When it was his turn and there was only the teller line counter between us, my awareness of everyone else faded away until I felt as though it was just the two of us in the building. In a desperate attempt to keep things professional so I could protect my heart from this sexy man, I murmured, “Good morning, Mr. Reed. How can I help you today?”
Huntley’s head tilted to the side, and his hazel eyes drifted over my face before his gaze met mine. “I think we’re past using last names, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve last seen each other. Don’t you, Cora?”
No way could I keep my reaction to him in check. Not when just looking at his mouth while he said my name in his deep voice almost gave me a mini-orgasm. My voice was breathy as I replied, “Yes, I guess we are.”
His lips curved at the edges, and his smug little grin sent a shiver down my spine. “C’mon, now. Are you really going to leave me hanging like this?”
I knew what he was hinting at, but I wasn’t going to admit it. Not when he’d been gone for so long. I liked feeling as though he was the one who was second-guessing my interest in him for a change, even if I was fooling myself because my blush totally gave me away. Widening my eyes, I pasted an innocent expression on my face and asked, “I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Nice try, gingersnap. But we both know that you get exactly what I’m saying.” I felt a surge of triumph at the gleam of masculine approval in his hazel eyes, but that was nothing compared to having him use his nickname for me again. I’d been called so many horrible things growing up with red hair, but Huntley’s pet name more than made up for those experiences. I never thought the day would come when I’d laugh over anything having to do with my hair color, but I couldn’t help giggling each time Huntley called me gingersnap. “It’s been too long since I’ve heard you say my name.”
I leaned forward and whispered, “You’re the one who stayed away, Huntley.”
“Not by choice, Cora.” His eyes darkened to a brown hue as he gripped the edge of the counter separating us. His hold on the walnut surface was so hard that his knuckles turned white. “Trust me, I’ve tried to stop myself from driving clear across town to come to this branch. But I’ve failed over and over again.”
I was torn over how to feel about his confession. A part of me was thrilled he kept finding himself drawn to me, but I was also crushed to hear he’d been trying to resist the attraction between us. That was the side that won out as I straightened my spine and replied, “Seems to me like you did a bang-up job of it for the past four months.”
“I’ve only been back in town for forty-eight hours, and most of that time has been spent debriefing from my last mission.” He reached out and wrapped his fingers around my wrist, and my pulse skittered wildly as his thumb brushed over my skin. “Coming here to see you was the first thing I did after grabbing a shower, eating some decent food, and passing the fuck out because I was so damn tired.”
Whoa. That was one heck of a confession. All my doubts about misreading our interactions disappeared, replaced by a certainty that Huntley was just as attracted to me as I was to him. I was overwhelmed by a sense of relief and had to swallow down a lump in my throat before I could say, “I don’t understand. If you want to see me so badly, why have you been trying to stay away?”
“Because I’m no good for you, gingersnap.”
I would’ve thought he was just making up an excuse for not acting on the chemistry between us, except the words sounded as though they had been pulled from the depths of his soul. “Shouldn’t I be the one who gets to decide if I’m better off without you or not, Huntley?”
For a moment, I thought he was going to agree with me, but then a muscle jumped in his jaw as he seemed to shake off the impulse. “Not when you’re the one who’d get hurt if you were wrong.”
“Fine, if you don’t want to give me a chance, then I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.” I shook off his hold and snatched the check and deposit slip out of his other hand. Keeping my gaze on the computer screen in front of me, I focused on my breathing while I pulled up his account and went through the steps to process his transaction. It didn’t take me long, but I’d managed to pull myself mostly together by the time I was done. I didn’t look at him as I slid his receipt across the counter.