Page 20 of Taken With You
Her pulse performed a sudden tango.
“I saw you watching,” he said. “I noticed.”
She forced a dry swallow against a tsunami of embarrassment. Holyfuck.He’dcaughther. She thought she’d been so discreet. Ducking her head to her work whenever his attention drifted her way. Watching him shovel through the veil of her lashes. She was managing the crush, yes, and she was responsible for making sure every worker performed his duties correctly, so shehadto observe, but how could she use that as an excuse? There wasn’t skill involved in shoveling grapes into a crusher. She had no excuse for ogling her ripped-to-ribbons partner but for the obvious.
Since she’d witnessed him descending a cliff the morning she’d met him, she couldn’t ignore her physical attraction to Garrick.
And yet how she would have hated the ogling if the roles had been reversed.
“Garrick,” she said. “I apologize if—”
“I wasn’t offended.”
Words hit her palate, banked behind her lips.
“Quite the opposite.” He flexed his hands open again. “Miguel and I were both vying to catch your attention. I wanted you to watch. I wanted you to noticeme.”
He threw her a fierce look. She flinched as it cut through her. The chair beneath her scraped against the cement floor, and suddenly she was standing up, weaving with vertigo.
“Amanda?” He stepped into her vision, rising to his full height. “If I’m out of line—”
“We’re both out of line.”
Her for ogling him. Him for encouraging it.
A muscle flexed in his cheek. “So I didn’t imagine it.”
She shook her head and scanned the whole room around her, to avoid his eye, to search for the better sense she’d just abandoned.
“Damn.” He ran his hand over his head, mussing up the damp tracks in his hair. “This complicates matters.”
All kinds of unnerving sensations flooded her body and pushed a fog through her mind. He was her partner. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She wanted it to happen.
“I understand your question now.” She pressed her fingers against her heart, racing crazy-fast. “About you staying.”
“I sure as hell wasn’t talking about shoveling grapes.”
“Still.” Her ribs tightened. “I don’t know the answer.”
“Maybe this will help you decide.”
Lights from the lanterns swayed beyond the silhouette of his head as he took a step closer, shrinking the world to the small space that separated their bodies. Her lips parted, anticipating the kiss his eyes promised, suddenly aching to feel the heat of his mouth, the stubble of his chin rasping against her skin, the press of that solid chest. The lab behind him spun beyond her drooping eyelids as his breath brushed her mouth—
“Amanda? Are you in here?”
Amanda startled. With a frustrated growl, Garrick stepped aside, deft, leaving her blinking against the glare of the outdoor lights and the silhouette of someone approaching. A cool breeze washed over her. She saw Maggie come into better focus as her dazzled vision cleared and her friend drew close.
“I knew you’d be in here,” Maggie said, grinning.
“H..hey, Mags.” Was that her voice? “What a surprise.”
Maggie gave Amanda a side-eye. “You asked me to come, girl. Don’t you remember?”
“Oh?” Her mind wasn’t working, all blown fuses.
“You said you might need an extra hand.” Maggie scuffed to a stop as her attention was drawn to movement by the table. “Oh. Hello, mystery man.”
