Blair sits back in her chair, clicking a pen repeatedly and watching me move around the room. “What are you doing?”
“You hate the overhead light, but there’s no way straining to do work with this one shitty lamp on your desk is good for your eyes. AndobviouslyI want you to be able to see how handsome I am for many more years.” I flick the switch on the new desk light, filling the space with bright, warm light. “Better. Now keep working. You’re taking a lunch break as soon as I’m done.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and I give the sour look right back until she gives up and returns to work. And I continue on, plugging lamps in and putting together the fancy coffee machine I was finagled into buying at the store.
“Is that an espresso machine?” Blair wheels her chair over to where I’m unwrapping a package of coffee pods.
“Apparently so. I told the lady at the store that you needed a coffeemaker, so you don’t have to go out to buy coffee when you’re in the zone with work. And she insisted this was the only acceptable thing to buy.” I step back to look at it. “Although now I think she earns commission and saw an opportunity.”
“You do have the face of a sucker with a lot of money to spend.” Blair laughs, and I swear to God, I should record it to play on repeat forever. Sure would’ve made the morning of fixing fences a lot nicer.
“For sure. She looked at me and said, ‘This looks like a millionaire who works as a cowboy for the thrill of it.’ ”
Getting up from her seat, Blair slowly fingers the various controls on the machine. And I step in behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and breathing in the subtle scent of her hair. Resting my chin on her shoulder, the silky, light pink blouse catches on my short facial hair, and I press a kiss to her ear.
Blair relaxes into my arms, head falling back to rest against my collarbone. “She played you like a fiddle. What else did she convince you to buy, big spender?”
“A mini-fridge that’ll be here next week, so you can have snacks on hand to go with your coffee. Can’t have you jittery with an empty stomach.” I press my lips to her temple. “Otherwise, who knows? I could’ve bought a house with a Labrador retriever, for all I know. I think I blacked out.”
If only she knew what I’d do for her.Am doing.
“Damn, you must be rich if you bought a whole house without realizing.” Her eyes shine bright when she looks at me, a reflection of our combined emotions mixed with the warm glow of her five new lamps. “Thank you. This is too much, Denver. But thank you.”
“It’s not too much. It’s a little bit of my time, and a disgusting amount of money.”
“I owe you.”
“Bear, you don’t owe me shit. Taking care of you is my number one priority.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Of course you can. But when my mom was sick, you were there. You might not have realized it, but I wouldn’t have made it through that without you,” I say before planting a discreet kiss on her hair. “I couldn’t be who you needed before, and I regret not being there. But I can be here now. I want to be here.”
“Why now?”
“Because I know nobody else is looking after you. Noteven you.” I squeeze her until she groans, then guide her toward her desk. “Get back to work, baby. Let me take care of you.”
I move to turn on the espresso machine, and she practically becomes feral. She might throw elbows over the chance to make her own coffee, so I step back, putting my hands up in surrender.
“This has nothing to do with your last statement, and everything to do with me wanting to try out my new toy, for the record.”
“Did I create a monster unknowingly?”
She gives me an evil grin, hitting the power button.
I laugh. “Okay, you make the first one. But then I get to play sexy barista while you work.”
“Fine.” She flips pages in the manual and taps buttons on the machine, and in a matter of seconds, she’s making coffee.
The little moan when the first sip hits her lips makes the money spent more than worthwhile. And she heads over to her desk, cradling the steaming cup with both hands.
Flipping through the manual, trying to figure out what the hell she just made—and how—I glance up to see Blair leaning over her work, rather than sitting.
Goddamn.
Maybe I like her fancy work wardrobe more than I was first willing to admit. Because her wide-legged tan trousers are tight across her toned ass, and I can’t help but wonder how fucking hot it would be to have her in nothing but the high heels she’s wearing.
“Blair, you need to sit down, because I’m looking at you right now the same way you were looking at that coffee machine.”
