A sigh left her lips. Test. Right. She would’ve had an A if her mind hadn’t drifted off to the memory of her neighbor shirtless and wet in the creek, and how the water had dripped from ridge to delectable ridge of his abs and disappeared into…
“Isla?” Lyndsey said, interrupting her thoughts again.
She blinked and her kitchen came back into focus first, then her cousin leaning with her back against the island, a glass of lemonade in her hand.
“Uh, yeah?” she asked before bringing her own glass to her lips.
Lyndsey smiled. “I get the impression your mind isn’t preoccupied with your human anatomy studies. It’s more like the human anatomy of your neighbor.”
She choked on her sip of lemonade.
Her cousin snickered. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You’re not mad?” she asked, cautiously. “I thought you didn’t like Sinjin.”
“Of course, I like him,” Lyndsey corrected. “At first, I wasn’t sure I liked him for you, but you’ve spent a lot of time with him the past few weeks, and I’ve noticed a change in him.”
“You have?”
Lyndsey nodded. “Yeah, he’s different around you.”
Different?
“How? What do you mean?” She hadn’t noticed anything.
“He’s respectful. Attentive. Never talks down to you,” her cousin answered. “I like that about him. A lot.”
A sigh left her lips, pulling them upward. “Me, too.”
But he was always like that with everyone. It wasn’t new behavior. No, what was new was her cousin finally seeing the guy for the first time without blinders on.
Lyndsey chuckled. “I think you like a lot of things about him.”
She nodded, taking another sip of her drink so she couldn’t reveal herin lustsituation.
“I’ll be honest,” Lyndsey said. “What I like the best is the way he looks at you like you hung the moon. It’s rather sweet.”
Isla reeled back. “What? No, he doesn’t. You must’ve thought he was looking at me when he was actually looking at Loki.” She nodded toward her dog, sleeping sprawled out on his back in the middle of his dog bed by the front window. A snoreemanated from the goofball. She grinned. He was such a cute dufus. “They do seem to have bonded.”
Although that should probably bother Isla, it didn’t. She liked that the two shared something special.
“No.” Lyndsey shook her head. “Loki wasn’t around. This was last week when you were walking back from lunch with Christa and me toward the salon. He was inside the bakery, and when he caught sight of you walking by, his whole face lit up. It was like you chased the darkness away or something.”
Her cousin grew quiet, a thoughtful, soft smile curving her lips.
A double shot of shock zinged through Isla, and she set her lemonade on the counter as she tried to comprehend her cousin’s words and actions. Both were unexpected.
“Is he still helping you with Loki?”
“Yes.” She nodded and glanced at the clock on her stove. “He should be here soon.”
Lyndsey pushed away from the counter. “Then I should get going.” After setting her empty glass in the sink, her cousin touched her arm. “Forget what I said about Sinjin. The warnings. It’s obvious he cares about you, and I know you like him.”
Truthfully, Isla had never needed the woman’s approval. She liked the guy and didn’t care whatever anyone else thought, but she was happy her cousin finally saw Sinjin as she saw him. A worthy person.
Someone who made her feel alive. And sometimes, hot and flushed.
Heat started to climb up her neck. “I do like him.”
