the driveway talking about anything that came to mind, from Brett’s training with the RCMP to how Regan had managed to strike her deal with Griffin Carr and how Ellie had gone from thinking her mom was crazy for marrying Buck in the first place to actually admiring her devotion to him.
It was everything and nothing all at the same time, but one thing was for certain: neither one of them was ready for the night to end.
“Okay,” Ellie said over a laugh. “What is this, like the fifth time I’ve said it? I’m really going in this time. Thanks for the ride.”
She meant to leave it there, only he got out of the truck, too, and followed her up to the door.
“Just making sure,” he said. “I’ll wait here till you check on your mom.”
Ellie unlocked the door, turned off the alarm, and made room for him to follow her in until they both saw pajama-clad Gail walking out of the kitchen and heading for the stairs, a glass of water in one hand, her iPad in the other.
“Oh hi, sweetheart, how was your night?”
“Good. You okay?”
“Yes, just needed some water; it’s so hot upstairs.”
“It’s called a hot flash, Mom. You better get used to them.”
“Don’t be cheeky. Hello, Brett.”
“Mrs. Palmer.”
“Call me Gail,” she said, flapping her hand in a half-wave as she disappeared into her room.
“Uh, yeah, sure, okay.” He cleared his throat quietly, then made Ellie laugh when he mumbled, “Never gonna happen.”
“See,” Ellie said, holding her hands up. “Everyone’s safe and sound, so your duty here is done.”
He took a slow step back, then stopped.
“Thanks for coming over tonight, Ell. That was, uh—well, thanks.”
“Least I could do,” she said, trying to sound bright and ending up sounding chirpy instead. “Thanks for letting me get my Holder fix.”
He started to say something, then changed his mind and nodded instead. Such a guy.
“Oh, come on,” she said. “Give your super-awesome fake girlfriend a hug. It’s the least you can do now that you’re making me marry Dickie.”
She was only half-teasing, holding her arms open like that, but all teasing stopped when he stepped up and gathered her against him. With her arms wrapped around his neck, and his arms tightening around her lower back, he lifted her so she was off the floor and he was the only thing she touched.
He didn’t swing her around; he didn’t even move. He simply stood there, holding her for a few short electricity-filled seconds, his fingers curling tight into the fabric of her sweater, his breath warm against her neck. Ellie clung to him, not because she was afraid of falling but because she was afraid she already had.
How could that be? A month ago, she couldn’t get far enough away from him, but tonight, she’d give almost anything to stay right where she was, with her fingers playing against the back of his neck, breathing in his easy clean scent, and being warmed by the heat of his skin through his shirt.
“Brett?” She’d barely whispered his name, but it pulled a long, low growl out of him. “Do you want to stay?”
As he lowered her to the floor, Ellie thought he was going to let her go, but he didn’t. Instead, he slid his hands up her spine until he had her head cradled in the warmth of his palms.
“Yeah.” He exhaled slowly, his voice strained and pinched. “I want to stay.”
Her eyes fluttered closed for a second and her breath hitched slightly. “But you’re not going to, are you?”
“No.”
God, when he looked at her like that, his eyes so clear, so blue, and that mouth…wow, that mouth…it was all she could do not to throw herself back into his arms and stay there.
“Right.” Her head was nodding, but it took her a hell of a long time to do anything other than look up at him, and the awkward laugh she finally managed to get out was nothing more than a harsh rasp. “Okay.”
He dragged his hands away, scrubbed them over the top of his head, then laced his fingers behind his neck, all the while stumbling back a couple of steps. “Jeezus.”
Oh sweet Lord, what had she done? He was there to do a job, to look after her, not to have her jump him every time they said good night. He’d told her right from the start that they should downplay the whole “togetherness” part of this charade, and he’d done that. She’d been the one to