My Fake Christmas Fiance (Kane Christmas #1) - Julie Kriss Page 0,10

be a team,” I said, again too loud for the small space.

“I can hear you, you know,” Wesley said.

“I get loud when I’m nervous.” Again at decibel 90.

Wesley winced at the blare of my voice in his ear. “Okay, maybe we won’t talk for a few minutes, then. I’ll take you to your new apartment.”

“Sounds great.” Oh, God, I couldn’t make it stop.

Wesley rubbed his right ear, as if I’d hurt it. I looked out at the snow, glad I had a coat to wear. When he pulled up outside a pretty, brand-new low-rise apartment building a few minutes later, I let myself out the passenger door and felt my boots crunch on the snowy ground.

I had boots on, at least. They were nice leather boots—not hardy, trek-through-a-snowstorm kind, but still.

My heart was beating hard as Wesley led me through the front doors. He’d sent me to a real estate agent who had handled everything, and now I was the proud renter of an apartment I had only seen online. This day was too much. I thought I might pass out. How had I ever thought I could handle this?

It’s a new adventure, I reminded myself.

Wesley gave me a funny look, and I realized I’d said it out loud. But he didn’t say anything as he unlocked the door to my apartment and we walked inside.

I walked through the cozy kitchen, the living room with its big windows, the nice bedroom. It was a perfect little place for a single woman, quiet and freshly painted, with lots of natural light. It was also twice as big as my San Diego apartment for two-thirds the rent.

“Well?” Wesley asked after a minute, as I stood in the middle of the empty living room.

“I like it,” I said, and I could have sworn I heard him sigh in relief.

“The only problem,” I continued, “is that my furniture isn’t here yet, and neither are my things, except what I’ve got in my suitcase. I’ll have to find a hotel room for a few days.”

He shook his head. “Forget it. I have a spare room. Come stay with me.”

I gaped at him. “I am not staying with you. I’ll get a hotel.”

“That’s crazy. I have an entire house, and I don’t use all of it. You’ll have plenty of privacy. You don’t even have a coat. Come stay with me.”

My voice went to decibel 90 again, because for some reason I was starting to panic. “I’ll stay at a hotel.”

He threw up his hands. “Penny, what the hell is the matter with you?”

“Stop it,” I said.

“Stop what?”

“This.” I motioned to him. “Whatever this is. You being nice and understanding instead of an asshole. Picking me up at the airport. Giving me your coat. Offering me your place. And this.” I waved at him again, more frustrated this time. “This…mountain man thing you’ve got going on. It isn’t you. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Wesley crossed his arms and looked at me for a long moment. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. I wondered what he was thinking about me. Probably that I was crazy.

“Have you stopped freaking out?” he asked.

“I think so.”

He came across the room and stood in front of me. He put his hands on my shoulders, and at the touch my whole body warmed in the most embarrassing way. I felt like I could jump out of my skin, and at the same time I never wanted to move again.

“Penny,” he said, his voice low, and this time I liked the sound when he said my name. “Listen to me for a second, okay?”

I took a shaky breath and gave a quick nod.

“This place doesn’t have any furniture.” He said it calmly. “I have a house with a spare bedroom. I also have some of my sister’s clothes. Come stay with me instead of at a hotel. It’ll be fine.”

It sounded so simple when he said it, instead of the way it tangled up in my head. I took another breath.

“I’m not always an asshole,” Wesley continued, explaining. “Just sometimes. But not to a woman who’s stuck in a strange city where she doesn’t know anyone except me. Also, it’s Denver in winter. That’s why I’m wearing these clothes.”

Right. His clothes were just clothes. How were his hands so warm and capable on my shoulders? I was starting to feel hot, electricity running up and down my skin.

“I have everything under control,” I said, more to myself than