Myles went outside to the deck.

Farther down, Holland stood with her back toward him, leaning her hands on the wide railing.

She stared ahead, perfectly still.

Maybe he was disturbing her.

He turned to go back inside.

“You don’t have to leave.” Her voice reached Myles before he opened the door.

He’d needed air, partly because of her. Even when he hadn’t been looking at Holland, he’d been aware of her presence across the table. Clearing his head before rejoining the group had been the plan.

But leaving would be rude. And honestly, he didn’t want to.

As he reached Holland, the scent of her perfume, soft and sweet, wafted in the air.

He glanced at her at the same time she looked at him. She’d refreshed her lip color. The shade reminded him of a lush, ripe plum. Suddenly, a longing stirred inside of him to press his mouth to hers for a taste of their promising sweetness.

Not trusting himself to resist doing just that, he moved a fraction away from her. What was wrong with him? He usually had more control than this. And it wasn’t like he’d never been around a pretty woman before.

Myles lightly gripped the railing. He released a breath and a small chuckle. “I really messed up this afternoon, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” A hint of a teasing smile signaled she wasn’t going to make this easy on him.

“But I have a good excuse.”

“Oh really?” She turned toward him. “And what would that be?”

“A few weeks ago, a group of kids nearly started a fire in the back of the house. When I saw you, I thought…” Myles searched for the right words.

She laughed. “You thought I was there to cause trouble?”

“Yeah, something like that.” He faced her. “But you really should take some of the responsibility off my shoulders. You could have straightened out the situation by telling me who you were and why you were there.”

“I was too afraid.” Humor shone in her eyes. “You threatened to tattle on me to my parents.”

A chuckle shot out of his chest. “Hold on. I’ll confess that I shouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that you were a troublemaker, but thinking you were a teenager is an honest mistake. You could pass for one.”

“Okay.” She feigned acceptance with a shrug. “Since you put it that way, I’ll admit to trespassing. Although in my defense, the door was open, and I called out to see if anyone was there. And I’ll forgive you for assuming I was a fire starter.

Oh, she was a fire starter, all right. And if he wasn’t careful, he just might get singed.”

Excerpt From Second Take at Love by Nina Crespo
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