He wasn’t touching her, yet she felt his nearness. He was so much bigger than she was-she should have been afraid. She was nervous, but that was different.

Dinner, huh? It, ah, made sense. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Because, honestly, who would expect sex after replacing a cheap tire?

“Sorry,” she said, dropping her gaze to the center of his chest. “I thought you were…”

“I got that. I wasn’t. I wouldn’t.”

Wouldn’t what? Want sex with her? Not that she was doing that sort of thing these days, or for many days to come, but why was he so able to dismiss her? She might be wholesome, but she was kind of pretty. And smart. Smart counted, didn’t it?

Maybe he had a girlfriend. Maybe he was engaged. Maybe he was gay.

That last thought made her smile. Somehow she didn’t think Walker was gay.

“Let’s start over,” he said. “I bought the tire because I didn’t think yours could take one more patch. Randy charged me forty-five dollars for it. I’ll accept the pie and money. You can continue to pay me back as slowly as you’d like. Forget what I said about dinner, okay? The money is fine.”

He was doing everything right. So why did she want to argue with him?

“That works for me,” she said.

“Then we have a deal.”

He shifted the pie to his left hand and held out his right so they could shake on it.

She pressed her palm against his and nodded. “Good.”

His fingers were warm and strong. She felt a little quiver low in her belly. The unexpected reaction made her pull away and take a step back.

Danger came in all shapes and sizes. This particular form was big, powerful and far too sexy for her peace of mind. She still had thirteen years of celibacy ahead of her. Hanging around with Walker wasn’t going to make it easy.

Not that they were hanging. Nope. Not a single hang here.

“I should, ah, go,” she murmured as she edged around him and started down the stairs. “Enjoy the pie.”