Page 85 of Into the Fire

Thank goodness.

Otherwise she would have had to do serious bodily harm to her dear but overbearing brother.

“I’m glad to hear that. Jack isn’t always the most tactful person.”

“I found that out. But it’s hard to fault a brother who loves his sister and wants to keep her from getting hurt.”

“Unless he takes that brotherly love too far.”

“No worries. We came to an understanding.”

What did that mean? Had Jack shared his assumptions about her romantic fancies?

She squirmed in her seat. “I’m thinking I should apologize for whatever he said. For some reason, at our family dinner last week, he got the impression I was, uh ... that our relationship was, um ...” As she stumbled around, trying to come up with an explanation that didn’t give her feelings away, Marc stepped in.

“More than professional?”

That was a genteel way to put it.

“Yes. He has a habit of jumping to conclusions, and he may have read more into my comments than I intended.”

“Did he?” Marc’s tone was casual, but the look he gave her was anything but.

The man beside her was as direct as her brother.

“I’m not certain what you’re asking.” Not true, but the stall tactic bought her a few seconds to come up with a plan on how to play this.

Marc passed a slow-moving car. “May I be direct?”

She huffed out a small laugh. “You’re asking me that now?”

“Touché.” His lips twitched. “Let me rephrase. May I be more direct?”

Bri fiddled with the zipper pull on her jacket, tamping down the sudden uptick in her pulse.

She could say no, and Marc would respect her wishes. Of that she had no doubt.

But why put off this discussion? The voltage in the car was already in electrical-storm range. Pretending otherwise would be immature and disingenuous. They should discuss the attraction between them like two reasonable adults and decide how to proceed.

Assuming she could get the left side of her brain in gear.

“Bri?”

She exhaled. “Yes. You may be more direct.”

After all, what danger could there be in listening to what he had to say? Especially since he had both hands on the wheel and no further touching was possible? This was about as safe as she could get for an in-person discussion.

He maneuvered into the turn lane and hung a left. “Unless I’m misreading your cues, you’re interested in me. If I’m off base, tell me—but be aware the feeling is mutual.”

O-kay. That was direct. No pussyfooting around with this guy.

What a different approach than Travis had taken when he’d decided to respond to whatever subliminal signals she was sending in the days before she’d realized his jovial demeanor hid a much darker side. Waiting to catch her alone, then backing her up against a locker and invading her personal space, had been a major turnoff.

Marc’s approach, on the other hand?

Opposite effect. It only increased his appeal.

And his honesty deserved honesty in return.

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