Page 56 of A Surefire Love
“Yet another way movies have steered me wrong. They led me to believe zombies were ugly, badly dressed, brain-eating monsters. You’re as far from that as it gets.”
Not exactly a straightforward compliment, yet she chuckled. “You could meet me at my house.” The offer was out before she weighed the consequences. “Mercy will be there—sleeping—so we won’t be entirely alone, if that’s a concern for anyone.”
“Your house it is.” He gestured for her to lead the way.
His headlights hung in her rearview mirror across town to the split-level home she inherited from Mom. Blaze parked in the single-car garage and took the moment alone to consider what she was doing, inviting a man into her home after ten o’clock at night.
But this wasn’t just any man. This was Anson. If he’d gotten the wrong idea about her intentions, he would’ve shot down any suggestion of meeting here.
Still, this wasAnson. Her crush on him was as overwhelming as the river he’d pulled her out of, and she hadn’t straightened up the house. She probably couldn’t ask him to wait outside while she put things away.
She climbed from the car and met him in the driveway, then led him to the side door closest to the garage. It would have opened into the mud room, if it hadn’t hit something.
“Hang on,” Marissa said.
The two seeing each other was yet another inevitability she’d overlooked.Blazeglanced at Anson and prayed Marissa wouldn’t pull out her air quotes.
A couple of clunks later, the door swung open, and Marissa appeared in the gap, zipping her coat. Her line of sight landed beyond Blaze, and her eyes widened.
Blaze bustled in. “Everything go okay with Mercy tonight?”
“Yup. Is everything okay with you?” She swung her attention to Blaze.
She steered Marissa toward the exit. “See you Thursday.”
“Okay,friend.” She snickered and stepped past Anson, who remained on the step outside.
Blaze motioned him in, then shut the door firmly.
“Friend?” His voice, rich with humor, filled the small space as she hung up her things.
“Don’t worry about her.” Cheeks stinging, she stepped into the living room.
How would their home look to Anson? Mom drank most of her money, so the house hadn’t been paid off when Blaze inherited the estate, such as it was. Using her own resources, she hired carpet cleaners, purchased area rugs, and bought new used furniture online. The two chairs and couch differed in shades and textures, but aside from the clutter, everything was clean.
She scooped the junk mail, Mercy’s backpack, and a throw off one end of the couch and motioned for Anson to sit. “Want something to drink?”
“I’m fine.” His step forward halted, eyes trained below the coffee table. “Is that a rabbit?”
She leaned to spot the creamy brown fluff ball. “That’s Cinnamon Bun, a.k.a. BunBun. He’s Mercy’s.”
Anson squatted and stretched his fingers toward BunBun’s twitching nose. After a few beats, the bunny shot across the room and down the stairs. A few seconds later, a distinct thud sounded. Hopefully Anson didn’t know enough about bunnies to know that had been a thump to alert everyone in earshot of danger.
“Should I be offended?” He shifted over to the couch.
“It’s a compliment he stayed as long as he did. Let me go check on him and Mercy.”
She padded down the stairs. By the light of the hall, she spotted BunBun in his hutch. Mercy didn’t stir in her bed. Blaze eased the bedroom door shut. BunBun would feel safer that way, and it lowered the risk of Mercy overhearing them. Whatever Anson’s story entailed, Blaze’s chatty little sister could not be trusted to guard his privacy.
She hesitated with her hand still on the knob. Why had she asked for this? The invitation to her home made their impending conversation too intimate. It was no longer a casual meet-up with a friend following a show. But it was too late to back out now.
She retraced her steps upstairs and lowered herself to the corner of the couch, leaving a good three feet between herself and Anson. If only they had a cat or dog, another distraction might’ve wandered through the room. But who was she kidding? A pet cheetah wouldn’t overshadow her monumental awkwardness.
Her voice came out high. “You have a brother?”
Logic,Anson’s former guide, told him to get out of there without answering. But his heart longed for the exhilaration of knowing and being known. Besides, he was determined to be a man of his word.
He angled toward her, drawing one of his knees up onto the cushions and resting an arm along the couch’s back. But getting comfortable was a lost cause. His heartbeat rocked his ribcage. “My brother’s name was Guriel.”
