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her any more time to protest, Tyler suggested
    that they make dinner together, which turned out to be a great idea.
    Sara was a huge help in the kitchen and a lot of fun to be around.
    Choosing to give her some one-on-one time to get to know Gage,
    Tyler slipped out to the barn after dinner to tend to the animals in solitude. The fresh air did help to clear his brain, but he still found himself wishing that Sara might decide to stay.
    This whole mess with her ex had to end sometime, and when it
    did, Tyler had every intention of being there for her.

    Protectors
    41

    Chapter 5

    When Sara woke the next morning, it was only eight thirty and a
    little closer to her normal schedule. She’d really enjoyed the day
    before, getting to know Tyler and Gage, but it was time to get back to reality before she did something really stupid like come on to one of them. Unable to resist, she’d worn the borrowed boxers and T-shirt to bed again last night just because she found them so comforting. She
    needed to get a hold of herself where these men were concerned.
    She wanted to make breakfast as a way of saying thank you for
    the hospitality, and then she’d ask them to take her home again. Even if Jeremy’s truck was still there, it was unlikely that he would skip work two days in a row. She’d been hiding long enough. It was time
    to run.
    The kitchen was empty when she made her way down to it, but
    the coffee had been made, so at least one of them was up and about.
    After making dinner with Tyler the night before, she knew her way
    around the kitchen pretty well, so finding the ingredients for French toast was easy. They even still had a few strawberries left over to go on top.
    Gage came down the stairs as she was taking the first two slices
    out of the frying pan.
    “French toast? You are my new favorite person in the whole
    world.”
    “Don’t let Tyler hear you say that,” she teased.
    “Eh, Ty’s a great cook, too, so you might have some
    competition.”

    42
    Samantha Blair
    Sara resisted the urge to sigh as she added another slice to the pan.
    Just one more thing to like about them, the men never seemed to
    speak badly of each other. They teased, but they didn’t nitpick like
    some couples, and Sara really envied that. Not a day went by where
    Jeremy didn’t criticize her for something.
    Tyler came in from the barn a few minutes later, greeting Gage
    with a lingering kiss that Sara pretended not to see. He, too, praised her breakfast skills and eagerly accepted the next couple of slices hot out of the pan.
    When they were finished eating, Sara got up to wash the dishes,
    and Tyler joined her with a drying rag at the sink. They playful banter between the three of them all morning was enough to make her heart
    ache, and just standing this close to Ty at the sink was torture. She fought to ignore the growing chemistry between them, telling herself
    that it was only in her head, and that he was just being nice.
    Every time the breeze blew in from the screen door she caught his
    earthy smell and wanted to bury her face in his chest and soak it up.
    Suddenly, Tyler took a glass from her hand and set it back in the
    sink. He dried his hand absently on the towel before cupping the side of her face. She wanted to protest, to ask what he was doing, but her breath caught in her throat. He was too close.
    He leaned into her slowly, giving her plenty of opportunity to
    back away. She closed her eyes and let him come to her. When their
    lips met, she felt a tingling sensation that she had long ago forgotten existed. His kiss was sweet and gentle, asking, not demanding. A
    woman could get lost in a kiss like that.
    Gage cleared his throat across the room, and Sara jumped away
    from Tyler, sending the dish water still on her hands across the
    counter and over the floor. “Oh, God,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry. I
    shouldn’t have—”
    “Whoa, take it easy. It’s okay,” Tyler said. But she wasn’t looking
    at Tyler. She