Dreaming Of You by Marie Higgins Page A

forth, and she shook herself out of the trance and sat straight on the seat.
    Being in such close quarters was definitely bad news. A shiver passed through her, and she circled her arms around her waist.
    “You’re probably drenched.” He knelt on the seat and searched the back seat for something. He turned and faced her, holding one of his sweaters. “Here, take off that wet coat and put this on.”
    She nodded and with her shaky hands, tried to remove her coat. He leaned toward her, pulling it away from her body before tossing it in the backseat beside his coat. She refolded her arms and realized her shirt was damp, too.
    “Looks like you’ll have to take your shirt off.”
    Her eyes widened and flew to his. Heat consumed her face. “I can’t do that. I’m not—nor will I ever be—that kind of girl. I have high standards, whether you want to believe it or not.”
    “Whoa, slow down a little, Katelyn.” He held up his hands in surrender. “All I’m saying is that you need to remove your wet shirt and replace it with my dry sweater to help warm you up better.” He chuckled. “I won’t look, I promise.” On his word, he turned his attention out the driver’s side window.
    She felt a little embarrassed for jumping to conclusions, but what else was she supposed to think? Well, she might as well change shirts. Freezing to death or catching pneumonia was not an option.
    Awkwardly, she unbuttoned her shirt as she kept his sweater pressed to her chest.
    “So, Katelyn,” he asked, still looking out the window. “Believe it or not, I could tell after meeting you on the running track, that you are very religious.”
    “Uh…thank you.”
    “I admire your faith in God…and that you want to live a good life.”
    “I do, thank you for seeing that.”
    She slipped his dry garment over her head before removing her shirt completely. His masculine scent of spice surrounded her, creating butterflies in her stomach. This was definitely bad news.
    “In a way, I envy you.” His tone was much softer than before.
    “What do you mean by that?” she wondered.
    “It means I lost my faith in God along my path to self-discovery.”
    “Why?”
    “I wish I knew,” he said softly.
    Once she got her clothes in place, she cleared her throat. “Okay, I’m done.”
    He faced her and smiled. Taking her wet shirt, he turned and placed it in the backseat with the other wet clothes. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
    She refused to explain just how bad it really was. Now it was very important to remain calm, and to tell her irregular heartbeat to slow down before something awful happened.
    He relaxed on the seat. “Now all we have to do is wait.”
    “Yes…well, I do appreciate your help. You’re very kind to do this for me.”
    “Couldn’t exactly leave you stranded in a rainstorm, could I?”
    She smiled. “Yes, you could. Especially after the mean things I said to you the last time we talked.”
    “You were just reacting to my bad attitude.” He chuckled. “What kind of person accuses another of stalking?”
    She enjoyed the sound of his laughter. “Our meetings lately have been rather strange, haven’t they? Even I must admit it looks as if I’m stalking you, but I promise I’m not.”
    He nodded. “I realize that now, and I’m sorry for saying what I did at the store. I’d been in a bad mood that day and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
    “Understandable. I’ve had several bad days, too.”
    “I mean,” he continued, “I still don’t know that much about you, but I know you’re not the stalkingkind of woman.”
    She creased her brows in confusion. “And what kind of woman might that be?”
    He shrugged. “You know—” He paused as his gaze slid over her wet hair, damp face, down to the overly large sweater that hung on her. “From what I can tell, you’re not exactly the kind of woman who chases after men.”
    Although he’d hit the nail on the head, his observation was as painful