“Really? Because at dinner you were lookingat her an awful lot–”
“You’re my baby sister; you are so much moreimportant to me than a convenient lay. That’s all those were in thepast, my own ego. Trust me, my ego has quieted.” Too quiet lately.That brief kiss on Sophie’s cheek today had been the most actionhe’d gotten in forever, and her taste had left a permanent imprinton his lips.
Pippa rose from her chair and aimed for thestairs. Briefly, she paused and looked back over her shoulder athim. “Sorry, Ash. I wish I’d come around more. And I sort of missthat ego. You are different. Quieter.”
Not quite sure how to respond, he gave abrief nod. He was different. Losing half your damn team on onereally bad op did that to a person.
4
T-Minus 20 Days
Bright-eyed and bushytailed, Sophie’s eyes poppedopen at five in the morning. Same time as they did every day.Creature of habit. Which, she wasn’t ashamed to admit.
She’d started waking early as a teenager toget some alone time before Yvette started to stir. She stillenjoyed those few minutes of peace before the rest of the world wasawake. Had to if she wanted more than a three-minute shower, as ittook Yvette half the damn day to primp, then gaze at her ownreflection in the mirror.
Slipping on her running attire, she tiptoeddown the stairs and out of the house. The sun was thinking ofrising soon, casting a shadowy blue glow across the landscape, justenough to see where she was going. There was a path that ran alongthe edges of the property that was perfect for a run. She’d made ahabit of running it every morning she was here visiting in thepast. Someone else must enjoy it too, the path was so wellworn.
Thighs on fire, lungs burning, she pushed on,adrenaline and sheer force of will driving her on. Glancing at hersmartwatch, she kept going. Two miles. That ought to do it fortoday, but she was enjoying the fresh air so much she wasn’t readyto stop.
Rounding a bend, she caught sight of therugged mountain view glowing in the predawn across a sprawlingvalley. She had no idea how far she was from the house now; thisplace was truly magnificent. A perfect place to refresh.
Sadly, she shouldn’t slow to enjoy the viewtoday, or she might not be able to get her momentum going again.Keeping her pace, she moved on and planned to return to the spotanother time. Maybe with a picnic.
Asher saw the collision coming before shedid. Inevitably, painfully she barreled into him at full speed.
Having the extra half second to prepare, hemanaged to shift just far enough to the side to catch her and tryto control the fall.
The momentum was too much, and they spun in acircle before they crashed to the ground. His arms wrapped aroundher to steady their rapid descent, spinning their bodies so shelanded on him rather than the boulder she was otherwise headedfor.
Groaning from the force of the landing, Ashergripped Sophie as she lay sprawled across him. Air barely movingthrough his crushed lungs, he managed to ask hoarsely, “Youokay?”
As soon as she recovered from the force ofthe impact, she realized he was wearing nothing but Navy runningshorts. Their bodies were rather indecently intertwined, sweaty andbreathing heavily… her brain was useless. She managed to sit up andease herself to a stand. “I’m okay. You?” she managed. That was thebest she could come up with?
Rescuing him back, having been saved from themajor force of the impact by his swift catch, she held out a handto help him up. Finding a smile at her chivalry, he grabbed herhand and let her help pull him up. A thrill ran up her spine at histouch, the adrenaline blasting into overtime now.
“Fine. I’m good. See you back at the house.”He stretched out the aches from the fall, turned and continued downthe path. Sophie blinked a few times to remember what she wasdoing, then continued on her path.
Finishing a satisfying run, Sophie dashedupstairs for a quick shower. Feeling better than she had in weeks,she slipped on a denim skirt and t-shirt, a subtle splash of makeupand ran the brush through her hair. Coffee. Need caffeine.
Not yet six. The rest of the household wasstill asleep. Sophie tiptoed down the stairs, finding the otherearly riser in the kitchen already. Asher was just pouring himselfa warmup.
Seeing her approach, he reached up into thecupboard above, grabbed an artisan ceramic mug and poured her acup. Without a word, he gave her a friendly smile, handed her thefreshly poured cup of coffee, and headed for the front porch withhis own. Sophie looked out the window at his destination. Perfecttiming. The sun was just coming up over the mountains.
Hands cradling her cup, she headed out theslider and sat on the Adirondack chair next to his. Not that shewas trying to sit next to him, knowing it would bother Pippa, nordid she want to interrupt his peaceful reverie, but it was the onlyother chair with an uninterrupted view of the sunrise. The momentthe sun rose above the mountains, she felt something in her chestawaken. When was the last time she enjoyed a moment sotranquilly?
Sitting side-by-side, they sipped theircoffee in silence. The penetrating focus of the sun was about tocrest over the faraway peaks. Purple and orange stretched acrossthe endless sky.
“Why accounting?” Asher glanced at her, thenback to the sunrise just as the sun peeked out over themountains.
Why did he care if she was an accountant? Sheknew what people tended to think. Thick glasses, frumpy frocks,boring conversationalist. Pissed her off.
Sophie looked over at him, green circlesdancing in her vision that the sun had imprinted. Feeling snarky,she snapped back, “Why the navy?”
He downed the last of his coffee in one biggulp, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Touché.”
Okay, maybe she was being a bit defensive.Too many had taken one look at her and couldn’t figure out why shechoseto be an accountant. Why she didn’t want to dosomething more glamorous. An heiress, her mother had strayed fromthe expected path as well and never looked back. She liked to thinkthe rebellious streak came from Colette.
Quickly distracted, his eyes straying to herthighs, he took a slow, deliberate breath. Realizing her skirt hadhiked up dangerously high in the reclined chair, Sophie pulled itdown a bit, although she was suddenly tempted to hike it up an inchjust to see his reaction.
