Wrapped in You

by Jules Bennett

  “No,” she agreed as she moved to her desk to lift the note Tasha had left. “There’s a doctor moving to the area and his specifications match closely to your house. But I haven’t called him because I wanted to talk to you. I want to make sure you are one hundred percent on board with this.”

  His chest expanded as he pulled in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “I don’t really have a choice. This is moving faster than I thought.”

  Those dark eyes darted around the room as he rubbed his palm over his beard. She could practically see the wheels turning, but she didn’t want him stressing over this.

  “Nothing is done, Zach. He hasn’t seen the place and a price hasn’t even been mentioned. Don’t start worrying just yet.”

  “I could store my things at the resort house,” he murmured, “until I find somewhere else. No storage fee that way.”

  “You can store some stuff at my place too,” she offered. “Or Braxton’s. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

  Zach brought his gaze back to her. She hated that look of regret that passed through his eyes. Without a doubt, Sophie knew he didn’t want to sell and was only doing so for Chelsea. What would Chelsea have wanted? Would she be on board with Zach selling their home to pay for a dream?

  “Just think about all of this.” Against her better judgment, she reached out and placed a hand on his tense forearm. “Nobody will think anything of it if you opt not to sell. We can find another way to get funding. I have some ideas.”

  One dark, thick brow quirked. “You’re thinking of going to the historical society, aren’t you?”

  Sophie removed her hand. The last thing she needed to be doing was touching him. Wanting him was already an issue; she didn’t need to make things worse. Besides, Zach was under pressure, and the last thing he needed was added stress from personal issues.

  “There are grants that we could apply for. They take time, but I can start on the research tonight and we can see what’s available.”

  Ideas started spinning around in her head. Too many ideas, ideas that could take up the bulk of her work time, but she couldn’t let Zach or his brothers go through this alone. Chelsea would want Sophie to continue helping, and family came first. Always.

  “I can still have your house appraised,” she added. “We can get the ball rolling in two areas so we have a plan B. I won’t put your house on the market or advertise it until you give me the official go-ahead.”

  “How much do you know about grant funding?” he asked.

  Sophie went to her computer, booted it up, and took a seat. “I researched it before, but not for a small business and not for a home that had so much historical value.”

  Her fingers flew across the keys, hesitating when his hand rested on the back of her chair. His other hand came to rest on her desk beside the keyboard. Great, now he was looming over her. How could she concentrate? He smelled so, so good. If she turned just so, she could probably . . .

  No. Focus, Sophie. Focus.

  She found a few sites that would help them in their search. As she was filling out information for one of them, her cell rang. Both she and Zach glanced at the screen. Her mother.

  Sophie waved a hand. “I’ll get it later.”

  “She wouldn’t like you helping us.”

  Turning slightly, Sophie looked him in the eye. “I slept with you last night. I’m pretty sure my looking up grants is the least of her worries.”

  She couldn’t help but smile when Zach’s jaw nearly dropped.

  “Besides,” she went on, focusing back on her computer. “What I’m doing is none of her business.”

  Suddenly, her chair spun around and she was hauled up against Zach’s hard chest, his hands gripping her arms in that powerful, controlled manner he had.

  “I like this Sophie,” he told her, his eyes blazing into hers. “I like the confident, take-charge woman. Maybe I can convince her to come by my house again later.”

  He knew all the right words. As if she hadn’t had feelings for him for years, the man knew exactly what to say to cause the most impact on her girly emotions that were all over the place.

  “Zach,” she protested, though her body leaned into his further. “You know this would go nowhere. You’ve said it yourself. I would want more, you wouldn’t, and one or both of us would end up hurt.”

  Zach rested his forehead against hers. “If I could give myself to anyone, Soph, it would be you.”

  Those raw words said on a strangled breath had her nearly choking on those emotions she’d tried so hard to keep hidden. Just as her eyes closed to shield the unshed tears, her phone rang again.

