Real Men Will (Donovan Brothers Brewery 3)

He cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder toward Beth. He looked guilty, and Beth was suddenly worried he wasn’t as single as he’d claimed. Maybe that was why he’d lied. Maybe that was why he didn’t want anyone to know.

Eric turned away again. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’ll be there in a few minutes, all right?” He hung up and cleared his throat.

“Trouble?” Beth asked warily.

“Not really.”

Her pulse stuttered before speeding up. Did he have a girlfriend? Was he cheating? Her mind began to replay the conversation in the brewery. There’d been no indication either way, had there?

“My sister,” Eric finally said, sighing. “She thought I was talking like I didn’t want to wake someone up.”

“Oh.” Beth dropped back to the pillow. “So you were.”

“So I was.”

“Eric, you’re not involved with anyone, are you?”

He jerked around to frown at her. “Involved?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No. Of course not. I wouldn’t be here if I did.”

Beth shrugged. “You never know. And considering how all this started, I just suddenly worried that was the reason you’d lied.”

“No. That wasn’t it.”

“Okay.” She looked at the clock and bit back a groan. “It’s almost nine.”

“I’ll go,” he said, his voice still a little distant. But when he glanced back at her, his mouth quirked in a half smile. “Thanks for letting me stay. It was nice.”

It had been nice, lying in her bed together, watching TV in the dark. It had also been way over the line.

He must have seen the hesitation in her eyes, because Eric gave a careful nod and reached for his jeans. “I’ve got to go into work anyway. Problems on the line.”

She nodded as if she knew what he meant. “Thanks for…everything,” she said, stumbling over the last word.

His back tensed. “Sure.”

“I’m sorry again, about my dad.”

He shook his head and leaned over to put his shoes on.

For some reason, Beth couldn’t stand the silence. “Will you call me if something more happens with the investigation?”

Yeah, his back was definitely tense. “Is that the only reason you want me to call?”

Clutching the sheet to her chest, Beth sat up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… I guess I don’t know what I mean. Just that this is starting to get…”

“Awkward?” she suggested.

“No.” He yanked hard at his laces, then stood up. Beth forgot that she was having a serious conversation and let herself be distracted by the muscles of his arms. “It’s getting a little intense, and it feels weird that— Hello?”

“Sorry.” Beth forced her gaze up to his eyes. They were smoky blue and pissed. She was a little startled at how intimidating he looked. Hard and nearly cruel. It reminded her of the way he’d taken her on the floor of her living room.

His jaw looked like stone. “All I’m saying is that we’re spending time together. More time. And you don’t even trust me.”