With a quiet sigh, she brought her knees up, wrapped her arms around
them. The gesture, so purely innocent, contrasted sharply with the tiny
skirt and fishnet stockings and made his stomach muscles tie themselves
into hot, slippery knots again.
"You'd have stopped anyway, wherever it happened. Maybe because you
remembered it was me, but it's harder for me to think that you don't
want me now. So you're going to have to tell me you don't if you want
things to go back to the way they were before."
"They belong back where they were before."
"That's not an answer, Ethan. I'm sorry to press you about it, but I
think I deserve one." It was hard, brutal, for her to ask, but the taste
of him still lingered on her lips. "If you don't think about me that
way, and this was just temper pushing you to teach me a lesson, then you
have to say so, straight out."
"It was temper."
Accepting the fresh bruise to her heart, she nodded. "Well, then, it
worked."
"That doesn't make it right. What I just did makes me too close to that
bastard in the bar tonight."
"I didn't want him to touch me." She drew in a long breath, held it, let
it out slowly. But he didn't speak. Didn't speak, she thought, but moved
back. He might not have shifted an inch, but he'd moved away from her in
the way that counted most.
"I'm grateful to you for being there tonight." She started to rise, but
he was on his feet ahead of her, offering a hand. She took it,
determined not to embarrass either of them any further. "I was afraid,
and I don't know if I could have handled it on my own. You're a good
friend,
Ethan, and I appreciate you wanting to help."
He slid his hands into his pockets, where they would be safe. "I talked
to Dave about another car. He's got a line on a couple decent used
ones."
Since screaming would accomplish nothing, she had to laugh. "You don't
waste any time. All right, I'll talk to him about it tomorrow." She
glanced toward the house where the front porch light gleamed. "Do you
want to come in? I could put some ice on your knuckles."
"He had a jaw like a pillow. They're fine. You need to get to bed."
"Yeah." Alone, she thought, to toss and turn. And wish. "I'm going to
come by on Saturday for a couple hours. Just to spruce things up before
Cam and Anna get home."
"That'd be nice. We'd appreciate it."
"Well, good night." She turned, walked across the grass toward the
house.
He waited. He told himself he just wanted to see her safely inside
before he left. But he knew it was a lie, that it was cowardice. He'd
needed the distance before he could finish answering her question.
"Grace?"
She closed her eyes briefly. All she wanted now was to get inside, crawl
into bed, and indulge in a good, long cry. She hadn't let herself have a
serious jag in years. But she turned back, made her lips curve. "Yes?"