  Placing a kiss on her forehead, he murmured, “I’m heading to the house. You take that call.”

  He walked out of her office, leaving her alone with her jumbled thoughts and her ringing phone. How could he drop a bomb like that and walk away?

  Sophie sank back down into her chair, ignored her phone, and cradled her face in her hands. Whatever haunted Zach’s past was interfering with the progress she’d made with him. Would he open up to her? Would he let her in? Sophie didn’t think he was distancing himself because of the accident; if that were the case, he wouldn’t have taken her to his bed.

  Something had damaged Zach so deep, he was afraid to take risks, afraid to let himself go and believe in the possibility of... love? Yes, love.

  Sophie patted her damp cheeks and reached for her phone. That was two calls she’d missed from her mother. She’d have to call her back or the woman would have the entire police department on the hunt.

  But first Sophie needed to get control of herself, because Zach was right. Her mother wouldn’t like Sophie getting this chummy with the Monroe boys now that Chelsea was gone. Her mother had tolerated, barely, Chelsea’s free-spirited behavior, but the polished woman loathed the Monroe men because they were a rowdy bunch.

  Granted, they’d had their days, but they were upstanding citizens now. Of course her mother still saw them as hellions and teens, but Sophie knew the truth. She knew those men were more loyal than anyone she’d ever known. They were damaged on the inside and didn’t get too close to people, and they might bicker and occasionally throw a punch at each other, but they loved each other deeper than any set of siblings she’d ever seen, blood-related or not.

  Now Sophie had to figure out how to save Zach’s home, get money for Chelsea’s dream, spend an exorbitant amount of time with him to get this project off the ground, and try to keep her heart out of the mix.

  She dropped her head back against the seat on a groan. How could she keep her heart out of the mix when he’d stolen it ten years ago?

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What’s happening in that room?” Zach asked, sure he’d heard wrong.

  Braxton removed his glasses and pointed to the laptop screen. “The room for the hot-rock massage.”

  Zach stared at the screen. Some woman who appeared to be nude, save for the white towel across her backside, had large, black stones going down the length of her spine. What the hell had he gotten into?

  “How do you know about this?” Zach asked. “No, wait. I don’t want to know what you do in your off time.”

  Braxton flipped him the finger and shut his laptop. “I’ve been researching different spas and resorts. There are certain things that are a must-have for this to work right. Women eat this shit up.”

  Zach had to start thinking like that or this business would tank. But how the hell did he think about hot stones on bare skin? How was that relaxing? People paid for the most ridiculous things.

  As a young boy, he’d feared if his next meal would come, or if his mom would be alert enough to even care he was still alive. Dirty, smelly apartments, random men filtering in and out, always on the move from one filthy place to another was Zach’s childhood. He hadn’t kept toys because he never knew when they’d have to gather their meager belongings and go somewhere else. Secretly he’d wished she’d just go off on her own and leave him. He figured h
e couldn’t be any worse off on his own than with a mother who paid him no mind except when she needed him to do something for her, like steal a loaf of bread. She claimed nobody would look twice at a kid and think he was stealing. He’d actually gotten pretty good at swiping groceries. While other kids were playing baseball and going to the movies, he was trying to figure out how to stuff a jar of peanut butter in his jacket.

  Now he was renovating a mansion to open a women-only resort and spa. Talk about making a complete one-eighty.

  “I’m not that far in my thoughts, yet.” Zach came to his feet and headed back to the bathroom they were working on. “I’ve ordered the tile for all of the bathrooms and it should be here by tomorrow. I’m doing heated floors in all of them as well.”

  “Don’t go overboard until we have more funding,” Braxton warned, following him down the wide hallway. “When is the house going up for sale?”

  Zach stopped at the bathroom doorway. He’d not mentioned anything to Braxton or Liam about Sophie’s plan. When he thought of her idea, his mind instantly went to her office yesterday morning, when he’d exposed too much of his heart. Why had he told her something so intimate? He never wanted her to know how much he wanted her. He couldn’t afford for anyone to have such leverage over him.

