Touch by Touch (Riggins Brothers 4)

“Do the others never join you?”

“No, they do, just not as often as they used to. It’s fine. I get it. If I had a woman waiting for me at home, knowing I got to fall asleep next to her, I’d be the same way.”

“Any prospects?” I ask before I can think better of it.

“Nah, just me and my lonely boxed dinners.” He holds up the box of Hamburger Helper. “What about you? Do you cook a lot?”

“Not really. We bake all day, and when Aurora still lived with me, we cooked more. Now that it’s just me, I find myself eating bagels, cereal, and even peanut butter and jelly for dinner.”

“Grape or strawberry?”

“What?”

“Grape or strawberry jelly? You can tell a lot about a person with the flavor of their jelly.”

“Well, when it comes to jelly, I’m a grape girl. However, when it comes to other things like candy, I always go for strawberry over grape.”

“Interesting.” He grins.

“So what does that tell you about me?” I ask, intrigued.

He shrugs. “It tells me you like grape jelly.”

It’s not funny, not really, but I find myself throwing my head back with laughter anyway. “You’re ridiculous,” I say through my laughter.

“Well, I might be ridiculous, but I made you laugh, and you’re beautiful when you laugh.”

I sputter on my laughter as it turns into a cough of surprise at his confession. “What else can I do?” I ask, deciding to ignore his comment. Well, internally, my body is all warm and fuzzy, knowing that he thinks I’m beautiful. On the outside, however, I don’t let him see that his words affect me.

“I think I’ve got it from here. Should be ready in about twenty minutes or so.”

I nod. “Okay. I think I’m going to take a hot shower. I’ll be quick.” I rush out of the kitchen like my ass is on fire. I need a minute. Knowing that he thinks I’m beautiful just heightens my desire for him. It’s stupid and superficial, but I can’t help the way that I feel. I can’t stop how his words affect me, no matter how bad I wish that I could.

Upstairs, I grab some clothes and head across the hall to the bathroom. Reaching into the shower, I turn the water to hot and then strip, waiting for it to warm up. Reaching into the closet, I grab a towel and hang it up just outside of the shower before step under the hot spray. The hot water is warm and inviting and just what I needed. My toes were still a little chilled from being outside earlier. I stand still, letting the water rain down as I soak up all the warmth it provides.

Knowing dinner will be ready soon, I reach for the shampoo when something on the ceiling catches my eye. Lifting my head, I see a huge black spider and let out a loud scream, and scramble to get out of the shower. I hate spiders, and this one was looking right at me. I know I need to turn off the water and do something about the bathroom intruder, but I need to let my heart rate settle just a little before I attempt to do anything.

“Aspen!” Fists pound against the bathroom door. I open my mouth to reply when the door bursts open. Standing in the doorway is a frazzled Conrad, fists balled tight. “What is it? What happened?” He looks around the room, and then his eyes land on me.

I’m holding the towel I laid out in front of me, and I’m dripping wet, and my body is chilled, missing the heat that the water was providing. “Sp-Spider,” I say, pointing to the ceiling of the shower.

I’m calm enough that I notice his shoulders visibly relax. “Spider,” he repeats, taking a step toward me. I don’t know what I expected, but it’s not him pulling my naked wet body into his chest, holding me tight. “I thought something happened, that maybe somebody was in here with you.” His words are a whispered confession, and I can hear the relief in his voice.

He was worried about me.

He pulls away slightly, and his brown eyes study me. His hand cups my cheek, and I lean into his touch. “So beautiful,” he whispers. His touch sends a current racing through my veins.

I think he’s going to kiss me. I want him to kiss me. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I can practically already feel his lips pressed to mine. He leans in, and I will him to do it. To kiss me. To put us both out of this constant “will he or will she back and forth” we’ve been playing.

Instead, he pulls away all too soon. I slump back against the counter as I watch him grab some toilet paper off the roll and step into the shower, grabbing the spider from its spot on the ceiling and flushing it down the toilet.