Finding Faith (Return of the Dragons)

He saw too much, really.

That fact sent a frisson of uneasiness down her spine, but despite that, she felt her heart softening just a tiny bit more toward him.

“I truly appreciate that, but we don’t need a payment plan. Even if we go with the full reno, we can make it work. It means a lot that you offered, though.”

They’d slowly angled their bodies toward each other, until their knees were nearly touching. She could feel his heat seeping into her, warming her in places she hadn’t thought would ever be warm again.

It truly baffled her that someone she hadn’t known long—and a man, at that—could make that happen, but she couldn’t focus on that right now. Cody had her full attention, and she watched as his gaze roamed over her face before coming back to her eyes.

As he searched her gaze, a gentle wind blew, dislodging a strand of her hair. It fluttered in front of her face, finally getting stuck to the Chapstick on her lips, and she lifted a hand to brush it away.

Only before she could fix it, he was already there. So gently that it nearly brought tears to her eyes, he lightly grasped the strand and pulled it away from her lips, tucking it behind her ear. Breath catching, her heart knocked against her ribs as he lingered for just a moment.

She could tell her eyes were wide as he searched her gaze, but with what? Surprise? Attraction? Captivation?

Probably a mixture of all of them, along with a small dose of fear. Because with every passing moment, she fell deeper and deeper into his spell. She was beginning—just barely—to get used to how she felt when she was around him, to wanting to spend time with him.

But that didn’t change how conflicted she felt. Was he really as good as he seemed? Or was he just that good at hiding who he really was? Was she making a huge mistake by letting herself spend any time at all with him?

Or was the mistake trying to keep her distance?

She didn’t know. She only knew that the pull she had toward him was so strong, she didn’t think she could fight it.

Wasn’t even sure she wanted to keep trying, if she were being honest.

He finally let his hand drop, but he continued to search her eyes. For what, she didn’t know. What she did know was she wouldn’t be able to breathe normally while he was doing it.

“Come out with me tomorrow night,” he said suddenly, his smooth voice deeper and rougher than usual, and laced with persuasion she found hard to resist.

Her lips parted as she stared at him, completely stunned. Had she just heard him correctly?

And did this mean her friends and dragon really were right? For a brief moment when he fixed her hair, she wondered, but she dismissed it as her imagination running wild—something she was extraordinarily good at.

But now…

“What?” she asked faintly, so softly she wondered if he’d even be able to hear her.

The corner of his mouth turned up in that half smile that made her weak in the knees. “You heard me. Come out with me. We have an old drive-in theater here. It’s only open on Fridays and Saturdays, and it plays old classics. It’ll be fun.”

Her heart leapt as butterflies erupted in her belly. Ignoring for a moment the fact that he just freakin’ asked her out, she narrowed her eyes, letting her suspicion show. “And just what do you mean by classics? Because Die Hard or Rocky are not true classics, just so you know.”

Throwing his head back, he laughed, the sound lighting up her body and leaving a faint tingle in its wake, all the way down to her toes. “Nothing like that. I’m talking Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, types of movies.”

Biting her lip, she gazed at him for a long moment, completely torn. She was surprised by just how much she wanted to, but there was so much holding her back, so many reasons she shouldn’t.

So many complicated as fuck reasons.

But despite all that, she was still torn. She wanted to go, but… Could she really put her trust in a man? A man who was essentially a stranger, even though it felt like she’d known him forever?

“I don’t know…” she replied, still unsure.

“Bitch, you better go!”

Jumping as Carlie’s voice came loudly out of a window she hadn’t realized was open, a blush immediately stained her cheeks as she glanced in that direction. She heard Cody chuckle, but she couldn’t bring herself to even look in his directi

on.

“I’m serious, Liv! Go out, have some fun for once, maybe get lai—”