CHAPTER SIXTEEN VERA #2
“Hectic.” School had been out for a teacher professional development day and the shop had been swarmed with teenagers and parents.
Lyla and I had both opened at four this morning, and it had felt like a dead sprint the entire day.
Lunch had been skipped, and by the time I’d clocked out, I’d been starving.
My ham and cheese had been scarfed on the drive to the ranch.
Lyla was still there, wrapping up for the day and baking for the weekend. If I was tired, she’d be dead on her feet by the time she made it home.
“Want some water or anything before we get started?”
“Water, please.”
“Make yourself at home.” He jerked his chin at the dining room table, then walked to the kitchen and opened a cupboard.
The cabin was open and airy. The kitchen blended with the dining room, which flowed to the living area. The doors along the far wall must lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms. It wasn’t a large house, but it was cozy and inviting.
I slid into a wooden chair at the table, taking out my book as Mateo set a glass of water beside me. Then he went to the coffee table, snagging the remote to turn on some cartoons for Allie.
“She missed her nap today. We were outside doing yard work, and I lost track of time. When we came in, I decided it was too late to try. Hopefully she’ll make it another hour, but we might have to take a break so I can put her to bed.”
“No problem.”
The dragon I’d gotten her was staged to face the TV. Allie climbed on, rocking it wildly back and forth as she pointed to the screen. “Dizzy.”
Her dark pigtails curled at the ends, like the way Mateo’s hair curled at his nape whenever he let it grow long enough.
Mateo slid into a seat, chair legs scraping on the floor.
The seat directly beside mine. Not the chair around the corner of the table. Not the chair across the table.
The chair so close to my own that the warmth from his arm seeped into mine.
He scooted closer. Another inch and our shoulders would touch. That intoxicating Mateo smell, leather and spice and wind and earth, filled my nose.
Concentrating was already going to be tough after a long day. But with him sitting so close, smelling so good, this study session was going to be brutal.
“How did the reading go?”
“Good?”
“Is that a question or a statement?”
I flipped open my book to the first chapter. “I guess we’re about to find out.”
Bad. It was very, very bad. All of the time I’d spent reading had been wasted. Because fifteen minutes into the discussion about lift and drag, Mateo’s knee touched mine beneath the table and my brain shut off.
“So lift is the opposing force to weight. What’s the opposing force to drag?” Mateo twisted slightly to stare at my profile.
If I didn’t face directly forward, if I turned in the slightest to make eye contact, his mouth would be eye level. Was this how he sat with other students? Not that he had other students. Did he? Why couldn’t he have just sat on the other side of the table? Or around a corner?
Wait. What was his question? “Uh . . . no idea.”
“Thrust.”
Of course the answer was thrust. A word that sounded like sex in his rugged, deep voice.
“Right.” I gulped. “Thrust.”
His hand stretched across the book to flip the page and our forearms touched. Heat radiated off his large frame, enveloping me like that scent.
A thud snapped me out of the haze.
Mateo’s gaze whipped to Allie, who’d fallen off her dragon. He rose, about to rush to her rescue, but she just stood up, eyes glued to the TV, and gripped the handle of the toy to climb back on. He exhaled, sinking into his seat.
I used the interruption to shift my chair over a few inches. Maybe with some space, my brain would reengage and Mateo wouldn’t think I was a complete moron. Maybe words like thrust wouldn’t make me sweat.
Except the moment he was seated and refocused, he moved his chair too. His beefy thigh pressed against mine. That heat returned.
Desire coiled low in my belly. And my brain went blank.
I swallowed a groan.
The next hour was excruciating. After getting three questions in a row wrong, he retrieved a small model airplane from a bookshelf against the living room wall.
He did his best to demonstrate a plane’s movement, but wrapping my mind around ailerons and elevator control, angles of attack and wing stalls—which had nothing to do with an engine apparently—was impossible. I couldn’t focus.
“I’m sorry.” I rubbed my temples. “I swear I’m not entirely helpless. But it’s been a long day, and this material is a lot.”
“You’ll get it.”
I slumped in my chair, and my leg slid against Mateo’s. I’d gotten used to him being pressed close. But as the denim of our jeans scraped, awareness rushed in again.
He was so, so close. Why was he so close?
I glanced up at his face, expecting his profile. But he was facing me, his eyes locked on my mouth. He looked like he wanted to kiss me.
My heart rocketed into my throat.
Did he want to kiss me? Did I want him to kiss me?
Yes. Despite the fool I’d made of myself at Willie’s, despite the promise I’d made to myself to let Mateo Eden go, down deep in my heart, I wanted him to kiss me.
There were just some things I couldn’t keep locked in that box.
He leaned in closer. The blue of his eyes was darker. His tongue darted out to lick his lower lip and a throb bloomed in my core.
My pulse raced, booming in my ears.
Mateo raised a hand, his fingertips skimming the hair at my temple. His eyelids fluttered closed, his breath a whisper across my cheek.
I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. If I blinked, I was certain I’d wake up alone in the loft, this entire night a dream.
“Daddy, melk,” Allie whined at Mateo’s side.
We broke apart in a flash.
He shot out of his chair, picking up Allie.
She rubbed fists into her tired eyes as he carried her to the kitchen.
“I should get going.” The book got shoved into my backpack before I ripped the zipper closed. Then I was on my feet, ready to make a run for it.
I needed air. I needed space. I needed out of this house so I could think. God, what was happening?
He’d almost kissed me. He would have kissed me, right?
“Sorry.” Mateo opened the fridge and took out a sippy cup of milk.
The second she had it in her grip, Allie tipped it to her mouth and collapsed against his shoulder as she chugged.
“I’d better get her into bed. Want to stick around? It shouldn’t take long.”
“That’s okay.” I slung my bag over my shoulder. “I’m pretty wiped. We can pick it up again Friday.”
“Want to fly this weekend?”
“I’m working.”
“All right. Next week?”
God, the way he said it sounded like a date. Not that I’d been asked out on many dates. But the promise in his tone made me shiver. “Sure.”
Normally, I’d kiss Allie’s cheek before leaving, but I was so confused by Mateo that I couldn’t risk getting close. At this point, even a friendly hug would scramble my brain. “Good night.”
“Vera.” He stopped me just as I’d opened the door.
The night air should have cooled my face, but Mateo’s stare was so intense that sweat beaded at my temples. “Yeah?”
“I see you.”
My heart tumbled. My grip on the doorknob slipped loose.
This was a dream. This had to be a dream. Everything about this night had been so . . . off. It had to be a dream.
“Not always,” I said.
He crossed the distance between us, Allie still snuggled against that broad chest. “Always.”
Mateo used his free hand to pull the door open wider. Then he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. And untucked it a moment later.
When I lifted my gaze to his, I got lost in sapphire blue. Not a person on this earth had eyes like Mateo Eden. Not his parents. Not his siblings. Not even his daughter.
“I see you, Vera.”
The emotions swelled so big in my chest I couldn’t breathe. How long had I hoped for this? Dreamed of this? Years. I should have known what to say and what to do. Instead, I turned for the door.
And bolted into the black night.