It wasn’t until she heard his voice cut through the workings of her mind that she felt centered. Safe. By the time they reached the hospital, she’d stopped shaking, but the incident made one factundeniable.
Despite her sister’s prodding, Rainey Reeves was not ready to drive again. If the experience had taught her anything, she might neverbe.
It had also taught her that a stranger’s deep voice resonating through the car could bring her back to the present better than any meditation technique she’d ever tried. So it was a shame that same stranger had gone all doe-eyed at the mention of her father. Because whodidn’t?
Except, he wasn’t reallydoe-eyed.
Yes, his eyes were a deep brown, and his lashes so thick they gave him almost a smoky appearance. But they weren’t innocent and clueless. They were bottomless. Timeless. Even cloaked in awe and respect, the look they held wasgrounded.
And that voice. It was like having a sub-woofer pressed to herchest.
She tucked Holi’s book into the crook of her left arm and stuck out her right hand. “Like I said, Rainey Reeves, and you areJacques…?”
His hand engulfed hers, and those deep, serious eyes smiled. “Gilchrist. JacquesGilchrist.”
With her palm pressed to his, Rainey realized she hadn’t so much as grazed the hand of a man in months. Not counting Ash, Holi’s boyfriend. And Ash definitely did not count. She liked him, of course. He was quality brother-in-law material — should he ever decide to propose and Holi ever decide to accept — but except for passing the salt or handing her the remote, even the times he’d touched her were prettylimited.
But Jacques Gilchrist’s hand — for the three seconds she held it — felt heavenly. She would have held on longer, but he was sayingsomething.
“…sister’shere?”
“Huh? What?” She released his hand, and he used it to point to the door behindher.
“Your sister’s a patient? Is sheokay?”
“Y-yes,” she stammered. “Yes, she’s a patient, and, yes, she’s going to be okay. She haspneumonia.”
And Rainey found herself shaking her head because why on earth was Holi so sickly of late? Rainey had been plying her with vitamins and natural supplements for months, since the first of her cough had come on in February, but Holi just couldn’t seem to shake it. Rainey’s guess was she was working too hard and sleeping too little. Of course, when she told her sister that, Holi always said the samething.
“One of us has to work,Rain.”
“Are you going to hang here a while? Or do you need a ride back?” Jacquesasked.
Was that a hopeful look in his dark eyes? Rainey hardly knew. It had also been a long time since a guy so much as gave her a secondglance.
Because she almost never left thehouse.
“Oh. Um… I’m going to stay with her for a little while,” she said, her stomach clenching with unfamiliar excitement even at the thought of riding back with him. “The boredom is killingher.”
He gave her a lopsided smile that was all kinds of cute. “That explains all thebooks.”
Rainey’s answering smile was full-scale. “Yeah, that’ll last her a day or two, and then she’ll be sending me to the library or Barnes &Noble.”
Jacques tilted his head to the side, and his eyebrows rose just a little. “Well, then maybe you’ll need a ride,” he said with ashrug.
Her cheeks flushed hot, and she tried to pass it off with a nod. “Maybeso.”
And then he took a step toward her, even though he was already standing pretty close. Rainey felt her breath comeshallow.
“But in case you don’t…” His incredible voice rumbled low. “Maybe you could just give me yournumber.”
* * *
Five minutes later,in a daze, she sat slumped in the chair beside Holi’s bed. The unfinished slipper lay in her lap, but she couldn’t focus onit.
What the hell had just happened? She’d given a guy her number. Because he’daskedfor it. Rainey couldn’t believe it. No one would believe it. She turned to look at her sister who already had her nose inThe WaywardOne.
“You won’t believe what just happened,” shesaid.