Page 102 of High Seduction
Tim kept silent, then waved his friend off, Erin tucked against his side.
The return trip to Banff passed quickly. Erin curled up next to him on the bench seat, her fingers linked with his. “Thank you for introducing me to Matt. He’s a good friend.”
It was as good a time as any to clear one issue up.
“He’d like to be more than friends.” Tim smiled as Erin lifted her head from his shoulder to turn to stare at him. “You figured that out, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but...” She shifted farther away, disbelief on her face. “He’s attracted to you, yet you seemed completely oblivious.”
“Because while there’s a physical attraction, that’s not what Matt really needs. A lifelong friend is far more important than a temporary lover.”
Her gaze shifted out the window, as if processing his comment.
Tim adjusted his hand on the wheel, speaking softly. “It’s part of knowing what I want as well. He can’t give me what I need long term.”
“So you pretend not to even notice the hints he’s giving?”
“He doesn’t usually give hints anymore,” Tim admitted. “That was because you were there. Maybe he felt your presence would distract me, and he was safe to show a little more of what he usually keeps hidden.”
“Maybe he was hoping for more,” Erin pointed out. She caught his eye. “Is he happy?”
“What do you think?”
She stroked his fingers softly. “Yes. Even though he wishes for more, he knows what he’s got is very special.”
“And I’ll never take that from him.” Tim squeezed her hand, turning on the signal to head down the center of town toward her house. “Besides, he knew there was someone I’d been hoping to get back together with. Someone who had a special place in my heart.”
“Matt knew about me?”
Tim nodded. “Of course. I’d talked about you often.”
“Huh.”
He pulled in front of Erin’s small bungalow, the tall pine trees that lined the block casting shadows over the snow covering her front lawn. He caught her before she could wiggle away to the other side of the truck. Fingers firmly wrapped around the back of her neck, slowly easing her forward until their lips were only inches apart. “Let’s get your things, then head to my place. I have some ideas for the evening.”
Her kiss was as eager as his. Total involvement, a melting under his touch that made the hurts and time apart fade into nothing but the here and now. Their past was put aside. The future grew brighter by the moment, and that was what he wanted to concentrate on.
Breaking apart to crawl from the truck took effort when all he wanted to do was sit there and neck like some love-besotted teenager. Erin slipped out his door, her fingers still linked in his as if she couldn’t get enough of him, either.
Stupid, crazy emotion like he hadn’t experienced in years blasted his brain into near incoherency. He scrambled for something to say other than blurting outI love youfar too soon and with far too little fanfare.
“Someone’s shoveled the walks.” Tim stifled his groan at the fake perkiness in his comment, then laughed as Erin sounded just as stilted as she replied.
“Since I never know when I’ll be gone, I pay the teen next door to shovel and mow.”
They grinned at each other, sheer happiness soaking through as Erin led him up the steps and unlocked the door. “It won’t take me long to pack a bag.”
“You need me to go through the fridge?” Tim asked.
She tossed her keys on the side table, then headed down the hall. “You can look, but there shouldn’t be anything rotting. I only shop for fresh stuff a day or two at a time, and our last call-out happened before my shopping day.”
He’d just stepped into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door when a burst of unexpected sound rang from her room.
“Erin, you okay?”
No answer.
Tim moved quickly down the hall only to jerk to a stop as a familiar, but unwelcome, face reappeared.
