Page 40 of Beyond Reach

A knock on the door almost made her fall out of the shower.

“Who is it?”

“The tooth fairy.”

She laughed. “Wow, someone’s snarky in the morning.”

“Ask a silly question…”

“Touché. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“I could join you.”

“Um, no. I’m already feeling guilty. We said we’d take it slow.”

He was silent a few minutes. She thought he’d walked away until he finally spoke. “Do you regret it?”

Her heart stirred. He sounded worried that he upset her or made her think badly of him. She could imagine Garner being concerned that she would think he was using her for her body. See? There was nothing to regret when it came to Garner. She was nuts for leaving him in the first place.

“No, I don’t regret it.”

This time he did walk away, and she hurried to dry off and dress. When she peeked out of the bathroom, she found he’d brought her luggage into the house. She brushed her teeth and changed into clean clothes then headed downstairs. Garner stood at the stove frying bacon. Her stomach growled.

“Got any biscuits. I can pop some in the oven and then get started on some eggs,” she offered.

He glanced at her briefly before focusing on his task again. “Sounds great. I always baked the biscuits too long.”

“How does a person mess up the biscuits every time?” She laughed, and it struck her what they were doing, spending time together at his house as if they were an official couple.

Did last night make it so? She didn’t think it did. No way would she expect more than a one-night thing. Weakness once didn’t equate to them rushing. As the thought entered her mind, Garner turned from the stove with a plate of bacon. He held a slice toward her mouth.

“Open up.”

She started to grab for the piece, but he moved his hand and shook his head.

“I can do it myself, Garner.”

He wiggled the bacon, teasing her with a smile. Her belly did flip-flops, and she chomped down on the salty greasy treat. On accident, her lips brushed his finger, and he stilled. Neither of them said a word. She stared up at him as she took her time chewing. The world passed by. She was lost in his gaze, struck by the emotions swirling out of control.

“We said we’d go slow,” he whispered. “But I would love for you to move in here today.”

She gasped.

“I’m not asking you to. Just stating a fact.”

“One of us has to have sense.” She managed to turn away from him. Her cell phone dinged, and she welcomed the interruption.

“Chanda, I hope it’s okay for me to call this early. My son isn’t answering his phone.”

Chanda frowned when she read the text from Garner’s mom. “Hey, Garner, your mom—”

Glass shattered, and Chanda ducked with a yelp. She looked around the kitchen as Garner entwined her in his arms. Whatever broke, it wasn’t anywhere near them.

“Stay here,” he ordered and left the kitchen. She ignored the order. Her cell phone rang, and she answered as she jogged after Garner.

“Hello?”

“Chanda, good you’re awake. I’m sorry to call so early.”

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