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broom handle, Evan sat down beside Cinder. At his nearness, she felt her face heating once more. It didn’t help that he kept staring at her so intently, making her feel naked all over again.
    Even while wedging that broom into place, he kept looking back at her. Since seeing her buck-ass, she doubted ten seconds had passed without his gaze roaming over her.
    “What’s it to be?” He took her hand, ran his thumb over her knuckles.
    Such a simple touch, not any different from the way he’d touched her many times.
    But that was before she’d lost a towel in front of him.
    “Bed,” he asked low, “or a little TV so you can unwind?”
    Ho boy. She had a preference, all right, but she didn’t dare share it. It took all her concentration not to curl up as close to him as Cate had to Doug. “Maybe a little TV?”
    “Okay.” He used the remote to turn on the set. “Anything in particular?”
    Noise. That’s all she needed. Some way to block the memory of losing that towel, the image of his hot gaze roving over her in shock.
    Her throat tightened. “Doesn’t matter.”
    “Ooookay,” he said again, this time stretching out the word. He turned on an old movie and, still holding her hand, slouched back comfortably on the couch.
    Not once did he look away from her. She became far too jittery.
    “Cinder?”
    “Hmmm?” Oh geez, that sounded way too loud, with forced cheerfulness. She cleared her throat. “Yes?”
    “I told you to stay locked in the bathroom.”
    She snorted before she could think better of it. “It was my apartment.” Someone had come into her home. Someone with nefarious intent. She barely contained a shiver of dread over what might had happened. “I couldn’t just hide.”
    “You could have stayed safe.” His voice dropped to a rasp, his attention like a warm caress. “You didn’t have to jump into the middle of things.”
    “I wanted to get that gun so he couldn’t use it.” There’d been no time to think. She’d taken one look at Evan tussling on the floor, blood on his head, Doug far too vulnerable, and she’d known she had to do something. Fast. “I didn’t want to take a chance on him shooting you or Doug.”
    He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a warm kiss to her knuckles. His mouth lingered, his breath hot, soft. “It was a brave thing to do.”
    She felt a tingle clear down to her toes. “ You were brave. I just sort of went blank and reacted on instinct.”
    “Mmm.” His mouth moved over her knuckles again. “And lost your towel.”
    Was that supposed to be news to her? She pulled her hand away and frowned at him.
    “You keep staring at me.”
    “And you keep trying to ignore that I’m staring at you.” He caught her hand again, tugged her closer and into his side. “But that pretty blush tells me you’re plenty aware of me.”
    Her face got hotter still.
    “Why are you embarrassed?”
    She tipped her head back to give him a disbelieving glare. “Seriously, Evan? After all that, you have to ask?”
    He frowned now too, but more with determination than annoyance. “I want to give you plenty of time. The rest of the night, and all of tomorrow too, if you need it. But you might as well understand right now, there’s no going back.”
    Some special meaning infused those words, stealing her breath. “What is that supposed to mean?”
    “We’ve been friends a long time.”
    “I know.” Her heart thundered. She cherished every day with him and didn’t want to lose their closeness. “So?”
    “So now I’ve seen you naked, honey. I can’t just go on pretending you’re only a friend to me.”
    Only a friend? Relief tried to take over, but he wasn’t done.
    “Just as I can’t pretend I don’t want you.”
    The bottom fell out of her world. Jubilation mixed with mortifying memories, swamping her, tightening her chest, burning the backs of her eyes.
    How could he say something like that?
    He touched her hair, letting his hand trail down a thick curl.