Flirting with Destiny

Apparently not.

“You okay?”

Dev blinked, realizing he’d been staring at the empty water bottle held tight in his hand. As he eased his grip, the plastic crinkled and popped back into place. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Mac only nodded as he rose and cleaned up his mess. He downed the rest of his water bottle then grabbed two more from the refrigerator, tossing one at Dev. “Not to change the subject, but are you sure you want to sit in on this pincushion session?”

No, he wasn’t, but it was better than heading home and dealing with his brothers and the secret they’d kept from him for the past month. “Sure. Why not? Just don’t expect me to change my mind.”

“About working with Tanya?”

Just the sound of her name lightened Dev’s mood. “Not necessarily.”

Mac shot him a dark look as they headed out the back door and across the yard, following a well-worn path to the cabin. “Why? You’ve already said you’re not interested in any of her methods.”

No, he wasn’t, at least not anything that had to do with needles or munching on foreign plants. He didn’t have any idea what that left in her bag of tricks, other than a massage, of course, but there’d been something about the tone of her voice when she’d spoken of her work.

She believed in what she did.

He used to feel that way about flying. About being a part of the Destiny Fire Department’s volunteer squad. Two pieces of his life that were gone now. The burning aches across his shoulders, hips and down one leg were constant reminders of that fact.

And he had no one to blame but himself, no matter what that damn report said.

Dev could see his friend was waiting for an answer, but they’d arrived at the cabin so he only said, “Let’s just say she intrigues me.”

“Look, seeing how Tanya and I have just started to rebuild our relationship, I don’t have any right to say this...” Mac paused, one foot on the low porch that ran the length of the cabin. He glanced at the closed front door for a moment, then turned to him. “But I’m going to anyway.”

Dev waited, not sure how he’d respond if Mac came right out and asked him to not to spend time with Tanya in any way, shape or form.

Up until this moment, he would’ve done anything his friend asked of him. Except fly.

And now, stay away from Tanya.

He had no idea why someone he’d just met fascinated him so much, but she was the first woman in the past year to make him feel like his old self, and he couldn’t walk away from that.

“Telling you to stay away from my granddaughter would be like telling kids to keep out of the penny candy aisle at Packard’s Store,” Mac continued, his voice low. “But she’s had a rough time of it for the past few months. I don’t know the details, but she’s been pretty down since the holidays. Until she found out about being accepted for this advanced schooling thing.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“I don’t want anything—or anyone—to get in the way of her going to London.”

“Hey, all I said was I’m intrigued. You know, in learning more about her work. Spending time with an interesting lady. That’s it.”

“Don’t break her heart.”

Tanya’s heart was the least of her body parts that interested him. Not that he didn’t care about a lady’s feelings. He’d always made it clear to anyone he got involved with that he was a here-and-now kind of guy, and not someone to get serious with. “Me? I’m a confirmed bachelor. You know that.”

Mac sighed. “As long as you remember that, and the fact I’ll break you in two if you hurt her, we’re good.”

* * *

A confirmed bachelor?

Well, at least that answered the wife and kids question that had been running through her head the entire time she’d showered and changed.

She’d reached the front door in time to catch the end of Mac and Dev’s conversation. Hearing her grandfather’s warning made Tanya smile, but it was unnecessary.

There was no way Devlin would hurt her. After what she’d gone through over the holidays, no one could ever wound her that way again.

Especially since she had no one to blame but herself.

Tanya reached for the old brass knob, but then remembered her hair still hung loose around her shoulders. Ignoring the fact it was still damp, she combed it back into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band from her wrist, finishing the same moment that Mac knocked.

Tugging the door open, she saw the guilty looks on both men’s faces but said nothing, not letting on that she’d overheard them. “Hey, I just finished dressing and was about to head over to the house to look for you two.”

“Well, here we are.” Mac offered a grin, reaching for the screen door. “Ready whenever you are.”

She stepped back and let them enter, watching Devlin’s face as he took in the cabin’s interior, from the curtains drawn against the afternoon sun to the soothing music and lit candles. The air carried a hint of sandalwood and vanilla, scents that Mac had said he liked the last time she’d worked on him.

Her portable massage table, draped in a white sheet and a light blanket, was set up in the middle of the room. The best place for it, seeing how the cabin was a wide-open space with a kitchen along the back wall, a distressed table and chairs separating the cooking area from the living room.

His gaze roamed the room, flinching a moment when he noticed the tools of her trade, a hand-carved wooden box, lid open and packaged needles in sight, on the dining table. Then he moved on, pausing for a long moment on the old iron bed in the far corner, half hidden by a set of folding screens.

“Wow, the old cabin sure looks different from the last time I was here.” Dev turned to face her. “I hardly recognize the place.”

“You’ve stayed here before?”

“A time or two over the years.” His mouth hitched into a half grin. “And you’re right about that mattress. It is a bit lumpy.”

Tanya’s cheeks heated for the second time today. A heat that raced the length of her despite the fact she was dressed in simple beige lounge pants, a white tank top and a matching lightweight knit cardigan.

Suddenly she wanted to wrap the sides of the sweater across her chest, but she settled for crossing her arms. “Yes, well, I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”

“You should’ve said something. We can replace it if you want,” Mac said.

“Don’t be silly.” She broke free of Dev’s gaze and walked to the dining table, reaching out to rearrange the supplies that were already in perfect order. “I’m only going to be here for a couple of months.”

“The old couch is pretty comfortable.” Dev headed for the piece of furniture and Tanya turned to watch him, noticing how he favored his right leg even more than before. “But it looks too clean to sit on now.”

“White is Tanya’s favorite color. Once I knew she was coming to visit, I gave the walls and the kitchen cabinets a fresh coat of white paint,” Mac said, walking over to join her. “Ursula helped with the decorating, everything from the white denim slip covers to the dishes.”

“Let me guess. You like vanilla ice cream best?”

She dropped her arms. “Actually, I prefer oatmeal cookie chunk. And fixing this place up for me was totally unnecessary, but much appreciated.”

“Not if you’d seen it in the before state.” Dev’s gaze wandered the length of her body. “Trust me, the after is a step up, even if it’s a bit...unexciting.”

“I prefer peaceful, tranquil.” Tanya pushed the words from her mouth, refusing to believe her sudden breathlessness had anything to do with the interest she saw in Devlin’s blue eyes.