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her face and the way her shoulders visibly relaxed. Well, damn. What was wrong with the woman? He’d never given her one reason to act like this around him. Okay, he’d implied she was his latest skirt last night, but damn it to hell, it wasn’t as if he’d pushed her into a dark corner and shoved his hand down her panties to prove it.
    That perverse side of him battled for supremacy and he deliberately chose the chair right next to Erin. “Come to think of it, I guess I’ve got time for another coffee. What type of sandwiches are on offer?”
    Naomi sorted plates and cutlery. “Meat for you and Tynan, brie and grape for Erin and myself. Plus, I’ve got your favorite. Tortilla chips.”
    He groaned for effect. “I always knew I should have fought Tynan a lot harder for you.” He leaned back in his chair, making sure to let his knee brush Erin’s. She didn’t jolt, but he felt her discomfort flow like a wave of tension between them. Almost imperceptibly, she moved her leg away from his.
    Erin hoped that Nathan couldn’t hear the rapid boom of her heart beating against her rib cage. God. What was wrong with her?
    It was him. Nathan. There was something in him, some quality. Predatory and menacing. What was it about her that seemed to attract that type? Not that Nathan was anything like Justin. Nathan was in-your-face intimidating and didn’t even try to hide behind a façade of anything different, whereas Justin had been the epitome of charm, good manners and gallantry. At least on the surface. But when you even remotely scratched it, you saw an entirely different animal. She often wondered how she’d ever been taken in by Justin’s good-guy act. When had been the moment she thought it okay to simply give herself up to him, let him call the shots? Now, she didn’t know how she was ever supposed to fully trust anyone again. How would she know what sort of person they were? At least before it was too late. The only way was not to get close to anyone. To stay at arm’s length.
    Nathan overwhelmed her, but she didn’t have to see him that much, did she? If she planned things better, she wouldn’t have to see him at all. She just had to make sure that she politely refused invites from Naomi, and Talia come to that, because it seemed Nathan was good friends with their men.
    What had Nathan meant about fighting harder for Naomi? That implied he and Naomi had been an item at some stage. Yet Tynan didn’t seem in the least fazed that Naomi was still close with Nathan.
    Erin suddenly felt incredibly alone, a sadness lying heavily on her chest. It really was true that sometimes you could feel more alone with people than you did in your own company. She had the desperate need to get back to her cottage, to Willa.
    “Naomi, I don’t think I can stay,” she decided, gathering up her bag. “I’ve got to get back and walk Willa before it gets dark.”
    “I’ve got everything ready now. Just have a quick sandwich. Nathan will drop you off on his way home.”
    Not in a bloody million years. “No, really.”
    Coming behind, Naomi pressed Erin’s shoulders, forcing her back down into the seat. “It’ll take you over thirty minutes to walk and ten for Nathan to drive. Which means you’ve got twenty minutes to enjoy coffee, a sandwich and a chat.” She leaned around the open kitchen door. “Tynan. Food’s up.”
    Erin worried her hands together in her lap. How in God’s name was she supposed to sit next to the man in the confines of a car? Regardless that he made her feel uncomfortable, she didn’t like him. And she sure as hell knew he didn’t like her.
    When Tynan joined them a couple of minutes later, he sat next to Naomi and opposite Nathan. “Before you go, I’d appreciate it if you could take a look at that partition wall we found.”
    “Oh yeah,” Naomi agreed, swallowing the bite of sandwich she’d taken. “We knocked out this old cupboard when we were clearing things to make way for Tynan’s home