Page 69 of No Judgements

Someday, I really needed to tell her about my paintings. But this was not the day.

“—even if I’m not very happy about where you’re doing it. Did you know that most deaths from hurricanes occur after the storm has passed?”

“I do know that, Mom,” I said. “Thanks. That’s why I really appreciate whatever help you can—”

“Sabrina.”

I looked up at the sound of the deep voice calling my name to see Drew Hartwell leaning against the door frame to the library. As always, he looked good. Good enough to make my heart give a flip inside my chest. He’d found a new clean linen shirt—did he keep a collection of these in every place he’d ever lived?—though he’d buttoned it as haphazardly as all the others, revealing far more tanned chest and abdominal muscles than should be legal.

In one hand he held the bowl of hurricane dip I’d made. Beneath his arm was tucked a bag of chips.

But on his handsome face was an expression of urgency.

I could not imagine what kind of chip-oriented emergency necessitated my getting off the phone, but his raised eyebrows and frown seemed to indicate that there was one.

“Uh, Mom,” I said, “I have to go. This is the only phone line in the house, and I think someone else needs to use it.”

“Oh, of course, honey. But I want you to know that I’m still coming tomorrow, or at least as soon as they can get that runway cleared.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, as Drew rolled a chip in the air, indicating that I needed to speed up the conversation. “Okay. Bye-bye now.”

“Can I use this number to call you back, if I need to?”

“Better let me call you.” A picture of my mom calling and Ed answering the phone entered my head. The vision was not pretty. “Bye, Mom. Love you.”

“Love you, too, sweetie...”

“What?” I demanded of Drew as I slammed down thephone. The fact that the mere sight of his lean body, lounging in the doorway, had caused my heart to do jumping jacks inside my chest was making me angry. I was an adult woman who should not be ruled by her hormones.

“Oh, nothing.” He lowered the chip he’d been using to direct the speed of my conversation into the bowl of dip, then put it into his mouth. “I could tell you needed rescuing, is all.”

I glared at him. “I did not need rescuing. I never need rescuing.”

“Oh, really? ‘Don’t get your hopes up, I’m not going back to law school’? That was part of a normal, happy, everyday conversation—”

I held up a hand to stop him from continuing. “That was my mother. I was calling to let her know I’m all right.”

“And the first thing she wanted to know is when you’re going back to law school?”

“It wasn’t the first thing she wanted to know. But yes, as you’ve probably guessed, my mother can be a little controlling. Speaking of which, do you always go around snooping on other people’s phone calls?”

“When they’re yours, I do.” He dunked another chip into the dip, then ate it. “How else am I going to find out anything about you? For a woman, you aren’t exactly communicative, you know. For instance, when were you going to tell me that you went to law school?”

I stood up. “Never, because it’s none of your business.”

“Ouch, Fresh Water!” He grabbed his chest as if wounded. “That hurts. After all we’ve been through together?”

“See, that’s the thing.” I crossed the room until I was standing directly in front of him. “You keep calling me Fresh Water like you think I’m so innocent.” Reaching into the bag of chips he was holding beneath his arm, I purposefully let my hand brush against the tender and sensitive skin of his inner bicep while keeping my gaze locked on his. “But I’m not, you know.”

“Oh, you’re not?” His tone was teasing... but I was standing close enough that I heard his quick inhale at my touch.

“No.” I plunged the chip I’d grabbed into the bowl he was holding, then raised it deliberately to my lips. “See this dip?”

His gaze was on the chip, which meant it was on my lips, since I was holding the chip in front of my lips. “Yeah.”

“I made it.” I slid the chip into my mouth, enjoying the explosion of flavor on my tongue, and chewed. “Pretty good for an alleged Fresh Water, huh?”

He couldn’t seem to look away from my lips. “I’ll admit I’m impressed.”