That night, Rosie dreamed about Link. She knew it was a dream because Link had howled back at the wolves in the distance. When he turned back to her, he said, “My brother is on his way.” Then he turned to her and pulled her close.
Just as they were about to kiss, she woke up with a start of surprise. With her eyes wide open, she could make out the shadows dancing across her ceiling as the cars drove past on the street below. Her heart continued to race as she thought about Link’s lips descending onto hers. She imagined how soft and sexy those lips would feel. She always loved it when a man had some scruff on his face, and Link’s would do just fine.
When her alarm went off, she was more than ready to take a cold shower to cool off her steamy thoughts. She would definitely have to get a grip on herself before Link showed up at her door. Otherwise, she would surely embarrass herself with her vivid imagination. Besides, Link had plenty of opportunities to make a pass at her if he were interested, yet all he did was play with her emotions by talking.
No, she needed to keep her boundaries clear where he was concerned. Rather than getting ready, her mind kept returning to the weirder parts of her dream. It had all felt so real, yet none of it really made sense.
“How come you’re not even dressed? Link’s going to be here in a couple of minutes.” Eliana stood in front of the couch, arms crossed and head tilted to the side. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I just didn’t sleep well last night.” Pushing herself from the couch, she stood. “I’ll be ready in five minutes. If Link gets here, just offer him some coffee or something.” Rosie headed off to her room, her head preoccupied with strange images and unsolved mysteries.
“I don’t think he drinks coffee,” Eliana called after her. “Just hurry up.”
As the words left her mouth, a knock sounded on the door. With a sigh of exasperation, she went to answer the door. It was no shock to see Link there, but it was amusing to see him holding Rosie’s purse most awkwardly. Reaching out and taking it from him, she said, “Oh, good, Rosie’s been missing this. Come inside; she’ll be ready in a minute.”
Link stepped over the threshold, finally free of the bright pink handbag. When he had discovered it in his truck, he had no idea how he would keep it out of sight of his pack members. Of course, Zack spotted it right away and laid into him about getting involved. No amount of explaining the situation would get him to shut up. He ended up leaving earlier than planned just to get away from Zack’s incessant nagging.
By the time Link made himself comfortable on the couch, Rosie rushed out of her bedroom, buttoning the top button on her sweater. “Sorry I’m late,” she said, coming to a stop when her eyes took in Link’s sexy form sprawled out on her couch. He really did make those jeans look amazing. Of course, just by the tilt of his head, she could tell he already knew he looked good. Rather than feed into his ego, she turned away to talk to Eliana. “Are you ready?”
“Yep. Link brought something back for you,” Eliana stated, holding up the pink purse.
“Oh, thank goodness!” Turning back to Link, she gave him her most winning smile of appreciation. “I don’t know what made me forget it yesterday. I guess I wasn’t too worried about it since we’d already planned on meeting up today. All the same, I’m glad to have it back. I’m ready to go whenever you all are.” She glanced first at Link and then over to Eliana, knowing she had begun blabbering to fill the silence.
“Great. The truck’s right out front.” Link picked himself up from the low couch, his body taking up much of the free space in the small living room.
Rosie had forgotten just how big of a man he really was in such a short time. No wonder she had felt safe with him even in the wilderness at night. Suppressing a grin at the memory of her running for the truck, she led the way out of the house.
When they got to the car, Eliana called dibs on the back seat. With a wink at Rosie, she thanked Link for getting her door. While he walked around to let himself in, she leaned forward and said, “It must have been cozy sleeping in here with him.”
“Shut up!” Rosie hissed, just as Link let himself in. She turned to face forward, her cheeks blazing with embarrassment.
“I feel like I missed something,” Link teased after taking one look at Rosie’s stiff expression, then peering into the rearview mirror and seeing Eliana’s wide smile.
“Forget about it. Just drive,” Rosie replied.
Instead of letting the silence draw out, Link asked, “What did you think of the treehouse?”
“As if you don’t already know. I wish there was something we could call it besides a treehouse. People will always have the childhood image in their minds and not get the grand scale that you actually create. I think you’re making it harder on yourself by not rebranding.”
“Oh, yeah? What would you suggest I call them?”
“Treetop luxury living?” She tapped her chin as she tried to come up with something more catchy.
“I guess that’s something to consider. In the meantime, I’ll keep getting my clients the old-fashioned way. Word of mouth has worked out great. Now with this new deal on the table, I’ll have more than enough work to keep me busy. Heck, I might even purchase the first home to keep as a show/tour home.”
“That’d be pretty cool actually,” Eliana piped in, leaning forward until her face was between the two front seats.
“I know I’d love living there,” he added, then glanced side-long over at Rosie. “What about you? Would you consider living there?”
