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CHAPTER 19

Houston pulled her closer, wanting to shelter her from the crowd. He wanted to shelter her forever. He liked how the idea of it made him feel. He’d have to slow down; he wasn’t stupid.

Things had changed between them, yes. Fast. Maybe it was the intensity of the storm that had done it. Or maybe it had been the lowering of the barriers between them. He just sat there and contemplated what it was he wanted from tomorrow.

He was still sitting there when a soft weight landed on his shoulder. He looked at her as she slept. He distracted himself from the pain in his hand by studying Brooke again.

He liked what he saw—but it was more than just the physical. If she gave him the chance, he was going to show her that not all men were like the shadows from her past.

That there were good men out there. Men she could trust, no matter what. He’d seen the real Brooke Jacobs tonight. Now, he just hoped he got a chance to show her the real him. He sat there, his arm around her gently, while he strategized ways to do just that.

Then they were calling his name. He shook Brooke awake gently. A flash of fear hit her green eyes in the instant before she focused on his face.

The fear cleared immediately. “Your turn?”

“Yes, but you come with me. Stay outside the door to radiology.” He pulled her to her feet, gently. Something about her made him want to be gentle. “It’s getting a bit too crowded in here now.”

She stood. He kept her fingers in his. The nurse asked if he needed help finding radiology. He definitely didn’t. He just shook his head. “I know the way.”

Then it was him and Brooke again. He decided the best strategy with her would be…no strategy.

Nothing but straightforward honesty.

He paused outside the small waiting room that led to his mother’s work domain. He turned toward Brooke. “When this is over, Brooke…”

He looked into her green eyes…and promptly lost his train of thought. Houston laughed.

“What?”

“You…did you know from the moment I first saw you, you’ve driven me crazy?”

She shook her head. “No…I know you didn’t like me much. I’m hoping…we can…be…I don’t know, friends…now, maybe?”

“I was rather hoping we’d be more than friends. Eventually. You drove me crazy…because I couldn’t get you out of my head. Something about the way you looked at me that day. Like…you saw me. The real me. The me that wants to show you that…oh, hell. I’m not good at these kinds of words, you know.”