Full Exposure (Independence Falls 1)

“I saw you first. You were so happy despite the grounding that I couldn’t do it. So I drove back to school and buried my jealousy.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You were jealous of Tommy Lewis? I had a better orgasm the other night, on your bed, than I ever had with him.”

“Not sure I wanted to know that,” he murmured. “And I think you have yourself to thank for that.”

“No. It was you,” she said softly, focusing on the trees speeding by outside the window. “It’s always been you. Even back when it was criminal.”

“Then let’s do this right”—his tone was firm—”and tell Liam.”

“No.”

She heard the rush of the road outside, but Eric remained silent. Still, his tension radiated through the car.

“What’s holding you back, Georgia?” he asked finally. “What are you afraid of when it comes to us?”

Georgia closed her eyes, her hands clenched tight in her lap. She felt as if she were out in the open surrounded by the unknown, and he was asking her to remove her body armor. If she set aside her defenses, if she let him in, what would keep her strong?

“I’m not ready,” she said evenly. “I’m just not.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “OK. I won’t tell him. You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

“But Georgia, don’t walk away from us. We could make this work. Trust me.”

She nodded. But in her head, the questions swirled. How could they move forward when he wanted more than she could give? Talking to Liam implied a future for them. A relationship bound with commitment and promises. She couldn’t travel down that path, not when her emotions were off the table. Georgia knew she should tell him. But she hated the idea that he’d see it as a problem that needed fixing, the same way he’d stepped up and offered her a job when her brother asked. Or how he’d jumped in to keep her from hiking with a perfectly capable firefighter.

Georgia stared out the window as they turned off the highway and headed for his mother’s house. Maybe that was the dead-end barrier they could not get past. How could she open up to someone who looked at her and saw her weaknesses, not her strengths?

Chapter Ten

ERIC HELD TIGHT to his frustration, knowing that if he let it loose, Georgia would bolt. But it took all his self-restraint not to punch his fist against the steering wheel. Georgia was slipping away, backpedaling out of his life as quickly as she’d walked in and dropped her towel.

He turned into his mother’s drive and put the car in park. Nate waved from the front window as if he’d been waiting for Eric.

“Do you want me to go get him?” she asked.

“No.” He opened the car door. “Wait he

re. I’ll be right back.”

He glanced over his shoulder as he raised his fist and knocked on his mother’s door. Georgia was still there. But he wasn’t so sure for how long.

“I should have listened to Liam,” he murmured, raising his hand to knock again.

His best friend had told him over and over that Georgia wasn’t equipped to handle a relationship right now. She had too much baggage. But Eric had let years of desire push that sad fact to the side. She’d said that she didn’t need anyone to help her, but she was wrong. She’d been through too much to handle it on her own. Hell, if they had any hope of moving beyond one night in his hot tub, she had to open up and let him help her.

“Eric.” His mother smiled, opening the door. “Come in.”

“Hi, Mom.” He leaned forward, kissing her cheek. “Georgia’s waiting in the car. Is Nate ready?”

“He’s packing his bag and saying good-bye to the puppies. They were born last night.”

“That’s great,” he said, knowing he’d hear about little else from Nate on the drive home.

“Please come inside,” she said. “I need to talk to you before you go.”

He shifted his weight but didn’t step inside. “Not today. I have to get home. I had a trucking problem this morning. I can’t stay and chat today. Maybe next time.”