Free 30 Nights by Christine D'Abo Page B

stumble backward. The cards fell between us and I immediately went into a panic.
    “Oh no!”
    “Let me help.” It wasn’t Sasha, but Eric who dropped into a squat beside me. “Are these the research cards you pulled together for me?”
    I couldn’t be sure, but he moved so quickly gathering them I didn’t think Sasha had a chance to see what was printed on them. I blinked back unexpected tears and laughed. “Yeah. Sorry, I meant to give them to you when I arrived.”
    “That’s my fault, Professor Morris. I scooped her up the minute she got here.”
    Eric stood up, helping me in the process. “It’s fine. Glenna was helping me out as a favor. Is it fine if I keep these, or did you need to do something else with them?”
    I couldn’t think of any reason to keep them, so I smiled and hoped I didn’t look insane. “Oh no, they’re all yours.”
    “Thank you, then.” Without looking at them, he tucked them into his shirt pocket, so only the tops were visible.
    Sasha looked between us. “Well then. Thanks again, Glenna. Be sure to eat something.”
    Without thinking I stepped to the food table and blindly filled my plate. I was throwing a pile of croutons on my salad when a bottle of beer was held out for me. Naturally, it was Eric.
    “You look like you needed this.” His smile was tiny, but it did wonderful things to his eyes to make them sparkle and ease the tension that normally hugged him. “If it helps, I don’t think she saw anything.”
    “Thank you.” I drank down half the bottle before I even realized it. “That was nearly the most mortifying thing that has ever happened to me in my life.” I took another long drink and finished off most of the bottle. “Wow, I didn’t realize I was that thirsty.”
    Or apparently horny. Standing this close to him, my body tingled with awareness. My skin, already hot from the sun and the grill, vibrated. Or else that was the result of my almost panic attack. He had this wonderful smell of sunscreen, cologne, and sunshine. It was also the first time in the past year that he actually looked relaxed. Maybe he was simply one of those people who took his job super seriously and tried to block distractions out.
    Which made me a distraction that he was failing to ignore.
    Oh. I really liked that.
    “That’s an interesting grin.” He took a swig of his beer and guided me away from the food. “It makes me wonder what you’re thinking.”
    So not going down that road. “Just happy to have been able to help Rachelle. She’s awesome, but is having a hard time with her son. Teenagers are terrifying.”
    Eric made a humming noise deep in the back of his throat. He leaned in next to my ear as we continued toward the back of the crowd. “I thought you were thinking about these cards of yours.” And he patted his pocket that held them.
    I stopped dead in my tracks. “Pardon?”
    No one was paying us any attention. The closest group to where we stood was currently engaged in a debate about something or other and laughing as they drank and ate. Sasha was over talking to one of the registrar assistants and surveying the fruits of her social committee’s labors. There was no reason for me to be nervous about having this conversation with him.
    Nope, none at all.
    Still, I looked everyone over, just to make certain.
    “I was being serious earlier. If you want these back, they’re yours. The last thing I want is for you to feel pressured.”
    He was reaching for them, but I gave my head a small shake. “It’s fine. But there’s no way we can look at them here. Despite what you said, Sasha is curious and would probably want to know what they were if we started looking at them intently. I don’t want her to see them and think they’re a party game or something.”
    “You’ve grown quite attached to them, haven’t you?” There was an odd note in his voice. Admiration? No, that couldn’t be right.
    “I guess I have in a way. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering