Ignite On Contact (Brotherhood by Fire #2) -Jaci Burton Page 0,41
it on the market.”
“That’s fantastic. I hope it sells fast for them. I’m sure your mom is eager to get into her new house.”
He used his fingers to press onto the top of her foot, easing the sore muscles there. “She downplays it, but I can tell she’s excited about all the features in the new house. Especially having her own private office there.”
“Does she do a lot of work at home?”
He nodded. “If she’s on call. She always has court files at home. The current house doesn’t give her any quiet space to do that. The new place has a nice office where she’ll have some privacy to do her work and to take calls.”
“Perfect.”
Rafe had both of her feet in his hands now, rhythmically rubbing them. She lay back on the sofa.
“I’ve often thought about doing some renovations to Grandpa’s house.”
“Yeah? What kind?”
She yawned. “I’d like to reorganize the garage so I can do my crafting in there.”
“Crafts, huh? What kinds of crafts do you do?”
“I restore furniture. Or I would if I could find the space to do it. The garage is filled with some of my mom’s old things—things I’d like to restore if I had the space. But there’s just so much junk piled up in there, and I can never find the time to deal with it.”
“Huh. Maybe I can help you out with that.”
She yawned again, blinking to keep her eyes open. “You don’t have to do that.”
“What if I want to.”
“You could . . .”
CARMEN JERKED AWAKE. THE ROOM WAS DARK, BUT ONE thing she knew for certain was that she wasn’t in her own home.
The last thing she remembered was talking to Rafe. She looked over to where he’d been sitting. He wasn’t there now. She heard music coming from the other room. She sat up, realizing he’d covered her with a light throw. She couldn’t help but smile at the sweet gesture.
But, dammit. She’d fallen asleep. Like, utterly passed out on him.
She looked down at her watch, realizing she’d been out for an hour. Great.
You are one hell of an exciting date, Carmen.
She got up, folded the throw over the back of the sofa and slid her feet into her sandals. She smoothed her hair and went in search of the music, which was coming from the kitchen. Rafe was in there, sitting at the kitchen island sipping a beer. He smiled when he saw her come in.
“Have a good nap?” he asked.
“I’m so sorry.”
“What for?”
“For falling asleep on you.”
“Hey. You work hard. You obviously had a tough day. And then on top of that you take care of your grandfather. Your plate is full, Carmen. Never apologize for working your ass off and being tired, okay? Because I get it.”
She inhaled on a shaky breath. “Thanks for understanding.”
“No problem. Can I pour you another glass of wine?”
“Maybe some iced tea or water?”
“I’ll fix you a glass of tea.”
“Great, thanks. I’m going to slip into the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure.”
She made her way to the downstairs bathroom and closed the door. Once she did her business, she washed her hands and stared into the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was mussed and she looked like she’d been asleep all night.
But she also felt very warm and emotional and not sure what to do with herself.
He understood. He wasn’t angry. In fact, he’d treated her so sweetly from the moment she’d walked in the door. And that wasn’t something she’d ever had before. She looked at her watch. Only nine. Still time before she had to go help her grandpa get to bed.
She leaned over and rinsed out her mouth with some cold water, then fluffed her hair as best she could and left the bathroom.
Rafe had his face buried in his phone, and he’d switched from drinking beer to iced tea. But as soon as she came out, he slid his phone to the side and stood, handing her a glass of tea.
“Thanks.” She took a sip, letting the cool liquid slide down her parched throat. “And thanks for understanding.”
“It helps that we both work long shifts that can often be intense. I get where you’re coming from. If you’d like to call it a night . . .”
She set her glass on the counter. “No, I’d like to stay. We haven’t had dinner—or dessert.”
“Dessert. I didn’ t—”
She snaked her hand around the back of his neck. “And by dessert, I mean you and me. Together.