Page 65 of Capturing You

He found the paper right where Brooklynn had said and set to work building the fire.

Brooklynn was busy doing something behind him, but he didn’t look to see what.

As predicted, the old wood lit right up. It was throwing heat into the room within a couple of minutes—and enough light to show him what she’d been up to.

She’d moved the coffee table and sofa so they faced the hearth, blocking the rest of the room’s furniture.

Okay, then. Apparently, she was chilly.

He made his way to a club chair in the corner and dropped into it.

“What are you doing? Come sit with me.” She patted the space beside her. “It’s warmer over here, and I opened the snacks. Good thinking, by the way.”

She’d torn a box of crackers at the corners so that the cardboard was flat and laid out the things he’d brought up in a spread like they were at a cocktail party. Two of the bottles of water he’d brought were open.

“What is it about sitting in front of a fire that makes me want to eat?” She chose a cracker and added a slice of cheese. “I wasn’t even hungry until I saw the fire. Now, I’m looking for marshmallows and graham crackers.”

He leaned toward the food but was too far away to reach it.

“Sheesh, Ford.” She tapped the cushion again. “I’m not going to bite you, not while I’m eating, anyway.” She punctuated the statement with a bite of her snack.

It did seem silly to sit so far from the heat.

“Don’t be a scaredy-cat.”

He couldn’t help himself.

He chuckled.

She gasped again. “Oh, my gosh. Did I make you laugh? Where’s a video camera when you need it?”

“Shut up.” He stood and settled beside her so he could reach the food and feel the heat. Not because he wanted to be closer to her.

“You’re safe there until we run out of food,” she said. “Then, all bets are off.”

“I’ll take my chances.” He grabbed a handful of crackers and cheese slices and sat back to enjoy them.

“For me,” Brooklynn said, “it’s the history, I think. When I was a kid, if we had a fire, it was for a reason. Christmas morning or a game night. And of course when we lost power, we had to light the fire to stay warm. If we lit a fire, it was an event, even if the event was a storm. Mom always had the stuff for s’mores. We’d have hot chocolate and popcorn—if the electricity was working. If not, then crackers or…whatever she could find. If we lost power in the summer, Mom claimed wehadto eat all the ice cream or it would go bad.” Brooklynn smiled, shaking her head at the memory. “Only as an adult did I realize ice cream would last in a freezer for hours.”

In the fire’s glow, her face was golden, her hair radiant.

Couldn’t she just be normal for two seconds? Did she have to give off that…that annoying, tempting glow?

Everything about her drew him. Her sweet voice. Her kind demeanor. Even her cheerfulness wasn’t as irritating as it should have been.

She was his opposite in every way. Where he was closed off, she was an open book. Where he was quiet, she was chatty. Where he was serious, she was lighthearted.

They couldn’t be more different. They would never work.

He focused on the flames, which were much less dangerous than the woman at his side.

“Did you grow up around here?” she asked.

“No.”

“Ooh, tell me more.”

He shook his head and ate another cracker.