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“Not really,” he grumbled, turning his attention back to the safes, though I caught the faintest flicker of amusement in his eyes.
“Sure you do. Somethin’ tells me Colton is great at comic relief, too.”
“You think you’re funny?” Tucker asked, his voice low as he leaned against the safe, crossing his arms.
“Sure I am. I heard you chuckle—if that’s what you could call it anyway—when I told that story about Gertie. You’re not immune to my charms.” I met his gaze, daring him to deny it.
“Is anyone?” he replied, his tone deadpan, though his eyes softened just a touch.
I wrinkled my nose, the question landing harder than I’d expected. The moment hung between us, and I quickly masked the sting with a bright smile. “Anyway, which safe is next?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but thankfully just closed the safe and moved along. For the next hour, he cleared the rest of the safes in this maze of big and small ones, and when I’dpointed out smaller boxes for him to pick the locks of, he only shook his head, saying he had a feeling 1.2 million dollars in doubloons needed a bigger treasure chest.
Finally, when it seemed like there were no other obvious choices for him to search, he put his hands on his hips and spun to face me. “I need to get with Colt and regroup.”
“You believe me now?”
“About what?”
“That there’s no pirate treasure in Hope’s basement.”
“Ah, well,” he said, pausing as he looked around the room. “No.”
“Seriously? I just watched you break into every safe down here—very impressive, by the way—and we didn’t find anythin’. Where else do you think it could be?”
I hopped down, and even though I’d expected my left foot to hit the floor the way the right one had, it didn’t. Instead, it crashed right through a loose floorboard. I started to go down at a weird angle, some part of my brain immediately registering that my ankle would surely get the short end of the stick in this situation. I closed my eyes and shot out my hands as I fell, then yelped when I was plucked from the hole in the floor.
Tucker's strong arms wrapped around me, snatching me from the air just before I hit the ground. But he must have miscalculated something in his rescue attempt because we fell in a tangle of limbs, Tucker twisting his body at the last second, so he took the brunt of the impact.
I landed on top of him with an "oof," my face mere inches from his.
For a moment, we just stared at each other, breathing heavily. His eyes, usually so guarded, held a flicker of concern before it turned to what almost looked like amusement. I could feel the solid warmth of his body beneath me, his heart beatingrapidly against my own, and a tingly awareness spread through me as I fought to breathe evenly.
Surely, he could feel how uneven my breaths were, couldn’t he? Hopefully, he figured it was due to the near-twisted ankle situation and not because it was the second time in as many days that he’d taken my breath away in an exaggerated move to save me.
"You okay?" he asked gruffly, his voice sending a shiver down my spine.
"Yeah," I managed. "Thanks to you. Guess I owe you one, huh?"
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Or two.”
“I’m not a magnet for trouble, ya know. Even if that’s what it looks like from this angle.”
“That's not how I see it."
Curiosity wove its way through the haze of attraction, and I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? How do you see it then?"
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips before meeting my eyes again. "I see a woman who's determined to help her friend, no matter the risk to herself."
“Are you scoldin’ me for risk-takin’ again?” I whispered.
“No. I’m complimenting you, Wildcard. You’ve got guts.” His voice was a low rumble I could feel in my bones.
I blinked in surprise at the compliment, a pleased flush heating my cheeks. "Oh."
Tucker's gaze lingered on my face, his eyes darkening with an intensity that made my breath catch. Slowly, he lifted a hand to brush a stray curl from my cheek, his calloused fingers grazing my skin with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with his rough exterior. His eyes searched mine, and I found myself leaning in ever so slightly, drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
His gaze dropped to my lips again, and my breath caught in my throat.
