Just Around the Corner

He had her there.

“Very attracted,” he said, leaning forward to grab her hand and pull her onto the couch with him.

Phyllis was just needy enough to fall into those strong arms, lean against that gorgeous chest and turn her face up to welcome the kiss he was giving her. Her entire body quivered, her blood running hot through every vein in her body…and her belly filled with a much more insidious warmth.

God, she wanted him.

“Stop.” She was so out of breath she wasn’t sure how she got the words out. But she was grateful she had.

Matt’s lips left hers, but he didn’t let go of her.

“I can’t.” Phyllis pulled out of his arms, put some distance between them, one cushion’s length.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” Matt said, apparently not perturbed that she’d just rejected his lovemaking.

She wasn’t sure she appreciated being so easily forgotten. And yet she was so immensely relieved she felt like crying.

“About what?”

“We both know why I wasn’t interested in a relationship, even after we’d discovered that we made fantastic love and had a baby on the way, but we’ve never really talked about you—why an intelligent, beautiful, loving woman would want to live her life all alone.”

“I’m not alone.”

“You live alone.”

“Only for five and a half more months.”

“That’s not what I mean. You’re such a caring person, Phyllis. How can you be happy having no one?”

Phyllis grew completely still. The air around her seemed to freeze, encasing her. “I have someone.”

His black eyes were bright, intense, as he leaned forward. “I’m not talking about the babies.”

“Neither am I.” She held his gaze, feeling defensive and not knowing why.

“You’re alone in the ways that count, just as I’ve been alone for the past seven years.”

She shook her head, still cold, still tense. Closing down. Shutting herself in. Familiar territory. Safe.

“Don’t project your own emotions onto me, Matt. That’s not how it works.”

“So tell me, who shares your life with you?”

“Half this town!” Shelter Valley, the people here, had been a godsend to her, helping her through the pain of Christine’s death, giving her a new life. “I have more friends than I know what to do with,” she told him, remembering Becca’s earlier call. Her second invitation to Christmas dinner.

Because he’d held himself apart from Shelter Valley’s people, he had no idea what this town was made of, what belonging to this community could do.

“You know,” he said, frowning, “maybe it’s because I’ve been alone so much these past few years, but I’ve spent a lot of time watching people. You’d be surprised what you can learn if you have nothing invested, nothing to risk.”

“Actually I wouldn’t be,” Phyllis said. “I’ve been watching people my entire life, even before I developed an interest in psychology.”

“So, can I tell you what I see when I look at you?” he asked.

No. She slipped a little further inside, barricaded herself. “I guess, since I analyzed you last night, it’s only fair that I hear you out,” she said faintly.

“You helped me.”

“And now you’re ready to jump into the fray?”