Page 33 of A Lonely Road
Now, though? Now it was clear that those traits weren’t second best, they were just me. And they were exactly what seemed to draw Nora to me in the first place, to ease my path beyond that prickly defense system she’d managed to keep in place for so long.
She hadn’t run away.
The warmth twining through my chest was neither as simple as relief nor as basic as pleasure. It was . . . contentment. Joy. Nora hadn’t replaced the barricade around her heart after last night. She’d let me in, and I’d be damned if I didn’t fight to keep my place there.
With that in mind, I set about getting ready for work, still grinning from ear to ear. Just before I walked out the door, my phone rang with my twin’s ringtone.
“Can’t you ever use your psychic twin powers for good, instead of evil?” I demanded as I answered the call.
“Nope,” Sam replied. “How’s our girl?”
I held the phone away from my ear to glare at my sister’s photo on the screen. “Ourgirl? I kind of hate that, Samantha. Why are you asking, anyway?”
A low whistle sounded from the other end of the line before Sam said, “Well, that was an answer in itself. Did you sleep with her yet?”
“For Christ’s sake, that’s none of your business,” I muttered, but the words were without heat. I was more annoyed at her uncanny ability to sense when my love life took a turn than with the question.
“Someone is touchy this morning. I just need to assess whether she’s loosened up a bit. Eased into the small town life, you know? Do you think she’s in a good mood today?”
I tripped over my thoughts of Noraloosening upand heaved a sigh. “As far as I’m aware, yes, she’s in a good mood.”
“Good, then I’ll strike while the iron’s hot. Enjoy your day, brother!”
Before I could even ask what the hell that meant, she’d hung up. One thing was certain about my twin—nothing stayed under wraps for long. I’d give Nora a bit more time before checking in with her, and hopefully by that point I would know what Samantha Lincoln had up her sleeve.
“Strike while the iron’s hot,” I repeated, shaking my head.
Nora could certainly take care of herself, but I’d never let Sam hear the end of it if she pushed Nora into joining in on one of her crazy schemes.
I shoved the phone in my back pocket, grabbed my keys from the kitchen counter, and headed out to the truck. Though I didn’t see any movement from those frilly curtains in Nora’s door at the top of the stairs, I gave a little salute, just in case she was watching.
My sister might be a whirlwind, but thanks to my beautiful new neighbor, I was on cloud nine.
Chapter Seventeen
Nora
Iwassittingonthelittle loveseat that had come with the apartment when I heard Jake’s truck pull out of the driveway. Even back in my own comfortable surroundings, I felt oddly off-kilter, like my mind was telling me I ought to be a bundle of nerves right about now while my heart whispered soothing things in my ear that kept my muscles soft and loose.
Jake was like a balm for me, body and soul. I hadn’t felt this good in years, physically or emotionally.
Once he was gone, I forced myself to get some work done, but before I hit any real groove in the translation, my phone chimed from the coffee table. A full minute passed before I reached for it. Instead of a text from Jake, as I’d expected, I found a message from his sister.
Shopping Friday? Pleeeeeeease?
I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose as I thought about it. Going on Friday would give me the whole week to finish the project I was currently working on and to get some time in on other things, as well—whether or not I spent my nights with Sam’s very sexy, very talented brother.
Would five days be enough time to train myself not to blush when Sam inevitably asked what was happening between me and Jake?
Though this was exactly the kind of entanglement I had so steadfastly avoided, I didn’t feel bad about it, not even a little. Well, at least not about getting tangled up with Jake, which involved utterly mind-blowing pleasure unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Getting the third degree from his sister might lead to some small amount of discomfort, however.
I could handle it, I assured myself firmly, and texted Sam back to set a time for our shopping trip.
It wasn’t until afternoon faded into evening that a text from Jake finally appeared. I'd just eaten a bowl of cold cereal for dinner and turned on some mindless television sitcom to keep me company in the quiet apartment, a move that baffled me even as I did it. Work was the only time when I appreciated so many sounds around me; normally I relished quiet time to myself when I wasn’t busy translating.
Shit, was I . . . lonely? I’d barely been away from Jake for twelve hours. It was ridiculous to think that I was feeling that loss so keenly. Grumbling at my own idiocy, I grabbed my phone off the coffeetable.
Busy tonight?
