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His words and how he said them warmed my chest even as I panicked.

They weren’t a threat. Not even a promise.

I wasn’t a challenge he was set on besting.

It was simply that he wanted to know about me, to know my secrets, and he wanted me to trust him enough to share.

And I would. If he asked, I’d answer.

And that was part of the problem.

“That still doesn’t explain why you look like I’m about to drop bad news on you.”

I opened my mouth to speak, though I wasn’t sure what I was going to say. Thankfully, a knock at the door interrupted us and kept me from embarrassing myself by babbling more.

“Hi, Kase!” I greeted when he came in, my relief evident even to my own ears.

“Hey, Pipe,” he said with a quick smile, though he was clearly distracted. “Jake, we’ve gotta problem. The parts order is totally fucked. We’re missing more than half of our shit.”

“What’re we missin’?”

“It’d be quicker to tell you what we did get.” Kase tossed a stack of papers on Jake’s desk. Leaning over, he began pointing out different things as they riffled through the pile.

With their attention elsewhere, I began moving slowly towards the door. I knew I was a coward. I also knew that if I stayed, Jake would turn my brain to mush.

I’d spill every last secret I had.

Just as my hand closed around the doorknob, I heard Jake’s amused voice call out. “Babe?”

Damn. Must work on my stealth ninja skills.

“I figured you guys need to focus. I’ve gotta get going anyway.”

“Of course you do.” His lips tipped up as he shook his head. “At least kiss me before you make your escape.”

Hesoknows me.

“No problemo, Mr. Bossy Pants.” I moved close and pressed a kiss to his lips before backing away quickly, lest my getaway be thwarted. “Good luck, baby.”

“I’ll figure it out, Piper.” He held my gaze and lowered his voice. “I always do.”

*******

When we’d met up for dinner, I’d expected him to start with the questions right away but they never came. We had a fun night that turned into a whole different kind of fun. He didn’t press for answers, which was good because I didn’t want to go there.

I was doing what I had to do to protect myself, and that meant holding back. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Jake what I thought of him. Being the happiest I’d ever been made it hard to keep that distance.

It made it hard to remember why I’d even want to.

Chapter Seven

Connections

‘Operation: Keep My Freakin’ Distance’ was a fail.

No, it was an epic, colossal fail.

Considering what little time we’d spent together the last couple of weeks, this either said something about my fortitude or how awesome Jake was.