To Love and Protect (Must Love Diamonds 4)

Elena nodded. She broke off another piece of cookie, then dropped all of it on the counter and brushed off her fingers as if realizing the mess she was making. “You’ll be spending a lot of time with Dev now. Don’t let him keep you at arm’s length, okay? Maybe he’ll open up to you.”

“Things between us aren’t anywhere near where he’d confide in me,” Shelby advised. “I’ve asked him twice about his injury, and he refuses to tell me about it.”

Elena’s mouth tightened as her brow furrowed.

“Do you know what happened?” If Dev wouldn’t tell her, maybe his mom would.

But she shook her head. “Not much of it, and even if I did, that’s his to tell. I do know he’s recovered physically beyond what the doctors expected.”

That didn’t surprise her one bit. Dev wasn’t the kind of man who would react well to limitations. She didn’t think there was much of anything that would keep him down.

“You were friends once,” Elena said, her words almost a plea. “You can be friends again.”

She wasn’t so sure about that.

The sound of the back kitchen door opening had them both standing straighter as Dev entered. He gave Shelby a sweeping assessment before going over to give his mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. A few words in Spanish had her smiling. Shelby wondered what he’d said as he reached to snitch a couple of cookies from the tray.

“I didn’t make those for you,” his mother admonished.

“But you always make extra for me and Rey,” he argued as he bit into the first one.

“There are other guests this weekend.”

“And you still made extra, didn’t you?”

Shelby listened to their exchange with a smile that widened when Elena couldn’t refute his claim about the cookies. His mother rolled her eyes, pulled a zipper bag from a nearby drawer, and proceeded to fill it with at least a dozen of the treats while he ate the two he’d stole.

When Dev reached for the bag, his mother blocked him and walked around the island to give it to Shelby.

“That’s not fair,” he protested.

Elena gave her another quick hug and whispered, “Make him earn them,” before stepping back with a smile.

Shelby knew how she meant it, yet warmth climbed her neck as she considered alternative ways to make Dev earn the cookies. Shooting him a quick glance, her pulse skipped and tripped when she saw him watching her.

He slid his gaze to his mom, then back to her, and in a blink, he was all brusque business. “You said you were ready, so let’s go.”

“Dev,” his mom admonished.

“What? She’s the one who wanted to leave.”

“I do. Thanks, Elena.” She held up the bag as she started toward the door. “Especially for these. I’m going to enjoy every single one.” She gave Dev a smirk with that last bit, but he was mid-reach to snatch a third cookie off the tray.

His mom slapped at his hand. “Ladrõn!”

Cookie firmly in his grasp, he wore a grin of triumph when he caught up with Shelby at the door and reached around her to push it open. Her breath caught at the sight of that elusive smile up close, but then her shoulder brushed his chest, and the smile vanished as he stiffened.

His recoil dropped a heavy weight smack dab in the middle of her chest, making her heart ache on their way outside. He opened the door of his truck for her, but there was no gentlemanly hand of assistance to climb on up.

“Let me hold those for you while you get in.”

She angled her body to protect the bag of cookies from his grasp and gave him a mock glare. “Hands off, buddy.”

He stepped back with an exaggerated sigh. “It was worth a try.”

Shelby’s automatic grin sobered with confusion while she secured her seatbelt and Dev made his way around to the driver’s side. The contrast of his constant physical retreat against flashes of teasing was bewildering, and more than a little frustrating. Those tiny glimpses of how he used to be with her years ago made her long for more.

“Don’t let him keep you at arm’s length.”