Chapter Fifteen
E mma opened the fridge door and stood with her head pressed to the freezer. Frigid air washed over her traitorous body as she tried to calm her breathing.
What was it about the man that ratcheted her body temperature up twenty degrees whenever she was in his presence?
The man was off limits.
She had to make her brain connect with her body and realise this.
Surely it couldn’t be because of a lack of sex. Lust had never been a part of her make-up. She’d always been too busy to worry about chasing down men for one-night flings. Sex with Alex had always been good, until she found out what he’d done, but it had never been a priority. She’d never thought she was the lusty type.
Maybe she was wrong.
Why did it have to be Gabe who’d awakened her instincts like this? Ryan would’ve been a far wiser choice. No strings, no consequences. Just fun. With someone like Ryan you knew what you were getting.
She had baggage and, from all indications, so did Gabe. Starting something with him wasn’t a good idea from any standpoint. Not when she knew she would want more than one hot night between the sheets if it was as good as she’d dreamed. She wasn’t a one-night stand kind of girl. Gabe was an amazing man. She would start to care, and she didn’t want that. It would put her right back where she didn’t want to be. It simply couldn’t happen.
Wouldn’t happen.
Emma grabbed three beers, slammed the fridge door and banged them down on her counter, anger at her body’s stupid reactions washing over her. She scraped a shaking hand through her fringe and into her hair, swearing under her breath when her fingers caught in her hairband.
“If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say you’re not happy with me.”
Ryan’s smooth voice had her spinning around to face him.
“Why would you think that?”
He raised an eyebrow and leaned on the doorjamb. “Because I interrupted something out there and now you’re all flustered.”
Emma handed him his beer and stepped back to the relative safety near her island counter, twisting the top off hers.
“You must have imagined it. I’m flustered because it’s hot.” She gestured to his semi-dressed state. “As you realise.”
Ryan took a long, cooling drink and watched her. He tapped a finger against the condensation appearing on the side of his bottle, then wiped a line down through it, rubbing the resulting moisture between his fingers.
“You know, Gabe said something similar. Him I can understand being cautious and guarded. He went through a particularly nasty episode a while back. But you? What’s holding you back from accepting any advances? You’re easy to talk to. Friendly. You’re not attached. And you’re sure as hell good to look at.” He shoved off the doorjamb and moved purposely toward her. She stepped back, feeling slightly vulnerable. “What is it, Emma? What are you scared of?”
Dread washed all heat from her body, running icy fingers over her skin and into her heart. A ragged breath pulled into her lungs as she scrambled for an answer he would believe.
A simple internet search would tell him all he needed to know. She had to give him something that sounded plausible. Something convincing.
Something to stop him from searching for an answer.
Pete.
She pasted as bright a smile on her mouth as she could and took a sip of her beer. It tasted like acid in her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow it.
So Gabe had a messed-up relationship behind him. What she was concealing was far worse than that. She liked it here, liked the people. She didn’t want to lose what little progress she’d made. If they found out it would be like North Beach all over again. The looks would start, the under-the-breath comments. Then the accusations.
“You’ll be pleased to know I’m quite normal. Besides the fact that I don’t need a reason, you want to know why I haven’t encouraged anyone? I’m new here. I haven’t been here long enough to warrant getting involved. As for not accepting any advances, what advances? Some guys, including you, have been really nice to me. Friendly. But no one has asked me out or wanted to spend time with me. At least, not until the other day.”
Ryan’s eyes widened. So, he hadn’t heard about the date. Amusement bubbled up and dispersed the anxiety. Emma bit her bottom lip to stop a grin. That was interesting. She thought Gabe would’ve said something.
“I’ve accepted a dinner date.”
He blinked. His mouth fell open in shock. “No way. When?”
“Sunday morning.”
Ryan turned his head as Gabe walked into the kitchen. His dark hair gleamed with moisture from the shower.
“Emma has a date.”
Gabe scratched at his jaw, the beginnings of stubble rasping under his hand. “I know.”
The glare Ryan sent Gabe made Emma bite her lip. Ryan wasn’t impressed. Ryan looked back at her and took another swallow from his drink.
“Who is it?”
Emma turned and busied herself at the sink, rinsing her breakfast plate. There was a lot to be said about avoidance.
“Just a man.”
Silence greeted her statement. She looked around, noting the sudden stillness in the room.
“Am I allowed to ask when this auspicious occasion is happening, or is that a secret too?”
Emma chuckled and turned, leaning back against the sink to face them.
“Certainly. Tomorrow night at the Spotted Cow. Seven o’clock, to be precise. Apparently I’m being treated to a full-service date. Dinner, wine. Who knows what else?” She deliberately tacked the last sentence on, just to see what reaction she would get.
Both men’s faces darkened at her words. Their expressions were so similar it was almost comical.
“Really. You know, I actually came here today to ask you out myself. I don’t suppose I could entice you to change your mind?” Ryan’s grin didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Emma wagged a finger at him. “Now Ryan, that’s not nice. I’ve already agreed to a date with this fellow. I’m not going to do that to him, not when he at least had the courage to ask me.”
The dark look in Ryan’s eyes deepened. Arms crossed over his chest, he nodded. “I just did, didn’t I?”
The more Ryan pouted, the more Emma’s amusement grew. “Oh come on! You only asked me because someone else did. You all would’ve kept this stupid wager going until there was a ridiculous amount in that pot. I hope you didn’t lose too much money on my account.”
Gabe’s slow grin unwinding in the background made it awfully hard to keep her composure. So he thought Ryan’s reaction was funny too?
Ryan stepped forward, concern radiating from his face. Emma had to give him credit, he wasn’t just here to further his own interests.
“Is that why you’re doing this? To end the bet? Why won’t you tell us who he is? Was he on the list? Because if he was, I have to tell the others and give him his winnings.”
Ryan knew in all likelihood the man would be on that list. All single men in any available age range had put themselves down. That much she knew. With one notable exception.
“Yes, he is. I’m not telling you who he is, at his request. Unless he comes forward before Friday, you’re just going to have to wait and find out with the rest of town. I’m sorry if that doesn’t suit you.”
She placed her drink beside the sink, all pretence of drinking it gone. “If you want to believe that ending the bet is the reason I’m going out with him, that’s up to you. The real answer is simply that he asked me. That’s it. There’s nothing deeper to it. I have no need to play games. I have no interest in playing games. I’m going out for dinner with a nice man, for some company. Read into it what you will.”
Emma moved to the fridge, past a bemused Ryan and a grinning Gabe, grabbed hold of the milk bottle Gabe had given her and held up her hands. “If there’s nothing else, I have a baby to feed.”