Page 35 of Objection to Love

She pulled her wrist from his hand. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I have three heads.”

“Well, what are the extra two for if not for looking at?”

She laughed, a smooth, pleasing sound filled with unrestrained joy.

Garrett felt that laugh somewhere deep in his gut. Felt it as she stepped around him and he tried to regain his proverbial footing. The little glimpse of vulnerability coupled with a laugh like that—well, he was suddenly feeling a bit off-kilter.

He didn’t miss the steadying breath she took but was impressed by how quickly she seemed to tamp down her fear. Another point in her favor.

She nodded at his equipment. “So, what is all this stuff for, and what do I have to do to get you to take me home faster?”

Between the laughing, the teasing, and the phrase “take me home,” Garrett nearly lost control. What was a man to do when such an attractive, intelligent woman suddenly became agreeable and funny?

Kiss her, usually. But Garrett couldn’t do that, becausethis was not a date.

“Here,” he said, bending to his bag and subtly shaking out his hands that wanted to pull her close. “This will be your harness.” He straightened to look at her. “Your legs go through here, and then I’ll show you how to tighten it.”

Garrett had taken many women rock-climbing. Some friends, some more-than-friends. But as he stood close to Em and helped her tighten the harness around her waist and thighs, and learn how to use the belay so he could set the route, he felt more aware of her than he had of all the other women combined. It was not how this day was meant to go.

He worked as quickly as he could and gave her a quick lesson in belaying someone. Then he stepped back and enjoyed a breath of fresh mountain air that didn’t have some sort of warm, flowery scent laced through it. “I need to set the route before you go up. The belay is self-locking, so you don’t need to worry about dropping me. It’s pretty much impossible.”

She smiled at him as she nodded.

He decided he didn’t like her being nice. What was he supposed to do withthisSeptember Miller?

“Alright.” He tightened the last strap on his harness and tied on his chalk bag. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“I really am sorry about your face.” Em grimaced as she looked across the hood of the truck at Garrett’s face. The bleeding had slowed, but he could feel the swelling starting from when he’d smashed headlong into the rockface when Em had panicked and clutched the rope, jerking him to a stop, then overcorrected by losing her grip on the rope altogether.

Garrett had been right: the belay system wouldn’t let him fall completely.

But it did drop him about ten feet and swing him into the rocks.

“Don’t worry.” He leaned against the hood for half a second before pushing back. “But you should probably drive home. Head injury and all.”

“Oh.” Em froze in the act of opening the door. “Yeah, that makes sense.” But she didn’t move.

“Is that okay?”

Em shifted her weight. “Yeah, of course.” But her voice was higher than usual.

“Okay. Thanks.” He pulled open the driver’s side door, and she came slowly around his truck. He had an inkling of why she was so hesitant but was looking forward to seeing how she handled the situation.

She climbed into the truck, and he closed the door for her, then swapped over to the passenger side. By the time he was settled, she was staring intently at the steering wheel. She jumped a little when his seatbelt clicked and immediately buckled her own.

“Your car is a lot bigger than mine,” was all she said. Stalling.

He nodded. “Yup.”

“Hope I don’t run over anything.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not one of those guys who freaks out over a scratched hubcap.” He smiled. Any minute now they’d get to the real issue.

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