Page 29 of Inexplicable

His dark-brown hair was short. It wasn’t a military type of cut, but the locks were short enough to be manageable for a guy who probably didn’t see the point of spending a lot of time on longer hair.

And his whiskey-brown eyes…

Those gorgeous eyes were swoon worthy and framed by long eyelashes that could make a female envious.

Brock was the kind of guy who made a woman’s hormones dance with glee.

His good looks, deep baritone voice, and quiet alpha presence was the stuff of orgasmic fantasies.

Unfortunately, those qualities weren’t something I welcomed because I didn’t want to be attracted to Brock, but I couldn’t seem to control my body’s involuntary reactions whenever I was near him.

Those feelings were new to me.

Nevertheless, I had to find a way to control those unfamiliar reactions.

I was here to help Brock.

I owed him for saving my life, and that wasn’t something I was going to forget easily.

If not for him and his Last Hope team, I’d be in Ecuador and the property of a cartel leader by now.

Besides, a hot guy like Brock would never be interested in a socially awkward, scarred woman like me.

The man could have any woman he wanted in his bed.

“I’m forty now,” he finally replied in a disgruntled tone. “I know I should start watching what I eat more carefully, but I try to make up for some of my bad habits in other ways. I load up on protein and try to cut other unhealthy fats during other meals. Like you, I try to justify the Pop-Tarts by adding fruit, eggs, or a protein drink at breakfast. I have an occasional beer, but my alcohol intake is pretty minimal. Working out is a daily thing for me, and I have my own gym.”

“I wish I could say that I work out frequently,” I said sheepishly. “I don’t, but I try to get in a walk every day. Now that I’m not working at the observatory, I spend way too much time just sitting and writing during the day. I’m pretty sedentary.”

“I’ll walk with you,” he offered. “The inactivity of this damn injury will drive me crazy if I don’t find something to do.”

“But you’re a writer,” I reminded him.

Didn’t he spend a lot of time during his workday in an office, too?

“I take a lot of breaks to get active during the day,” he explained. “I love what I do, but I have to get up and move sometimes. I work out in the morning, so I’m antsy by the afternoon. I usually take a run or find something active to do before I sit down to work again.”

I nodded. “I understand. I can sit for a long time when I’m really into what I’m writing, but my body starts to complain after a while.”

“We’ll have some decent weather this month and next month,” Brock explained.

I felt a small pang in my heart because I wouldn’t be here in October. I was only going to stay long enough to make sure that Brock was okay on his own.

“You probably get a lot of snow here,” I commented. “Do you ever get tired of the cold and snow in the winter? I’ve lived in Southern California my entire life. I only see snow if I go to the mountains in the winter.”

“I like the change of seasons,” he replied. “Winter never really gets boring here. I’m not a hunter, but I do some ice fishing and I get together with the guys a lot to take out the snowmobiles. We go tubing and snowboarding. I spent a few weeks in Costa Rica last winter. By the time I start getting bored or sick of the cold, the weather is getting warmer again. Every season here has its advantages and activities. And there’s always the option of spending a little time someplace warmer to break up the winter.”

I sighed as I finished my grocery list and sat down at the table with Brock to drink some of the water I’d gotten for myself earlier.

Surprisingly, he was pretty well stocked for a single guy.

“I haven’t really traveled much,” I confessed. “I always say I’m going to go explore the world, but I haven’t yet. I was too busy with school for a long time. Then I was caught up with my research and then my position at the observatory. I was really busy because I had my blogging, too.”

“What about now?” Brock questioned.

God, I had no idea how to explain how I felt.

Yes, part of me really wanted to travel, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do alone.