Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (20 page)

He leaned toward her. “So let me lay this out for you.
I need you. I want to be with you.” He paused. “I love you,
Charity.”

Blood rushed to her face as his words impacted her
heart. Her throat tightened and all she could do was stare.

Daniel brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “If
that's not what you want or it makes you unhappy, we'll part. But if
you have any feelings for me, will you open your heart to the
possibility?”

When she found her voice, she could barely get it past
her vocal chords. “I don't know what to say.”

“
Say you'll consider
this. That you'll consider
us
.”

Heat burned at the back of her eyes. On some level, she
knew this was a tender, romantic moment. But it was eclipsed by raw
terror. What if he really knew who she was? What if she refused to
make amends with her family? When would her obstinacy become
untenable?

If he only knew what was in her heart. The problem was,
he thought he did.

He cupped her cheek. “So for now, let's take this one
day at a time. One kiss at a time.”

When he lowered his mouth to hers, she was lost. All her
reasons to avoid a relationship evaporated under the insistent
pressure of his lips. Even as her heart pounded out an anxious
rhythm, her arms crept around his neck of their own volition. It was
simply impossible to resist the sweetness of his kisses, to deny
herself the haven of his arms. She had tried to avoid this. Had tried
to keep him from being hurt.

She was the one who'd walked away from her family. What
was to stop her from doing the same to Daniel?

What if I break his heart?

Charity freed her lips from his at the thought. He
looked down at her, not with any sense of triumph, but with a shine
in his eyes that meant he was in deep.

He loves me
.

Charity couldn't allow herself to take the notion to its
natural conclusion.

Not yet.

Maybe never.

“
You should get some rest,” she said just above a
whisper.

Daniel's gaze sought something in hers, and after a
moment, he nodded and released her. “I think that cold knocked the
stuffing out of me.”

She sat up to give him room. “Stretch out. You'll be
more comfortable.”

“
Just for a minute,” he said, his voice growing
groggy. Once he had stretched his length along the cushions, he
patted the narrow space next to him.

With a rueful look, Charity curled up next to him,
resting her head on his arm, her hand against his chest. It didn't
take long before his eyelids grew heavy. Before he dropped off to
sleep, he covered her hand with his.

Charity waited until his breathing was even. Waited
until the untouched coffee was cold and the sandwiches were stale.
Waited until she could gather the courage to part from him.

She slid her hand from his and got to her feet. After
finding a blanket in the linen closet, she draped it over his form
and watched him sleep for a moment.

But not for too long. Because if she stayed too long she
might have to admit she'd fallen in love with him, too.

Chapter Twelve

As Charity put her purse on the locker shelf Wednesday
morning, her phone buzzed. She fished it out and saw there was a
message from Daniel.

I was supposed to take you home last night. Sorry
.

A rush of feelings she couldn't name washed over her.
She'd had a sleepless night thinking over his words, his assertions.
His heart.

Checking the time, she
keyed a message in response.
It's just a quick bus ride
home. No worries. How are you feeling this morning?

A moment later her
phone buzzed again
.

Better. Worse. I miss you already
.

Charity felt her face
heat. Mushy Daniel was much more dangerous than logical Daniel—and
she felt pretty much helpless against both. She tapped at her keys.
Try the vitamin C I left
.

She'd thought at length about risking her heart, and she
knew deep down, she was willing to open up to him. But she also knew
he'd want her to be restored to her family. And that just wasn't a
risk she was willing to take yet.

But what if she did? What if she tracked down Hope and
Faith and they had a big confab? What if they fell back into the old
patterns of them telling her to pull her own weight, of making her
feel like she wasn't measuring up?

Even worse, what if they turned out to be wonderful,
caring, thoughtful women—making her out to be no better than a
liar?

Neither option was viable. Why couldn't Daniel just let
it go?

Another message.
That's
not what I meant and you know it
.

Her small smile ended on a sigh. How soon before he gave
up on her? This is why she didn't pursue entanglements. There were
always strings attached.

Pulling in a deep
breath, she typed:
Can you stop by my place tonight? Holly
wants to show you her paintings
.

As she waited for his response, she put on her apron and
tied the strings.

Will you be there?

She rolled her eyes and
smiled, unable to resist his gentle flirting. She picked up the phone
and typed.
I usually try to get home in time to watch you
on the news. So, probably
.

The phone buzzed a
moment later
. The news version of me doesn't have Chinese
food. The real one will...if that's okay
.

Yum.
Sounds
good. I'll let Holly out of her room after we eat
.

Charity stared at the phone, awaiting his reply.

You're terrible
.

I know. That's what I've been trying to tell you
.

But she didn't have the guts to send the message.

***

As Daniel entered Charity's building that evening, he
knew he shouldn't expect too much, too soon. He knew Charity's
acquiescence was temporary. At some point in the near future, they'd
find themselves at another impasse. He needed to be prepared, needed
to be ready to side-step her attempts at blocking him over silly
reasons. But it was hard to think on such tactics when he'd rather
think about the way she felt in his arms. The way she responded to
his kisses.

