“Out of here.”

“What about my review?”

“You’re doing a kickass job, like you have been since we first hired you. We’re jacking up your pay twenty percent. I’ve got a write-up about your glowing skills in my file as well as a goals sheet for the next year. I’ll email it to you and copy my brothers. Any questions?”

Her eyes widened. A twenty percent pay raise? Hell no she wasn’t going to question that. “Uh, no. No questions.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

She grabbed her purse and her coat, curious about where he was taking her. He locked the door behind her, but when she headed toward her car, he grasped her arm.

“We’ll take my truck.”

Shrugging, she climbed into his truck and he drove off. He was quiet as he drove down Central and turned onto the highway.

“You’re brooding,” she said as she studied his profile.

“No, I’m not.”

“It’s because I insulted you, isn’t it?”

“Doubtful, since you’re always insulting me. You really can’t hurt my feelings, Tori.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could if I tried harder.”

That at least got a curve of a smile. God, he was devastating when he gave that sexy half smile. She’d love to see that smile close up, like when he was hovering over her, both of them na**d...

Stop that. Hadn’t she spent the time before he came into the office reminding herself of all the reasons why they couldn’t be together? Fantasizing about making love with him was the wrong direction for her thoughts to go.

It was a while before she realized he’d hit the highway, that they were leaving Deer Lake.

“Brody, where are we going?”

“Out of town.”

“So you’re kidnapping me?”

“Not exactly.”

It took about fifteen minutes to get to Botswell, the next town over. He pulled into a one-story—shack, was the only way she could think of to describe it. She supposed it was a bar, with the headache-inducing half-blinking neon sign proclaiming it as Ed’s Bar and Grill. Though the grill part was suspect, since the place resembled an oversized shed. She’d come into Botswell on occasion, mainly to do some shopping, never to hit the bars.

This one seemed—interesting, in a she’d-never-stop-here-without-a-guy kind of way. Or even with a guy, for that matter. She half expected a brawl to tumble out the front door any second.

When she climbed out of his truck and met him around the front, she cocked her head and looked at him. “Seriously?”

“Best beer and burgers I’ve ever had.”

“I hope this isn’t a date, Brody, because if this is where you bring your women, your taste is sorely lacking.”

He cracked a smile and grabbed her hand. “You have such little faith in me, Tori. Just trust me.”

She snorted. Trust him? Borrowing a line from one of her favorite movies ever—as if.

The inside didn’t look much better than the outside. Old, worn tables were scratched with wear and tear. There were a few pool tables scattered around, and those were taken up by people who must be regulars. A couple older-model televisions sat above the bar that several people who’d bellied up were watching.

A couple food tables were full, but Brody had spied one in the corner, so he grabbed her hand and, despite her dragging her heels the whole way, tugged her along. She feared for her life as she took a seat in a rickety chair.

“Come on,” he said. “It’s not that bad.”

She wasn’t exactly a prima donna as far as the places she hung out, but Ed’s was as low on the dive bar food chain as she’d ever gotten.

A waitress hustled over. She was older, in her fifties maybe, with faded-out blond hair that she’d over-teased, over-bleached and gathered up in a haphazard ponytail. And she didn’t look happy to see them, because she didn’t smile as she grabbed a pencil from her hair and pulled the pad out of her apron. “What can I get you to drink?”

Brody ordered the specialty beer. Tori looked at him.

“Try it. It’s great.”

Tori nodded. “Okay, I’ll have one of those. And can we see a menu?”

The waitress, whose nametag said “Pat”, snickered. “Honey, we have cheeseburgers, or cheeseburgers without cheese on them. If you’re feeling adventurous you can have a hot dog. That comes with or without chili and the works. I’ll be back with your drinks and you can let me know what you want.”

Tori shifted her gaze to Brody. “Limited menu.”

“People come here for the beer and the burgers. The hot dogs kind of suck.”

“Thanks for the warning. I guess I’ll have a burger, then.”

“Good call.”

When Pat came back with the beer, Brody said, “We’ll both have the cheeseburgers.”

“Smart idea. Everything on them?”

Brody looked at her. Tori said, “Sure. Why not?”

Pat finally shocked her by patting her hand and grinning. “You’re gonna love these burgers, honey. And once you eat them, you’re gonna come back again and again. Enjoy your beer.”

After Pat hustled away, Tori looked at Brody. “Oh, my God. She seemed almost human there.”

He laughed. “Pat has tons of attitude. She and Ed have owned this place since they were in their twenties. He brews the beer himself, along with his sons now. Taste it.”

She took a drink of the beer. It was mellow, with a honey flavor. “Oh, it’s good.”

“Told you. They’re a small operation, but this place is never empty. I stop by for lunch a lot when I’m driving through town on a job.”

“For the beer?” she asked with a smirk.

“For the burgers, smartass. Though after a shitty day, I can pound down a few beers.”

She preferred margaritas with Calliope after a bad day. She wondered who Brody unloaded on when he had problems. His brothers? Or was the familial bond too close, the fact that they all worked together too much to share troubles. Who did he tell his problems to?

“So when you have a bad day at work and you want to let off some steam and have a few drinks, do you grab your brothers and go out for beers to talk it out?”

He looked horrified. “Hell, no. It’s bad enough I grew up with them, and now I work with them. Half the time it’s them I’m pissed off at. The last thing I’d want to do is unload my problems on them.”

She swirled her finger over the top of the glass. “So...who do you talk to?”

He shrugged. “Nobody.”

“Surely you have friends to talk to.”

