Saved by Love (Willow Valley Book 3)(11)

She put a hand to her cheek, feeling how flushed it was, and wondered if she'd been like that all night. So many conflicting thoughts were flying through her head. She was undeniably attracted to Ethan. She wasn't ready for this. She wanted this. She didn't want this. If only he'd kissed her. It was too soon.

There was only one way to settle this. She'd go back out there, kiss him, then be done with it. That would be that.

She flung open the door and stepped outside. But he was gone. And she wasn't going to go knocking on his door. What kind of message would that send?

Heavy with disappointment, she made her way to her bedroom and flung herself down. What she wasn't certain of was whether she was disappointed they hadn't kissed or disappointed in herself for not being stronger and sticking by her promise to herself.

Wishing she'd sprung for cable, she grabbed the remote and flipped through the few channels she did have, then turned the TV back off. No distractions for her unfortunately. It was going to be a night filled with images of Ethan Barnes. The irony wasn't lost on her that she was the proud owner of the best mattress money could buy and she was about to have the most sleepless night of her life.





CHAPTER FOUR





Ethan grunted as he started pumping out yet another set on the bench press. He'd been working out in the gym at the firehouse for at least an hour and a half. His frustration hadn't abated a bit. It had been two days since he'd seen Abby and he couldn't get her off his mind.

And he'd tried.

He'd still been outside after she'd gone into her apartment, thinking over how the night had gone, when he heard her come back out and stand outside her door. He wanted so badly to go up there, but he checked himself. They really had only just met. And he was not the committing type.

Which was why it was driving him crazy that he couldn't stop thinking about Abby. He couldn't remember a woman ever getting under his skin like she did. He wanted to spend time with her, get to know her. Yeah, she was gorgeous and he couldn't stop thinking about what it would feel like to wrap her in his arms and kiss her stupid, but that wasn't all there was to it.

He'd spent the last two days convincing and unconvincing himself to go up to her apartment and just ask her out on a regular date. He'd jumped the gun mentioning a beach trip. She probably thought he was crazy. For all she knew he could be a psychotic stalker. She'd just looked so excited talking about surfing that it had slipped out before he thought better of it.

Now he wanted to take a step back and try again. The problem was, he wasn't sure she would go for it. She was protecting herself with those walls, of that he was certain. Would she let him in even just a little? And if she did, could he handle that? He had to be careful with a woman like Abby. He didn't want to hurt her. And if she wanted more from him than he was able to give, that's likely how she'd end up.

Replacing the bar back on the rack, he grabbed a towel to mop up the sweat that was pouring off of him, took a swig of water and stepped onto the treadmill. Maybe a run would help him clear his head.

"Dude, are you trying to prepare for the next Iron Man or what?" Braden came in and started up the treadmill next to Ethan to warm up. "I swear you've been in here for over an hour."

"Ninety minutes," Ethan bit out between breaths.

"What's the deal?"

Ethan cut his eyes at Braden. He didn't know how much he should tell him. Braden was his best friend, but he didn't quite get it where women were concerned. It was all about the good times with him. The fallout and emotions involved didn't even cross his radar.

"Is it Abby? Because if not, I'm all out of guesses."

"That's all you've got is one guess? It's a good thing you nailed it."

Braden smirked. "So it is Abby. What's the problem? From what I saw, you two were totally into each other."

Ethan sighed. "Maybe. But I told you the other night I'm not looking for anything."

"And? Again, what's the problem?"

Ethan was losing his patience, and it was becoming harder to carry on a conversation the longer he pushed himself on the treadmill. He pushed the button to stop it and drank from his water bottle before responding.

"The problem is that I don't think she's just looking for a good time." Or looking for anything for that matter. "I'm not her type."

"Have you asked her?" Braden didn't beat around the bush.

Ethan just stared at him, dumbfounded for a minute.

Braden laughed. "That's pretty presumptuous, dude. Expecting that the woman is going to want to marry you or something. Why don't you just tell her how it is? That you're into her but commitment's not your thing."

Put much less bluntly, Braden had a point. What if he was making all of this a bigger deal in his head than it actually was? Maybe Abby wasn't looking for anything serious any more than he was. Was he that full of himself? If so, he was an idiot that deserved the last two days of agonizing over it.

Ethan clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. Don't know why I didn't think of that."

Braden grinned. "That's why I'm the brains of this outfit."

"That would be one hell of a scary thought if that were true." Ethan slung his towel over his shoulder and headed toward the showers. He was off duty by now and didn't want to waste another minute.