  “Actually, Sophie is trying to get us some grants.”

  Braxton’s brows lifted. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I guess with losing Chelsea, trying to get the taxes paid, and figuring out what the hell we were doing, the obvious just slipped my mind.”

  “I think we’ve all had our minds on other things lately.”

  Braxton smirked. “Like a certain real estate agent?”

  Zach moved into the bathroom and ran his hand over the drywall mud where he’d finished the edge of the partial wall he’d taken out. To this day, too many walls made him antsy. The confining spaces, the enclosed areas once made his anxiety run high. He wasn’t near as bad now, but he still preferred the open spaces.

  “Your silence only makes you look guilty,” Braxton commented.

  “I’ve been found guilty before.”

  Braxton muttered a curse. “You know that’s not how I meant that.”

  Zach shrugged. “I’m not offended. But I’m not discussing Sophie.”

  Braxton laughed. “You don’t have to. She’s standing right here.”

  Jerking around, Zach spotted Sophie, her face tinted pink as if she’d heard a bit of the innocent conversation. They’d said nothing wrong or demeaning about her, not that he ever would, but that she was a topic at all would only make this harder on her. And even though he couldn’t give her what she wanted, he didn’t want her embarrassed.

  Damn it. Why couldn’t they just enjoy each other, as both friends and lovers, and not worry about the rest?

  Because Sophie was the type of woman who would want a house with a devoted husband without a criminal record, and a yard full of screaming, happy kids. She would want church on Sunday, family vacations to the beach, and hot chocolate by the Christmas tree.

  Zach swallowed as he met her beautiful, bright eyes. One day she would fall in love, and Zach would have no right to stand in the way of her happiness. Isn’t that why he kept his distance? Well, other than last night.

  “Am I interrupting?” she asked, looking at the two brothers.

  “Not at all.” Braxton smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I hear you’re looking into some grants?”

  “Actually, that’s why I’m here.” She pulled up her phone and started scrolling through, her eyes squinting slightly at the screen. “There’s a good chance we can get all we need from this one outlet.”

  Zach moved closer, wanting to see more, because if he could get what they needed to renovate this house, then he could keep his own. Could life be that simple? Could things be going his way?

  A dull thud sounded from overhead.

  “What was that?” Braxton asked, glancing toward the high ceiling.

  Zach shook his head. “Not sure. I’ve heard a few things when I’m alone working. I figure it’s the old house settling. I’ll go up and check. Who knows, maybe another stray followed me.”

  Sophie laughed as he walked away. He loved hearing her laugh, loved seeing her smile. To know he caused either of those made his heart swell with an emotion he couldn’t label because if he did, he’d have to admit that Sophie meant everything to him. Absolutely everything.

  As he climbed the steps, he heard the murmured chatter of Braxton and Sophie, but he tried to focus on any sounds from above. The random noises were so few and far between, he’d assumed they were all due to the old house. But you never knew what you’d find in an abandoned house.

  The second floor was actually in better shape than the first floor. Whoever had lived here last, and that was decades ago, hadn’t bothered doing anything up here. Other than the thick layer of dust, grime, and the outdated decor, the second story wasn’t terrible. Ugly, but workable.

  Zach glanced into all of the six oversized bedrooms, the bathrooms, and even the large linen closet. Not a stray animal or a rodent to be found. Spiderwebs the size of a Volvo, but nothing that would cause a sound. Damn, he hated spiders, though.

  When he went back down, Sophie and Braxton’s heads were tipped in toward each other. They were talking in low tones and Zach hated the surge of jealousy that spread through him. Why was he jealous of Braxton? Sophie had never shown any interest in his brother that way.

