He thought of that weird tenderness, the ache inside him to touch her, and realized in that instant with fierce certainty that he didn’t want her to be his fake anything.
He wanted the real thing.
“As your fake girlfriend—and your genuine friend—I’m ordering you to take a pill.”
She was worried about him. The sweetness of it seemed to fill him, leaving little room for most of the pain.
“Some fake girlfriend you are,” he complained. “Seems like all I did was trade one bossy, managing female for another.”
Her laugh was quick, genuine. “You seem to be surrounded by them, aren’t you?”
“It’s a curse.”
She smiled and it took all his remaining strength not to take one more step, press her against the kitchen table and kiss every inch of that delectable mouth.
His fingers tightened on the handgrips of the crutches to keep from reaching for her. He couldn’t. Whatever he wanted, he had to think about what was best for Andie and her children.
He wasn’t it.
His life was a freaking mess right now. He couldn’t put her in harm’s way, not after everything she had endured at the hands of a fellow law enforcement officer. She was just beginning to find peace again and he couldn’t do that to her.
Beyond that, the whole situation with Christopher was a land mine, complication after complication just waiting to explode.
“I’ll take a pill, okay? First, I need to change into more comfortable clothes. After that, I promise, I’ll take one of the damn pain pills and plop into the recliner—and then I probably won’t move until morning.”
She studied him suspiciously for a moment, as if she didn’t quite believe him. “I don’t feel right about leaving you alone when somebody out there has twice tried to cause you harm,” she said slowly. “You don’t even have a watchdog to warn you if someone tries to enter the premises.”
“You could send Sadie down, but I’m not sure she would do much good.”
“What you need is a big, tough German shepherd. I ought to call Ben and McKenzie and have them lend you Hondo, except you would have to take Rika, too, because I don’t think McKenzie’s dog lets him out of her sight for long.”
Unlike the smothering from his mother or Jackie’s somewhat neurotic worry, Andie’s concern seeped in, warming all the cold spots inside him.
“I don’t need a watchdog. They won’t come at me in my own house. This is about putting me out of commission, not causing permanent damage. Somebody doesn’t want me doing my job.”
He was sure of the what. He just didn’t yet know the who or exactly the why, though a few of his suspicions were beginning to solidify.
“So, naturally, that’s exactly what you’re determined to do.”
“I need to flush out whoever is behind this.” He shrugged. “That will be much better medicine than any pain pills.”
She sighed. “You’re a hard man to argue with, Sheriff Bailey.”
“Funny, I’ve heard that before.”
“From your other fake girlfriends, no doubt.”
“Trust me, you’re the only fake girlfriend I can handle.”
He meant the words lightly, but somehow as he smiled down at her, the mood shifted between them, became charged, electric, crackling with energy and heat and a fine-edged, seductive tension.
Her gaze shifted to his mouth, and with a hard, shocking thump of his heart, he realized she wanted him to kiss her.
He wanted to, more than he remembered wanting anything in his life.
Just as he knew he couldn’t.
“Andie—” he began.
She swallowed quickly and gazed up at him out of those huge green eyes, color soaking her cheeks in the delectable blush that seemed to come so easily with her coloring.
“Well, good night,” she said in a deceptively casual voice. “I hope you get some rest.”
Before he realized what she was up to, she took a step forward. He was about a good six or seven inches taller than her under normal circumstances, but he was leaning down a little on the crutches while he balanced on one leg and she only had to stand on tiptoe to reach him.
He felt the tantalizing touch of her breath against his skin and waited for a kiss that didn’t come. Instead, she stepped back again, a mischievous smile in her eyes that reminded him very much of her son.
“That’s what you call a fake kiss. You know. To add to the illusion.”
He wasn’t sure what had brought it out of her, but he loved seeing this lighthearted side of her that he sensed had been dormant too long since her husband’s death. He decided to play along, only for a moment. This had been one of the toughest weeks of his life. Didn’t he deserve a little sweetness as a counterpoint?