Stirring Attraction(30)

She nodded, trying to digest the words. At some point, she’d released her hold on his jaw and pulled her hand free from his hair. Her fingers now clung to his biceps. She needed his strength now, not his kisses.

But I still want that kiss.

She heard voices—­plural—­in the bar’s back room. There were two ­people out there having what sounded like a very private discussion.

“Caroline.” She formed the name with her lips, barely daring to whisper and give away her hiding place.

Dominic nodded. And the second person spoke again.

Josh Summers. The bar’s resident baker.

She pulled free from Dominic’s hold. One step backward and she felt the sink. She leaned against the vanity’s edge. If she hadn’t let the fear take over, they would be out there kissing right now. Caroline and Josh would have taken one look at the ­couple making out by the desk and retreated to someplace more private.

But if she didn’t live with fear hovering around her and waiting to strike, if she could snap her fingers and return to her old self, then Dominic wouldn’t be here. And if he had returned under different circumstances, she would be looking for a future he couldn’t provide.

Dammit, why did Caroline have to choose this moment, when Lily was on the verge of giving in to a feeling that had nothing to do with fear? Why now, when Lily had been ready and willing to steal a kiss from Dominic, did the dishwasher have to burst in and shatter the moment and leave her hiding in the Big Buck’s bathroom with the man she wanted to kiss?





Chapter Nine


“SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE else decided to tackle the bodyguard-­versus-­boyfriend question,” Dominic murmured more to himself than the frozen, wide-­eyed woman behind him. His training had kicked in when he heard the door swing open and he’d turned his focus to erasing Lily’s rising fear. Now, he moved to the other side of the door, which stood ajar.

But he sure as shit was out of practice, because he’d landed them in a windowless bathroom. And the threat? Noah’s pie-­throwing friend and Josh Summers, a guy he’d run into a time or two in Forever or around the neighboring town, Independence Falls.

“Why do you bring pies?” Caroline asked, her voice direct and clear.

Was “pie” a code word? Judging from Caroline’s guarded expression, and the way Josh followed her into the room as if he wanted to be as close to her as she would allow . . . yeah, “why do you bring pies” must translate into something not suitable for work.

“I like to bake,” Josh said. The next few words were lost, but the sentence ended with the word “memory.”

Hell, maybe they were talking pie and Dominic had Josh to thank for spending his first night in town wearing marionberries.

“Noah didn’t ask you to keep an eye on me?” Caroline demanded. Based on her tone, Josh Summers had better hope she couldn’t get her hands one of his pies—­or her gun.

But the youngest Summers brother seemed oblivious to the threat. He merely laughed, then said: “Noah doesn’t want me anywhere near you. He doesn’t think you’re ready for a relationship or the things that go with it.”

We shouldn’t be eavesdropping on this. We should go out there, tell them we’re here and ask them to take their pie/sex talk somewhere else.

Dominic glanced at Lily, who was still holding the vanity’s edge as if she needed support. The other ­couple’s arrival had clearly triggered her lingering anxiety. If he marched her out there now, her fear would be on display. He couldn’t do that to her. But he couldn’t leave her here.

“I’m not ready.” The words carried the first tinge of fear in Caroline’s voice. “If that’s why you’re still coming around, after all this time . . . you need to move on. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. I haven’t had sex because I wanted to in years.”

Ah hell, no wonder everyone in Forever believed Noah hired strays. First he’d taken in Josie. And Dominic now knew about the loss she’d suffered even if she’d tried to hide it from everyone. Then, Caroline—­

“There’s no timeline,” Josh said. “After what your commanding officer did to you, I don’t expect you to start trusting strange men you meet in the forest overnight. I’d be in trouble if you did. This is timber country. You’re bound to come across loggers in these woods.”

“There’s a big difference between overnight and a year, Josh.”

She’s military. The pieces fell into place. And he’d be willing to guess, this was the woman his best friend hadn’t been able to save. Noah had mentioned that he’d been serving alongside a woman that he hadn’t been able to help. Dominic had assumed she’d been hit. Flying shrapnel. IED. Not rape. His best friend had never mentioned rape by a fellow soldier.