Breathless

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Breathless Page 10

by Dakota Harrison


  Both turned at once, their combined grins and sheer presence enough to fell her on the spot.

  I should’ve moved to America years ago.

  “You said the magic word, baby!”

  Gabe let out a loud chuckle at Ryan’s comment. “You should never mention the word beer around this guy. He’d fall over himself to get to it.”

  Gabe swung over the edge of the roof and onto the ladder, tool belt firmly around his hips, jeans even firmer. He jumped the last few steps to the ground and spun around to face her as she walked up.

  “Do you think I could use your bathroom? I’m a little sweaty.”

  Emma made a show of looking him up and down, a fake grimace of disgust curling her lip. “You bet. You’re not exactly man-of-the-year material like this.” She pinched her nose between two fingers. “Phew. Get into that shower, boy.”

  Light sparkled and reflected in the stormy grey depths looking back at her. Gabe’s husky laughter rang out around her, enveloping her in a promise of sun, sin and long, hot afternoons of sex.

  Stomach muscles clenched tight in awareness, Emma pasted a grin on her face so that he wouldn’t notice her reaction.

  “Thanks. Towels are in the linen closet in the bathroom?”

  Emma nodded, consumed with the effort it took to keep her composure around him while he was half-naked. “Yes. I guess it’s the least I can do, considering you were instrumental in rebuilding my broken bathroom.”

  Shrugging a shoulder, he walked up the steps with her, stopping to remove his work boots before entering the house. “Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?”

  His cheeky comment belied the dark look in his eyes. She stepped closer, not even realizing she’d done so, drawn to his magnetic gaze.

  Gabe sucked in an audible breath, his eyes narrowing and dropping to her mouth.

  Is he going to kiss me? For real this time?

  Emma’s breath caught in her throat, her chest constricting and refusing to let anything either in or out until he did.

  “So, where’s my beer?”

  The taunt came from behind her. Emma jerked back. Embarrassment flooded her from head to toe. “I was just on my way to get it.”

  She sidestepped Gabe and hurried down the hall, her canvas shoes tapping rapidly on the bare floorboards.

  Ryan stopped on the top step to the porch, eyes wide in surprise. Gabe avoided his friend’s gaze. He knew what was coming. Ryan moved up beside him and toed off his shoes. Gabe risked a glance in Ryan’s direction.

  One eyebrow curved upwards toward Ryan’s wavy, blond hair as he walked past Gabe. “Not interested, huh? Liar.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emma opened the fridge door and stood with her head pressed to the freezer. Frigid air washed over her traitorous body as she tried to calm her breathing.

  What was it about the man that ratcheted her body temperature up twenty degrees whenever she was in his presence? The man was off limits. She had to make her brain connect with her body and realize this.

  Surely it couldn’t be sex. Lust had never been a part of her makeup. She’d always been too busy to worry about chasing down men for one-night flings. Sex with Alex had always been good, until she found out what he’d done. It had never been a priority. She’d never thought she was the lusty type.

  Maybe she was wrong.

  Why did it have to be Gabe who’d awakened her instincts like this? Ryan would’ve been a far wiser choice. No strings, no consequences. Just fun. With someone like Ryan, you knew what you were getting.

  She had baggage, and from all indications, so did Gabe. Starting something with him wasn’t a good idea from any standpoint. Not when she knew she would want more than one hot night between the sheets if it was as good as she’d dreamed. Emma wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of girl. Gabe was an amazing man. She would start to care and she didn’t want that. It would put her right back where she didn’t want to be. It simply couldn’t happen.

  Wouldn’t happen.

  Emma grabbed three beers, slammed the fridge door and banged them down on her counter, anger at her body’s stupid reactions washing over her. She scraped a shaking hand through her bangs and into her hair, swearing under her breath when her fingers caught in her hairband.

  “If I were to guess, I’d say you’re not happy with me.”

  Ryan’s smooth voice had her spinning around to face him.

  “Why would you think that?”