And when he could experience a repeat.

Tonight would be tricky with a roommate in the offing.
On the other hand, such interference should help him take things slow
with Charity. Give her time to adjust to his renewed presence in her
life.

And maybe, just maybe she'd feel the same about him the
way he felt about her.

The girl in question popped her head over the stairwell.
“Hey! Do you need any help?”

“
No, I got it,” he said. He was still embarrassed
he'd fallen asleep on her the night before. Not very macho to let the
leftover effects of a simple cold knock him for a loop that way.

Charity smiled as he arrived on the landing, but it was
guarded. “Smells great.”

Daniel was tempted to kiss her, then reminded himself to
give her some space. As she held open her door, he walked across the
threshold.

Holly waved from the kitchen. “Wasn't sure I'd see you
again. Charity doesn't usually keep company around for long.”

Behind him, Charity snorted.

“
Hello, Holly,” he said formally. “Charity tells
me your paintings are ready.”

The redhead's eyes gleamed. “I figured this was all
business.”

He held up the bags from the Chinese take out place
nearby. “And pleasure, too, honest.”

She shrugged and placed a stack of napkins on the
breakfast bar.

He turned back to Charity. “You told her she was
eating with us, right?”

“
Only if she wore something besides her slippers.”

“
You have an unnatural obsession with my choice of
footwear,” Holly retorted. But she held up a foot for inspection,
showing off a beat up sneaker.

“
Thanks so much for drawing her out,” Charity said
in an aside. “To think I was missing out on all this bickering.”

Daniel turned around in time to see her smirk. “I'm
here to help.”

“
Uh huh.”

After getting all the cartons situated on the counter,
he held out his hands to the two females.

“
You wanna shake?” Holly said, bewildered.

“
Let's give thanks,” he said.

“
Are you gonna get all weird? Because I can happily
eat in my room if you're gonna get weird.”

Charity sent him a look
that said
I told you so
.

“
Humor me.” He took their hands and closed his eyes.
“Thank you, Lord, for this meal and for Charity and Holly. Help
this auction to be successful so we can help people who truly need
it. Amen.” He released their hands.

While Charity popped the top on a carton, Holly stared
at him. “You gave thanks for the food. FYI, dude, God didn't give
it to you.” She picked up one of the bags. “The Viking Burger
did.”

“
Technically, they exchanged it for my money.”

“
Don't forget,” Charity said dryly to her roommate,
“you're talking to an engineer.”

“
Still, it smacks of silliness,” Holly persisted.
“People get food whether they acknowledge God or not.”

“
That's true,” Daniel said. “But my mom raised me
to be thankful.”

Charity smiled at his sally.

Holly took a bite of chow mein. “You're deliberately
missing the point.”

“
Not really. I just acknowledge that all good things
come from God, like the ability to arrange foods and spices in tasty
combinations...or the ability to create art.”

The redhead narrowed
her eyes. “Hey,
I
put in the work when it comes to my art. I study, I practice, I–”

“
Of course you do,” Daniel said. “But where did
the desire to create art come from? Why is it something that drives
you? Why don't you have an overwhelming desire to be a plumber?”

“
DNA.”

“
Hmm.” Daniel smiled. “I can't wait to see your
paintings.”

Holly grunted and turned her attention to eating.

He looked over at
Charity but she seemed intent on her yakisoba.
Looks like
I'm striking out with both women
.
Great
.

Halfway through the meal, Charity turned on the ancient
television in the living room and flipped to the news channel. “Wanna
see if you made the news?”

“
Not really,” he said as he followed Holly into the
living room. The news anchor duo's voices filled the room.

Once the headline stories were covered, they moved to
local news. Daniel braced himself. He never knew when his off and on
interviews would air, or how they would be cut.

“
An update for our local viewers. Problems are
beginning to mount on the new water treatment contract between the
city and the Allied Innovations engineering firm. When we sought
answers from the company's spokesman, he avoided our attempts for an
interview and could not be reached for several days.”

The camera cut from the anchor and went to a video of
Daniel hurrying to his car.

“
Now the question is, what is Allied Innovations
hiding?”

The reporter went on to air a litany of problems and
scandals he'd aired the night before.

Charity jumped up and turned off the TV. “Unbelievable!”
she breathed. “That was Tuesday, right? I remember the tie you
wore.”

He sighed. “Yep.”

“
That means you were on your way to the coffee shop
after...”

He grimaced. “Also yep.”

“
I don't get it,” Holly said.

“
There was an emergency I had to attend to.”

“
Yeah, like a memorial service,” Charity said, her
eyes glittering with anger.

“
A friend died and I had just received the news. I
took the rest of the day off and went to talk to Charity.” He shook
his head. “I left another number for the reporter so he could
follow up with the firm. I didn't know he had a cameraman following
me.”

Holly's eyes were huge. “Whoa. That's
like...sinister!”

He shrugged. “I'm used to being misunderstood.”

Charity stared at him, then subtly rolled her eyes.

After dinner, Holly retreated to her room to bring out
the paintings. Charity settled onto the couch.