Page 10 of Rocky Mountain Devil

“Us.” He slid his hand over hers, and heat sizzled up her arm. “You’re single?”

She nodded, heart in her throat.

“Me too.”

Somehow in the past ten seconds every nerve in her body had gone from tingling in anticipation to full-out electric storm. “Oh, boy.”

“Right?”

She wanted to move to the next thing veryverymuch, whatever that next thing was, but there were enough other things going on, she was worried.

“Rafe… What if I need some time?” A burst of laughter escaped her. “That sounded stupid. It’s been three years, and I think I want to…whatever it is we’re going to do—”

“Date. We’re going to date.”

She nodded firmly. “Right. But I’m just back from school and need to figure out some stuff. I’m worried about dealing with my parents, even though they’re mostly great, but it’s still—”

Rafe soothed her, placing her hand on his thigh before leaning in closer. “I’ve got bad news, too. I’m going to be gone most of the summer. Just before I heard you were back, Gabe asked me to do pickup and deliveries all over Western Canada, and I promised I would.”

Disappointment rushed in, along with relief. “All summer?”

Rafe nodded. “I’ll be home only a few days at a time, and none of them with much warning.”

It wasn’t exactly what she’d been hoping for, but the instant decrease in her stress level told her a lot. “I’ve been gone for three years, and this is the first time I’ve held a full-time job.” She made a face. “Maybe it’s good you won’t be around to distract me or get me in trouble.”

“Ha. Look who’s talking, kettle.” He brushed the hair off her face. “God, I missed you. I missed talking to you, getting lectured by you, and the way you blurt out ideas soon as you think of them.”

“Gee, thanks. You like all the awkward things about me.”

He leaned forward and looked up into her face with a brilliant smile. “Yup, I sure do.”

It didn’t seem right they were sitting there in the middle of the playground, with three years to catch up on, and she was obsessing over the feel of his thumb against her skin. “Speaking of awkward things, I don’t quite knowhowwe’re planning to do this.”

Do this. It sounded far too sexual.

She glanced up to discover his eyes had gone dark with desire.

Oh boy.

As usual, Rafe had far more control than she did. “I don’t want you to have to put up with the Coleman Inquisition, so I suggest we wait.”

“Wait for sex?” Drat. She didn’t miss his sharp intake of breath. She couldn’t see his face, though, because she’d buried her face in her hands. “Go, Laurel. Silver-tongued as usual.”

His soft laughter slid over her. He put an arm around her shoulders, squeezing briefly before letting her go without offering anything more intimate. “September sixth.”

She checked his expression closer, pretty sure he wasn’t suggesting that as the date for sex. “Go on.”

A slow, heated look rolled over his face. “We met September sixth, so how about we wait until then to start over?”

“You’ll be done traveling?”

“And you’ll have time to settle in without anyone giving you grief about me popping in and out of your life like a broken jack-in-the-box.”

“I don’t care what people say,” she insisted. “It’s not that.”

“I do,” he snapped back. “About this? Aboutyou? I want it clear from the first minute we’re together that you’remine. No one will take me seriously if I’m gone ninety percent of the time, not even you.”

Too many questions shoved forward. Did his resolve to be taken seriously have something to do with recent events? Three years was a long time. A lot could have happened…