Page 64 of Firecracker

“Nope.” He rested his hands on the counter on the other side of the island, looking down at the two cups with tea infusers sitting on top. “What are we having?”

“Honey Lullaby.”

“Uh. Okay.”

“Not a tea drinker?”

“Not really. I like nice strong coffee to keep me awake.” He rubbed his face. “But not right now. Need sleep.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean this is your fault. I was already awake from the storm.”

“Enjoying the storm.”

“Yeah.”

She poured boiling water over the tea leaves, and the scent of honey and chamomile rose from the cups.

“That smells good.”

“This is one of my favorites when I can’t sleep.”

She removed the tea infuser and pushed his mug across the counter to him, then fixed her own. She lifted the steaming cup, breathed in the aroma and sipped the hot beverage.

Tyler did the same and wrinkled his nose.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s fine. Just different.”

They were both standing at her island to drink the tea. “I need to get stools,” She said. “It would be nice to sit here, maybe eat my meals here. Somewhere for guests to relax while I cook.”

“Yeah. That would be good.”

“Not in the budget right now, unfortunately. I need to make some money.”

Yeah…again he wondered why she seemed so broke.

She picked up her tea. “We can sit in the living room.”

Tyler followed her to the couch, his eyes lingering on her legs.

Seated there, they eyed each other. Tyler’s body heated, and tension arced between them. He gulped his tea, damn near scalding his mouth.

Chapter Thirteen

Arden curled her legs under her, aware of how skimpily she was clothed.

As was Tyler.

Um, yeah. She was sitting in her living room in her nightie, with a man wearing a pair of boxers.

She and Tyler had seen quite a bit of each other’s bare skin in the last couple of weeks. Although he’d been working a lot of the time, they had managed to run into each other—on top of that time she’d tried to sneak out wearing a towel, there was also the day she’d gotten mixed up about his shifts and walked in to find him wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. It was a good look on him, for sure.

Then there were the days he was working in her place. Despite the air conditioning, he seemed to have to take his shirt off a lot. She wasn’t complaining, mind you. When he wore his tool belt low on his hips, it was jaw droppingly sexy. He was always screwing and nailing and finding studs…and it all made her think very inappropriate thoughts about her little brother’s friend.

Tonight, when the lightning had flashed, she’d taken in the boxers sitting so low on his hips she could trace with her eyes the thin line of dark hair trailing from his navel, lower, lower… Then he’d been holding her, so close the heat of skin enveloped her along with a spicy, woodsy scent that was…delicious.

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