Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

The knock startled Ainsley, and she momentarily froze, heart pounding wildly in her chest. Who could it be?

The obvious answer was Dare, but after her recent scare at the bar, she wasn’t taking any chances. She crept across the floor on tiptoe, keeping close to the wall as she angled toward the door. Her heart beat so hard she was sure the person on the other side could hear her coming.

There weren’t any windows in the door, so she stealthily crept to the window over the kitchen sink and peered down the deck toward the front door. A relieved breath rushed from her lips when she saw Dare’s broad form standing there. She quickly crossed the room, flung open the door—and froze.

A bouquet of red roses greeted her, and her heart almost stopped as memories flooded her brain. For a second she couldn’t move. Though her mind knew it was Dare holding them, instinct prodded her to run.

Her muscles trembled, her mind a hazy, muddled mess as she stared at the red blooms. Dare’s deep voice jerked her from her thoughts.

“I’m sorry. I know they’re a little formal.” He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously as he regarded the roses wryly. “I wanted to get you something to brighten the place up, but this was all they had, and…”

He cleared his throat and extended the roses her way. “Anyway. These are for you.”

Ainsley made herself reach for them. Dare had no idea what the roses meant; it would be rude not to accept them.

“Thanks.” She forced a smile as she extracted them from his fingers, then set them on the counter, turning the blooms away from her line of sight.

Dare shifted from foot to foot. “I was wondering if you’d eaten yet. I ordered a pizza, and it should be here in just a few minutes.”

Ainsley bit her lip. She’d fallen into bed this morning after Dare left and had woken less than an hour ago. She’d taken a shower to clean away the grime from the bar, and Dare had knocked on the door just moments after she’d finished dressing.

Almost on cue, her stomach rumbled. Dare smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes. Pepperoni and cheese okay, or do you want something else?”

“That sounds great, actually.” She glanced behind her. “Let me clean up a bit and I’ll be down in a bit.”

He stepped away with a nod. “I’ll be in the kitchen. Just come on in when you’re ready.”

She started to close the door, then yanked it open and stuck her head out. “Dare?”

He glanced over at her. “Yeah?”

“The dog.” She swallowed hard. “Is…?”

“I’ll make sure he’s in his room.”

She offered a small smile, grateful for his understanding. “Thanks. I’ll be down in a minute.”

Ainsley closed and locked the door, then strode toward the bedroom. She took a moment to straighten the sheets, then put her dirty clothes in the hamper. She paused next to the mirror and did a quick once-over. For a brief moment she regretted not buying any makeup.

Almost immediately she admonished herself. Dare was her landlord, nothing more. She had no desire to draw any more attention to herself than necessary, especially a man like the sheriff. She had a feeling he saw far too much as it was.

As she turned to leave, her gaze slid over the room once more. She cocked her head as she stared at the bed, amazement snaking through her. For the first time in weeks she’d actually slept well. It could be, of course, that she’d been exhausted when she’d fallen into bed this morning, but Ainsley suspected that wasn’t the only reason.

She felt safe here, in this house tucked away by the lake. She felt safe… with Dare. That thought alone terrified her. She’d trusted a man once, and look how that had turned out. She couldn’t afford to get too close to him, to put her faith in him.

She thought briefly about telling him she’d changed her mind about dinner, but she hadn’t picked up food this morning, and she was certain Dare hadn’t stocked the cupboards.

Ainsley shook off the thought. She was being ridiculous, overthinking the entire thing. He’d asked her to come share pizza, not go on a date.

Snatching up her keys, Ainsley locked the door behind her, then made her way down to the main house. She knocked lightly before slipping through the French doors that opened into the sitting room.

Dare stuck his head out of the kitchen. “What do you want to drink?”

“Whatever you’re having is fine.” Ainsley padded toward him, nervously rolling the hem of her shirt.

Dare stared at her for a long moment. “How about whatever you want?”

Those intense hazel eyes made her stomach quiver, though out of anticipation or fear, she wasn’t sure.

He tipped his head toward the fridge. “Soda, water... something stronger?”

