me over the coals for my behavior.” He was careful not to touch her as he took her mug over to the sink and rinsed it out, along with his.
Zara was surprised by how disappointed she suddenly felt at the thought of his not coming with her, especially when she’d belatedly realized that he was right about her making an I’m-not-a-doormat statement to Brittany and Cameron.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” she told him. “It’s just that I’ve never done something like pretending to be in a relationship. That’s why I’m a little prickly.” Normally, he would have made a cutting comment about how she was far more than a little prickly. The fact that he didn’t razz her was testament to his concern that he’d been acting inappropriately. “You’re in no way forcing me to do anything,” she insisted. “It might not have been my idea for you to come with me tomorrow night, but if I didn’t want you there, I wouldn’t have agreed. So…” She couldn’t believe how nervous she felt as she asked, “Are we still on?”
He dried his hands on a dish towel before replying. “We are. But I want you to promise me something from here on out. If I do or say anything that makes you uncomfortable—even if I’m just joking around like I was earlier—you need to tell me.”
“You won’t.”
“Promise me, Zara.”
His low, slightly demanding tone sent more thrill bumps racing over her skin. “I promise. But only if you promise me something too.”
“What’s that?”
“That you won’t worry I’m made of porcelain.” She held out her arms the way he had before. “I might have had a stumble this morning, but I’m tough.”
“I know you are.”
For the first time today, she felt like smiling. “In that case, why don’t you get that touching-me thing over with before we head back to the office?”
“Are you sure you want that?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Tough, remember? And,” she added in a teasing tone, “simply longing for your touch.”
He didn’t laugh, however. Instead, he stared at her for a moment, before reaching out to brush a wisp of hair back from her face and behind her ear. “How was that?”
She hoped he couldn’t tell she was practically gasping for oxygen. “Fine.”
“Good.” He brushed the backs of his knuckles over her cheek. “What about this?”
Praying her face hadn’t flushed red and given her away, she nodded. “Still fine. Should we move on to our get-to-know-each-other lists?”
His hand lingered on her skin a beat longer before he lowered it. “My favorite color is green.”
“Mine’s orange.”
“I’m one of seven kids,” he said. “My mother’s Irish, and my father met her in the town of Cong nearly forty years ago, then convinced her to marry him and move to Bar Harbor.”
“I grew up in Kennebunkport as an only child,” she said. “Then when my mother passed away, my dad married my stepmother when I was fifteen. We moved to Camden to live with her and Brittany, who is one month younger than me. I lived there until I moved here a year ago.”
He frowned. “After Brittany and your ex cheated.”
She’d been worried he would ask how her mother died. It was a relief that he’d focused, instead, on Brittany and Cameron. “Breakups in a small town are never good.”
“You’re right, they’re not,” he agreed. An expression that looked like a combination of guilt and remorse crossed his face, then disappeared so quickly she almost wasn’t sure she’d seen it. “Anything else I should know?”
“I’m allergic to cats. I’ll swim in any body of water I can get into, even if it’s freezing. And I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with your sister’s candy—and chocolate cake. What about you?”
“I was never going to let you know this,” he said, “but I’ve bought a half dozen of your frames over the past several months to ship off to my cousins on the West Coast and New York.”
“Seriously?”
“You’re great at what you do, Zara. You and I might not see eye to eye on many things, but you don’t need me to tell you that your frames are brilliant.”
“Thank you.” She met his olive branch with one of her own. “I might secretly covet your furniture once my financial ship comes in and I can afford it.”
“I won’t tell anyone if you won’t,” he said.
She grinned. “Who would have thought the two of us would ever agree on anything?”
“I’m just as amazed as you are,” he said, grinning right back. “What do you