Engaging the Bachelor (Pulse) by Cathryn Fox Page A

make my own decisions about who I want to spend time with.”
    “How are they going to feel about me, truthfully?”
    “I’m not going to lie to you, Gemma. You wouldn’t be their first choice, but I think once they get to know you, they’ll like you. If they don’t, they’ll be dealing with me.”
    “Okay. I like Crystal. She was really sweet when I ran into her.”
    “Why wouldn’t she be?” He looked her way and smiled. “You’re going to be the sister she’s always wanted.” Her head dropped again, and she started fidgeting with her hands. “What?” he asked.
    “This is one dinner, Carson. I’m not getting involved. I don’t do ‘close.’ At the end of the summer, you and I will both be leaving here.”
    With a tug of the wheel, he turned the corner and headed toward his place. “You’re right. And if you don’t want to get close, I understand. It will make it easier for you to walk away.” He knew firsthand how good she was at that, but why? He had his reasons for keeping his distance, but what were hers?
    She nodded. “Thanks.”
    He pulled into the driveway and made his way around to the back of the house where he usually parked. They climbed out, and he met her at the front of the car. She cast a quick glance over his shoulder toward the doors that led inside.
    “Nervous?” he asked.
    “A little.”
    He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “I’ve got you, Gemma, and you have nothing to be nervous about. In, out, and it will be over before you know it. Then you won’t have to see them for the rest of the summer.” At her slight chuckle, he asked, “What?”
    “Nothing. It was just something Andy had said earlier.”
    “You two go way back, huh?”
    “Yeah, since we were kids. She was always there for me when Mom…” She stopped talking, like she’d said too much. “She’s a good friend. The one person I can really count on.” She sucked in a quick breath and blinked, her mask back in place. She pushed past him. “Let’s get this over with, Sailor Boy.”
    His stomach tightened at that quick display of vulnerability. Dammit, he wanted to be the guy she could count on, the guy she trusted and went to when she needed something.
    What the hell?
    Even if he wanted more, it couldn’t work. They’d both made it perfectly clear that they were anti-marriage. He believed everyone wanted something from him, and she didn’t do close. He already knew she was a runner. Plus they were both leaving at the end of the summer.
    He turned and caught up to her. Keeping pace, he put an arm around her waist, and she settled against him. They slipped through the back door of the house, and entered one of the sitting rooms. Gemma shot a glance around, her eyes narrowing, as if she was trying to orient herself. Her gaze went to the large bay window overlooking the ocean, the exact spot she’d stood when Jason had given her a spiked drink.
    “You okay?”
    She let go of his hand and stepped up to a picture on a nearby table. She picked it up to examine it closer and ran her finger around the silver frame. Her nail tapped the glass. “Is this you?”
    He followed her to the window and smiled. “Yeah, that’s me and my granddad.” He drew a breath and let it out slowly. “I miss him.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “That’s okay. It was a while ago. We were really close and used to spend a lot of time together before he died.”
    A small smile curved her lips as warmth lit up her eyes. “That’s so nice.”
    He looked out toward the water, where his granddad’s sailboat still bobbed in the water. He pointed to it and she followed his gaze. “We use to hang out on his boat. Talk, fish, cruise out to Montauk Point… He’s the one who taught me how to sail.”
    She ran her fingers over the sill of the bay window. “There was a model boat here. Just like that one. It broke during the fight.”
    His jaw clenched. “Yeah. Granddad had it handcrafted and gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday.