Broken Open. Lauren Dane

her hand around the crook of his arm and didn’t make good choices at all. “I’m starving.”

      He led her just up the block to one of her favorite cafés.

      The hostess nearly walked into a post showing them to their table because she couldn’t tear her gaze from Ezra.

      “You were very sweet to her,” Tuesday murmured when the poor girl stumbled away after he’d thanked her.

      He ducked his head a moment before he stepped close. “Let me help you.”

      The backs of his fingers slid against the skin of her neck as he pulled her collar away and took the coat off.

      She closed her eyes a moment as a full-body shiver of delight rolled through her.

      “Thank you.”

      He hung hers up and got rid of his as she settled at the table. Flashing her a smile, he sat across from her as he unwound his scarf.

      “I like the beard,” she managed to say and surprised herself by not sounding breathy or wheezy even though he seemed to suck all the oxygen from the air around her.

      There was a spot she couldn’t seem to stop glancing at. Just below his ear at the curve of his jaw. She licked her lips rather than get up and kiss him there.

      She gripped the table instead, grateful it kept her out of licking distance.

      Then he stroked fingertips over the beard—a nervous habit—and she might have lost consciousness for just a brief moment.

      “Yeah? I’ve had one on and off. Wintertime is good for it.”

      Tuesday felt much the same way about her legs.

      “It suits you.” And framed his mouth. He had a great mouth.

      She deliberately looked away from him, down at her menu even though she knew exactly what she was going to order.

      She’d met Ezra Hurley back in September. Her best friend’s boyfriend had three brothers, all gorgeous and successful with immense personal charisma. Ezra was the last of the four she’d met but once he’d walked into the room he was all she’d seen.

      She’d seen him several times since as Natalie had got closer to Paddy and they’d been pulled into the Hurley family.

      Each time it had been that same shock of connection between them.

      They made small talk that wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward in any way until their food came.

      “Did you have a good Christmas?”

      “I did, actually. Got my fill of nieces and nephews. Played a lot of video games. Kids are a great way to avoid shopping trips.”

      “You don’t like to shop?”

      “With my mother and sister and all my sisters-in-law? At Christmas? No. I stayed back, drank mulled wine and played video games until the kids got sick of me and then I watched movies and enjoyed the silence.”

      “I have nieces, both under ten so I know the feeling.”

      Ezra was like a cat. Tuesday wanted his attention, but she was sort of a cat, too. Each of them brushed up against the other, naturally sort of aloof but totally digging on what the other had.

      “I can’t imagine what you must be thinking right now.” His mouth quirked up and she swallowed hard.

      “Do you really want to know?”

      He nodded.

      “I was just thinking about how you and I are like cats.”

      He cocked his head, thinking. “Aloof yet demanding?”

      She grinned. “Someone has cats.”

      “I’m not sure if they have me or if I have them.”

      “That’s a yes.”

      He tore apart a piece of bread and she had to bite the inside of her lip to pry her gaze away from his hands.

      She had a thing about hands and his were gorgeous and strong. Rough. Big.

      “How’s business? I imagine things are pretty busy during this time of year.”

      Tuesday owned and ran a custom framing business in downtown Hood River, Oregon. It wasn’t where she’d expected to end up but after her life had gone off the rails, it was this town on the Columbia River and her best friend Natalie, who’d finally given her a place to land.

      “The holidays are a good time. It’s also great for my custom jewelry.” Which was good because she had a huge family and birthdays alone killed her budget. “How goes ranching?”

      He looked across the table at her as the server took their food away. “I was thinking of dessert. You in?”

      She nodded. “Definitely. They have poached pears here that I love.”

      He grinned. “That so? Those are Hurley pears—did you know that?”

      Sweet Hollow Ranch wasn’t only the name of the band Ezra had founded with his brothers when they were still in their teens. It was the place the Hurleys lived. The land they worked.

      And apparently the source of the dessert she was about to order.

      “I didn’t know. That’s pretty nifty.”

      “I think so, too. If you order the pears, I’ll order the cheese plate. We can share. If that’s okay with you.”

      “More than okay. Sounds perfect.”

      They lingered over their coffee until most people had cleared out and the café got near closing time. He paid up and they gathered their things to clear out.

      “I hadn’t realized we’d been here so long.”

      He stood and helped her into her coat. “That’s the sign of a good dinner. When you have a great conversation and time gets away from you.”

      He opened the door for her and even though it was freezing, she got to look at him some more.

      His work boots crunched ice as they headed back to her car along the slippery sidewalk.

      She couldn’t recall any time in recent memory where she’d whiled away three hours over dinner and with someone she’d only met a few times.

      Something in him called to her. The shape of his eyes, the history in them, she supposed, a little dark and twisty. His lips, well, the bottom one had to be pillow soft. She’d thought about that issue in great detail. He had the hottest mouth she’d laid eyes on in a long time.

      Because she’d been thinking about his mouth she might have been distracted enough that she missed the dip in the sidewalk and started to slip. Not that any such thing needed to be admitted. It was cold and icy after all. Anyone could slip. Who could be expected not to think about Ezra’s bottom lip?

      “Whoa.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her back to her feet, standing very close to her as he did. He was so strong. The energy seemed to hum from him, bringing a shiver she couldn’t blame on the cold.

      “Are you okay?”

      His voice did things to her. A little sandpapery, but wrapped in caramel. It shouldn’t have even been possible to be both at the same time but it was. Every once in a while there’d be a burr and it snagged her attention—the pull—which was disconcerting and yet, it was really delicious, too.

      He did things to her head. He looked good and he oozed so much raw sensuality it made her tingly. He was handsome, yes, but there was something about him, something elemental that she found herself fascinated by.

      And now that she’d had him all to herself like this, she had to admit she wanted more.

      “That was close. Thanks for the save.”

      He paused, still standing near enough