  He raised an eyebrow and leaned on the doorjamb. “Because I interrupted something out there, and now you’re all flustered.”

  Emma handed him his beer and stepped back to the relative safety near her island counter, twisting the top off hers.

  “You must have imagined it. I’m flustered because it’s hot.” She waved a hand at his semidressed state. “As you realize.”

  Ryan took a long, cooling drink and watched her. He tapped a finger against the condensation appearing on the side of his bottle, then wiped a line down through it, rubbing the resulting moisture between his fingers.

  “You know, Gabe said something similar. Him, I can understand being cautious and guarded. He went through a particularly nasty episode a while back. But you? What’s holding you back from accepting any advances? You’re easy to talk to. Friendly. You’re not attached. And you’re sure as hell good to look at.” He shoved off the doorjamb and moved purposely toward her. “What is it, Emma? What are you scared of?”

  Dread washed all heat from her body, running icy fingers over her skin and into her heart. A ragged breath pulled into her lungs as she scrambled for an answer he would believe.

  A simple Internet search would tell him all he needed to know. She had to give him something that sounded plausible. Something convincing.

  Something to stop him from searching for an answer.

  Pete.

  She pasted as bright a smile on her mouth as she could and took a sip of her beer. It tasted like acid in her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow it.

  So Gabe had a messed-up relationship behind him. What she was concealing was far worse than that. She like it here, liked the people. She didn’t want to lose what little progress she’d made. If they found out, it would be like Matheson all over again. The looks would start, the under the breath comments. Then the accusations.

  “You’ll be pleased to know I’m quite normal. You want to know why I haven’t encouraged anyone? I’m new here. I haven’t been here long enough to warrant getting involved. As for not accepting any advances, what advances? Some guys, including you, have been really nice to me. Friendly. But no one has asked me out or wanted to spend time with me. At least, not until the other day.”

  Ryan’s eyes widened. So, he hadn’t heard about the date. Amusement bubbled up and dispersed the anxiety. Emma bit her bottom lip to stop a grin. That was interesting. She thought Gabe would’ve said something.

  “I’ve accepted a dinner date.”

  He blinked. His mouth fell open in shock. “No way. When?”

  “Sunday morning.”

  Ryan turned his head as Gabe walked into the kitchen. His dark hair gleamed with moisture from the shower.

  “Emma has a date.”

  Gabe scratched at his jaw, the beginnings of stubble rasping under his hand. “I know.”

  The glare Ryan sent Gabe made Emma bite her lip. Ryan wasn’t impressed. Ryan looked back at her and took another swallow from his drink. “Who is it?”

  Emma turned and busied herself at the sink, rinsing her breakfast plate. There was a lot to be said about avoidance.

  “Just a guy.”

  Silence greeted her statement. She looked around, noting the sudden stillness in the room.

  “Am I allowed to ask when this auspicious occasion is happening, or is that a secret too?”

  Emma chuckled and turned, leaning back against the sink to face them.

  “Certainly. Tomorrow night, at the Spotted Cow. Seven o’clock, to be precise. Apparently I’m being treated
to a full-service date. Dinner, wine. Who knows what else.” She deliberately tacked the last sentence on, just to see what reaction she would get.

  Both men’s faces darkened at her words. Their expressions were so similar it was almost comical.

  “Really. You know, I actually came here today to ask you out myself. I don’t suppose I could entice you to change your mind?” Ryan’s grin didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  Emma wagged a finger at him. “Now, Ryan, that’s not nice. I’ve already agreed to a date with this fellow. I’m not going to do that to him, not when he at least had the courage to ask me.”

  The dark look in Ryan’s eyes deepened. Arms crossed over his chest, he nodded. “I just did, didn’t I?”

  The more Ryan pouted, the more Emma’s amusement grew. “Oh come on! You only asked me because someone else did. You all would’ve kept this stupid wager going until there was a ridiculous amount in that pot. I hope you didn’t lose too much money on my account.”

