Eric held fast to her hand and drew her against him, the heat of his body seeming to enfold her. “Don’t run away.”
“I wasn’t running.”
That was a lie. He was too much, and if she weren’t careful, she’d start having feelings for him. Where would she be then?
She’d be in Chicago, that’s where. He would still be here in Scarlet. Besides, wasn’t she done with men? And then there was the little matter of the promise she’d made herself.
“You amaze me, Victoria. Every day you surprise me.”
She looked up at him. “How?”
“Saturday, it was your willingness to try something completely new. Sunday, it was your compassion toward Bear.” His voice was deep and soft, the sound rumbling in his chest as he spoke. “Today, you showed me that you’re good with horses. Let’s not forget your skill with computers.”
She didn’t know what to say. Most of the time when men said kind things to her, it had to do with her body. “I’ve spent more time with you than I have with Lexi.”
“You don’t hear me complaining.” His fingers traced circles on her back through the fabric of her blouse, sending shivers down her spine.
“We should probably go work on the vid—”
“We’ve got time for that later. Just dance with me.”
“Okay.” She gave in and did what she’d really wanted to do since he’d brought her onto the dance floor. She rested her head against his chest and forgot everything else but him.
Chapter 8
Eric watchedas Vic finished adding the last photo, trying to keep his mind off her and on the video. He could still feel her in his arms—the gentle swaying of her body, her soft curves, the silk of her hair beneath his fingers. It was driving him nuts. Even so, he didn’t want to leave. He liked being close to her like this, just the two of them.
She dragged the cursor back to the beginning of their timeline, images playing in reverse order on the screen. “Okay, are you ready?”
“Let’s see it.”
She let the video run.
Eric watched as the project he’d started six months ago came together, interviews edited expertly, photos fading in and out. “I love how you did that. I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out.”
Vic sniffed.
He glanced over to see tears in her eyes. “You think it’s that good?”
She reached for a tissue. “Would you shut up and let me listen?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I would’ve thought you’d had enough of this, given the amount of time we’ve spent editing everything.”
“Shh!”
“Geez.” He chuckled.
On his computer screen, Rose was talking.
Yeah, he was going to have words with her later.
“Oh, Emily knows. Of course, she knows. Whatever journey her spirit has made, she knows more about us now than we know about ourselves. She’s thrilled that Lexi and Austin are together. She used to come to me for readings. She had a lot of second chakra energy just like Lexi—very fertile, very sexual.”
What the hell did that mean? They didn’t go into chakras in paramedic school. Eric had almost asked, but he’d known it would send Rose off on a tangent.
When the video finished, Vic’s cheeks were damp from crying, but there was a smile on her face. “You know what it needs now?”
“What?” He’d thought they were finished.