She wanted to know.
Unfortunately, he found her presence disruptive.
Where was the lie? But did he find her distracting in a sexy way? If so, he clearly didn’t want the distraction. Or perhaps . . . the temptation.
Lord, to be a temptation to Julian Vos. She’d throw out her entire bucket list.
As soon as she got around to making one.
Was it possible she did tempt him? The way he continued to catalogue different regions of her body, seeming to get stuck on the area just above her knees, made her wonder if the answer was yes. Unless this burdensome horniness was playing tricks on her. Entirely possible. Lately she’d been finding the angles of her gardening hoe more and more charming.
Flirtatious, even.
A gardening tool could never make her heart race like this, though. The way it had done when he stood up for her at the scene of her—totally justified—UNCORKED crime.
If she’s upset, I’m upset.
Hallie found herself staring into space at the oddest times, repeating those words. Wondering how seriously he’d meant them or if he’d just been trying to defuse the situation as quickly as possible. It scared her how much she wished for the former. Wished for a man this good and honest and valiant to care about her feelings. Enough to not want them hurt.
She waited for Julian to leave, to go back into the house—and he seemed on the verge of doing so at any second, but he never made the move. Simply continuing to study her as if she were a riddle. “So . . .” Hallie cleared the rust from her throat. “Natalie’s visit wasn’t planned?”
He scoffed, crossed his wrists at his back. “No. God forbid anyone have a plan.”
Ouch. She was definitely not a sexy distraction to him.
“Hey, look at me,” she said with determined sunniness. “Here before the kickoff of your fanatical writing sessions.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Did you plan that?”
“Uh . . . no.” That would mean she’d been paying way too close attention. Heh. “My day just kind of started . . . earlier than usual. A squirrel in the backyard set off a howling event before the crack of dawn, and I figured since I was already awake, might as well plant some things.”
“And so,” he said in a very professorial tone, “without the squirrel’s intervention . . .”
“I’d have been here around dinnertime.” She hefted one of the larger bushes, taking a moment to smell a yellow bloom. “Between noon and seven, at least.”
“You’re a menace.” He took the bush from her hands, jerked his chin at the rest of the lot, as if to say, I can take another one. “No, Natalie showed up out of the blue. We didn’t know she was coming in from New York.” Grooves formed on either side of his mouth as he glanced back toward the house. “She didn’t seem to know she was coming.”
“Didn’t say why?”
“A break from work. No further details.”
Hallie hid a smile, but he caught it and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is it gnawing at you?” she asked. “The vagueness of it all.”
“That smile suggests you’ve answered your own question.” Again, his gaze dipped to her mouth, but this time it lingered twice as long. “Then again, you’re usually smiling.”
He’d noticed her smile?
“Unless I’m masterminding a cheese heist,” she responded, breathless.
“Yes, unless that,” he said quietly, brows pulling together. “That man hasn’t gone near you again, has he?”
His dangerous—almost protective?—tone of voice made her fingers dig into her palms. In a way, he’d claimed her as a responsibility. Someone to look out for. Because that was just so totally Julian Vos, wasn’t it? Everyone’s hero. Champion of men. “No. I haven’t seen him.”
“Good.”
Trying and failing not to feel flustered, Hallie picked up the other bush, and they walked toward the front yard, side by side, their shadows stretching on the grass to highlight their difference in height. The companionable feeling of carrying plants with Julian made fizz pop in Hallie’s bloodstream. Man, oh man, she had it so bad. For a split second, she even felt a niggle of regret that he wouldn’t see the letter. God knew she’d never have the courage to say those words in person.
“Um.” She swallowed. “Your mother must be thrilled to have both of her children home, though.”
A humorless laugh. “I guess you could say it’s complicated.”
“I know a little about complicated relationships with mothers.”
Her gait faltered slightly. Did she just bring up her mother? Out loud? Maybe because she’d been having digital, one-sided conversations with Julian’s face on YouTube for so long, she’d forgotten this one was real? Or perhaps talking to him in person seemed surprisingly easier than it was when she fantasized about them riding through a misty vineyard on horseback. Whatever the cause, she’d said the words. It was done. And she certainly didn’t expect him to turn with such rapt attention. As if she’d shocked him with something less than teasing or small talk about flowers.