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Taking a deep breath, she found words before he did.

“I’m sorry.” She truly looked remorseful and a whole lot embarrassed.

“For?”

As he’d donated the journal, he couldn’t really blame her for having read what he’d written. He’d given it away and she’d gotten it. End of story.

Logically, he acknowledged that. Logic didn’t make it any easier being around her, though. Her presence made him uneasy, as if he was walking into a burning house that threatened to consume him at any given moment.

Studying him, she shrugged. “That you’re stuck in my group.”

“It is what it is.”

Pink tinged her cheeks. “Okay. I just thought…well, I didn’t want you to think I purposely gave you a sheet that put you in Group Three.”

“I don’t.” The true remorse in her eyes convinced him as much as her words.

“Good.”

“We’ll do our part to make the toy drive a success,” he continued. “We’re here for the kids. Everything else is secondary to them.”

It hit him that maybe she wanted nothing to do with him, either, after their latest encounter. Who could blame her?

“Unless you’d rather not?” he suggested. “If that’s the case, I’ll find a reason to bail on volunteering and you can join up with the other ladies. No harm done.”

Her eyes widened.

“Oh no. That’s not it at all. I just didn’t…well, you…I mean, I know you said you never wanted to see me again and I…?

? Looking as flustered as she sounded, she turned her palms up in a helpless motion. “Can we just start over? Pretend I never came to the firehall, that I never found your journal, and that we’re meeting for the first time today?”

He regarded her a moment, then shrugged. “Works for me.”

After all, they were going to be stuck working together on at least a couple of occasions. This would simply be making the best of a bad situation.

Looking relieved and smiling once more, she stuck out her hand.

“Hi, I’m Sophie Davis, one of your group leaders and your Christmas toy drive partner. We’re going to make a great team.” She flashed a smile. “Just so you know, we’re going to blow away the other two pairs with all the donations we get.”

Cole’s gaze dropped to her outstretched hand. If she was willing to call a reset, why not go along? What was he afraid of?

He took her hand.

That. That was what he’d been afraid of. Afraid her hand was soft, warm, feminine.

Touching Sophie’s hand made him feel. Cole didn’t want to feel.

He’d been right to say he never wanted to see her again, should never have agreed to be her partner, but it was too late for second thoughts now.

He pulled his hand away, resisted the urge to wipe the scalded skin across his jeans, but the way his palm tingled made him question if he should.

Something flickered in her eyes, but quickly disappeared as she smiled again. Too brightly for him to think she’d been unaware of how uncomfortable their touching had been.

Did her hand burn, too?

“And you are?” she prompted, continuing with her starting-over pretense.

He was feeling ridiculous, frustrated, and was currently wishing he wasn’t there, but whatever.