Bring Him Home by Karina Bliss

Author:Karina Bliss [Bliss, Karina]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 9780373717842
Google: HlNKP2icJr4C
Amazon: 0373717849
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-06-04T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

EVERY TIME CLAIRE TURNED AROUND, Nate seemed to be scowling at her.

Dipping her brush into the can of paint sitting on the stepladder beside her, she applied it to the hull. By unspoken agreement they’d moved to opposite ends to paint, but eventually they’d have to meet in the middle. Hopefully, by then he’d have found some perspective.

She’d woken this morning determined to think of him as a friend only, and his disapproval had made it easy. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he was uncomfortable with the idea of her dating. And that annoyed the hell out of her.

She’d had to rebuild her life one day at a time. And she’d done it. Stepping out alone had been terrifying; at times it was still terrifying.

The acrid paint fumes collected in her throat. Briefly she left her station to open the second roller door.

When she’d noticed his smirk at John’s clumsy attempts to impress her, she’d been annoyed enough to say yes to the tradesman’s invitation. John was a nice man, trying his best to move forward after his wife’s death. He needed encouragement, though she’d emphasized that having coffee was a friendly gesture only.

Obviously, Nate required a reminder that it was her decision when she resumed a love life. And that was a lesson Claire was more than happy to deliver.

The breeze created by the through draft lifted the corner of a drop sheet.

“Careful,” Nate warned, but it had already flapped across the hull, leaving a streak in Claire’s new paintwork.

“Damn it!” She pinned the sheet with a paint can and glared at Nate, who had the sense to keep his mouth shut.

When the young mechanics had started flirting with her, she’d flirted back, assuaging the small core of hurt left by Nate’s dispassionate scan last night. His disapproving face had only made it more fun. Recalling it cheered her up. As she feathered out the streak, she picked up the tune Nate had been whistling earlier.

On the last chorus he joined in. “I’ve been a jerk,” he said.

“Yes, you have.” Claire swept the brush across a new section, leaving a bright swath of cobalt on the gray undercoat. “It felt like I was ripped in half when Steve died,” she said. “If it wasn’t for Lewis and Ellie needing me, I would have lain down on my bed and never got up. It’s taken a long time to get to the point where my life feels like it’s mine again. Where I’m excited about the future.”

She bent to refill her brush then covered the patches the first stroke had missed. “Maybe I’m not quite at the point of dating again, but I want to approach the process with an open mind.” She glanced sideways at Nate. “I don’t need you making it harder.”

“Fair comment,” he said in a low voice. “Just…be careful.”

“I will.”

They resumed painting, but Nate was still restless. She lowered her brush. “What!” Swear to God, one more crack—

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for you after Steve died.

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