He tilted his head and watched her stumble over her words. It was an odd sight to see since Laura usually had no difficulty sharing her thoughts on anything. “Just spit it out.”
“Boring.”
“She’s not boring. She’s sweet.” A little too sweet, maybe. He had been careful and guarded the entire night. He’d felt no connection with Marissa, and it didn’t make sense. The current Miss Seedling was everything he wanted in a woman. She was all about home and stability. Two things he had yearned for most of his life.
“I know Marissa,” Laura said as she grabbed a rag from the sink and wiped down her arms and legs. “We had to sit alphabetically throughout high school. She is not the right woman for you.”
He was ready to settle down and find the intimate small-town life he had only seen on television. Yet somehow the women he had been dating for the past year were all wrong.
“Come to think of it, I’m beginning to question your choices,” Laura continued as she scrubbed harder. “There was Selena, the preschool teacher who was too shy to have a conversation with you, and then there was Taylor. She’s a nice woman but I swear she needs an intervention from all the volunteering she does. That’s just not natural.”
Connor chuckled. “What was wrong with Angel or Mariah?”
“Nothing,” she reluctantly dragged the word out of her mouth. “I guess what they say is true. Opposites attract.”
Not quite, Connor decided. He’d found all of those women interesting. He’d admired them, but there was no sexual attraction. Worse, he’d found himself comparing them to Laura. Laura had always come out the winner and that didn’t make sense. She had no interest in creating a home or settling down. Her longest romantic relationship had lasted less than two months.
“Well, thanks for coming by and helping me. I know you’re busy moving today,” Laura said in a louder voice. Her smile had a determined edge as she wrenched the bowl from the mixer. “I better pop this banana bread in the oven and clean up before I go to the library.”
“Are you still working there?” Laura had been ordered to complete community service hours at the library after she’d destroyed her ex-boyfriend’s property.
“I swear it never ends, but I have learned my lesson.” She held up her hand as if she was taking an oath. “Don’t throw a computer out of a window, even if it belongs to a two-timing rat. On the plus side, the library has air-conditioning.”
She turned around and Connor froze. His stomach clenched and his skin tightened as he stared at the smooth curves of her ass peeking out of her tiny shorts. His blood pumped hard through his veins as his cock twitched. When Laura bent down to retrieve a pan from a cabinet. Connor bit back a groan and forced himself to look away.
He was, unfortunately, very attracted to Laura. He had hoped this inconvenient feeling would fade over time. No such luck. If anything, the attraction had grown stronger the closer they became. Soon his restraint would break. He had to get away before his true feelings were revealed. As much as he wanted to sleep with Laura—be with her—she was all wrong for him and the life he had planned.
“I don’t know how you can stand doing all that yard work in this heat.” There was a buzzing in his ears and her voice seemed far away. He watched in a daze as she plunked down a bread pan. “It’s too hot, even in the morning.”
Hot. It was scorching hot. His T-shirt and jeans felt heavy and constricting. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was too close to Laura. Connor curled his fingers into fists, digging his blunt fingertips into his palms. He needed to get away before he touched her. Caressed her. Claimed her.
Laura rested her hands on the messy counter and gave him a strange look. “Are you okay, Connor?”
“Yeah, fine.” He grimaced at the sound of his raspy voice. Connor cleared his throat and motioned clumsily toward his side of the duplex. “Have to finish packing before my friends come over. See you later,” he said, and then he bolted for the door.
* * *
LAURA STRODE INTO the break room at the library and saw Isabel and Sydney sitting at the small table. She glanced at the food they’d brought for the book club meeting and her mood worsened. An artful display of strawberries dipped in chocolate sat next to a vegetable salad that burst with vibrant colors.
She dumped the bread pan on the table and glared at her friends. “What did you get me into with this cookbook?”
Isabel’s brow furrowed as she stared into the pan. “What is that?”
“It’s banana bread,” she said through gritted teeth. It looked nothing like the kind they served at the bakery at Dawson’s, and the smell of burnt bananas made it obvious that she’d failed—again. “Go ahead and have a piece.”