Just Friends Read Free Page B

with his hand on the knob.
“I’m going to dinner at Mother’s tomorrow night. You coming? I can
swing by and pick you up.”
    “Can’t. I have a full day tomorrow. I have a
million things to do before I go back to work on Monday.”
    “Adelina’s cooking a traditional Mexican
meal.” Adelina was his mother’s housekeeper who’d been with her for
many years. “Do you understand what that means? Chicken mole is on
the menu. You cannot, under any circumstances, miss authentic
chicken mole.”
    Alannah laughed. His sense of humor was one
of the many things she loved about him. “Yes, I understand, but I
have to pass. I really can’t make it.”
    Trenton placed a hand on each of her
shoulders. The heat from his touch singed through her clothes to
the skin underneath. She wished he would touch her, just once, in
an inappropriate way.
    He searched her face. “You’re all right,
aren’t you?”
    “Of course.” She smiled brightly to put his
mind at ease. “I had a weird moment earlier, but I’m fine. And of
course you know I’d come if I didn’t have a million things to do,
which includes picking up Angel from the kennel.”
    At the mention of her brown and black
Yorkshire terrier, Trenton wrinkled his nose in disgust and dropped
his hands. He’d given her the dog as a Christmas present several
years ago after she’d fallen in love with a mutual friend’s
dog.
    “You should leave her there,” he said.
    “You say things like that and wonder why she
hates you.” The dog growled and barked at Trenton every time he
came over. Oddly enough, she only behaved that way toward him. With
everyone else, she was loving and playful.
    “Like I care what that damn dog thinks.”
    Trenton pulled her into a hug. She pressed
her face into his neck and inhaled the crisp, herbal fragrance of
his cologne and the fresh, right-out-of-the-shower scent of his
skin. He must have stopped at home before coming over.
    The hair on his jaw tickled her face, but she
resisted the urge to rub her cheek against the rough texture. His
strong arms held her close, and she longed to run her hands up
under his shirt and spread them across his wide back.
    Releasing her, he said, “I’m out of here.
Sleep tight. I’ll see you next week for lunch?”
    She wanted to say no, that she couldn’t take
the lunches and the dinners and the movies anymore. Instead, she
said, “I’ll let you know.”
    He tilted his head sideways, frowning.
“You’re canceling lunch?”
    “I’m not canceling, but I don’t know what my
schedule will be like yet. Things are probably backed up at the
lab, so I’ll have to see before I confirm lunch.”
    “Call me Monday night and let me know.”
    “Okay.” Agreeing was easier than fighting.
“And please get a haircut and shave. Next time I see you, I don’t
want you to look like a mountain man.”
    With a playful gleam in his eye, he grinned.
“I don’t know, I might let my hair grow a little longer. And the
ladies like the beard.” He scrubbed his cheek with his
knuckles.
    “With that big head of yours, will you be
able to make it through the front door to your truck?”
    He chuckled heartily as he left, and Alannah
closed the door behind him and let out a sigh.
    “I didn’t hear the deadbolt,” Trenton said on
the other side of the door.
    She rolled her eyes and twisted the bolt to
the right. “Happy now?”
    “Yes, smart ass. Good night.”
    Alannah smiled a little and stood at the door
until she heard him drive away. After retrieving the satin bonnet
from the kitchen, she turned out the lights and climbed the stairs
to the second floor.
    She entered the quiet sanctuary of her
bedroom, which contained silver and lavender furnishings and a
large window with matching curtains that faced the front of the
house. When she’d moved in, she asked Trenton to help her paint the
room and put together the white dresser, bureau, and night stand
she’d purchased from IKEA. He’d shown up that Saturday with