Sweet Little Lies: Heartbreaker Bay Book 1 by Jill Shalvis Page B

lifted his head, the rough pad of his thumb slid back and forth over her jaw while she struggled to turn her brain back on.
    “Pru.”
    And oh, that deliciously rough morning voice. It slid over her like the morning sun, and made her eyes drift shut.
    “You take the rugrat,” he said. “I’ll get your box.”
    Her eyes flew open. He was holding Thor again. “What?”
    “I’ll help you upstairs,” he said.
    Where her bed was. Oh God, had she made her bed? Wait—
was she wearing good panties
?
    She mentally shook herself because none of that mattered. You’re not going there with him, remember? She couldn’t, wouldn’t, because she hadn’t yet told him who she was. She wasn’t ready to do that. Because she knew that once she did, this would be over. He wouldn’t want to be friends with the woman whose family had stolen his. He wouldn’t want to make her fancy virgin cocktails or pet her silly dog.
    Orkiss her stupid . . .
    The truth was, he was the best thing to happen to her in a damn long time. And yes, it was selfish. And wrong.
    And she hated herself for it.
    But she couldn’t tell him, not yet. “I’ve got it,” she said. “Really. I’m good.”
    She just wished she meant it.

Chapter 10
#KarmaIsABitch
    Itwas rare for Finn to find himself on unsure ground. Typically if he needed something, he handled it himself. If he wanted something, he went after it.
    He both wanted and needed Pru. That was fact. The knowledge had been sitting in the frontal lobe of his brain and in the bottom of his gut, and also definitely decidedly south of both.
    It’d been like that for him since the night she’d walked into his pub dripping wet and smiled that smile at him. And then she’d nailed him with that dart and he’d kissed her, and the problem had only compounded itself.
    She drove him nuts, in the very best of ways.
    And now she’d brought him a coffee and he’d kissed the daylights out of her again. But this time she didn’t seem to want to climb him like a tree. She wanted to escape him.
    Badly too, given the sudden panic in her eyes.
    Itshould have been his clue to back off. Walk away.
    But he found himself unable to do that.
    “How about I just get you upstairs with your stuff,” he said, going for as nonthreatening as possible. He bent to put Thor down so he could pick up the box but the dog had other ideas and clung like a monkey. He glanced down. “You sure he’s a dog?”
    Some of the stress left Pru at that and she laughed a little. “Yes, but whatever you do, don’t tell him.” She covered Thor’s ears. “I think that he thinks he’s a grizzly.”
    Finn met Thor’s wary gaze. The little guy really was the most ridiculous looking thing he’d ever seen. Bedraggled, patchy, mud brown fur, he had one ear up and one ear down, a long nose, a small mouth that lifted only on one side like he was half smiling, half smirking, and the biggest, brownest eyes he’d ever seen. Hell, his ears and eyes alone were bigger than the rest of him, and the rest of him didn’t weigh as much as a pair of boots. “Little Man Syndrome, huh?” he asked the dog sympathetically.
    “He just likes to be carried,” Pru said. “He likes to be tall. And he can see better too. Once you pick him up, he won’t let you put him down.”
    Finn tested this theory by once again starting to bend over.
    Thor growled. Laughing, Finn tightened his grip on the little guy. “Don’t worry, I’ve got ya,” he said and reached to pick up Pru’s box with his other hand.
    Holy shit, it weighed a ton.
    “What are you doing?” Pru asked, crouching at his side. Her voice was tight again. “I said I’ve got it.”
    “Pru,it weighs a ton. How far did you carry this thing?”
    “Not far,” she said, tug-o-warring with him. “Let go—”
    “You’re as stubborn as Thor, but I’m already here,” he said. “Let me help—”
    “
No
.” She tried to wrench the box from him, her expression more than a little desperate now,