He didn’t like her much. She’d always thought it was the case but nothing had pushed the point home like their bungled overnight trip to D.C. last summer. Her friend Mara had wanted Eli to spy on her brother’s new girlfriend, and Kay had somehow been roped into helping out. She rolled her eyes thinking of the crazy group of girls she was now lucky enough to call her friends. Mara had been friends with the Alexanders for years, and along with Eli’s sister-in-law, Ridley Alexander, she’d come up with a surefire plan to force Eli into helping them. Ridley had booked a singing gig for Kay in D.C. so that Eli would have to follow her up there.

Things might have actually been okay if she hadn’t trusted Ridley to make all the arrangements, too. Kay wouldn’t have planned her gig so late, too late for them to drive back home. She certainly would have never booked them into the same hotel room.

They’d both been shocked to see that the room was not only tiny but didn’t even have the usual two queen beds. The look on Eli’s face would have been comical if his look of disgust had been directed anywhere but at her. He’d been horrified at the idea of sleeping anywhere near her. After the initial shock wore off, he’d been a perfect gentleman. He’d offered her the bed and then called the front desk to request a cot, but it was too late. She’d already seen his first reaction.

What had been only slightly obvious before was plain as day when they’d gotten to that hotel room. Elliott Alexander didn’t like her.

She could have gladly lived her whole life never knowing that.

There was a loud rumble of an engine behind her and Kay’s heart leaped. Eli was here.

She could see him in her rearview mirror. He circled the back of her car and then got back in his truck. Where was he going?

He drove his truck directly across the road from her. Then he got out again. She couldn’t see what he was doing from her side mirror, but it looked like he was examining her tires. Kay rolled down her window as he approached the driver’s side door.

“Looks like you really got yourself into a jam this time.” His lips lifted at the corners. Not much of a smile, but about as close as Eli ever came to one. She couldn’t say why but she immediately burst into tears.

“Aw hell, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Eli looked alarmed at her outburst.

Kay shook her head. “It’s not that. I’m just really glad to see you. Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Anytime. Let’s get you out of here.” He reached for her door handle.

“No! Wait. You have to get Hope first. The car is really unsteady and keeps tilting. Get her out first.”

He immediately nodded. “Okay, I will. Hold on tight. I had some old cables in my truck so I attached them to your bumper to hold you still. Even so, it’s probably a good idea not to move. I don’t want to test how strong those cables are unless we have to.”

Eli opened the back door and climbed carefully into the back seat. There was another loud creak from the front end of the car and Kay tensed. She glanced into the back seat to see Eli examining Hope’s car seat like it was an alien device. She suppressed a nervous giggle. He was a single guy. To him it probably was.

“There’s a metal hook that latches into the top. Release that first.” She waited while he did it.” Now you have to push the big red button on the top to release her car seat from the base.”

He nodded and then pushed the button. Once he was able to lift the seat up, he moved backward slowly, then carried the baby across the street to his truck. He jogged back and unhooked the base from the backseat and set it in the street.

“Now it’s your turn. Grab my hand.”

She placed her palm in his. His fingers gripped and held tight. “Now lean forward and grab your stuff off the seat. I’m holding you so it’s okay to move forward a little.”

Kay wasn’t so sure about that, but she nodded anyway. She took a deep breath and leaned forward to grab her handbag. The car creaked a little, so she quickly leaned back, clutching her bag to her chest.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” Eli added.

Kay looked at the front of the car worriedly.

“I need you to trust me, angel. I’m not going to let you fall.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m pretty strong.” His lips lifted again in that maddening half smile.

His words gave her the courage to swing her legs out of the car and stand up.

“See, that wasn’t so scary.”

Kay let out a small breath. She was trembling so hard that he just picked her up and carried her toward his truck. “Eli! I’m too heavy for you to carry.” Her face flamed as she imagined him pulling a muscle or getting a hernia from hefting her around.

Eli grunted. “Hardly. I think I can handle carrying a girl. Do I really look that wimpy to you?”

Kay giggled. He looked so affronted that she’d even suggested that he wasn’t strong enough. But she was just trying to save his back the trouble. She wasn’t exactly a small girl. Not like the girls he was probably used to.

“I’m sure you can carry anything, but you shouldn’t have to. I’m fine. I can walk.”

He set her down. “Okay, as long as you don’t start crying again. I don’t think there’s a man alive who knows what to do with a crying woman.”

Just then a horrible screeching sound pierced the air. Eli grabbed her and turned them away, shielding her with his body. Kay’s ears were ringing but she still registered the firm muscles pressed up against her backside. Heat swept to her face.