  But Braxton was that silent ladies’ man. He was quiet, had that whole professor thing going for him, and women found brains sexy . . . didn’t they? Braxton had a master’s degree, he was an overachiever, and he probably polished his silverware for fun and put it all back in nice, neat order when he was finished.

  Braxton was the type of man Sophie would end up with. Someone with a classy, honest job that required dress pants and a shirt with a collar. She would find a man who didn’t come home from work with new holes in his already tattered jeans. She’d have a smile on her face and greet him at the door with a kiss.

  Zach’s hands fisted at his sides as he stepped off the last step and crossed the spacious room.

  “You look pissed,” Braxton stated. “What did you find?”

  Reining himself back in, Zach shook his head and forced himself to relax. “Not a thing unless the spiders weaving those webs are bigger than we think.” He shuddered at the thought.

  Sophie slid her phone back into the pocket of her skirt. This one wasn’t fitted like her others. This skirt stuck out from her body just enough to make her legs look even more appealing. Not that they weren’t appealing in any state of dress . . . or undress.

  “I was telling Braxton that I stayed up last night and filled out all the forms to apply for this grant.”

  The night before she’d been up most of the night too.

  “You can’t work yourself to death,” Zach told her. “Tell Braxton what needs to be done. He’s a nerd, he’d love to fill out forms.”

  Braxton’s punch to his stomach caught Zach off guard, but he retaliated by turning slightly and sending an elbow straight into Braxton’s abs.

  “When you boys are finished, I have more to say.”

  Sophie’s bored tone made him smile. Damn, she was even cuter when she didn’t put up with his nonsense. She’d been around his family enough to know they oftentimes threw fists, elbows, whatever, and discussed after the fact.

  “Just because I teach history and econ doesn’t mean I’m a nerd,” Braxton said, rubbing his stomach. “The ladies happen to find my intellectual side sexy.”

  Zach snorted. “Yeah, they’re totally into you when you recite Chapter four of the ancient history textbook.”

  “Can we focus?” Sophie asked, her voice rising to get their attention. “Some of us have another job to get to.”

  Zach cleared his throat. “Sorry, Soph. What were you saying?”

  She stifled a yawn. “A rough estimate is thi
rty days, but I’m hoping to hear something sooner. All the paperwork is done and sent. Everything was electronic, so once I started I kind of just went with it. I really think we have a good shot at this because we meet all the criteria. Small town, new business that will generate income and boost our local economy, plus the house is over one hundred years old, so they want it preserved.”

  “So does this mean you’re not selling?” Braxton asked Zach.

  Sophie smiled. “It means he most likely won’t have to. As much as I was looking forward to that commission, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn’t sell.”

  Braxton picked Sophie up and spun her around. “This is awesome.”

  “Put her down.”

  Damn it. Zach hadn’t meant to go all territorial, but he didn’t want any other man’s arms around his Sophie.

  His Sophie. She wasn’t his. She’d been his for a night and he’d let her in, knowing that he wouldn’t give her what she deserved. He was a selfish prick, but he wouldn’t have changed that night for anything.

  “Looks like my brother is staking his claim,” Braxton pretended to whisper to Sophie as he eased her back onto her feet with a loud kiss to her lips. He threw Zach a lopsided grin.

  Sophie winced, but Braxton kept his arm around her as he jerked his attention back to her face. “You good?”

  Hesitating a second too long, Zach stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Go sand that wall,” he told Braxton. “I’ll be back.”

  Braxton raised a brow as if to silently say Told you so, but Zach didn’t care. He knew Sophie was exhausted and her hip was obviously giving her fits.

  “I can walk,” she informed him. “I just needed a second because I stepped wrong. That’s all.”

  That’s all. She had to deal with intermittent pain, and he couldn’t ignore it or pretend everything was okay.

  Once they reached the front door, he turned to face her, gripping her waist with both hands. He loved the feel of her beneath his touch. She might not come to his bed again, but that wouldn’t stop him from touching her. He’d already passed over that friendship threshold, and he intended to take full advantage.