Page 73 of Liar's Point

“Yeah, it’s about to go into overtime.”

His brother looked past him. “Who is that?”

“Nicole.”

Calvin’s eyebrows arched with surprise.

“Hey, Calvin,” she called from the couch.

“Hey, Nicole. Sorry to interrupt. I knew Emmet would have the game on.”

“No worries. I was just leaving.”

Nicole walked over with her jacket folded over her arm.

“So, what’s up?” Calvin asked her.

“Nothing. We were just talking shop.” She looked at Emmet, and he had no trouble reading her expression. Don’t share any of that with your brother.

But Calvin was already making a beeline for the pizza.

“See you later,” she said as Calvin helped himself to two slices.

“Later.”

Emmet followed Nicole out, pulling the door shut behind him.

“Thanks for the update,” he said.

“Thanks for the food.”

He stared down at her in the yellow glow of the porch light. A wind gusted up, and she rubbed her arms.

He nodded at her jacket. “You should put that on.”

“I will.”

But she didn’t move. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and for a moment he was back inside her warm truck, trying to remember all the reasons kissing her would be a terrible idea. It was a long list, and one of the reasons was sitting on his couch right now.

Emmet stepped closer, tucking his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch her.

“We didn’t finish our conversation,” he said.

“That’s all right. Not my favorite topic.”

He eased closer, wishing he could read the look in her eyes right now. A minute ago, she’d seemed embarrassed. But now he felt like she was thinking about something else. She gazed up at him with those bottomless brown eyes, and he wanted to just say to hell with everything and kiss her finally. What was the worst that could happen? Besides him making things eternally awkward with one of his best friends?

She could laugh at him—that would suck. Or she could remind him that she had a boyfriend. Or she could give him a hard shove. Nicole was very physical. They’d been sparring partners in a training exercise once, and he’d been turned on by the memory for weeks afterward.

Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Get some sleep, Emmet.” She turned away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

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