Page 34 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

He grinned, glad to see that there was a tiny crack in the wall she’d just erected. “You make me feel a lot of things. But the two I’m not used to are nervous and jealous.”

Her eyes widened. “When did I make you nervous?”

She acted as if even the suggestion of that happening was ridiculous. Was there actually a chance this woman didn’t know the effect she had on him? Or on men in general?

“When my brother dropped me off, I saw your SUV parked out front. I knew that you were here and I felt...strange. I didn’t know what it was because, honestly, I haven’t felt it since I was eleven years old. But after a few seconds I realized I was nervous to see you again.”

Her head tilted the slightest degree to the left. Someone else might not have picked up on the movement, but he did. Just like he saw that the response he’d given her had melted some of the ice that had been shooting out of her eyes. “And jealous?”

Easton hated admitting to the way he’d been feeling. He knew that he had no right to feel the things he had. But he was an honest guy. And she deserved an explanation for why he’d snapped at her.

“I didn’t like the way your face lit up when you saw Josh. And just now you seemed put out that I was staying here. My first thought was that it was because you were going to bring men home and I would get in the way of that. I didn’t like the thought of any man other than me touching you, kissing you, or tasting you.”

Easton knew that he was being graphic, but after the night they’d shared he thought she would appreciate his candor. And he was right. He could see that Grace was doing her best to keep her cool façade, but the flush in her cheeks told a different story.

She swallowed and lightly licked her lips before straightening her shoulders and facing him fully. “Nothing has ever happened between me and Josh.”

Easton had already figured that was the case, but it was nice to hear it straight from her.

“And contrary to my actions last night, I do not randomly hook up with men. Ever. I can promise you that I have no plans of bringing anyone back here.”

Hearing her say that shouldn’t have made him feel relieved, but it sure as hell did. “Good to know.”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” she added.

“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed. “It is none of my business.”

Grace’s posture was still stiff, and her outward façade was cool and detached. He could see that this woman was not used to letting people in. He couldn’t blame her, considering her past. It sounded to him like a lot had been on her shoulders at a very young age.

That sort of thing affected people differently. If he had to guess it affected her by her keeping people at arm’s length, so she didn’t get hurt.

He wanted to be the man to show her she could let him in. That he wouldn’t hurt her.

“What about you?” she asked with a challenge in her tone.

“What about me?”

“Do you plan on bringing women home?”

He didn’t even hesitate before revealing, “The only woman I’m interested in is already here.”

In the back of his mind, he heard Eli’s voice saying that he was laying it on a little thick, but he ignored it. He was just being honest.

Grace’s lips parted and he found himself holding his breath to hear what she was going to say, but before she was able to say anything her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her purse. “Shit. I’m late.” With that she turned and walked out without saying a word.

Some people might see her behavior as rude and be offended, he wasn’t one of those people. He was happy. It was obvious, to him at least, that she was dealing with some feelings she wasn’t used to having either. He flustered Grace Noelle and he didn’t think that happened to her very often.

But, hey, maybe flustered was exactly what she needed.

---