the sofa and trotted off in a huff.
“Easy there. It’s just me.” Riley sat back down on the coffee table and sent her an apologetic grin. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just thought you might be cold.”
Ginny released a deep breath and, squeezing her eyes shut, dragged her fingers through her tousled hair. “I guess I’m a little jumpy.”
“You think?”
She shot him a look that said smart aleck, but tempered it with a sleepy smile.
“Hey, you have every right to be jumpy. Your life’s been threatened twice in the last forty-eight hours. That’s enough to spook anyone.”
“True. But I’m not usually so high-strung. I need to get a grip.” She lay back down and stretched her good arm over her head, yawning. “How long was I asleep?”
“’Bout an hour and a half.”
“Mmm.” Her eyes drifted closed again. “How goes the battle with the dishwasher?”
“I think I subdued the monster. You had a clogged drain, but all seems to be well now.”
She blinked. “You fixed it? Really?”
“Really.”
Her face lit with wonder and admiration. She clapped her hand over her heart and sighed airily. “My hero!”
Though he forced his lips to match her playful grin, a biting cold balled in his gut. Her lighthearted adoration prodded his internal demons from shadowed corners of his memory. His failures from the past loomed large and dark in his mind’s eye. He had to swallow the knot of bitter defeat in his throat before he could speak. “You’re too easily impressed.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be modest. You’ve saved me from tedious hours of dishwashing at a time when I don’t have a spare hand to do it.” She held up her cast-covered arm. “That’s no small thing. What do I owe you for your services?”
He scowled and waved her off. “Nothing. Glad to help.”
“Dinner at least. My treat.” She took the phone from the coffee table near his hip and waggled it. “You pick the takeout. Suddenly I’m famished.”
The flirtatious spark returned to her eyes, the come-hither invitation that always succeeded in revving his engine. Despite the thrum of desire that swept over him, he couldn’t shake the nip of apprehension that nagged him.
My hero.
If Ginny had any delusions of him being heroic or worthy of her admiration, he was doomed to disappoint her.
Just as he’d let Erin down.
Just as he’d failed his sister.
The last thing he wanted was to hurt Ginny, but the gratitude in her eyes gave him pause. He’d had all the misplaced hero-worship and high expectations he could handle. If he hadn’t promised her mother to stay and keep an eye on her, he’d have made an excuse to leave, to go back to his apartment and forget his overwhelming attraction to Ginny.
Yet his own sense of duty, his deep-seated need to protect her compelled him to stay. His chest tightened with the same tug-of-war that had plagued him since he left her at the hospital the night before.
He wanted to keep her safe, but doing so risked his own peace of mind, risked exposing truths he couldn’t face. Their relationship had to meet his terms, or Ginny could get hurt.
Ginny could be plenty stubborn when she wanted.
She sawed clumsily on her pizza with the edge of her fork, determined not to give up. She’d quickly found holding a gooey slice of pizza with her nondominant hand both messy and awkward. She’d resorted to using a fork, lest she end up with a lapful of pepperoni and cheese, but the fork was proving an equal challenge. Especially since Zachary kept trying to share her food.
She nudged her cat away from her plate again with a chuckle. “Vamoose, chubs. This is my dinner.”
Riley reached over from his end of the couch and lifted Zach to the floor. “Scat, cat.” Moving his empty paper plate to the coffee table, he scooted closer to Ginny. “Can I help? You’re gonna starve before you get that fork to cooperate.”
“No, thanks. I gotta figure this out for myself. I’ve got five weeks of eating left-handed ahead of me and I—”
“Here.” Riley plucked a slice of pepperoni from her pizza and held it up to her mouth.
She cocked her head and sighed her exasperation. “I said I didn’t—”
With a devilish gleam in his eyes, he poked the spicy meat between her lips.
Ginny arched an eyebrow. Two could play this game.
She caught his wrist, and as he withdrew his hand, she sucked the sauce from his finger. “Mmm.”
Riley’s pupils dilated, and she heard his breath catch.
She gave him a sassy grin as she chewed, then washed the bite down with a sip of red wine. “You’re right. Forks are overrated.”
He leaned closer. “There’s more where that came from.”
She met him halfway and raised her face. He molded her lips with his, then teased her mouth with his tongue. His kiss tasted like wine and heat and sweet seduction. Ginny’s head swam, and she angled her head to draw him even closer.
She reveled in his kiss, sure she’d found nirvana. Riley Sinclair was too good to be true, she thought again.
Too good.
An odd flutter of uneasiness stirred in her chest, and she sat back to collect herself. Things were going too fast. Too well.
Riley was gorgeous and brave and thoughtful and sweet. But what did she really know about him?
Too many of her clients had used similar words to describe the men they thought they’d known before those same men had turned on them and shown a darker side. Her own history with men proved she was too easily swayed by first impressions.
The extreme events of the past few days and the intense chemistry that crackled between her and Riley had fast-forwarded their relationship. She of all people should know better than to race blindly into a situation without some level of precaution. Common sense reared its head and cooled the fire licking her veins.
She had to peel away Riley’s layers and get at the heart of this man. She need assurance that he was the kind of guy she could trust. She wanted proof that his character, his soul was as golden as he seemed at face value.
Clearing her throat, Ginny set her plate aside and gave him a measuring glance. “So, fireman, I know you kiss like a pro. I know you’re handy with home repairs and are skilled in CPR. But I want to know more. What’s the scoop?”
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