Falling Softly: Compass Girls, Book 4 by Mari Carr & Jayne Rylon

like they do after the first frost?” He pointed to a necklace with tiny emeralds dangling from dainty chains that forked off a roughly rectangular garnet.
    “Exactly.” She stared at him as if he’d somehow cheated on a test where no one knew the answers except her.
    Sterling leaned toward him, but when she got too close, she jerked away as if singed by the heat smoldering between them. “Come on. We need to lug these cases into the other room and hook up the specialty lighting units. It’s going to be a pain in the ass.”
    “Sounds like fun.” As long as he got to do it with her.
    Two hours later, he realized she hadn’t been kidding. Sweat beaded on his bare chest as he connected the final wires with his aching finger. “There. Done.”
    He squirmed out from beneath the case and sat, resting his back against the wall. Sterling handed him a bottle of water, which he chugged. When he recapped the empty container, he caught her staring at him.
    “What?” He wiped his mouth, self-conscious.
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, Viho, but I’m kind of glad you sliced yourself open before. You look pretty damn hot working without your shirt on.” Sterling ate up the plane of his chest—and his six-pack—with her hungry stare. “I think we should agree that you’ll go shirtless from now on so we don’t have to keep sabotaging your poor wardrobe.”
    He laughed, though it was hard to maintain his distance when their easy camaraderie extended beyond manual labor.
    “You know, Vivi was right. You have the most amazing eyes.” Sterling smiled as she touched his cheek. Innocently enough, despite his cock taking her stroke completely out of context. “Even Jake’s aren’t as bright gold as yours, though.”
    He turned away sharply.
    “Why do you do that?” She tossed up her hands in frustration. “I don’t understand you, Viho. One minute you’re running hot. Then the next…this.”
    “There are things you don’t understand, Sterling.” He sighed as he climbed to his feet.
    “Damn straight. Because you won’t fucking tell me what’s going on with you.” She propped her hands on her hips. “What’s your deal? Before you knew who I was, everything was…phenomenal between us. But the minute you found out that I was a Compass Girl, things changed. I don’t get it.”
    “Used to everyone bowing down at your Compton feet?” he snarled.
    “That.” She pointed then approached until she poked him in the chest. “I don’t get that attitude. What the hell has my family done to you? Answer me.”
    He clamped his jaw to keep from spilling everything. The past few hours in her company had made him weak. He truly admired her and wished he could share.
    “You know what? If we’re so awful, get the hell out. I’ll loan you the money for a new truck and you can be on your way right now. Today.” Her tapping toe warned him that her temper was about to blow.
    Yet, somehow, the thought of leaving this town and the people he’d met—most of all her—didn’t thrill him. In fact, it made him feel sick.
    So maybe he owed it to her to be honest as she’d been with him from the start. He wanted to trust her.
    Beyond stupid.
    Still tempting.
    “Tell me, Viho. What’s going on?” This time she didn’t screech. She snuck right in below his radar and his tensed arms to hug him, nuzzling his chest with her cheek.
    There was no way he could fight that.
    “Fine. You want to know all my secrets? How about this? Earlier, in the garden, your grandmother was closer than you realize. My damn eyes? The reason they look like his is because Jake is my father.”
    He couldn’t believe he’d said it out loud.
    Least of all to her.
    Shit!
    Of all the reactions she could have had, Viho never expected Sterling to bust out laughing. “You dickhead. I thought you were really going to let me in for a second. You suck.”
    He didn’t move a muscle.
    She didn’t believe him?
    He stared down at her, about to stride from the