“But still …” She placed a hand over his. “Thank you.”
The gesture made something spark in his eyes, and she could have sworn she saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “I—”
“Hey, is there a bathroom around here?” Adam asked.
Daniel quickly pulled his hand from under hers, a gesture that for some reason, made her stomach plummet. “Yeah, but it’s in the main room, and that door swings in. Here,” he said, standing up. “Let me get that for you. I need to go anyway.”
Adam pushed himself away from the table with Daniel standing by, but not hovering over him nor trying to push his chair for him. Even when they approached the door, Daniel held it open, but allowed Adam to wheel himself out. Her heart skipped a beat watching the way he just seemed to genuinely care for her brother.
Something jabbed her in her side. “Huh?” She looked at J.D., who was grinning up at her maniacally.
“Oh, man,” the other woman chuckled. “Don’t tell me you don’t want any of that.” Her head cocked toward the door. “That’s dinner, a movie, dessert, and breakfast the next day.”
“I—” She covered her eyes with her hand. “It’s complicated.”
J.D. harrumphed. “Doesn’t look like it to me. He wants you; you want him. You’re already married. Would it be so bad?”
Excitement thrummed in her veins. Would it?
After dinner, they all lingered for a bit, staying to chit-chat—not to mention, J.D. told some embarrassing stories about Gabriel and Damon—but it was getting late, and Rosie needed to close up, so they all decided to go home.
“That was a good dinner,” Sarah said to Daniel as they walked out into the parking lot of Rosie’s. “Thank you for suggesting this.”
“Well, we had to eat, right? And I don’t think we can rely on Thoralf’s kitchen skills for anything more complicated than pizza,” he said with a chuckle. “Where’s our friend by the way?”
“He said he had stuff to do, but he’d be back at the house. Oh, where’s the SUV?” There were only a few vehicles left in the lot, and she didn’t see the loaner from The Agency.
“Actually, I left it at home and brought this instead.” He stopped in front of a red minivan. Taking a key-fob out from his pocket, he clicked on a button and the van’s door slid open, then a ramp came out from inside.
“Thanks, Dan,” Adam said as he rolled by them and into the vehicle. The ramp automatically slid inside, and the door shut.
She looked at him, her mouth dropping open. “Where did you get this?”
“I uh, borrowed it.”
“Where? How? Why?” The questions zinged in her mind, the words blurring together.
He shrugged. “Adam needed it, so I got it.”
Damn you, Rogers. Did he have to be so … so … she couldn’t even find the words for it. She wanted to shake his shoulders in frustration. Wanted to kick him in the shins. Wanted to knee him in the balls for making her feel this way. “Gah!”
“What—mmm!”
Her body had taken over, that was the only explanation as to why she threw herself at him and pressed her mouth to his. He stood there, frozen for half a second before he responded. His lips were warm, and she could still taste the traces of sugar, butter pastry, and coffee from their meal. When his hands came around her waist, she stepped away, pushing her palms against his chest. The look on his face was inscrutable. “I’ll see you at home,” she said. And like a coward, she scurried away to her car, quickly unlocking the door and hurrying inside.
Deep breaths, deep breaths. Her hands still shook as she stuck the key into the ignition. Lights flashed in the rearview mirror as she realized Daniel must be waiting for her.
How she even managed to pull out of the spot and drive all the way home, she wasn’t sure. That kiss—the one she initiated—was still burning in her mind.
Would it be so bad?
The words repeated in her mind over and over again. He had responded to her kiss, but was he just being polite? I shouldn’t have done it. But God help her, she didn’t regret it at all.
She parked in the driveway and switched off the engine. As Daniel parked, she waited for them to come out first. Adam exited the van, then Daniel rushed to the front door to unlock it. She followed, watching as Adam went in first, rolling his chair up the ramp and into the house while Daniel held the door open. As she passed by to follow her brother in, a hand landed on her arm.
“Hey.”
She let out a breath. “Hey.”
“Listen, can we—”
“Talk?” she finished. “Just, uh, come to my room later, okay?” Her heart thumped in her chest. “Let me go see to Adam first.”
“All right. I should take a shower anyway.”
“Okay.” When he released her arm, she headed to the room Adam was staying in. The door was ajar, but she knocked first. “Adam?”
“Come in.”
Pushing inside, she saw her brother coming out of the bathroom. “How are you?” she asked.
He rolled over to the bed. “I’m fine.”
Padding over to him, she sat on the mattress so they could be at eye level. “Listen, Adam. I’m sorry you had to find out from the news and from those kids at school about me … and Daniel.”
He stared up at her with those soulful eyes, looking so much older than his sixteen years. “So, him and you …”
“It’s complicated,” she admitted. “But you deserve the truth. Daniel and I aren’t really married. I mean, legally we are, but we didn’t mean to get married. We hadn’t even met before that night.”
