Page 3 of PenPal Hero

Whatever. “They smother me,” she sighed, taking a seat to boot up her computer. “Insufferable monsters, every last one of them.” Yes, she loved them, but she would give anything for a little emotional space from them sometimes. She’d been toying with the idea of getting her own place. It would probably be best not to inform her family about her plan until after she signed the contract, though…and probably after she moved away from home. No doubt she’d have brothers trying to blockade her bedroom door if she so much as breathed a word to them about it in advance.

“Which is why I’ve agreed to be your pen pal this week.” Holt lowered his voice as he leaned his tall frame across the front of her desk. “And maybe finally explore a few…other things.” His voice was suggestive.

Hoh, boy! Time to change the subject. Flushing, Bonnie glanced up from her screen. “Don’t forget to keep your eyes and ears peeled for whatever’s had your spidey senses tingling lately.” He’d been abducted and held for leverage during the recent roundup of that gang of fraudulent real estate investors. He was fortunate to be alive. Her heart twisted at the thought.

“I won’t.” He rapped his knuckles on her desk, straightening.

“I want to hear about anything that makes you go hmm.” She understood what he was going through more than he realized. Unlike her, though, he remembered every ugly, lousy detail about his abduction. That had to be tough!

He cocked his head at her. “You’re going to be getting some long letters, then.”

“Email.” She waved at her computer screen. “That way, we won’t have to wait for snail mail to run.” In which case, she might not receive his first letter until after she returned home, where one of her brothers could easily intercept it. Not good.

“Good idea,” Holt agreed. “Or we can text. Pretty sure I gave you my number a while back.” He bent over her desk again to look her straight in the eye. “Not that you’ve ever used it.”

She sniffed instead of answering. She’d wanted to text him, but there was no point in getting anything started between them. Why bother when her brothers were sure to put a stop to it?

I need to move into my own apartment, and soon! She was twenty-one, for crying out loud. She wasn’t sure why she’d put off moving out for so long. It made sense for her unmarried brothers to continue living at home, because they were all employed at the ranch.

Not me, though.

Holt lowered his voice another notch. “Hope you’ve been thinking long and hard about our first kiss while you’ve been so busy not texting me.”

“Holt,” she hissed. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks. His sister was in her office right around the corner. She could walk out and join them at any moment.

He smirked at her expression. “I’ve sure been thinking about it.”

“But we haven’t…actually kissed,” Bonnie spluttered, fighting to keep her voice down despite her indignation.

“Yet.” His voice was silky. “There are vibes between us. Don’t try to deny it.”

“Maybe. Okay, yes.” She drew a deep breath. “But I’ve already made it clear my brothers will never allow?—”

“This isn’t about them,” Holt cut in, fisting a hand on top of her desk. “This is about us.”

She gave him a helpless look. “There is no us, Holt.” Why couldn’t he see that? Yes, there was some chemistry between them, but she’d done nothing to encourage it. Zilch.

“I beg to differ.” His lazy grin returned. “And I’d be glad to prove it to you when we share our first ki—” He broke off the rest of what he was going to say as Alice re-entered the room.

Her heels click-clacked against the tile as she moved their way with a suitcase in each hand. “You two look awfully cozy.” Her briefcase was strapped across one slender shoulder.

Holt hurried her way to collect her suitcases. “Just filling Bonnie in on all the car thefts that neither of you are gonna have to worry about this week.” He glanced over his shoulder to wink at Bonnie from an angle his sister couldn’t see.

Though her brothers were forever winking at her, the way Holt did it was much better. Sweeter. Swoonier. It felt like a promise that the kiss he kept teasing her about was drifting ever closer.

She hardly knew what to think about it. Most guys would’ve been too intimidated by her brothers to continue flirting with her. Holt, however, didn’t seem the least bit deterred by the thought of facing all five of them at once. He was either out of his mind, or…

He’s into me, too. Her breathing grew shallow.

Alice stopped by Bonnie’s desk, smiling knowingly. “So are you two finally…” She waved at her brother’s retreating shoulders as he headed toward the rear exit. He’d parked out back in the employee parking lot.

“Like I’ve told you a bazillion times, we’re just friends,” Bonnie assured in the most nonchalant voice she could scrape up. It was all she could do not to wave her hands at her face. It felt like her cheeks were on fire.

“Uh-huh.” Alice didn’t sound convinced. “You keep telling yourself that.” She moved to the front entrance and turned the Open sign to Closed. She’d taped an extra sheet of paper at the bottom of the sign, informing any would-be visitors how to contact her and Bonnie while they were out of the office.

Bonnie checked her email and saw nothing urgent. Then a thought struck her, making her smile. She quickly typed her first short pen pal message to Holt.

Yes, I’ve been thinking about our first kiss…that might not ever happen. Just for the record, it probably shouldn’t ever happen. You’re a really nice guy. You’ll find a really nice girl to date who’s not packing my kind of troubles.

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