  Gabe’s slow grin unwinding in the background made it awfully hard to keep her composure. So he thought Ryan’s reaction was funny too?

  Ryan stepped forward, concern radiating from his face. Emma had to give him credit, he wasn’t just here to further his own interests.

  “Is that why you’re doing this? To end the bet? Why won’t you tell us who he is? Was he on the list? Because if he was, I have to tell the others and give him his winnings.”

  Ryan knew in all likelihood the man would be on that list. All single men in any available age range had put themselves down. That much she knew. With one notable exception.

  “Yes, he is. I’m not telling you who he is, at his request. Unless he comes forward before Friday, you’re just going to have to wait and find out with the rest of town. I’m sorry if that doesn’t suit you.”

  She placed her drink beside the sink, all pretenses of drinking it gone. “If you want to believe that ending the bet is the reason I’m going out with him, that’s up to you. The real answer is simply that he asked me. That’s it. There’s nothing deeper to it. I have no need to play games. I have no interest in playing games. I’m going out for dinner with a nice man, for some company. Read into it what you will.”

  Emma moved to the fridge, past a bemused Ryan and a grinning Gabe, grabbed hold of the milk bottle Gabe had given her and held up her hands.

  “If there’s nothing else, I have a baby to feed.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Emma brushed damp palms down the short skirt of her Chinese-style dress yet again, as waves of nerves threatened to swamp her.

  “We don’t have to go in if you’d rather we didn’t.”

  Pete’s gruff old voice turned Emma’s head in his direction. She reached out a hand to grasp his arm. “Thank you, but I’m fine. It’s just a little daunting, knowing that half the town is here to see who I’m going to walk through that door with. Don’t they have better things to do?”

  A soft chuckle preceded Pete’s next words. “Not on a Friday night, they don’t. The boys are all beside themselves, wondering who it might be. Wonderin’ why no one’s talkin’. There are a few trucks missing from out here, so I’m guessing that some haven’t made it here yet. That should give them something to think about.” He glanced at her. “You ready for your big entrance, missy?”

  Amusement flooded her, washing away the nerves. “No one’s called me ‘missy’ since I was ten years old.” She nodded and took a fortifying breath. “Let’s do it.”

  As Pete put his hand to the door handle, he smiled at her. “Your young man should be here. He works the bar almost every Friday night. I wonder what he’ll think of you walking in with an old man like me?”

  Emma flushed, heat rushing up her chest to the tips of her ears.

  Great, now I look like a Muppet.

  “Gabe’s not my anything. He wouldn’t notice if I walked in with a duck.”

  Pete’s chuckle turned into full laughter. “That’s strange. I don’t recall mentioning any names.” Pete held his arm out for her as he pulled the door open. “You are right about one thing. I could be a duck and he wouldn’t see me tonight, not with that dress you’re wearing. You look lovely, girl. Just the thing to catch his attention—and keep it.”

  Silence descended when as one, everyone in the entire bar turned and stared.

  Emma swallowed and forced a smile onto her mouth. This was even worse than the first night she’d walked in with Darby. She glanced at Pete and received an affirming pat on her forearm.

  A real, full-blown smile split her lips because of Pete’s silent support. How ridiculous for all these people to be here, staring at her like this.

  A beaming Dan moved toward them from across the wide dance floor. “Evening, Pete, Emma. If you’ll follow me, I have the best table in the house ready for you.” He spun and made his way back the way he’d come, stopping in front of a booth next to one of the wide-open, double-hung windows overlooking both the bistro and gardens outside.

  Beautifully crafted handmade placemats were laid with silver flatware, a cut-crystal vase containing a single white rose standing between the two place settings. Wine glasses gleamed in the soft, muted light from the dimmed spotlights overhead.

  Dan seated Emma and handed out the menus.

  “I’ll leave you to decide what you’ll have. Any requests for drinks?”

  Emma flicked her gaze over the fancy menu in her hands, new from the last time she’d been here, only two weeks ago.

