Free McIver's Mission by Brenda Harlen

kind of empathy or compassion. That was the most logical explanation.
After all, these feelings had only begun to stir when he'd comforted her
through an emotional trauma.
    Like hell, he thought. He was a man, pure and simple,
and seeing how nicely Arden filled out those tidy little suits she habitually
wore, watching her sexy lips curve into a soft smile, seeing the lingering hint
of sadness in her eyes, the sparkle of quick joy when she laughed, reminded him
of that fact. And that he'd been sleeping alone for far too long now.
    An attraction to any other woman he might have pushed
away. But Arden was practically family, and that made him wary. If he decided
to pursue this, and he wanted to, he'd have to watch his step. Either one of
them ending up hurt wasn't an option, not when they were destined to cross
paths in the future.
    "Why would it be a mistake to have sex with
her?" Colin repeated the question.
    "She's … complicated," Shaun responded at
last.
    "Complicated." Colin grinned again.
"Unlike the two-dimensional women you've dated since Jenna?"
    "They weren't all two-dimensional," he felt
compelled to protest.
    "All except my wife," Colin said dryly.
    "Nikki is one of a kind."
    "So is Arden."
    Shaun nearly dropped his beer. "Arden?"
    "It is Arden, isn't it?" Colin
pressed.
    "What's Arden?" Shaun asked cautiously.
    "The woman you're not having sex with."
    "No," Shaun said quickly. Too quickly.
    Colin took a long swallow from his own bottle.
"You are having sex with Arden?"
    "Of course not."
    "Then what's going on?"
    "Nothing." It wasn't really a lie; it just
wasn't the whole truth.
    "It didn't look like nothing when the two of you
were cozied up in the kitchen."
    "I was helping her with the cake."
    "Yeah, that's what it looked like." Colin's
voice dripped with sarcasm. "I'm surprised the ice cream didn't melt with
all the heat you two were generating."
    "I don't know what you're talking about."
    "Fine. We can play it that way," Colin said.
"But if you break her heart, I'll have to hurt you."
    "You're my brother," Shaun said,
unaccountably irked.
    Colin nodded. "And Arden is the closest thing
Nikki has to a sister. They grew up together. And maybe I feel I owe Arden for
the years she was there for Nikki and Carly when I
wasn't."
    "I was there, too," Shaun reminded him.
    "But Arden is Nikki's best friend as well as her
cousin, which means there's a lot more at stake here than your getting
laid."
    "It's not just about sex," Shaun said.
Although he hadn't given up hope that sex might be a fringe benefit of his
developing relationship with Arden, he was genuinely concerned about her and
whatever had put that haunted look in her eyes the night they'd had dinner
together. He knew that it hadn't just been about Denise and Brian, and he was
determined to get to the root of her fear. And to find out if there was any
connection between her wariness and her windows being shot out. "Besides,
there's nothing going on between me and Arden."
    Colin's cocky grin faded. "I know it's none of my
business—"
    "Then back off."
    "She's been through a lot, Shaun. More even than
I know."
    Shaun had suspected as much. He sensed there were
scars that ran deep. He wanted to know why. He wanted her to open up to him.
And he wanted her.
    "I can't give you any assurances about what might
or might not happen," Shaun said. "But I care about her." More
than he was ready to admit, even to himself.
    Colin nodded. "I guess that's good enough for
now."
    "What's good enough for now?" Nikki asked,
stepping out onto the porch and into the cool early-October evening.
    Shaun flashed his brother a warning look. The last
thing he needed was for Nikki to mention to Arden that he'd been talking to
Colin about her. Arden would be furious. Not that he could really blame her.
She'd made it clear that she didn't want Nikki worrying about her, and he knew
Nikki would worry if she thought there was something going on between her
cousin and her brother-in-law.
    "Shaun's