“I have friends, yeah. But we aren’t like girls, Tori. We don’t have to have...chat sessions or whatever you women call them where we discuss every problem we have.”

“You hold it all inside.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. You don’t talk to your brothers or your friends, and you being a man and all are obviously not going to talk to your parents when you have a problem.”

He let out a laugh at that one.

“Okay, so that means you keep all your problems bottled up inside and don’t talk to anyone about them, right?”

He finished off his beer and set the mug to the side of the table so Pat could refill it for him. “I don’t have a lot of problems. I’m generally a pretty content guy.”

“Please. Everyone has problems. Even if it’s just a bad day at work, a job doesn’t go right. Someone pisses you off—like your brothers. You have to let off steam. How do you do that?”

“I have ways of letting off steam.”

He gave her a look that melted her to the chair. “Well, yes, there is that. But I mean talking.”

“Oh, I like talking. Verbalizing is good.”

This was not helping to cool her off.

Fortunately, their food arrived and Brody dragged his very direct gaze away from her to offer his trademark grin to Pat. After that, she dug into her cheeseburger and tried to shift her thoughts away from one very sexy man to the incredibly delicious burger. She ate every bite, had another beer to wash it down and wasn’t even embarrassed about picking the last crumb off her plate with her fingers.

“You were right. This is the best cheeseburger I’ve ever had.”

Brody crumpled his paper napkin and laid it on his empty plate. “Told you it was awesome. I wouldn’t let you down, Tori.”

The way he said it made her c**k her head to the side, as if he’d meant something else entirely, and wasn’t talking about burgers anymore.

Probably her imagination. “You’re right. It was a great meal. Good beer and good burgers. Thank you.”

“I actually brought you here to talk to you.”

She laughed. “We have been talking.”

“I meant I brought you here to talk about something else.”

“About what?”

“Us.”

Uh-oh. “What about us?”

The words had spilled out before she could correct herself, correct him and tell him there was no “us.”

“Why did you stop that kiss the other night? What are you so afraid of?”

She looked around, but televisions were blaring, people were playing pool and engaged in their own conversations. There were no people around them listening in. Still, she leaned forward. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

He leaned in, too, and grasped her hands. “I do. And it’s time you stop running from it. From what the two of us could have.”

Her eyes widened and she tried to tug her hands away, but he held firm. “Brody, I don’t want to do this.”

“I think you do, Tori, but something’s scaring you off. Talk to me. Tell me what’s bothering you. Is it something I’ve done in the past? Some way I’m not measuring up? I think you and I could have something, if you’ll just give me a chance.”

Oh, God. Smartass Brody she could handle. Funny, jokester Brody she could deal with. Teasing Brody she knew well. But earnest, honest Brody wanting to have a heartfelt conversation with her about having a relationship? She’d never known this side of him and she couldn’t handle it.

He was handing her everything she wanted, everything she’d always dreamed of. All she had to do was meet him half way.

But she didn’t trust it, didn’t trust herself.

She didn’t trust him.

Because she had so much to lose.

Everything to lose.

She finally freed her hands and pushed back. “I need some air. I’m sorry.”

She grabbed her purse and made a beeline for the front door.

Chapter Six

That went well.

Nothing like opening yourself up to a woman and seeing a look of horror on her face, followed by a world-record dash for the door.

Brody had never thought of himself as repulsive. Women were always attracted to him. He had a pretty healthy ego, but seeing Tori run for her life when he offered to have a relationship with her had given his self-esteem a severe hit tonight.

Something was up, and he wasn’t about to give up on her. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

He signaled Pat, paid the bill and left a generous tip, then made his way out the door. Tori was leaning against his truck, arms folded in front of her like a protective shield. When she saw him approach, she lifted her head and cast him a miserable gaze.

Okay, so maybe out in the parking lot of Ed’s wasn’t the place to have a talk about this. He unlocked the truck, helped her inside and got in. They made the drive back to Deer Lake in silence. Tori huddled on her side, looking out the side window, as far away from him as she could get.

Great. How was he supposed to handle this one? He was no expert on women, except in the bedroom. He was really damn good at pleasing them there. At seduction he was a pro, and he could read sexual signals like a master. But emotion and conversation about feelings and all that shit? Not his area.

But there was no way in hell he was dropping her off at her car and leaving things the way they were. This past year had been hell, and he wasn’t about to make things worse by letting her run on him again.

So instead of taking her back to work to fetch her car, he went with instinct and drove her to his place, where she wouldn’t be able to run.

When he pulled into the driveway of his house, she finally straightened.

“What are we doing here?”

Instead of answering her, he came around to her side of the truck and opened the door. “Come on, Tori. We’re going to talk.”

She cast him a wary look.

“It’s time. And there are things that have to be said. You can’t run from it forever.”

He held out his hand. If she refused to come in, he wouldn’t force her. He wasn’t that kind of guy.

The call was hers to make.

With a shaky sigh, she slid her hands in his and he helped her down from the truck. He slid his key in the lock and opened the door, hoping like hell he hadn’t left his place a mess.

He switched on the light, relieved as he remembered his cleaning lady had been in today. Thank God.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in your house before,” she said, her voice low, almost a whisper as she took in his living room.

He turned to her. “I don’t entertain much here.”

She shot him a look. “Yeah. I’ll bet you don’t.”

“Okay. I meant parties and that kind of thing. It’s just where I crash.”

She walked around, then turned to him. “It’s a nice place, Brody. Lots of room. You should throw a party or two here.”