Page 36 of Here With You

He approached her until they were a breath apart. “I've never been afraid of you, Emmaline.” He exhaled, and his breath caressed her lips. “In all this time, my only fear was of you rejecting me, and that happened years ago, and I survived. Being here doesn't affect me nearly as much as you.” He brushed his lips across hers and pulled back, but she wasn't letting him get away so easily.

Were his words designed to hurt? She didn't think so because, if she were honest, Miles never had a mean bone in his body. It was one thing she'd loved about him. He was a man of integrity and kindness, but right now, he was lying, and she was going to prove it.

“No? Not affected at all, huh?” She placed her hand on his chest, moved it to his stomach, and then lower. She kissed his neck. When her palm dropped to his zipper, she cupped him. He was definitely affected by her presence. She stood back and smiled. “I've never known you to be a liar.” She turned and walked toward the door. In the living room, she looked at the paint. “You were right. You are a man who pays attention to the details.” She sighed as she walked to the door. “Shall we?”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

He tapped his leg, and Ollie followed him out the door.

“He's not coming,” Emmaline said.

Would he have to fight Emmaline at every turn? “He is.” He didn't want to tell her that if they left him behind, he'd find a way out. “I'm his support human, and he needs me.” The door was closed when they returned to the house last night. The best Miles could figure was Ollie could open doors and, since he had never left him behind, Ollie never had to. Even when he was a paramedic, he made sure Ollie was occupied. He spent a lot of money on doggie daycare, because he felt having an animal was like having a child. He had a responsibility to make sure Ollie was cared for.

“He's a nuisance.” She moved toward the dock while they followed.

“If you want me, he's part of the deal.” He ruffled the top of Ollie's head. “Who's a good boy?”

“Not him. I'm still nursing a bruise on my backside from the day he knocked me over.”

“I'm happy to rub it for you. Arnica works wonders on bruises. I'll pick up some when I'm in town.”

“When are you going to town? Do you have another date?” They arrived at the boathouse, and she unlocked the door.

“Are you jealous?” He loved that she was. She could deny it all she wanted, but a woman didn't look at him like Emmaline did and not have feelings. She stared at him like a starving man staring at a steak.

She glanced at Ollie and then at him. “Jealous?” She dismissed that notion with a wave of her hand. “No, I've seen the company you keep. They're four-legged slobbering furballs or frail older women.”

“You forced me to spend the day with Margot. She only felt me up twice and proposed once.”

Emmaline gasped. “She didn't.”

“Okay, she didn't propose.”

She shook her head. “That girl needs a mother.”

“Or a spanking,” he said.

“I'm fairly certain she'd like that.” Emmaline walked to the boat they'd rowed last night. She climbed in and felt around until she came up with the bottle of booze. “Here it is.”

“It's a little early to hit the bottle, no?”

She tucked it in her back pocket. “We can't leave things like this in the boat. There are children present.”

He wanted to say that she'd left it in the boat, but he didn't. “Is that the only reason we're in the boathouse?” He moved down the decking, looking at the boats bobbing as the tide rolled in. Today's forecast was for strong winds, which hopefully meant she'd close the boathouse. It wasn't safe to let people in the water when it was rough.

“No.” She pointed to the rafters. “Hugh is too old to climb to get the cobwebs down. With the boathouse closed for weather, I thought it's a good place for us to start.”

He returned to her. “If you wanted to be alone in the boathouse together, all you had to do was say so.”

“Are you daft? This isn't about us. This is about getting the resort five-star ready.” She moved past him and pointed out all the things she wanted done. It was a full day's work, but he was happy to do it if it meant they'd spend the day together. “I'll check in with you later.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. You said you wanted me to help you get the resort ready. I assumed you meant we were working as a team.”

She rubbed her temples and sighed. “You and I know that if we are together, we aren't getting much done. I'll be distracted by the view, and you'll…”

“I'll what?”

“Want to kiss me again?”

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