To Catch a Thief - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,65
she didn’t take it seriously or there was something else entirely going on. He suspected it was the latter. “Is that really what has you upset with me, the fact that I interrupted your time with your friends?”
She looked vaguely disconcerted by the question, as if she hadn’t expected him to guess that she was trying to sidestep the real problem. He watched her and waited.
“No,” she said finally. “It’s not that.”
“What then?”
“You came over just when I was trying to get the answer to a question.”
Rafe regarded her with confusion. “And?”
“I really wanted to know the answer,” she said. “Isn’t that obvious?”
“Ask me. Maybe I can answer it.”
She chuckled, her expression wry. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re the problem. Well, not you,” she corrected. “Me, and how I feel about you. The two of us. Together. Or not.” She frowned at him. “See, it’s very confusing.”
Rafe was beginning to feel considerably better, but he was wise enough not to show it. “Okay. What is it you find most disturbing about us?”
“The fact that I care about you,” she said, looking miserable. “Lauren accused me of running scared and, as much as I hate to admit it, she was right. I know I was the one who came on to you and all but dragged you into bed, but I didn’t expect the sex to be so…”
“Fabulous?” he suggested, allowing himself a faint smile.
“Okay, yes,” she admitted grudgingly. “I didn’t expect it to be great and I didn’t expect it to matter. I didn’t expect you to matter.”
The explanation filled in the rest of the picture. “And you were hoping your friends would clarify things, help you figure out what to do about that,” he guessed.
“Exactly.”
“It’s just as well I dragged you away when I did then,” he said.
She seemed thoroughly taken aback by his claim. “How can you say that?”
“Because they can’t answer that,” he told her, then held up his hand when she seemed to be about to speak. “I can’t answer it, either. You’re the only one who can figure out what your feelings are and what’s best for you. Sorry, sweetheart, but I think we’re going to have to muddle through this entirely on our own.”
She was already shaking her head by the time he finished. “But I can’t,” she said. “Not with you here, not with everything else that’s going on. I can’t think. My head is spinning.”
“Is there some reason why you have to decide all of this today?” he asked.
“No, not really, but I hate this uncertainty. Everything in my life is up in the air.”
Rafe stood up, tugged his chair around to her side of the table then sat next to her. He cupped her face in his hands, his gaze locked with hers. The turmoil made her eyes darker than ever. His gaze shifted to her lips, but despite the temptation he resisted the desire to kiss her until she forgot all about her confusion.
“Okay, let’s deal with one thing at a time. I’m no expert on relationships,” he said quietly. “We’ve established that, but I think this is one of those things you’re not supposed to think about, Gina. You’re supposed to go with your gut, with what you’re feeling in here.” He tapped her in the center of her chest. “You said as much yourself earlier, remember?”
“But that’s just it,” she said wearily. “I don’t know what’s in my heart. How can I? First Bobby steals from the business and all but ruins me in the process. That filled me with anger. Then you spend weeks hounding me for answers, which I deeply resented. Caleb dies. One of my best friends is devastated, and I am worried sick about her. My mentor is frantic about his wife’s state of mind. You and I wind up in bed together, which makes me feel things I never imagined feeling. Bobby is hiding out in the Cayman Islands and uttering barely veiled threats, which scare me and infuriate me all at the same time.”
She regarded him with a bleak expression. “Bottom line? All I feel right now is pressure. It’s coming at me from every direction. I just want to shut it all out.”
“Including me?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze with troubled eyes. “I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.”
Laid out like that, Rafe could understand her dismay and her confusion. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. You have been through a lot. Maybe because you have