Chapter 21
One look from the doorway and it was instantly clear—the lakefront property was everything Grace had feared it would be.
Warm golden light spilled out into the storm, water running down Brett’s face as he held the cabin door open for her to enter before him. It had taken them longer than expected to get here, a bad traffic accident partially blocking the two-lane road that connected the lake to town.
She led with Toby’s carrier and ducked into the space, slipping off the sweatshirt that covered the boy before wiping the wet hair out of her eyes.
She gazed around the room, taking in the sturdy wood furniture and knotty-pine-covered walls, a gas fireplace burning in the corner.
It smelled of pine and lakeshore, with a hint of clean laundry and spice.
It could be a honeymoon cabin, for God’s sake.
Brett moved past her carrying Theo’s carrier, the boy fretting beneath the T-shirt that was meant to shield him from the rain.
“Shh, it’s okay, buddy. I’ll get you out of there,” Brett said, placing the carrier on the bed and expertly extricating the baby from its straps.
“Are you hungry?” he asked the boy, placing him against his chest as he put the diaper bag down and dug for a bottle.
Brett had come a long way in just a few days’ time. If she didn’t know better, she would think he’d been doing this since the boys were born.
Theo whimpered and rutted against Brett’s shirt. Grace held out her hand for the bottle. “I’ll warm it up.”
“Thanks. I’ll change his diaper.”
She moved to the bathroom and ran the hot water.
The rustic vanity was topped with a glass vessel sink.
The floor and walls were a field of light brown ceramic tile split by a river of blue and green glass tile that flowed through it like water, ending in a pool around a large glass-enclosed shower, a separate tub tucked against the far wall.
Damn.
She longed to strip naked and bathe in that shower, to feel the water running down her body like it ran through the tiles in that space, and she made a mental note to do just that as soon as she and the boys were settled.
She frowned. Assuming she could relax enough to enjoy it. Brett and the men from HERO Force were headed into enemy territory, and there was no telling what they would find—or who might find them snooping around. Tension knotted her shoulders.
“Wow,” said Brett behind her, making her jump. “This place is amazing.”
Turning off the tap, she shook the excess water off the bottle and dried it on a towel. “Here you go.” She slipped around him and out the door, avoiding his eyes.
“Grace, we still need to talk about what happened.”
She was turned away from him and cringed. “No, we don’t.”
“I don’t want you to think I didn’t want you.”
Now she met his stare defiantly. “You didn’t want me.”
He took two steps toward her. “That isn’t true.”
She rolled her eyes. Damned if he was going to turn this around on her. “I was there, remember? I distinctly recall you being incredibly turned off that I was a virgin, almost angry, and you all but ran for the door.”
“Because that changes things.”
“Does it? Because I don’t see how it changes anything.”
He closed the remaining distance between them, Theo in his arms, sucking away at a bottle. Brett’s eyes moved over her face, down to her lips, and back up again. “It changes everything.”
All her emotions were suddenly at the surface.
Her embarrassment. Her shame. She was the world’s oldest virgin, unwanted by men, and she’d rather die than have this conversation.
Rather die than have him lie to spare her feelings.
She squeezed her words past the knot that tightened her throat.
“You don’t want me. Just say it already. Stop pretending I’m your type of girl.”
“Jesus, no.” He leaned toward her and she spun around, picking up the diaper bag, moving Theo’s carrier out of the way. Tears threatened and she worked to keep them at bay.
“Grace.”
Toby was waking up, and she squatted by his side, hurrying to unbuckle him.
“Grace.”
Damn it all to hell, she was not going to cry. Okay, she probably was, but she would wait until he’d left with his friends to go break into buildings in the dark. “What?” she snapped.
His voice was husky. “I wanted you too much.”
Her hands stilled on the straps.
“I wanted you so much I almost didn’t give a damn that you’d never had sex before, that it would be wrong to make love to you, wrong to take something you hadn’t given to any other man, even one you intended to marry.
I don’t deserve that, Grace, but I wanted it. I wanted you. God, how I wanted you.”
He got down beside her, the heady scent of him reaching her nostrils. “I still do, even though I have no business being within fifty feet of someone like you.”
She turned to face him, his words and the emotion she heard in his voice melting some of the frost inside her, some of the fear, and lighting up nerve endings that frightened and thrilled her. “Someone like me?”
He brushed her hair from her cheek. “Someone good.”
Before she could react to that, he stood abruptly. “I need to get back to the guys. Can you take Theo?”
“Sure.” She was off-center, as if she’d been leaning on a pole that was suddenly gone. She stood and took the baby from his arms, her hand grazing the skin of his forearm.
“I’m sorry to leave you with them both.”
“We’ll be fine.” Concern knotted in her stomach as she thought of what he was about to do. “Just take care of you.”
He nodded once, then hesitated, his expression inscrutable. Before she knew what he was about, he bent his head and kissed her cheek, the smell that was uniquely his mingling with that of his wet clothing. He straightened. “See you soon.”
She nodded dumbly as he headed back into the rain, closing the door firmly behind him. Her fingers traced the spot on her face where he’d kissed her. “Be safe,” she whispered.