It Came Upon A Midnight Clear. Suzanne Brockmann
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Название: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Автор: Suzanne Brockmann
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Ужасы и Мистика
Серия: Mills & Boon Intrigue
isbn: 9781408962220
isbn:
The driver climbed back into the cab of the truck, and Crash turned as Nell came toward him.
“I thought you went skiing.” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the sound of the revving engine and the gasping release of the air brakes.
“No,” he said, watching as the truck pulled around the house, in the direction he had pointed. “I decided to stay here.”
He started following the truck, but Nell stood still, glancing back at the house. “You should get a jacket.” She was suddenly ridiculously nervous. After last night, he must think her an idiot. Or a fool. Or an idiotic fool. Or…
“I’m fine.” He turned to face her, but he didn’t stop walking. “I want to make sure the barn is unlocked.”
Nell finally followed. “It is. I was out there earlier. I picked up the decorations in town this morning.”
“I figured that’s where you went. You left before I could offer to help.”
Nell couldn’t stand dancing around the subject of the night before one instant longer. “You didn’t go skiing today because you thought I might still need a baby-sitter,” she said, looking him straight in the eye.
He smiled slightly. “Substitute friend for baby-sitter, and you’d be right.”
Friend. There was that word again. Nell had used it herself last night. I’m glad we’re friends. If only she could convince herself that friendship was enough. That was not an easy thing to do when the very sight of this man made her heart beat harder, when the fabric of his turtleneck hugged the hard muscles of his shoulders and chest, clinging where she ached to run her hands and her mouth and…
And there was no doubt about it. She had it bad for a Navy SEAL who called himself Crash. She had it bad for a man who had cleanly divorced himself from all his emotions.
“I want to apologize,” she started to say, but he cut her off.
“You don’t need to.”
“But I want to.”
“All right. Apology accepted. Daisy called while you were out,” he said, changing the subject deftly. They walked around the now idling truck toward the outbuilding that Jake and Daisy jokingly called the barn.
But with its polished wood floors, one wall of windows that overlooked the mountains and another of mirrors that reflected the panoramic view, this “barn” wasn’t used to hold animals. Equipped with heating and central air conditioning, with a full kitchen attached to the ballroom-sized main room, it was no ordinary stable. Even the rough, exposed beams somehow managed to look elegant. The previous owners had used the place as a dance studio and exercise room.
Crash swung open the main doors. “Daisy said she and Jake were getting a room at a ski lodge, and that they wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon, probably on the late side.”
She and Crash would be alone in the house tonight. Nell turned away, afraid he would read her thoughts in her eyes. Not that it mattered particularly. He probably already knew what she was thinking—he had to be aware of what she wanted. She’d been far less than subtle over the past few weeks. But he didn’t want the same thing.
Friends, she reminded herself. Crash wanted them to be friends. Being friends was safe, and God forbid he should ever allow anything to shake him up emotionally.
Crash stepped to the side of the room, gently pulling Nell with him as three workmen carried one of the evergreen trees into the building.
She moved out of his grasp, but not because she didn’t want him to touch her. On the contrary. She liked the sensation of his hand on her arm too much. But she was afraid if she stood there like that, so close to him, it wouldn’t be long before she sank back so that she was leaning against him.
But friends didn’t do that.
Friends kept their distance.
And there was no need to embarrass herself in front of this man two days in a row.
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