The Family You Make (Sunrise Cove #1)(38)

“I meant your grandpa!” Charlotte said. She didn’t need to know how Mateo looked, he was imprinted on her brain. And Jane was right, he was sexy as hell.

Jane grinned, then thought about it as she took a few bites of food. And her smile slowly faded. “He’s a little pale, a little tired. Clearly still recovering from his heart attack. His last EKG showed minor damage, but sufficient blood and oxygen supply to the heart.”

Charlotte’s heart skipped. “Tell me you didn’t break any HIPAA laws, putting your job, not to mention your license, in jeopardy to get that information.”

“I didn’t break any HIPAA laws to get that information.” Jane paused. “I eavesdropped on his conversation with one of his friends in the parking lot after his lunch.” She looked at Charlotte. “You’re not going to suggest I go talk to him?”

Hell, no. “I’m still not sure he deserves you.”

Jane leaned in and gave Charlotte a very rare hug that got her right in the feels. “Better than rent money,” she quipped, making Jane snort.

Jane gathered the dishes. Charlotte got up to help as well, and Jane shook her head. “You cooked. I clean. That’s the rule.”

“We don’t have any rules between us.”

“Yes we do, and you made them.” Jane held up a finger. “Rule number one: I must come to Tahoe for this job every year and I must stay with you.”

“Well, that one’s just good sense,” Charlotte said.

“Rule number two: we tell each other when we’re standing on the edge looking down, ready to jump.”

Charlotte nodded. It’d happened. To both of them.

“Rule number three,” Jane said. “And this is more of an unspoken rule: you cook because I don’t, and I clean because you don’t. Now go. Go be free.” She made a shooing motion at Charlotte with her hands.

She laughed and then went outside to finish with the lights. She was back up on the ladder, her headphones on full blast, dancing in place on the rung, singing to herself as she worked.

When someone unexpectedly put a hand on her foot from below, she nearly jerked right out of her skin. Reacting purely instinctively, she kicked.

And caught Mateo right on the chin.

He staggered back a step. “Nice one, tiger.”

Yanking out an earbud, she stared down at him in horror. “Are you all right?”

“No blood no foul,” he said, seeming more amused than irritated. “And a hundred percent my fault.”

Okay, now that she could breathe again and he probably wasn’t hurt, she climbed down. A proper southern woman always looked a person in the eyes while she yelled at him. “Why in the world did you sneak up on me like that?”

He shrugged. “When I made myself known the other day at the hospital cafeteria, you ran off. So I figured I’d try a new tactic.”

“You figured wrong.”

He cocked his head, smile fading as he studied her. She knew what he saw. Her eyes were misty, her hands were shaking. And while she’d meant to sound angry, the words had caught in her throat, giving herself away.

His expression serious now, he said, “I didn’t mean to startle you. I won’t do it again.”

She swallowed hard at the sincerity in his voice and the regret in his eyes. “Thank you.” She turned to climb back up the ladder.

“Charlotte.”

A sigh escaped her, but she hesitated.

“You’re shaking. Give yourself a minute.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “But do it for me.”

She hesitated, but eventually nodded because she really was still shaking. Annoying as hell. And clearly also far too revealing, because he slowly—so slowly it made her ache—drew her in . . . pausing to look into her eyes before he hugged her.

Yeah, she’d definitely given herself away, maybe even more than she thought, because they’d never touched before.

Not once.

And dear sweet baby Jesus, why hadn’t they ever touched before? His arms . . . they were almost as good as his chest, which she had her cheek pressed to.

He drew a deep breath as if he was just as unexpectedly shaken as she by the physical contact, then pressed his face into her hair. “Charlotte?”

“Yeah?”

“I like this.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.” Not that she made any effort at moving away.

And maybe the best part of all was that he didn’t either. Closing her eyes, she let herself absorb the feel of a man’s arms around her. This man. He was big and warm. And he smelled good. Too good. Up against him like this, she found it suddenly far too easy to let her walls down and be vulnerable. Only she never did those two things.

Just then Jane opened the back door. “Hey, Charlotte—” She stopped short at the sight of them hugging. “Ohmigod, so sorry.” She started to go back in, then stopped and grinned. “Carry on!”

And then she was gone.

Charlotte buried her face in Mateo’s neck. Not out of embarrassment. She just wanted one last big sniff of him before forcing herself to pull back.

He was smiling. “Did you just smell me?”

“I believe it’s called breathing.”

Onto her, he smirked, but didn’t press further. Instead, he looked up at the holiday lights, half still on her eaves, the other half dangling from the roof to the ground. “Need help?”