Page 4 of Wolfish Heart
He holds out his hand, and I automatically take it. The way his thumb drifts gently across my skin makes me shiver and melt. This physical reaction is really winding me up, creating a delicious prickling tension through my core…and lower.
“I have a feeling about you, Zoe. Like this could really be something great. So I don’t want your view of me to be tainted by other people’s opinions. Ask anyone in the coffee shop, they’ll tell you I’m a good guy. But please, don’t look me up online. Deal?”
My fingers tighten around his. “I mean, it’s a pretty weird request. How about this: when you get back, you tell me whatever state secret it is that you’re hiding.” I wink at him.
He grins. “Fair enough.”
The next half hour is a blur. Kaden gets me a set of keys, digs out his spare credit card, and writes down the security codes, the phone numbers of furniture stores, and the contact details for a carpenter, Clark, who’s also a friend. He makes sure I know how to use the coffeemaker and even shows me where to add anything I’d like for his scheduled grocery delivery tomorrow afternoon.
His laid-back manner and casual confidence are contagious. I begin to think that maybe, just maybe, I can do a good job of this project for Mom’s company.
Then we go outside, and he hands me the keys to a sporty forest-green Jeep. “I’d give you the flashy car, but some of the roads have bad potholes. The road can get extra lumpy if it rains hard on the gravel. You’re much safer in this.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I say in a daze, accidentally stepping a little nearer to him than I intended.
His hand slides around my waist to rest against my lower back, pulling us close. My breath hitches as he leans down, his perfect lips so close to mine. Then he gently kisses my cheek,a feather-light caress. “There’s something here, Zoe. You feel it, right?”
I’m already nodding. “Yeah.”
“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks. Good luck with your videos. I’ll text you.”
“Cool.” I look up to realize my hand is gently trailing along the scruff of his beard. “Thank you, Kaden. For everything.”
He helps me up into the seat, and I hold back a laugh at his relieved exhalation when I expertly throw it into gear.
I drive slowly and carefully back to Henry’s, my head spinning. My office problem issolved. I won’t have to pay outrageous rent and make Mom rethink this whole idea. I know that she’s expecting me to fail: she’s never trusted anyone but herself.
I’m probably transferring that energy onto me and not quite trusting that I know what I’m doing, though I really do – even if being on camera makes my spine feel itchy and my shoulders slowly clench and lock up like concrete setting.
Much more importantly, I’m going to have to find a way to control these runaway thoughts suddenly swirling in the back of my mind.
Kaden really likes me.Ireally likehim. And if we spend any amount of time alone in that beautiful house in the forest once he gets back…
Sparks are going to fly, and my heart might explode.
3
KADEN
My foot eases off the gas pedal when I suddenly realize I’m starting to speed too fast down this back country road.
The past few days have been the first time in my life I haven’t been able to focus properly on my work, but somehow, I managed to motor through while I was away and was able to compress a trip that should have taken a week and a half into just five days.
My assistant thought I was mental.
But who needs sleep or meals when the most gorgeous woman in the world is waiting for me at home? It’s like there’s a mantra buzzing in the back of my mind, on a loop:Must kiss Zoe.Must kiss Zoe.Must kiss Zoe.
Just as I’m about to turn up my driveway, I pause to allow another truck to take the tight corner. Clark rolls down his window and reaches out to give me a big thumbs up. “It all turned out great!”
My friend had sent me a text a few days ago to confirm that the random girl staying in my house did, in fact, have the authority to design an entire wall of bookshelves.
“Awesome,” I call back, returning the thumbs up. “Thanks so much for your help. Send me the bill, and don’t forget the special rate.” Paying a little extra is one of the countless ways the five of us Wolfe brothers try to help out the Old Hemlock Valley community. I mean, why not? We can easily afford it.
Pulling up in front of the house, I open my phone. I sent Zoe a text from the airport saying I’d be here in a couple of hours, but I still don’t want to surprise her.
I’m here. Can I come in to take a peek?
Zoe: LOL, I heard you parking. Of course! It’s your house!
