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13
Shit. She wasn’t coming.
Well, he had no one to blame but himself. He’d been a complete ass.
He sat in his chair, looking at the chops Sterling had grilled along with the baked potatoes, and didn’t feel that hungry anymore.
Then Elias cleared his throat. Turning, he saw her. His heart caught. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was about her. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world. Wasn’t the most outgoing or funniest. She was quiet, introverted, and guarded.
And he wanted to take her into his arms and keep her safe. Wrap her up in cotton wool at the same time he wanted to fill her with self-confidence. So that the next time he invited her down for dinner with them, she’d just stroll right on up and plunk her ass down, instead of standing off to the side looking uncertain.
He frowned as he took in what she was wearing. He didn’t like her clothes on a normal day. He knew that wasn’t the acceptable way to think. It was her body, she got to decide what she wore. But Brick just hated that everything was black and shapeless. As though she used her clothing to hide. He really hated this outfit though, since she appeared to be wearing a man’s hoodie.
Whose top was she wearing? And how could he get her out of it and into his clothing?
Hastily, he stood, sending his chair flying back and making her jump.
“Sorry,” he said gruffly. Then he ran his hand over his face.
“Go to her,” Sterling whispered.
Right. Go to her. Stop standing here like a freaking idiot. Quickly, he moved towards her. Her eyes went wide, and he slowed as he realized that he probably looked like a steam train, about to bowl her over. She was so tiny that he worried for a moment that he was too big, too rough for her.
Getting ahead of yourself, man.
Right. Dinner first. Then see how she feels. If she just wanted to be friends, well, he could deal.
“Hey, Duchess,” he said quietly.
She barely managed a twitch of a smile.
“Hope you brought your appetite. Sterling cooked some lamb chops.”
Her nose wrinkled. She held her whiteboard in one hand and wrote a message.
Red meat again, huh?
“Well, we are men.” He winked at her. “Our tastes are simple.”
Simple is one word to use.
“Is that so, brat? What other words would you use?”
Neanderthal. Caveman. Bossy. I could go on, but I’ll run out of whiteboard.
He grinned, loving her sassy side.
“You two going to come have dinner before it gets cold or continue this weird flirting thing you have going on?” Sterling called out.
Juliet went bright red and took a step back. Turning, he glared at Sterling just in time to see Elias smack him around the head then say something quietly to him. Sterling sometimes didn’t think before he spoke.
“Shit,” Sterling muttered. “Sorry, Juliet. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
She nodded. But her free hand was curled into a fist.
“Come eat.” He held out his hand to her, letting her make the decision whether to touch him. To his surprise and delight, she slid her cool hand into his. He turned it over, wanting to see if his suspicions were right. Yep, she had the indent of nails on her palm.
He ran his thumb over them soothingly, making her jump.
