Page 48 of Midnight Valentine
You’re crabby in the morning.
“No, I’m crabby this morning,” I correct, reading around his shoulder. “My house almost burned down last night, remember?”
Except it didn’t.
I read the words he’s written, then glance up at his face. He gazes down at me with a secret little smile, lashes lowered, a lock of dark hair flopping onto his forehead. Then he winks.
The man winks.
I say drily, “Yes, Superman, you saved the day. And before I sign this paperwork, you’re going to tell me how you came to be outside my house last night at the exact moment a fire started inside the damn walls.”
His expression sours. He begins to turn away, but I grab his biceps. I’m shocked when I find a stony, bulging muscle beneath my hand. I knew he was big, but I had no idea he was made of steel.
At my touch, he freezes. Nostrils flaring, he glances down at my hand on his arm, then looks back up at me. I half expected his gaze to reflect irritation or disdain, but what I see in those expressive brown eyes of his is a depth of suffering so bottomless, it leaves me breathless.
He looks at me as if I’m torturing him with my touch. As if the mere laying of a few fingers on his clothed arm has caused him such misery, he might not be able to stand upright much longer. The rawness, the palpable realness of his pain is astonishing.
I snatch my hand back and stare at him in confusion, knowing I’ve made a terrible mistake, but not knowing how or why.
Then I’m horrified to realize I touched his left arm. The side that would’ve sustained the most damage in his accident, if, as Suzanne had said, he was broadsided by the other car.
I look at the ragged white scar over his left eyebrow, the snarl of scar tissue running down the left side of his neck, and blurt, “Oh God, I’m so sorry, I’ve hurt you!”
I back away a step but am prevented from going any farther when Theo grabs my wrist. I suck in a startled breath, then we stand there, staring at each other in a cavernous silence so tense, it crackles.
His gaze drops to my mouth. He swallows and moistens his lips, and a wave of heat spreads across my chest and up my neck. My heart starts to pound like mad, the drum of it drowning out everything else.
His gaze snaps back up to mine. I know he sees the effect he’s having on me, because his eyes darken and a ruddy flush creeps over his cheeks.
“There you are!”
In the doorway appears one of Theo’s workers, a redheaded guy with a tool belt strapped around his waist. He’s smiling, eager, unaware of what he’s walked in on.
I don’t know exactly what he walked in on either.
Theo drops my wrist as if he’s been scalded, turns, and strides out of the kitchen. The worker watches him go like it’s totally normal behavior for Theo to leave with no warning, then turns to me with a shake of his head.
“Hi, there. I’m Toby. I’m part of Theo’s crew.”
A little breathless, I lean against the island for support. I hope my cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. “Hi, Toby. I’m Megan. Nice to meet you.”
He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “There are some doughnuts out here if you want. Theo stopped on the way over and got ’em.”
Before the words are completely out of his mouth, Theo returns, holding something wrapped in a white paper napkin. He walks to me and holds it out, giving it a little jiggle when I don’t react quickly enough.
As soon as I remove it from his hands, he turns around and leaves again, pulling Toby along with him by the sleeve of his shirt.
“See ya later!” calls Toby over his shoulder as Theo drags him away.
Still a little shaky, I unwrap the little package Theo’s given me. When I see what it is, my heart stops dead in my chest.
It’s not technically a doughnut. It’s a pastry. A bear claw, to be specific.
Cass’s favorite breakfast food, which he ate at least a few times a week, including the day he died.
13
I’m standing on the back patio, staring blankly at the sea with the uneaten bear claw in my hand, when a voice calling my name pierces the thick snarl of my thoughts. I turn to see Suzanne hurrying toward me from inside the house. She’s wearing a hot-pink sweat suit and flip-flops. With no makeup on and her hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looks ten years younger.
