Your Eyes Don't Lie by Rachel Branton

spoke, her eyes went to the laptop and the folder on the coffee table, and a frown creased her face. “Actually, I had a little work to do, and I, uh, don’t know exactly what time I went to bed.”
    He’d thought she was working as a waitress to get through school, but maybe she did accounting on the side. That could explain the folder. “In my experience, numbers don’t usually add up well in the middle of the night.”
    Her face swung toward his, the frown leaving. “You know what, you’re right. You are absolutely right.” To his surprise, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She didn’t seem the type to give out affection randomly, and he knew he’d made progress. Having her this close made his heart race. Her brown eyes were deep and endless, but it was the adorable crumb caught on the side of her cheek that intrigued him even more. He longed to catch it with his tongue, to taste her skin and find his way to her mouth, but he didn’t dare make a move for fear of startling her.
    “You should be grateful I waited clear until almost eight to leave home this morning,” he said, breaking the tension. He made a face. “Well, it might have been closer to seven thirty. Your neighbors are kind of close-mouthed and it took me a while to find you.”
    Her eyes widened and she bounced up from her end of the couch, consternation filling her face. “Oh, no! What time is it?”
    “Probably ten something by now.” He reached for his phone to check, but she was already up and running to the short hallway.
    “I overslept. I’ve got to get Nate! He’s always up early on Saturdays. I told him I’d be there by nine.” Her voice cut off with the closing of the door, but within seconds she was back wearing jeans with a hole in one knee and tucking in the black tank. She looked every bit a harried mother, a complete change from the sexy woman of the night before and the driven woman who had probably stayed up the rest of the night to finish a job. The variability intrigued him. Who was she really?
    “Do you see a boot over there? Or maybe a flip-flop? What about a single car key? Anything?” She rubbed her eyes.
    “Why don’t you call?” he said. “Tell him you’re coming.”
    “Right. Have you seen a phone?”
    He laughed. “Where’d you have it last?”
    “My dress!” She snapped her fingers and disappeared again down the hall.
    Harrison stood and began folding blankets, shaking them to look for keys. She had most definitely slept here last night—if she’d slept at all, given her apparent confusion. Unfortunately, her reasons for not sleeping hadn’t been because she’d been thinking about him. He still couldn’t believe she found numbers so fascinating. Maybe it was something else. His fingers touched the folder before he pulled them back, reining in his curiosity. He’d be going too far if he pried into her work, and he was determined not to ruin this. He couldn’t remember ever having a woman affect him this way, not even his ex in California, whose name he abruptly couldn’t remember.
    He grabbed another blanket and a set of keys fell to the floor. He held them up as she appeared in the adjoining kitchen. “That’s not it,” she said, moving aside several dirty plates that sat on the minuscule counter. “I mean, it should be, but I took off my car key last night so I could fit it in the pocket of my dress. I got home so it has to be here somewhere. I have a copy, but Nate has it in his backpack. It’s a long story, but that’s where I keep the backup.” She began emptying the pockets of her sweatshirt while he continued to shake out and fold the blankets. There were five, and he wondered why she’d needed so many when it definitely wasn’t cold this time of year.
    A clunk made him look up to see a small handgun on the counter. So he’d been right about the gun. What did she need one of those for? Then again, who was he kidding? She was a single mother living in a rough