Page 48 of Mountain Dreams

“So?”

“So, you’re asking for trouble. Maddie could still go back to Wyatt, and then what?”

He shook his head. “That won’t happen.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He doesn’t deserve her.”

“And you do?”

“Jax,” Avery scolded.

“I’m just being realistic. If you’re trying to keep her here, it might not work.”

What Jax said made sense; however, Cody didn’t want to hear it. “I’m not trying to keep her here. I’m offering my support until she gets on her feet again. It’s called friendship.”

Jax opened his mouth to speak, but Avery cut in.

“It’s very sweet of you to help, Cody. I know she appreciates it.”

Cody wondered what the two women had discussed the other day, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Somehow he had to convince Jax that he wasn’t trying to manipulate Maddie.

“Maddie works for herself, and she doesn’t need this job. I happened to mention that we could use some accounting help, and she said she’d be willing to pitch in while she’s here. That’s all.”

Avery nodded her understanding and gave Jax a pleading look. If there was anyone who could soften him up, it was her.

Jax sighed. “I’ll consider it,” he finally said.

“Thanks,” Cody replied and winked at Avery.

“Hey! You don’t get to do that anymore,” Jax said, but he was all bluster. The brothers understood each other, and Cody’s flirtatiousness was well documented. Besides, Avery only had eyes for his grumpy big brother. Go figure!

Cody went through the workday buoyed by the thought that when he returned home that night, Maddie would be there. They hadn’t discussed it, but he hoped she’d have dinner with him, like she had the night before.

Last night, he’d helped her move her things to the basement and bring in the remaining items from her car. Then they’d ordered a pizza and eaten it on the couch in front of the fireplace instead of at the kitchen table. After dinner, they batted around some numbers for rent and other costs, though he didn’t want to take a dime from her. No matter what he said, she wouldn’t change her mind, and they finally agreed on a number. Then he suggested they watch a movie, but she begged off, stating she wanted to read instead.

He knew she was an avid reader, but he wondered if there was more to it than that—an awareness that they were tucked in his cabin in front of a blazing fire on a romantic holiday. After she’d gone downstairs, he’d sat there, pretending to watch TV while his mind drifted.

What if they’d watched a movie instead, maybe a romantic comedy with a heady combination of humor and sex? Maybe she would have moved closer so their thighs were touching. What if he slowly put his arm around her shoulder and fingered the blonde strands that rested there? Would she have moved away?

She’d seemed envious of the couple’s PDA at the ice cream shop, and the few times he’d touched her, she hadn’t moved away. Of course, there were different kinds of touching, and so far, his were mostly of the friendly variety. However, now he was thinking about an entirely different kind of touching.

He wondered if she was a responsive lover. If she approached lovemaking as meticulously as she approached everything else, he’d be willing to bet that she was. Then he recalled the way her nipples had pebbled in the kitchen when he hadn’t even touched her at all. What if he’d slipped his hand up her pajama top and fondled her breasts? Would she have moaned, sighed, licked her lips?

Suddenly he felt overly warm, and it was no wonder with the fire raging inside and out. Since he was alone, he peeled off his long-sleeved thermal shirt and tossed it aside. He was watching an old Clint Eastwood movie, but there wasn’t enough action to take his mind off his pretty roommate.

He glanced down at his erection, bulging under the zipper of his jeans. This was no good at all. He’d have to get his libido under control if they were going to live together. He couldn’t continue fantasizing about her and waltzing around with an erection. If only she weren’t so damned appealing.

Was she in bed with her reading glasses on? Was she wearing a sexier pair of pajamas this time? Maybe a tank top and tiny silky shorts… What if he went downstairs to check on her and say goodnight? No, stupid. You already said goodnight. You have absolutely no reason to go downstairs.

Just then, he heard a creak on the basement stairs, and he quickly pulled the homemade quilt off the back of the couch and threw it over his lap. A minute later, the basement door opened, and he glanced over at her with as innocent an expression as he could muster. However, she was way too smart for the likes of him.

“What’s up?” he said. Besides the obvious, which was covered by the quilt.

“Are you hot?”

“If you say so,” he teased, but she just stared at him. “Yes, I got hot, so I took off my shirt.”