Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

“About Josiah? No. No, definitely not. Not at all.”

Ledger snorted.

I glared at him. “What was that about?”

He didn’t look up from his phone. “You obviously like him.”

“I didn’t think you were listening.”

He just shrugged.

Sandra raised her eyebrows.

“There’s really nothing to tell. I guess we’re friends but that’s it.”

“Okay,” she said, going back to her work.

I could tell she didn’t believe me.

I wasn’t sure that I believed me.

But I wasn’t lying. There wasn’t anything going on between us. Sure, I thought about him all the time and daydreamed about hugging him—and other things—but nothing was actually happening.

Maybe the point was, deep down, I wanted something to happen. I really liked Josiah Haven and not just because he’d helped me clean off a gross dog, or carried me down the hill on his back, or because he was willing to hang out with Max today. I liked him because he was gruff and stoic and sexy and surprisingly sweet under that surly lumberjack exterior.

I’d half admitted it to Marigold already. Maybe it was time I started fully admitting it to myself.

I decided to take a quick walk to get my head back on straight before I finished up for the day. After a little fresh air and an afternoon coffee from the Steaming Mug down the street, I was able to refocus on work. I finished up shortly after five and it was time to head home.

My heart raced on the drive back to my house. I didn’t know why. Was it the anticipation of seeing Josiah that had me all jumpy? If that was the case, this crush I’d developed was escalating out of control way too quickly. I needed to get ahold of myself or I was going to be a babbling idiot.

Calm down, Audrey. You’ve got this.

When I got home, I parked in my driveway. Josiah’s garage door was closed and I wasn’t sure if he still had Max next door or if he’d brought him home. I decided to check my house first.

I opened the door and as soon as I peeked inside, I almost swooned. Like a legitimate old-school Hollywood starlet swoon that would have had me on the floor.

Josiah was sound asleep on the couch with Max spread out over his legs. Max cracked one eye open but apparently my arrival wasn’t exciting enough to entice him to move from his spot snuggled up with Josiah. I couldn’t say I blamed him.

It was so adorable, I quickly fished my phone out of my purse and took a few pictures. Then I set my things down, right as Josiah started to stir.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes, like he couldn’t quite remember where he was. He grunted and when he spoke, his voice was husky with sleep. “Oops.”

“Sorry if I woke you.”

Max grudgingly rolled off him and jumped onto the floor when Josiah moved his legs. Then he seemed to realize mama was home. His tail wagged and he darted around me, sniffing with excitement.

“Hi, Max. Nice to see you, too.” I crouched down to give him a good pet.

Josiah grunted again as he sat up, then stretched. “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

I stood. “That’s okay. Max is pretty snuggly. It’s easy to do.”

He got up and straightened his t-shirt. “He was fine today. Didn’t roll in anything.”

“That’s good. Thanks again for your help.”

“No problem.”