Unable to hold his gaze and still function, she looked back at the monitor. "I don't know. No, nobody. Well." She swallowed and her heart thumped a warning to avoid memory lane, but it was important, so she pushed through the resistance. "I was in a car accident a while back and the guy in the other vehicle suffered a broken leg. But this? I can't imagine it's related. This must be some random crime."
Please, please let it be random.
Jude didn't buy it and if she were completely honest, she wasn't that confident, either.
"None of the other businesses in the block were targeted." He reprogrammed the monitor to show a live feed of the interior of the store and backed out of the room, leaving her space to turn and follow him.
"Maybe mine was just the first stop and the alarm scared him off. Maybe he was just looking for an easy mark, somewhere to break in just to prove he could do it, after a trophy that wouldn't get him into serious trouble if he got caught. The bigger issue now is my door and my security system. What could I have done to prevent the break-in?"
"Shatter-proof glass for the door might've helped, but that's an issue of building construction. Your insurance should cover it as a replacement."
"Right. My insurance." Which she'd skimped on since she could only afford the bare minimum. Something in her expression most have showed her distress because Jude produced his phone and sent a quick text.
"I know a guy who can get the door in first thing in the morning. He'll give you a good rate, but your insurance should cover everything."
"A deal," she echoed. "You gave me a deal, too. Why?"
"Favor for a mutual friend."
That was evasive and suspicious enough that she narrowed her eyes at his Adam's apple. "Which one?"
He hesitated, then said, "A woman who works next door."
That would be Alexa, a salon tech. The first friend Lily made in the area, and somebody who would have connections to people like Jude Burke. Satisfied with the explanation, she let out a tired sigh. "Well, thanks for taking care of the door, and for coming out so late."
"Twenty-four-hour service is in the contract." He studied her intently. Which she only knew because she could feel his gaze, steady and direct in counterpoint to her skittish avoidance. "Do you have home security?"
At her head shake, he let out a rumble. "I'll come over and see what I can do."
"You don't-" Have to, but he didn't let her get that far.
"Yes, I do."
Mercifully, he excused himself and went outside to get some heavy-duty plastic to cover the busted door. Alone, she heaved another sigh, twisted her hair back into a pony tail, and pulled out the vacuum. As she worked to clean the glass from the rug, unease pushed past her chaotic response to Jude. She didn't really believe the break-in was random, but it didn't fit Paul's M.O., and Jim Katt, the other driver involved in the crash, just didn't make any sense. Oh, Katt had the motive. But he was on the other side of the country and he was the one who'd been at fault.
To her knowledge, she'd never clashed with anybody else. But, still … if the intruder's aim wasn't robbery, what had he wanted?
Not three skeins of yarn, that much was certain. She stocked high-quality, hand-spun and dyed fibers and while she expected a margin of shoplifting, smashing in the door in the middle of the night was way over the top.
She hadn't come any closer to making sense of the break-in by the time Jude reappeared in the doorway, a sheet of thick plastic and a role of duct tape in hand. Lily turned off the vacuum and faced him. This time, she didn't plan carefully enough to avoid his eyes, and their gazes locked.
For a breathless moment, she clutched the vacuum's neck and waited for the emotional punch to connect with her stomach.
And there it was, but … easier, this time. A slow blossom of heat instead of a breath-stealing collision. It might have been disappointing if it didn't feel so good, and-
No, damn it. Neither her life nor her heart were capable of supporting a connection with a man right now.
Making a conscious decision to take charge of her reaction to him, she broke eye contact with dubious results.
Okay, with zero results. She was still warm, liquid and drawn to him. Clearing her throat, she threw out the first neutral question she came up with. "Have you seen many break-ins?"
Jude's mouth kicked up at one corner, as though his green, green eyes saw right through her. And there she was, meeting his gaze again. Hot again. He held her there for a moment, right up to the limits of her ability to maintain eye contact. The man seemed to have a sixth sense about her boundaries, which was yet another thing about him that she didn't want to think about.