlin’. You could get hurt if you don’t watch where you’re going.” The smarmy tone of Russ’s voice made a shiver skate down my spine. I hadn’t seen him since I’d made that visit to CastleRock Construction, and I hadn’t seen Raina either. There were times she wouldn’t come into The Mix Up for days on end, but she never went longer than a week. I didn’t want to think about what her absence could mean.

“Long day,” I said, scooting to my left to move around him.

But Russ moved with me, taking the bakery box from my hand. “Here, let me carry that to your bike.”

“That’s okay. I’ve got?—”

“I insist,” he cut me off.

The pulse point in my neck thrummed. I didn’t want this man anywhere near me. But I also didn’t want to make things worse than they already were. We were on a public street in broad daylight. Tourists were poking in and out of shops, and locals enjoyed the beginning tendrils of summer. I was fine.

I started toward my bike where I’d locked it just at the edge of the building, not thanking Russ for the so-called help I didn’t want.

“So,” he began, his tone falsely light, “who’d you find to fix your leak and water damage?”

“Shepard Colson’s working on it.”

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