Gage thumbed the remote door opener for the two-bay garage tucked under one side of the house. Light flooded from the space, spilling out onto the stone driveway. The garage was vacant except for a couple of kayaks stowed on one wall rack, and two bikes on another.

Elena was about to tuck her phone back into her purse when a new message caught her eye, this one from Zoe, her friend in California who’d attempted to collect her things from Tomas’s house that morning. Unable to ignore Zoe, who’d been even more distressed than her about not making it past Tomas’s fiancée, Elena clicked open the message while Gage shut off the vehicle and came around to her side of the Land Rover.

He opened her door and offered his hand, the simple courtesy reminding her she was being rude to keep checking her phone.

“My apologies.” Bracing herself for the thrill of his touch before taking his hand, she gripped her phone in the other. “I just saw a text from my friend in Los Angeles and I wanted to thank her for her efforts to obtain my things from my old house, even though her mission wasn’t a success this morning.”

“Of course.” Gage’s touch didn’t linger once she was on her feet, and Elena couldn’t deny that she missed it. “It’s been a long day, and I’m sure you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

Perhaps she should be relieved that Gage wasn’t pressing the issue of taking their relationship further this evening. Especially when he’d already done her a tremendous kindness in that valuable introduction. No doubt, her feelings were a confusing knot. His willingness to give her space was welcome, and yet she thought about his touch whenever she wasn’t actively experiencing it.

That didn’t bode well for maintaining her boundaries.

He held the door to the house for her and they went inside, passing through a mudroom before entering the kitchen. They’d been in the house only briefly earlier, mostly focused on stowing their bags. Now, Elena took in the gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and custom maple cabinetry. Industrial-looking pendant lamps went well with the French country decor, the contrast of antique and modern style giving the room character. Red accents in the leather bar stools and the knobs on the Wolf range broke up the natural tones of the tan granite and ivory-colored travertine floor.

“Your friend Desmond maintains a beautiful property,” she observed, stepping out of her shoes to pad barefoot toward the countertop. The granite was spotless, and there was a hint of lemon cleaner in the air. It was so different from the crappy temporary apartments she’d bounced around in as a kid.