She slid down his body and saw him wince when she grazed his erection.
“I’m not. Well, maybe that we aren’t somewhere a little more private.” Evan smiled at her, and the embarrassment she’d started to feel vanished as if it had never been. “So do you think if I asked you out for coffee, you might say yes this time?” He ran a hand through her hair, and she wanted to purr.
“Um, no.” She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. When he tensed, she added with a smile, “I think we should go to dinner instead.”
“That’s a terrific idea.” He kissed her again, with a tenderness that gave her all the feels. “I hate to do this, but I need to go before someone comes up here and sees how excited I am to be near you.”
She grinned. “Sometimes it’s good to be a girl.”
“Yeah.” He pulled away then turned and left without another word.
She heard his car start and looked out the front window. His car didn’t move, but she heard a text arrive.Dinner Friday night, my treat. Can I pick you up at six?
Happiness bubbled up through her. She sent back a few smiling emojis.
He finally drove away after a beep goodbye. Still too revved up to return to her brother and Lila, she decided to test out the shower.
And found that the hot water had come back on.
A pity because she could have used a spray of cold to shock her back down to earth.
She’d made out with Evan Griffith, had humped him in her kitchen, for God’s sake, and agreed to go out on a dinner date with the man Friday night.
What the hell was wrong with her?
Apparently nothing a little Evan couldn’t cure.
She turned the spray to cold and shivered until common sense returned.
* * *
Evan had no idea what had come over him. For the next three days, he drifted in a daze at the Hillford house, unsure if his experience with Kenzie had really been so awe-inducing. Had the sexy nature of the woman been exaggerated due to either his lack of a love life or hers?
Sometimes sex could seem earth-shattering in the moment, especially coming off a long dry spell. From what he gathered, Kenzie hadn’t been with anyone in a while. And he hadn’t either, not since Sheila more than six months ago. Just thinking about her made him cringe.
He didn’t like to judge anyone, but Sheila had done enough judging, trying to “fix” him, for them both.
Kenzie, though… He sighed.
“Oh my God, Evan. What is wrong with you?” Hector Jackson propped his hands on his hips, the ex-Navy sailor built like a brick house. They stood in the Hillfords’ crowded garage that teemed with massive furniture prepped to be moved. “You’ve been sighing and, I’m sorry to say, dreamy-eyed since Tuesday. It’s like your first teenage crush except you’re a dude and you’re thirty.”
“Thirty-one,” Evan said, his mood still buoyant. “Hector, I met someone. We hit it off right away.”
“Good for you, man.” Hector smiled, a slash of white in his dark face. Hector was easily the heart of the company. The man had served in the Navy alongside his twin brother. He had a work ethic that never quit, and he got along with everyone. Even Smith, most days. Women seemed to love him. He was a gentleman, strong, and humble. Dependable as the sun rising and a genuinely nice guy.
“Hector, how come you don’t have a wife or girlfriend?”
“You proposing, handsome?” Lafayette asked as he dropped off a small computer desk that had to weigh a hundred pounds at least. Evan had lifted it earlier and winced.
Hector laughed. “Easy, bro. Or I’ll tell Simon you’re flirting on the job.”
“I was just teasing, though I will say Evan’s been looking fine as shit lately. Must be love.” Hector’s identical twin, Lafayette, had the same good-natured vibe as his brother, and he could lift mountains without trying.
Evan smiled. “Thanks, Lafayette. You always know what to say.”
“That I do.” Lafayette grinned and went back for more.
Smith groaned as he dropped off two forty-five-pound plates with ease, emptying out the Hillfords’ exercise room. “For fuck’s sake, can we just move shit and stop all the chitchat?”
