The Family Plan (The McClouds of Mississippi 1)

“How is Lindsey? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“She’s fine. Traveling a lot with her job.”

“Next time you see her, tell her I said hi.”

“You could always call her and tell her yourself,” Caitlin said a bit too casually. “She always says you’re kind of cute.”

He chuckled. “Thanks, but not interested. Lindsey’s nice, but she’s not my type.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you had a type.”

“Oh, yeah. My type has shiny brown hair, beautiful gray eyes, a clever mind, a sharp tongue—and the sweetest mouth I’ve ever tasted.”

Her face was hot by the time he finished speaking, and it wasn’t the only part of her in danger of overheating. He’d caught her off guard that time, unprepared for the hormonal rush his words evoked. “Nathan…”

“I can’t keep pretending I don’t have these feelings for you, Caitlin. Because I know you’re worried about it, I’ve tried to keep my thoughts to myself, but it’s just not working.”

“You’re still upset about your family. You’re turning to me for support.”

“I felt this way before Isabelle came to live with me. I’ve told you that before. I don’t know if you simply don’t believe me or if you’re afraid to believe me.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said automatically.

“Aren’t you?”

Not of him, perhaps, but the way he made her feel…well, that terrified her. She bit her lip and sat in silence, holding the phone to her ear.

After a moment Nathan spoke again. “I’m not trying to upset you, Caitlin. If you want me to keep pretending, I’ll do my best. But I can’t promise I won’t slip every once in a while.”

She still couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Just tell me one thing,” Nathan prodded.

“What?” she asked warily.

“Do you really have no feelings for me? Other than just friendship, I mean.”

She wanted to say right then that friendship was all she felt for him. Tried to say it and mean it.

She couldn’t make herself form the words. Probably because she knew they would be a lie.

There was satisfaction in his voice when he spoke again. “I knew it wasn’t all one-sided.”

“Okay, maybe I feel…something. But I don’t know if it’s—”

“Let’s not look for definitions right now,” he suggested. “Let’s just play it by ear, shall we?”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“Just what I said. No expectations. Let’s just see where it leads, okay?”

“I, um—”

“I know you’re really swamped with this malpractice case right now, so I won’t ask for too much of your free time—what little you have. But someone gave me tickets for a symphony concert next Saturday night. You like that sort of thing, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, I—”

“We’ll concentrate on work during the week and Saturday night we’ll focus on us. Okay?”