“What’s to consider? The place looked better than any penthouse I’ve ever been to in the city.”
“Well, that’s just it. It’s not in the city. Would that be a problem?”
Rosie took a deep breath, trying to weigh the pros and cons of it all. “It’d certainly be cheaper to live outside the city, but I’d miss all of the perks of being in the hub of things.”
“Like what?” Link truly wanted to know.
“Take-out food at any hour of the night.”
“Really? You’re worried about getting food delivered?”
“Hey, it’s a big deal to someone like me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Mostly because I don’t cook at all.”
“I can totally vouch for that. She offered to make me a grilled cheese sandwich, and what she put on the plate looked more like charcoal. It was completely inedible.”
“See if I offer to cook for you again,” Rosie crossed her arms, sulking slightly in her seat. Then she brightened, “So, you see? Takeout is a problem.”
Before they knew it, they had pulled up to Scott and Liz’s house, parking in their driveway. Link came around and opened both of the passenger doors to let the ladies out. No sooner had he closed their doors, when Scott appeared at his front door.
“Eliana! Thank goodness you arrived just now. Come quick, Liz needs help.”
“Is it the baby? What’s wrong?” Without waiting for an answer, Eliana took off running to get inside. Scott immediately followed her, leaving Link and Rosie standing outside, still gaping in awe.
“C’mon, let’s hurry and find out what’s going on.” Rosie pulled on Link’s hand, rushing him along.
No sooner had they found everyone in the living room, Liz called out, “Rosie, please get the quiche out of the oven before they burn.”
Rosie took off toward the kitchen. If she hurried, then she would be able to get back to Liz and find out what had gone on. Until then, she needed to alleviate any stress which this food might be causing her best friend.
Eliana looked up in alarm and added, “Liz’s going to be fine. Link, you might want to help Rosie, or else she might end up burning down the house.”
“Right, I’m on it,” he replied. He entered the kitchen just as Rosie began opening the oven door. “Hey, let me get that. I don’t want you getting burned.”
She raised one eyebrow and turned to give him a scathing look. “You don’t think I can handle getting a pan out of the oven?”
“Hey, Eliana told me to help, and that’s what I plan on doing. Now, step aside so I can get that out of the oven before they go up in flames.”
Not so graciously, Rosie did as she was told. With arms folded across her chest, she glared at Link’s back as he bent down to pull out the tray of tiny quiches. When he set the hot pan on the island next to her, she barely moved to give him space.
No sooner had he let go of the tray than he shifted his body until he stood directly in front of her. With one arm on each side of her, effectively pinning her against the countertop, he leaned forward until his face was only an inch from hers. His eyes moved down to look at her lips.
Rosie felt her breath catch in her throat. No longer did her expression show any disapproval; this was a moment of her fantasies. It almost mirrored the dream she had had the night before. Gently biting her lower lip, she looked up into his eyes, seeing something sparkle which she had not seen before.
He leaned even closer until she could feel his breath on her mouth. More than anything, she wanted to close the distance between them; she wanted to feel his lips caressing hers. She wanted to know that Link felt the same about her as she did for him.
“Oh, excuse me. I forgot you were still looking for Mr. Right.” Link stood back, turned, and left the kitchen without even glancing behind him.
Rosie’s eyes grew round with disbelief. Had he really just played her like a fiddle? Why had she fallen for his obvious ploy to get under her skin? Had she admitted to herself that she might have feelings for Link? She hardly even knew the man, yet she had been more than willing to kiss him.
Letting go of the breath which had felt trapped in her lungs, she pushed herself away from the counter. With a heavy heart and step, she followed Link out of the room. She needed to find out what had happened to Liz to make Scott so anxious.
By the time she entered the living room, Liz was sitting up on the couch, laughing with her guests. Rosie rushed over to hug Liz and ask, “What happened when we got here?”
Liz looked up at Scott with a scornful expression. “Nothing happened, but Scott got overly concerned when I told him I thought I was having a contraction.”
“Contraction? Isn’t it too early for that?”
“Good grief, Rosie. You’re just as bad as Scott. If either of you had let me finish, you would’ve heard me say it was a Braxton Hicks contraction, which is something my doctor told me would start happening at this stage.”
Feeling much relieved, Rosie sat next to Liz, not leaving any space between them. More than anything, she wished she could have some time alone with Liz to talk about the whirl of emotions rushing through her. Liz did not even know about the incident with Link’s truck or the fateful night spent outside.
Not for the first time, Rosie really missed having her best friend living close-by and available for girl-talk whenever the need arose. Now she just felt selfish. Here she was, thinking about herself when Liz might have been having a medical emergency. She felt like the worst friend in the world.