Restoring Romance (Welcome to Romance 1)

“Hey!” A male voice called out, and she heard the rapid thump of footsteps gaining on her. “Ash! Wait up!”

She recognized Adam’s voice. She thought someone might eventually come after her, but why did it have to be him? Why not Erin? Or even Donna?

“Ash?”

The pounding feet caught up to her, and she saw his big boots fall in step beside her. Actually, with her short legs, she was taking almost two strides to his one.

He leaned forward to look at her face, and she was glad of the cold air to excuse her cheeks, which were most likely glowing red.

“I want to apologize for frightening you.”

It was hard not to forgive him when his expression was so earnest, especially since he hadn’t done anything wrong. How could he have known a simple act like standing up from the table would make her go into panic mode? It wasn’t his fault she had some sort of family life PTSD.

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize at all. It’s just me. You see...” She cleared her throat. “I’ve been watching too many R-rated movies lately. Scary ones.”

“Scary movies?”

“Yep. They make me totally jumpy.”

“Which ones?”

“Huh?”

“I’m wondering which movies you saw.”

“Oh... uhmm...” Her mind went blank. She was pretty certain she’d seen a few R-rated movies in the past six months or so, but she couldn’t think of a single one. How can I change the subject? “I’m so terrible with names... That Derby Pie was awesome, wasn’t it? You’re so lucky to have a mom who can cook like that.”

“Your mom doesn’t cook?”

Oops! Wrong subject. “I don’t know any moms who cook like yours. The whole meal was fantastic. I’m a pretty good judge since I’m a trained chef.”

“So you went to chef school?”

Whew! Finally on safe ground. “I graduated from the New York City Culinary Institute.”

She made the mistake of looking at him. Darn those penetrating eyes of his. They would peer right into her soul if she weren’t careful. His mouth curved in a smile, and she realized he had a nice one, though she hadn’t seen it often. White, even teeth stood out against his tanned skin, with a dusting of five-o’clock shadow. Two deep dimples appeared, and her heart sped up. An involuntary shiver rippled down her spine.

His smile disappeared as his heavy brows folded. “You’re cold.”

It was a statement of fact, not a question, and Adam didn’t seem very pleased about it.

“I’m okay. I don’t mind a little cold air.”

But he was already taking his jacket off and slipping it over her shoulders. It was warm and smelled of him—a mix of soap and after-shave and Adam that made her feel tingly all over. Once again, she reminded herself Adam was off-limits. He was her cousin. That he was unaware of the fact didn’t make it any less true.

“Thanks, but won’t you be cold

now?”

He shrugged, his mouth twisting into a lopsided grin. “Like I said before, comfort is highly overrated.”

“Yeah, but this coat is kind of trendy, isn’t it? Maybe I shouldn’t wear it.”

“It looks good on you.” His eyes swept up and down her body, and she tugged the coat tighter, as if he could see under her bulky layers. Then he glanced up at the stormy sky.

“Let’s go back and get you inside before it starts raining.” His arm went around her shoulder, guiding her steps in a tight 180 degree circle.

Why didn’t his bossiness bother her? She usually flew off the handle if anyone tried to make a decision for her. Nobody told her what to do. Yet for some reason, his actions made her feel safe and cared for—a totally foreign sensation.