They avoided any discussion of the kiss or the spark between them, or anything of substance for two full days. Connor walked a fine line between longing and wanting to run like hell before he got in too deep.

The days played out in a standard pattern. They got up and she went to work but instead of answering calls from the comfort of her house, she did it from a small desk in Ben’s office. To avoid hearing her complain, Connor stayed away, doing odd jobs for people he barely knew who assumed he was handy. And tried in vain to relax. Sleep and rest didn’t come easy when he spent most of the night dreaming of the woman one short ladder away.

Not that the days passed easier. Maddie grew restless. She insisted that his cabin was a safe enough place for her work. This morning she snapped because he said he didn’t like crunchy peanut butter. She took the offhand comment as a personal affront. Acted like he’d kicked a puppy.

Yeah, they needed some space . . . or a long talk about the kiss and the possibility for a repeat, maybe with some touching thrown in. The tension strangled both of them.

He contemplated the options while he sat in his car in the Whitaker library parking lot. He’d dropped Maddie off at Ben’s office next door for the new workday, listening to her grumble as she got out of the car. He’d only driven a few feet away before pulling into an empty space. That’s all he could manage while memories of her cute pajamas floated through his mind.

He let his head fall back against the seat. His eyes closed, but only for a second before they shot open again. Coffee. He needed more coffee. Maybe a pep talk from Sylvia.

He straightened up, ready to turn the car back on and really drive away this time, when he saw her. She’d been inside all of two minutes and now she walked out the front door and snuck around the side away from him. Didn’t look up. Didn’t wait for Ben to follow.

What the hell?

He slipped out of the car and jogged to the edge of the building. Toyed with the idea of grabbing Ben, but Maddie moved at a clip. He couldn’t afford to waste time and lose her.

After a few feet, she scooted off any recognizable path. She wound her way through the trees. She stopped only once and that was to tie her shoe. One quick glance around and she was off again. Sure that she was messing with him, he waited behind the tree for a few extra seconds. When he peeked around it again, it took him almost a minute to find her. Her jacket hood flapped, but the olive coat otherwise blended in with the bushes and grass.