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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A spen’s first thought as she came to awareness was that something was wrong.

But wrong wasn’t the right word because she was warm and cozy and perfectly comfortable—except for her irritating need to visit the bathroom.

She opened her eyes to find she’d fallen asleep on the sofa.

In Garrett’s arms.

No light came through the windows, and a glance at her watch told her it was just after four a.m.

She hadn’t wanted to tackle the mess of her bedroom the night before, nor had she been eager to be alone. And maybe Garrett hadn’t been eager to leave because he’d suggested they find a movie.

They’d grabbed the throw blankets and snuggled up together in front of the fire and the TV, where they started a nineties romantic comedy she’d watched a thousand times but he’d never seen.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been awake after that. Not long.

Shifting, she angled to look at Garrett. He was leaning against the corner of the sectional, head resting against the cushions, breathing softly.

She wanted to go back to sleep beside him, where it was warm and comfortable and safe.

If he woke, he’d leave, and then she’d probably stay awake the rest of the night, however long that might be.

She closed her eyes and tried to drift off, but it wasn’t happening, not now that she knew he was there.

He’d been so kind since he’d picked her up. Even his protectiveness, though it bordered on demanding, stemmed from his concern for her. And the way he’d held her when she cried. Laughed with her about the holster. Stoked the fire to make sure she was warm.

He’d started as her contractor and quickly morphed into a friend. Now, even that line was blurring.

She liked this man. She really liked him. Her feelings were far stronger than they should be for a guy who would only be in her life for a short time. Because she wasn’t staying in Coventry, and he seemed as much a part of this town as the mountains and forests and lake.

With that thought, she shimmied out of his arms and headed for the downstairs bathroom.

She did her business, then wiped the smudged makeup from her face to remove the raccoon eyes. She still wore the holster, though it no longer felt as foreign as it had at first. She could get used to it. And having it with her did make her feel safer.

When she returned to the living room, Garrett was standing by the door.

“Did you like the movie?”

He laughed, the sound low and alluring, and she told herself not to step closer.

Her feet moved that direction anyway.

“I do love Billy Crystal,” he said. “We’ll have to try it again when we’re more awake.”

“It’s a date.”

Ugh. Why had she said that?

But he smiled and held his hand out.

She took it, and he pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her.

When she looked into his eyes, they were smoldering like the coals in the dying fire.

“Hey, you.” His voice was low and rumbly. “Is this the part where we’re supposed to toss out our see-you-laters and pretend like nothing’s changed?”

“I didn’t read the script.”

“If there is one, we should use it for kindling.”

Before she could come up with a witty response, he lowered his head and brushed a kiss across her lips.

An entirely different fire blazed to life.

She opened her lips to him, and he dove in, pulling her closer.

In all her life, she’d never experienced anything like it. It was the kind of kiss they wrote about in romance novels. The kind of kiss that shifted hearts and changed lives.

He was the one to end it, wrapping her more tightly in his arms.

She pressed her face against his soft shirt, and he rested his cheek on her head.

“Wow.”

He’d said what she was thinking, so she added, “Yeah.”

He backed away to look at her. His expression was open but shifted as his eyebrows drew together. “I probably should’ve asked already. Is there a boyfriend? You haven’t said anything about?—”

“No boyfriend.”

“How can that be?” He looked equally pleased and confused. “Are the guys in Hawaii all idiots?”

Her laugh was short and loud in the quiet room. “I have some rules. I don’t date tourists, and I don’t date people I work with. Those two groups made up a large proportion of the men I met. There’ve been some casual dates, but nobody who…” Who made my heart sing.

That was what she’d always craved, but nobody’d ever come close.

Garrett definitely had her heart warming up its vocal cords.

“I still don’t get it,” Garrett said. “How does someone like you make it to thirty-one without finding a guy? I’m not complaining. I’m just saying?—”

“Wait.” She played back over what he’d said, then over all the conversations they’d had since they’d met. “How do you know how old I am?”

“Oh.” His face, that expressive face, showed guilt as plainly as if it were tattooed on his forehead.

She backed out of his arms and waited.

“I don’t know. You must’ve said it at some point.”

“I didn’t.”

“Well, I mean… Somebody did.”

“You were talking about me to somebody?”

“It’s not like that. Your being in town is a topic of conversation, and?—”

“And you’ve been involved in those conversations?”

He ran a hand over his short hair, messing it up and somehow making it look better. “It’s not like that.”

“What is it like, exactly?” Maybe the frustration rising inside her was irrational, but he was her only true friend in town. She’d trusted him. Had he been talking about her behind her back?

She was a novelty, and he had the best vantage point. Had people been questioning him about her? What had he told them? She swallowed all those questions and went with, “Have you really had so many conversations about me with so many different people that you can’t remember who told you my age?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “It was my uncle, the day I asked for the furniture. He remembers your mother and when she disappeared.”

“All this time, I’ve been trying to figure out what happened back then, and we could have asked your uncle? Or…” Something else, something horrible, occurred to her. “You knew, didn’t you? About the bombing, and my?—”

“No.” He stepped toward her and took her hand. “I didn’t know about any of that. My uncle told me there was a story, an ugly story. I tried to get more information out of him, but he had some sort of… He was short of breath and shaky. My aunt says it’s been happening, these episodes. I didn’t want to press him when he was in that condition, and I haven’t seen him since.”

It made sense. Except there was something in Garrett’s face, something guarded, that made her nervous. Perhaps he felt guilty that he’d gossiped about her. Perhaps he felt guilty he hadn’t told her about his uncle’s connection to her mother already.

He ducked his head until she was looking in his eyes. “My uncle’s going to the doctor tomorrow. Later today, I guess. I’m telling you the truth. It just threw me off guard when you asked me about it, and it took me a minute to remember where I’d heard your age.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Dean and I talked about you. I know you want to find out what happened to your mother, but my uncle means the world to me. I can’t… I’m worried about his health.” Garrett backed away to meet her eyes again. “I’m on your side, Aspen. You can trust me.”

She wanted to, more than anything. Because if she didn’t have Garrett, she wouldn’t have his friends either. She wouldn’t have anybody.

More than that, she wanted to trust him because…because he was more than a friend. As crazy and impossible as it seemed, she could see herself falling for this man.

She stepped into his arms, choosing to believe him. After all, what did he have to gain by lying to her?