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kind of girl I am,” I said, harkening back to his earlier phrase, “I’m going to tell you that I’m not the sort who gets scared off easily. All this talk of missing girls and howling things in the woods—it just doesn’t do much for me.”
    “Doesn’t much matter what it does for you. Still poses a threat to the women in our town.”
    “Uh-huh,” I said, ticking my head to the side. “Well, buddy, let me tell you. I’ve lived in scarier places than New Haven.” I had to hold back a giggle at the thought.
Big Bad New Haven
.
Yeah
. This single murder was the most action they’d had in decades. “I’ve lived in the city, Dalton. I’ve worked the graveyard shift for a year and a half. Had pervs glaring at me with every step down the runway—”
    “This is making me feel better, Char,” he said, his mouth setting into a grim line.
    “My point is, this ‘small town gird your loins’ nonsense isn’t going to change the way I sleep at night.” I huffed. “Now this might not be the best job in the world, and Lord knows Abram is far from the best boss,” I said, thinking of his cold attitude and barking nature, “but the pay is good, and it gives me something to do besides take up space at your sister’s house.”
    “Okay, okay,” he said, spreading his hands. “I get it, and I totally respect your decision. Now get back to that part where you were calling me cute.”
    I chuckled out loud, surprising myself. “I didn’t
call
you
cute. I said what you were doing was sort of cute. Sort of.”
    “Potatoes, tomatoes, Char. Don’t run from your feelings.” He smiled and rested his chin flat against his hands, which were folded on the table. Suddenly he looked like a puppy—cute, harmless, and ready to show submission.
    “Don’t give me that look,” I told him, noticing the way his bright eyes got wider, rounder, and even more adorable.
    “You didn’t mind it when we were kids,” he teased.
    “It didn’t have the same effect back then.” I nearly choked on my words. I was determined not to let him affect me. At least not until I knew where these feelings were leading us. “Look, I don’t like to talk about this, but it’s been a rough year for me. Losing my mother, losing my job—it took a toll on me. And while your sister has been better to me than I have any right to expect, coming back here hasn’t been the best thing in the world for me, either. Everyone’s moved on around here. Their lives are different … fuller. I have to find something to do with myself. This might not be the place I want to be forever, but it looks like the place I’m going to have to be for a while. And I can’t just keep mooching off your sister.”
    “You could always move in with me,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’m sure I could find
something
to keep you busy.”
    “Slow your roll, Puppy Dog.” I leaned back, resting my arm on the back of my chair. “Usually, a guy takes me to dinner before inviting me to move in.”
    “Deal!” Dalton said, snapping his head upward. “I’ll pick you up Friday night at seven.”
    “Hey, wait a minute!” I said, sitting forward again. “That wasn’t—”
    “Too late. I already accepted.” He finished off the last of his coffee. “And I don’t like to be disappointed.”
    “Fine,” I mumbled, following him to the door, “but—”
    Before I could finish my thought, he turned toward me, putting us inches apart. The tension rendered whatever I was about to say pointless. My breath caught in my chest. I couldn’t deny my attraction, even if whatever was happening between us felt … wrong. Would I ever be able to see him as something other than my best friend’s little brother?
    “There’s something about you, Char, hiding right under the surface,” he said quietly into the silence between us. “I’m not sure how I missed it before.”
    I could say the same for you
, I thought, blushing uncontrollably.
    His arm reached past me,