She let go of his arm and smiled. “Sorry about that. It’s just that I don’t want you to leave.” She gave his arm a tender, sisterly sort of pat; likely in case she’d miscalculated her strength.
Saber cleared his throat, willing his body to settle down.
He wasn’t so certain staying here was such a good idea any more.
****
Julia did not want him to leave. Besides, there was plenty of room inside the boarding house for another to stay. So what if she would need to rearrange a few things? Vacate her room, for a start. She needed the money. One more boarder wouldn’t hurt anyone. Anyone that is, except her rather angelic conscience and her father’s worrisome attitude toward her well-being.
It’s just that rearranging rooms wasn’t on her to-do list for the day, when having other issues to deal with.
“Can’t go anywhere without a ride,” he said.
She pulled her gaze from his without hesitation. “Oh. Yeah. That.”
The only true reason for wanting him to stay exactly where he was, now that he was here, was that she did not want the likes of one very sinister Rachel Rosebud to sink her claws into this man.
Theodora’s granddaughter had tried to sink her claws into Jake Giotti and a few others lucky enough to get away. On this particular occasion, Rachel Rosebud could find her own hunky hunk. This one was hers!
Besides, she needed as much money as she could get her hands onto, just to pay off a few unfortunate bills. His money was as good as anyone else’s, and she did not want to lose him on the account of being too jittery . . . and too awestruck!
He might be gorgeous, but surely she could get past that. And Niagara Falls was just a tiny trickle over a few rocks. She wasn’t kidding anyone.
Roundabout Road (Saving the Sinners of Preacher's Bend Book 2) Page 20