“I’ll have a soda, too,” she replied as he pulled a Coke from the fridge. He retrieved a second one, then passed it her way. The metal was cool under her fingertips, and she fought the urge to squirm as he turned to face her.

Dare cracked the can, then leaned back against the countertop. “Did you manage to get some rest?”

“I did, thank you.”

He nodded. “I’ll give you a tour of the house later so you can find everything. Feel free to come and go as you please.”

She dipped her head. “Thank you.”

As heavy silence stretched between them for several seconds until the doorbell rang, making Ainsley jump.

Dare flicked a look her way. “That’s the pizza. I’ll be right back.”

Ainsley blew out a deep breath once he was gone and pressed one hand to her chest. Dare was so… intense. Every time he was near she felt lightheaded, like he sucked all the oxygen out of the room.

She’d barely recovered when he appeared once more, pizza box in hand. Ainsley forced herself not to flee back to the safety of the suite. She was hungry and besides, she didn’t want to show Dare how much he intimidated her, even if he didn’t mean to.

“Want me to get the plates?”

“Only if you want one.” Dare plucked the roll of paper towels off the holder, then tipped his head her way. “Let’s head into the living room.”

Dare strode out of the room, leaving Ainsley to follow him at her will. She kept plenty of distance between them as she skirted the coffee table and settled at the end of the couch where she could keep an eye on both the window and the doorway.

Depositing the box and paper towels on the coffee table, Dare grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV. “What do you like to watch?”

“No preference. Whatever you like is fine.”

Dare flipped through the channels for a few minutes before finally landing on a crime show. He leaned forward and snagged a slice of pizza from the box, then turned it toward her. “Help yourself.”

She followed suit and gingerly plucked up a slice of pizza, cradling her hand under her mouth as she took a bite. Both of them fell silent for several minutes as they demolished half the pizza.

When the show rolled into a commercial break, Dare picked up the remote to mute it, then turned to face her. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you said something this morning about looking for work?”

She nodded. “I wanted to start looking today, but…” She lifted her hands in a shrugging motion. “I slept longer than I planned.”

“You don’t have to look for anything right away, if you don’t want.”

Ainsley froze, dark thoughts ricocheting through her mind. It was eerily similar to what Joel had told her when he’d asked her to move in with him. She stared at Dare, every cell of her body hyper alert.

He seemed to sense her unease, because he continued, “My sister and her husband own a packaging company outside of town. They’ve been looking for someone to do some data entry for them. I asked Marley to stop by tonight, run it by you.”

Ainsley was stunned. It was a bit presumptuous of him, but her gratitude outweighed her annoyance. She couldn’t believe he’d done that for her. Actually, she could. So far Dare had gone out of his way to help her several times. “That... that would be great, thank you.”

Dare watched her with those intense gray-green eyes, and she fought to keep still. She felt marginally better knowing that his sister was coming over. It would at least provide a buffer between her and Dare. She didn’t like that he was so intuitive, like he seemed to read every thought that zipped through her mind.

She would have to be more careful in the future not to give anything away. If he knew she’d lied to him about her reasons for moving back to Brookhaven he might kick her out. She liked it here, felt safe here. She didn’t want to give him a reason to make her leave.

She studied Dare from beneath her lashes. He was twice her size, standing taller than her by a full foot. He was big and broad, his body so very different from Joel’s lithe form. She’d noticed a slight limp when he walked, though it didn’t seem to hinder him much. His hands were large and powerful, and Ainsley shivered. She could only imagine the damage he could do.

It occurred to her again that she should be scared of him—but she wasn’t. Dare’s every movement was deliberate and tightly controlled, and strange as it was, he seemed to want to protect her. Ainsley didn’t know how she felt about that. On one hand, she liked that he looked out for her and wanted to keep her safe. On the other hand, it was the same kind of overbearing behavior Joel had exhibited.

She hated to compare the two men, but she’d learned the hard way that appearances could be deceiving. No matter how much she wanted to trust him, she couldn’t afford to let down her guard. She would keep her distance so she couldn’t—wouldn’t—be hurt again.