“Really?” My voice is all breathy like I’m not getting enough oxygen.
He holds tighter before releasing me, and I almost hit the ground. “Alas, buddies don’t do that kind of thing. Now hurry up and get into the car. We’ve got some shopping to do.”
My stomach lurches painfully. I donotwant to be Ethan Caplan’s buddy. Not in the slightest. But what’s the alternative? I tell you what, there isn’t one.
Once I’m back in the passenger seat, Ethan turns down the stereo. “You’re a pretty good dancer yourself.”
“That’s only because I was letting you lead,” I tell him. Before I explain my penchant for taking over the man’s role, I hurry to ask, “What instrument do you play?”
“Piano. I have a thing for ragtime.”
“Seriously? That’s so cool! I play a mean kazoo,” I brag before asking, “What sport did you play?”
“Baseball.” He smiles devilishly.
“Were you any good?”
“I went to UCLA on a partial ride.” He shrugs his eyebrows cockily.
“Wow. So yes, youweregood.”
“How about you? Did you play any sports?”
“I used to run track,” I tell him.
“And wereyouany good?”
“Not at all. I quickly concluded that the only way I’d willingly run fast is if my life depended upon it. Since no one was chasing me with a butcher’s knife, I didn’t last longer than one season.”
Ethan shoots me the side-eye. “I have a feeling you’re not giving yourself enough credit.”
The heat of a blush covers my cheeks. “Why?”
“I’ve noticed you have a tendency to sell yourself short.”
“There’s not much to sell,” I answer in a light tone.
“I disagree. You’re a successful businesswoman, a great mom, and you reportedly make the best shortbread in town. Although the jury is out on the last one until I have a chance to judge it myself.”
I grin at him, then lean my head against the seat and stare out the window, watching the trees zip by as we head up the road. There’s something so domestic about what we’re doing right now. Him driving, and me in the passenger seat for a change. We’re going to the city to get groceries. It’s just a simple thing, but somehow doing it with him makes my heart ache. As much as I tell myself I don’t want a man in my life, I know there are so many ways my life would be better if I had a man exactly like Ethan.
Chapter16
Ethan
“You weren’t kidding about how many groceries we were getting,” I tell Moira as I shut the tailgate. We’ve been through the line-up twice already, both times with large flatbed carts.
“One trip was for the diner and the other for the lodge. Both should last a month. Although, we only got enough perishables for a week,” she says. “Digger picks those up with his float plane when he makes trips to Anchorage to drop off guests.”
I stare at her a moment longer than I should, imagining myself pulling her into my arms. I try to force myself back to reality. “I can’t seem to take my eyes off of you.” I rub the back of my neck nervously. “Sorry.”
“I don’t mind as much as you might think,” she whispers, her cheeks flooding with color. “It’s kind of nice to be appreciated.”
“Even if it’s just by afriend?”
Nodding, she glances down at my mouth, then back up at my eyes. “Yes.”
We gaze into each other’s eyes a little longer, then she asks, “So, what do you need to see?”