Page 35 of Falling for the Beast

“Glad I could entertain you.”

She smirked and then opened the book back to where she’d left off. Their shoulders were a little cramped, and she wiggled to find a comfortable spot.

He lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders, albeit a little awkwardly, like he didn’t want to touch her. “Is this better?”

Her breath caught in her throat as warmth and tingles flowed through her. “Uh, yeah,” she managed to say.

They were silent for a while, and Aribelle tried to get back into her book, but the close proximity to him and the smell of his cologne were both wreaking havoc on her insides. She read the same page three times without understanding a single word.

“You too warm?” he asked, peering at her.

“No,” she said as embarrassment heated her cheeks at how quickly she’d responded. She stared at him. If she moved another two inches, their lips would touch. What would he do if she kissed him? She imagined him jumping out of the chair so fast it would knock her onto the floor. Huh. Yeah. Probably.

“Are you?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” He went back to reading his book, and she tried to do the same. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating. His rhythmic breathing was calming, and soon she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

She hadn’t realized she’d drifted off to sleep until she became aware of the shift in sunlight, and the embarrassing way she was hugging Thaddeus. She stirred, and he lifted his arm, allowing her to sit up. She gave him a shy smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“It’s okay.” His voice was husky. Maybe he was sleepy too.

“Did I hurt your ribs?” She splayed a hand on his chest.

He looked down at her hand, then back up to her eyes. “No.”

“Good. Because I was afraid…” Her voice trailed off as she gazed into the deep green pools of his eyes. Her heart rate picked up. His hair was slightly tousled, his eyes soft. His high cheekbones and strong jaw line gave his face a sculpted look. Refined. He was handsome, even with the scars. Without the scars, he’d be Hollywood material.

Time seemed to slow as she gazed at him. He inched closer, as if he couldn’t help himself. As if gravity itself was pulling them together. Was he going to kiss her? She imagined what that would be like, and tingles erupted on her skin. She closed her eyes, instinctively waiting for his lips to touch hers.

The doorbell rang and Thaddeus jumped out of the chair. He ran his hand over his stubble. “I’ll go…get that.”

She nodded, unable to speak.

A moment later, she heard Evelyn’s voice carry. “You’re looking good today.”

Aribelle shook her head. She needed to get a grip. Of course he wasn’t going to kiss her. Man. What was wrong with her? She stood, smoothed out her borrowed shirt, and walked into the living room to help Evelyn carry in the groceries. When she entered, she saw she was too late. Thaddeus already had all the sacks on his arms and was headed for the kitchen.

“Good to see you, Evelyn,” Aribelle said, following them into the kitchen.

Evelyn stared at Aribelle. “Good to see you too,” she said, eyeballing Thaddeus’s shirt she wore.

Heat enveloped Aribelle’s face. It wasn’t like that, but she wasn’t about to protest this to Evelyn. The best she could do was ignore it and hope Evelyn wouldn’t ask why she was wearing his shirt.

She expected Thaddeus to leave the room after he set down the grocery bags, but instead, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned up against the counter. “How was your week?” he asked Evelyn.

She fished the bread out of one sack and smiled at him. “It’s been kind of crazy. My daughter is ill and I’ve had her son at my place. He’s a bit rambunctious, that one. Always climbing on things and getting himself into trouble. He’s only two but he thinks he’s seventeen, and he wants to do everything the grownups are doing.”

Thaddeus nodded his head.

Aribelle began emptying the other sack. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this. You can go do whatever else you need to do.” She made a motion with her hand to shoo him into the other room. She didn’t mind him overhearing her ask about the old woman, but if he was standing right there he’d interrupt and not let her get the words out.

“I’m fine. I don’t mind helping.” He put the milk in the fridge and gave her a smug little smile which made her blood pressure rise. He knew she wanted to talk to Evelyn. What a brat.

Everything was put away quickly with the three of them helping, and Evelyn picked up the empty sacks. “I hope you have a lovely afternoon.”

As she walked toward the front door, Aribelle tried to think of what to do. She needed to get Evelyn alone but didn’t want to be too obvious. She hung back and let Evelyn walk outside. Thaddeus shut the door, walked into the living room, and sat on the couch.

If she didn’t act now, it would be too late. “Oh, I forgot to ask Evelyn something. There’s a new recipe I want to try, so I’d better go see if she can bring the ingredients next week.”

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