She does as I ask, getting right back where she was. “Just that you’re different than I expected, and I can’t really explain it.”
“You’re different than I thought, too.” Better. Everything about her is better. “In a good way.”
“Oh. Same with you.” She blushes. “I just never thought you’d be interested in me.”
“Why’s that?” I’m not going to like this.
“You seem like the kind of guy who’d go for the tall blonde variety of woman.”
That’s my ex. “I like all kinds of women. Especially ones with curves.” I touch that little freckle on her arm again. “With freckles.”
“Wow. What are the odds you’d move in next door to someone just like that?” She snickers.
Brian, the guy who owns this house, told me about his “hot renter” once or twice. The first time I saw her, she was doing something in the backyard. Maybe she was retrieving that cat of hers. When she turned in my direction, my breath caught a little bit. While her body is lush and amazing, her face … well, I’m not sure I can find a word. Pretty, yes. Beautiful, definitely. But I think a better word for it is angelic.
“Why would a looker like you go for a guy like me?”
“Oh.” She tuts. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments.”
Maybe a little. “I’m not for everyone.”
“Every woman in the restaurant was staring at you.”
Every man was doing the same to her, but I feel like keeping that to myself.
“But I was with you.” I lean forward and kiss her upper arm. “Love those freckles.” I feel myself harden again. She must feel it, too, because her bottom wiggles around a little bit.
“My freckles turn you on?” Her expression is hilariously shocked.
“Everything about you turns me on.”
“You don’t know me well enough to say that. You may get to know me and find I’m quite annoying.”
“Annoyingly sexy.”
“Stop.” She’s frowning. “I mean it.”
“Well, the same is true for you.”
“I know.” She huffs.
“What’s going on, Colette?”
“This seems fast. I had no idea you even liked me. We know nothing about each other.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Tell me about your family.”
“I’ve got two brothers. Jesse is the youngest and Keith is two years older than me. They both live in Carmichael.”
She remains silent. I guess that means I need to keep going.
“I grew up there. My parents divorced when I was in high school. After my younger brother, Jesse, graduated from high school, my dad remarried and moved to Seattle, Washington. Mom still lives in the house we grew up in.”
“Are you and your brothers close?”
I nod. “We are, it’s just everyone is busy. My older brother is married with three kids. He works at the Carmichael Credit Union as a vice president.”
