He should not be teasing her, especially not in the suggestive way he was. It was too familiar, too sweet. It made them too close. Made him recall how much he was tempted by her. And made him remember just how much he’d lost when he’d broken up with her in such an abrupt way. It wasn’t fair, not for either of them. “I know what I should do,” he said with false brightness. “You do?” “I’ll go dump this water out for you. Stay here and I’ll be right back, okay?” “But your shoes are off.” She said that like it was a big deal. And made him realize that she, too, was just as affected by the sparks flying between them. “I’ll put them back on.” Eager to put some space between the two of them, he practically ripped the mop out of her hands and took it and the bucket back out the front door. Two minutes later, his feet were in his boots and he was tromping to the side yard and dumping a bucketful of dirty water onto a patch of dry-looking grass. He waited a moment, half expecting Micah or Neil to come out and fill him in on how things were going.
