Page 69 of V is for Valentine
“I panicked,” he said. “I mean really panicked.”
Felicity gave him a surprised look. “You’re claustrophobic?”
“I was after that.”
She sucked in a breath and focused on the opposite wall. “Danny.” She said his name on a breath, so lightly he wondered if she was aware that she’d spoken aloud. Then she surprised him by taking his hand and lacing their fingers together. “I had no idea. You seemed…invincible.”
He laughed and squeezed her hand. The connection felt good. “Hardly, but I knew better than to show weakness.”
“Yes.” She turned her profile to him. “Me, too. You…uh…aren’t going to freak out on me, are you?”
“Not if you don’t remind me that we’re locked in.”
She gave a soft laugh, but her expression sobered as the laugh faded. She let out a breath and tipped her chin up to study the rafters. “How long have we been here?”
“Oh, maybe ten minutes.”
“Gonna be a long night.”
“We have heat,” he said.
Felicity smiled a little. “Whatever part Deke put in must draw more amperage than the previous one. Thus, the breaker flipping.”
“I love it when you talk electricity.”
She squeezed his hand, seeming to be in no hurry to let go. “For the record, not one word about your warehouse or Fork Horn Brewery left my lips. Not with my family. Not with anyone.”
“I’m sorry. I—”
“I would have jumped to the same conclusion and probably felt just as betrayed.”
That was it. Betrayal. After all they’d been through, he’d assumed that there was a level of trust between them. “I felt sideswiped.”
“I understand.” Felicity stretched her legs out to match his, crossing her ankles. Bertha gave a small rattle as the blower motor stopped. They exchanged glances and she said, “That was a normal stop at the end of the heat cycle…I hope.”
“It was,” he assured her. They were both a little jumpy about Bertha, who’d caused more than her fair share of trouble over the past two weeks.
“After my mom died, you quit haranguing me.”
The quiet statement surprised him. “Of course I did.”
“It bothered me.” She plucked at her workpants with her free hand, studying the movement of her fingers, but her other hand had tightened on his. “I…missed it. You and I were a constant. And I guess I’d come to depend on the,” she hesitated as if searching for the right words, “mental challenge. It was a nice distraction.”
“All you had to do was ask.”
“Or soap up your car windows.” There was a note of quiet satisfaction in her voice.
He met her gaze. “That’s why you did it?”
She gave a soft laugh as she met his eyes. “It was my way of saying game on.”
“It worked.”
Their gazes held for a heart-stopping moment, then Felicity looked away, breaking the spell.
“So, you’re happy in Seattle.” He felt her pulse jump.
“Very.”
