Page 31 of Defender

Her hurt look was much, much worse than the angry one.“Summer, no.Don’t feel that way.It wasn’t like that.I wasn’t trying to trick you.”

“Then why?Why didn’t you just crack a joke when I called you the second time to come fix stuff?”She deepened her voice to imitate him.“‘Hey, Summer, let me get you the number of a real maintenance guy.I’m pretty good at fixing things, but I work with Joe at Omega, so I won’t always have time to help you.’”

It sounded so simple to hear her say it.

“After I missed my early chance, there just never seemed to be the right time to say it.”

“You should’vemadethe right time, Ashton.Even if we both were embarrassed.”

He ran a hand through his hair.“I know, okay?But I thought you wouldn’t have me around anymore if you knew.That you wouldn’t be interested in spending time with a member of law enforcement.”

She stared at him for a long minute, seeming to battle some inner emotion.He thought maybe he was off the hook, but then her arms dropped and her eyes narrowed.

“It wasyou.”She pointed her finger at his chest.

For a terrified second, Ashton was afraid she meant the situation about her husband.But she couldn’t know that.No one knew that.

“It was me who what?”he asked hesitantly.

“It was you who got me out of the fire, wasn’t it?A few months ago, when Bailey Heath kidnapped Chloe and me,youwere the one who carried us out.”

She seemed quite upset about that.

“Yes?”It shouldn’t have been a question but it came out as one, wary of her reaction.

She stormed over to him.“I dreamed it was you.And convinced myself I was absolutely crazy, because how could the handyman be the person who had gotten us out of a burning building?”

Oh damn.“Summer—”

“That couldn’t possibly be right.You were shy.Timid, even.”She began to pace back and forth right in front of him, her voice getting louder and louder.“Which was fine, I had no problem with that.But you just weren’t the type of guy who would be a part of Omega Sector.I’ve met some of them.They’re all alpha male, save-the-world sorts of guys who could lead a crowd to safety at any moment.But you seemed more comfortable chatting with mytoddlerthan talking to me.”

She turned and poked him in the chest.“I convinced myself that I was delusional.I mean, yeah, you had the muscles, so maybe physically you could’ve been a part of Omega.But not in personality.In mindset.I berated myself that I was so desperate for some sort of knight in shining armor that my mind was trying to make you something you weren’t.I felthorrible.”

This was so much worse than he’d thought it would be.“Summer.Don’t.”

“But now, come to find out, my subconscious was right the whole time.You’re not shy.Youareone of those alpha males—a take-charge kind of guy.You’re the absolute epitome of Omega Sector.”She stood there and glared at him.“Everything I thought I knew about you was completely wrong.”

He took a step back, surprised at how hollow he felt at her words.He’d known all along Summer wasn’t interested in becoming involved with someone in law enforcement.This was it.The end.

Over before it even began.

“And that’s not what you want, is it?”he asked quietly.The least he could do was give her an easy way out.

She stared up at him.“Are you kidding?I get all hot inside just thinking about it.”

Chapter Ten

He didn’t look like he believed her.

And she was standing here feeling like her insides might incinerate any minute.Part of it was anger, sure—she was pissed at what he’d done.

But more of it was the attraction she’d felt for him for the past seven months, since he’d first walked through the door.She’d let herself get convinced that she wasn’t really the type of woman he wanted—since he was soshy, he would want someone more demure, less outgoing.

He wasn’t shy.She wasn’t demure.The urge to throw him down on the couch again and have her way with him was damn near overwhelming.

And he was looking at her as if he didn’t believe she was attracted to him.

“Ashton, for months I’ve looked for every possible thing wrong with this condo to bring you back over here.I didn’t actually break anything myself, but I have to admit, I thought about it.”

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