Page 22 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

“Seriously?” she asked, shifting in her seat to face him. “You eat there often? Because you’re so toned, I can’t imagine how you’d stay in such great shape eating junk. And . . . wow, that was out of line.”

Braxton laughed. His ego didn’t mind one bit that she was discussing his toned body, which he worked his ass off to keep in shape. If she was talking about his body, that meant she was thinking about his body and he was definitely okay with that, because he’d thought about hers more than he had a right to.

“Can I just go inside and we’ll forget I just discussed having my hands all over you?” she asked. “Because this could get more awkward and we’d already decided not to go into that territory anymore and the more I’m talking, the deeper I’m getting. This is a new level of unprofessionalism.”

He reached beneath the dog’s head and patted Cora’s hand. When she jumped he pulled away. “Sorry. I keep doing that.”

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “I need to get used to the fact that when I’m around you, you’re a bit touchy.”

Not nearly as much as he wanted to be. But Cora was indeed an employee and she was remarkable with her hands, she knew her stuff, and she would be a great asset to his family’s business.

And Chelsea would get such a kick out of Braxton wanting a woman and not being able to have her. Somewhere, Chelsea was laughing her ass off at his expense. The thought warmed him and he actually didn’t care that he was going through this sexual tension charged with a layer of humiliation.

“I just wanted to tell you that you’re more than professional,” he stated. “This attraction isn’t one-sided, so don’t take all the blame.”

“Maybe so, but it will go away if we ignore it and that’s what we’ll have to do.” Her hand reached out toward the door, patting along the panel until her fingers hit the handle. “Thanks for lunch and I’m sorry if I caused more of an issue than necessary back there.”

“Don’t apologize,” Braxton scolded.

“I shouldn’t have said that about the booty call.” She chewed her bottom lip, something he noticed she did when he guessed her nerves kicked in. “That was rude of me and I wasn’t brought up that way.”

He stroked the back of her hand. “No, I imagine you were brought up with manners and taught when to keep your mouth shut.”

“You have no idea how close you are to the truth,” she muttered, and he hated the sadness in her voice.

“Anyway, thanks again for the tour and for lunch. I’m excited to get my stuff ordered and get the space set up.”

There was no way he was letting her go yet. For reasons he didn’t want to explain, he enjoyed spending time with her and he wanted more. And more time would only lead to trouble. Wasn’t he supposed to be avoiding temptation, not walking face-first into it?

Braxton gave a mental shrug and jerked on his door. “I’ll come in and help you get everything ordered.”

Before he climbed out, he heard her mutter something about him being stubborn and not taking no for an answer. He smiled as he rounded the hood and opened Heidi’s door first. The dog stood right by Braxton, waiting obediently for Cora to step out of the car.

Braxton hated for her that she couldn’t see, hated how she’d been treated earlier, but he didn’t think that was all due to her condition. Damn it, he wanted to protect her from being hurt in any way, but it wasn’t his place to do so, and she certainly wasn’t asking for his help.

As she gripped her hand in his, Braxton knew he was growing too used to her touch. If he was already this comfortable with her after such a short time, how would he feel once she’d been here awhile? The ache and need clawing at him were growing stronger each moment he was with her and he either needed to take a page from her book and ignore this attraction or . . .

Yeah. He was more of the “or” type of guy. No way could he ignore this. He’d be gentlemanly enough to let her catch up. But something was going to make him snap and he knew crossing the employee/employer line was inevitable. They’d already done it once; not much was keeping him from doing it again.

Everything about Cora had his possessive instincts on high alert. Other than the obvious desire to shield her from pain, he wondered about her family life and what made her flee. From the little pieces she randomly threw out, he was starting to put the Cora puzzle together. If he had to wager a guess, he’d say she had a strict, wealthy upbringing and this free-spirited woman didn’t want to be molded into the person her family wanted her to be.

Whatever turmoil she had with her mother had to have played a part and he’d heard her mention some guy named Eric. Braxton already hated the guy.

Cora reached out for Heidi and the two started up the walkway. Braxton watched in awe as Heidi guided Cora up the steps toward the porch, but Cora’s foot missed the step or got caught on something because one minute she was up and the next she was down. Braxton cursed as he made two quick strides to reach her.

“Let me help you,” he said, sliding his hands beneath her arms to haul her up.

“I’ve got it, Braxton. I’m fine. Just stepped wrong.”

Braxton helped her up, though she pulled away from him the second she was on her feet. The woman was maddeningly independent. Damn if he didn’t admire that. But the fact of the matter was she was blind and if he saw she was heading toward danger, he was going to step in no matter how angry she got. She could deal with it.

Braxton glanced down to make sure nothing had spilled from her purse and noticed the board loose where she’d fallen. Maybe a half inch raised above the next one, but enough for a foot to get caught if you didn’t see it.

“Let me have your keys.”

Her hand shifted in her purse and lifted a gold key chain with Sophie’s real estate logo on it. Odd to see a set of keys without more than one key, but he figured she didn’t need anything else. There was no car in her life. Odd how the simplest things in his life were absent from hers.

“I can let myself in,” she told him, attempting to do just that. Her hand slid down the door to the keyhole and efficiently inserted the gold key. The lock snicked and she pushed the door open, gesturing him inside with a snarky grin. “After you, sir.”

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