  Dan smiled at her when she looked up at him questioningly. “I change the menu once a month. Keeps things more interesting. I had these ones made special for tonight.”

  Emma slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter. She shook her head and pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “What a shame it was wasted on me. The normal one would’ve been fine.”

  A conspiratorial grin wound onto Dan’s mouth as he leaned down. “Pete told me it was him. I wanted to give you guys a good meal. You have quite a kitty to use up. It’s going to take more than one night to get through it. What can I get you to drink?”

  Emma’s attention was glued to the menu in her hands as Pete’s glass of orange juice dropped into her line of vision.

  “Your wine, ma’am.”

  Gabe’s voice brought her head up. His face held no inflection at all. He just stood there, bottle open and poised, ready to pour.

  “Thank you.” She pushed her glass over to him and frowned. What was he doing? And why was he back to calling her ma’am again?

  Gabe filled the glass two-thirds of the way, placed the bottle down on the table and turned to leave. Emma hesitated a moment too long, Gabe’s back disappearing into the crowd around the bar.

  “Why don’t you go see what’s wrong with him?”

  Emma looked to Pete opposite her. “Why would I want to do that? If he’s in a mood, it’s not my problem.”

  Why was he in a mood with her? He was all right yesterday when he and Ryan put up her new roof.

  Pete’s slow grin caught her by surprise. “No? Maybe not. But don’t you want to know what’s gotten him all excited?”

  Excited wouldn’t be the word she would use. More like reserved. Detached. Aloof.

  Cranky.

  Emma pushed aside her plate. Determined as she was, she just couldn’t finish the amount of food on her plate. She loved food and always tended to order too much, but this time she believed it wasn’t her overordering that was the problem.

  Dan was intent on giving them value for their money and, by the looks of the food still on her plate, he must think that meant fattening her up.

  Sighing heavily, she sat back and groaned aloud.

  “Too much for you, my dear?” Pete’s amusement sparkled in his faded-brown eyes.

  “You could say that.”

  Emma took in the amount of food left on Pete’s plate. There was none. His helping had looked significantly smaller than hers when they’d brought them over. When she’d queried Gabe, he’d shr
ugged a shoulder and told her to ask Dan.

  “Excuse me, Pete, but I need to visit the ladies’ room. I’ll be back soon.”

  Moving through the packed bar and dining area, Emma felt eyes watching her every step. Placing her hand on the bathroom door to push it open, she raised her eyes to see who it was that had her so on edge.

  Gabe.

  He stood behind the bar, wiping down a stack of newly washed, steaming glasses, his eyes firmly on her. No expression betrayed anything of what he was thinking—his face stayed dark and shuttered. He stared a moment longer, then turned to place the glass behind him.

  What was that all about?

  Emma shoved the door hard and walked into the bathroom, going to the last stall. The man had been weird all night. He hadn’t spoken to her, other than offering the most basic of courtesies.

  The main door to the ladies room opened several times, the last of which had hurried footsteps rushing to the stalls beside her. Doors slammed. Voices rose over the sound of the flushing toilet.

  Emma stepped out, set her small bag on the counter and washed her hands, pushing at her hair to make sure it would stay up in its twist and not fall out all over the place, like it usually did. She smoothed her hands down the front of her dress, straightening her skirt and turning in the mirror to check that it still looked okay.

  As the water slowed, the voices became distinguishable. One voice in particular stood out.

  “You’d think she’d have the decency to pick someone her own age.”

  Millie.

  Emma had seen the death stares sent her way over the course of the meal. Stares that she’d ignored after the first five minutes simply because she didn’t have the energy to waste.

  “I mean, honestly. Pete Hammond? He’d have to be what? Eighty? She’s making a total fool of herself and she doesn’t even know it. The old man only asked her out because he felt sorry for her. It’s funny when you look at it. The idiot men in this town fell all over themselves to make that stupid list. When it came down to it though, none of them wanted to actually date her. That’s why they left it this long.”

 

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