Randi scooped up only what she’d need for the next day or two and put Lily on her leash.
“You’re taking the dog?” Evan frowned at her as she met him at the door. He’d stepped inside, but just barely. Just enough to close the door and prevent the heat from escaping.
Randi gaped at him. “I have to take Lily. How would she eat? How would she drink? How would she stay warm?”
Evan gave her a puzzled look, but he took her laptop and the leash from her hand, after slinging the heavy pack to his shoulder to let her lock up. Randi could feel how much the wind had strengthened since she’d plowed out the driveway. “It is getting bad,” she yelled at Evan as she locked the front door.
Taking Lily’s leash back from Evan, she sprinted with him to Hope’s large SUV, letting him grasp her hand as they trekked through ankle-deep snow that had fallen or blown into the driveway. It hadn’t been that long since she’d cleaned it, and it was already starting to pile up again.
Breathless from the shock of the wind and cold once she settled into the luxurious SUV, she leaned back against the leather, relieved. It was her first winter alone in Dennis and Joan’s home. She hadn’t been looking forward to experiencing it without power for a few days. Being there was both a comfort and a trigger for her melancholy moods when she was missing them. Without power, she’d started feeling downright gloomy.
“Thanks,” she told Evan as he put the vehicle in motion, and Lily found a comfortable position sitting between her legs on the floorboard.
Evan frowned at Lily as she whined and squirmed with excitement before focusing his attention on the road.
“You don’t like dogs?” Randi asked just to make conversation. She might only be ten miles out of town, but it was going to be a long ride, since the roads sucked. They looked like they’d been plowed, but the wind was blowing a massive amount of snow, making visibility a nightmare.
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had one,” he answered flatly.
“Cats?”
“I’ve never had any type of animal,” Evan said shortly. “I travel too much.”
Randi’s heart sank, remembering that Hope had once told her that her father had hated animals and hadn’t allowed any of the kids to have a pet. She sank her fingers into Lily’s silky coat. “Well, Evan, this is Lily. She was my college graduation present from my foster parents. She’s four years old and is generally very well behaved. She just gets excited because she loves to go for rides.”
“Will she need to go to the bathroom?” Evan asked, sounding concerned.
Randi chuckled at his serious tone. “No. She can hold it. Just keep moving or we might get stuck.” She hesitated as she looked at the road in front of them, the visibility so bad that she could barely make out the road. “Can you see okay?”
Evan shrugged his broad shoulders. “Not great. But I’ll get us home safely.”
His voice was so calm, so certain, that Randi relaxed. She doubted there was anything that Evan Sinclair wasn’t capable of doing well. She was glad she wasn’t driving. She could probably get through it, but she’d be white-knuckled for the whole drive. Bad weather rarely bothered her, but this was an epic blizzard, even for the East Coast. “I’m surprised that they actually plowed way out here.”
“They didn’t,” Evan answered. “We sent the Peninsula plow out before the SUV. You never would have made it into town. I can’t believe you were even going to attempt the drive.”
“I guess I forgot how bad the roads can get out here. It’s my first winter in the house since I went off to college.” Randi had moved back in with Joan last summer, giving up her small apartment in town to take care of her. “Joan needed help, and I couldn’t leave her alone anymore. She was forgetting to take her medications, and she wasn’t eating very well.”
“Your foster mother?” Evan questioned. “Hope told me she passed away not long ago.”
Randi nodded, even though Evan was focused on the road. “I miss her. I miss both my foster parents.” She buried her fingers in Lily’s fur, stroking the dog more to comfort herself than Lily.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Evan said in a husky voice.
“Thanks,” she finally answered Evan’s expression of sympathy, not certain what to make of him at the moment. His comment was probably the nicest thing he’d ever said to her.
She stared at him in profile, unable to ignore his strong, capable fingers gripping the steering wheel and the rugged handsomeness of his features from a sideways view. He had a small amount of dark stubble on his jaw, but that only made him hotter, more approachable. Randi was willing to bet that the coat—identical to or the same as the one she’d spilled her coffee on—cost more than her monthly salary. But he somehow seemed . . . different today.
Why?
Even though the SUV was large, she could smell his masculine scent, and the fragrance made every female hormone in her body take notice. She’d always loved Evan’s essence, ever since the first time she’d had to stand beside him at Emily’s wedding.
He doesn’t seem like he has a stick up his ass today!
He was still arrogant, but he seemed more . . . relaxed. Her eyes traveled down his body, noting that he was actually dressed in a pair of jeans and was wearing boots instead of shoes. Granted, they looked like they were expensive black leather, but they were more casual, lace-up boots rather than his usual sleek, custom-made shoes. Those were gone today, as were his usual suit and tie. The whole package made him seem more . . . human, and eminently more touchable.
Randi was silent as Evan navigated the roads, not only to let him concentrate, but because desire was burning so fiercely in her gut that she couldn’t really even make conversation.
It had always been this way for her. She’d always wanted Evan Sinclair with a savage intensity that she constantly had to fight.
She didn’t understand it.
She didn’t like it.
However, it wouldn’t go away, even when Evan was being a complete ass—which had been almost constantly from the moment they’d first met.
It’s just physical. I haven’t gotten laid for a long time.
Truthfully, she hadn’t had sex with anybody since college. During the six years it had taken to get her master’s degree, she’d had some casual flings and a couple of boyfriends. Since returning to Amesport she hadn’t wanted to start a relationship unless she knew it could be something permanent. She’d had her wild days during college. She was yearning for something solid, something other than empty sex.
Establishing her career had come first, and once she had started tutoring and then caring for Joan, every minute of her day had been busy.
Randi rationalized that because it had been years since she’d had decent sex, it was perfectly normal to be attracted to Evan. He was definitely the hottest guy she’d ever seen.
Feeling more at ease after justifying the passionate urge she had to jump Evan’s bones, she sighed.