Page 5 of Bad Boy Crush

“Baby squirrel.” She parted the fabric, revealing the sleeping rodent. Poor thing. He’d checked his own fallen tree for abandoned critters, but there hadn’t been any. “Lara at the sanctuary is going to take her.”

“That’s good.”

“Thank you for coming.” Her voice was low, whispery. Sweet. Likely due to her trying not to wake the squirrel, but it was nice to hear all the same. She rarely addressed him without disdain. “I wouldn’t have bothered you with the request, but Brady had already called you.”

Following her lead, he lowered his voice as well. “You’re not a bother to me, Lou. Never have been.”

There was a time he might have teased her about the dark circles under her eyes. Now, he didn’t know what to say. It was clear by her hooded eyelids that she hadn’t slept well. In that downpour, who the hell could have? He’d bet the whole of Evergreen Cove had been awake half the night.

“I’ve never been a bother? Now I know you’re lying,” she responded in that same breathy tone. Her genuine smile eased his shoulders out from under his ears. Lou. Man. Her smile was the best.

She was uncomfortable in storms, and uncomfortable was putting it lightly. More than once, when he’d been hanging out with her and Liam, she’d hauled ass out of the bar, restaurant, or patio at the first sign of low clouds. Liam had excused himself to ferry her home, joking that Lou hadn’t wanted to get her hair wet. Ant had suspected there was more to that story—she was no prima donna—but he’d let Liam and Lou keep that inside knowledge to themselves. That had been his role as the not-overly-involved friend. He’d stepped aside.

“Long night?” The thought of her at home, alone in a dark house and unable to sleep, deepened those fault lines in the center of his chest a bit more. He wanted to assure her that he was here for her no matter what. No matter what she’d said to him in the past. He’d step back into her life in a blink. All she had to do was say the word.

“I’m fine.” Those two words were softly spoken, throwing open the door to invite him in. So, he went.

“You forget I know you.” He took one step closer, and her eyes widened slightly. “I see you, Lou. Talk to me.”

Trust me, he silently begged.

Then her gorgeous blues shuttered, and she took a deliberate step toward the patio doors. “You don’t know me anymore.” Her voice had hardened, then softened again to say, “Sorry, baby.”

Lou tucked the pink fabric around the tiny squirrel once again.

Ant shook his head. “Thought you were addressing me for a second. I’m not sure any woman has ever called me baby.”

“You’re not a baby.” Her gaze flicked over him, down and then up. At first, he thought she was counting the wood chips adhered to him, but on the second pass, he wondered if she was checking him out instead. Unlikely, but then today was proving to be unlike any other. “Would you like a glass of sun tea?”

“Hell, yes.” Sun tea was one hundred times better than water, and she made the best he’d ever drunk.

“Okay. Be right back.” She slipped inside and returned with a glass of ice. When she started for the jug resting on the railing, he took the glass from her free hand.

“I got it, thanks. Take care of your baby.” He filled his glass with tea, noting the satisfying sound of ice crackling as he did. “Not sure you’ll be taking that rescue animal anywhere today.”

“Why not?”

“That’s a whole lot of tree for one guy to disassemble. But I’ll do my best.” He tipped his head and emptied the tea down his throat. Delicious. Eyes on the glass, he muttered, “I miss this.”

“The tea?”

And you.

“Yeah.”

“Well. Drink all you want. I made plenty. She flashed a quick smile. It shook at the edges and then her eyes darted left then right, then up and down. She looked everywhere but at him.

Interesting.

“You know, I should call Lara.” She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. “Maybe she can stop by here and pick up this little bundle instead.”

She lingered, as if waiting for his approval.

“Sounds good to me,” he said.

“Good. Thanks again.”

“Sure thing.”

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