Page 18 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

“Hardly,” Zach interrupted. “He’s the family nerd. He teaches history and economics at the local college.”

And there went her last shred of self-control. The man was sexy, kissed like his life depended on that one act, and he was intelligent. Did he have a flaw? Flatulence attacks in public? A third nipple? Ear hair? Surely, Braxton Monroe had something that made him not so perfect.

“I’m on break,” Braxton added. “I can bring you here anytime you want to come over. In fact, I’ll be the one to make sure you get here for work and back home.”

Cora’s grip tightened on Heidi. “Oh, no. I’ll work it out. You don’t have to go to any trouble.”

“Cora.” She jumped as he whispered in her ear. “We’ll discuss it later. No arguing.”

Later. She’d have to be alone with him later when they were supposed to discuss the equipment needed for work; now they were adding her transportation, which would no doubt lead to an argument. Great. If they argued, that would drive up the sexual tension and that was the last thing she needed.

Then again, if she let him chauffeur her all the time, they’d be alone then, too. There really was no good answer.

“We need to get back home to the dogs,” Sophie stated. “We left Brock in charge. And while he loves them, he also lets them get away with murder.”

“They only shredded one pair of your panties on his watch,” Zach added.

“Each. Those seven puppies each shredded a pair.”

“Fine by me,” Zach laughed.

“All right,” Braxton interrupted in a louder tone to cut off any more panty chat, and Cora couldn’t help but laugh at the banter. “I’ll get Cora back and I’ll make sure to get a list of everything we need. You two go check on Brock, the dogs, and Sophie’s underwear situation.”

Once Cora said her good-byes, she hoped she’d made a good impression on the moody brother . . . though he didn’t seem moody to her. By the time Braxton had led her and Heidi back to the car, Cora had her nerves under control. She could handle this tension between them. Granted, she’d never had such chemistry with a man before, but how hard could it be to keep control over? All she had to do was keep her hands, and her lips, off of him and do her job. Piece of cake.

“Zach seems nice,” she commented after they’d pulled out onto the road. “When your other brother is around, do you all just harass one another?”

“Pretty much,” Braxton admitted with a slight grunt.

“May I ask what happened to Sophie?” She hoped she wasn’t stepping on too personal ground here, but she’d been curious since she’d met her initially when they’d been on the house hunt.

“What happened to her?” Braxton repeated in reply.

“Her gait isn’t smooth,” Cora explained, reaching up to pat Heidi’s face when her head came to set on Cora’s shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if she’d been in an accident or what. None of my business, so just ignore me.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her. “Sophie wouldn’t mind. She was in an accident a little over ten years ago. She was severely injured, tore up her hip and thigh. Liam was in the car too. He’s physically scarred on the right side of his face.”

“Oh, my word,” Cora gasped. “That’s scary.”

“Zach was the driver.”

Those words hung between them as Cora processed all of that information. There was so much backstory there, she knew there was, but none of this was her business. Still, she wanted to know more because it was clear this family had overcome tragic obstacles. Her family, on the other hand . . . never would.

“Was Zach hurt?” she finally asked, dropping her hand back into her lap.

“His hands are all scarred. He punched out the glass to go get help.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” she muttered.

“It was a long time ago.” Braxton paused before adding, “Zach and Liam were always butting heads before. After the accident it got much worse, but since Chelsea’s death, they’ve come to some sort of silent agreement that we’re all doing this for Chelsea.”

Cool air filled the car as Braxton turned on some vents. “That okay?” he asked.

“Fine.”

“Zach and Sophie have obviously let the past go,” he continued. “They’d danced around each other for years. I’m glad they’re finally together and planning a wedding.”

They drove in silence a bit more until her cell vibrated once again. Groaning, she knew she couldn’t keep avoiding her mother.

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