Willow froze with the lights halfway up to the nail, unable to tear her attention away from those thick, muscled shoulders.
Each flex and pull of hard steel was far more interesting than this disorganized mess.
Speaking of mess, she only had—she threw a look at the wall clock—eighty-three minutes left. She was the queen of micromanaging milliseconds, and by her estimate, she had a good ten seconds to stare at the beautiful SEAL.
But Decker wasn’t just rugged good looks and a perfect body. He was a great guy, the kind who gave up his Saturday to hold up the other end of everything she was trying to do.
She forced herself to tear her gaze from him and focus on the lights.
When he stepped closer to the ladder, he only had to tilt his head a little bit to meet her gaze, and she was tall for a woman.
If he reached up, he could plant his hands on her hips.
Butterflies took flight in her stomach, making it hard to remember the twinkle lights, the baby shower or even her own name.
Somehow, she managed to loop the string over another nail before climbing down. She moved the ladder a few feet and climbed up again.
He watched her as if he had something to say. With Decker, she’d learned it was best to give him space, and she always found what he did say was worth waiting for.
“You get any more gifts? Honey? Books?”
His question threw her.
Her fingers tensed on the ladder she clung to, and she could only blink at him, thrown by the shift she wasn’t expecting.
He’d asked her about the honey on the ride back from town. She’d managed to evade a direct answer—a skill she picked up from years of dealing with big brothers. In her eyes, the honey was nothing.
Except it made her uneasy.
Then there was the mystery book…
“No.” Avoiding his stare, she hooked another light over a nail.
“You tell your brothers?”
She climbed down, the ladder creaking as it shifted. “No, and I don’t plan to. There’s nothing to tell them. It was a jar of honey, Decker.”
His gaze held hers. “And a book.”
She pulled another strand of lights through her fingers, trying not to give him any reason to raise an alarm. The last thing she wanted was the entire Malone family firing questions at her.
“Any idea who they’re from?”
“A secret admirer?” She wobbled her head in playful manner, turning the whole thing into a joke.
But Decker wasn’t buying it, if that ticking tendon in his jaw told her anything.
God, was it sexy too.
She stepped around the ladder and thrust the coil of lights into his hands. “Look, if you’re serious about helping…”
“I am.”
“Then help. Tall guy jobs.” She angled her chin toward the windows. “Twinkle this place like it’s a Pinterest board.”
“No idea what that is, but…copy.” He took the strand and reached up without needing the ladder, hooking lights easilyover the nails she’d tapped in last night. He moved with efficient, quiet precision, and every time she glanced over, more of the room had changed. Bulbs winked to life along the window, the shadows softened, and the dingy winter morning became something magical.
Willow got the streamer fan started on the other wall, taping pastel ribbons in every color of the rainbow at measured intervals so they’d fall in graceful loops.
