“See?” I rubbed her snout.
Phoenix smiled, his eyes twinkling in a way I’d never seen before. A real, genuine smile. It was spectacular. Stunning, and it sent my pulse beating a bit faster.
I looked at the half-chopped tree in my backyard.
“Have you been here since after our appointment this afternoon?”
“Made a stop first.” That lingering look, again.
I cocked my head. “You okay?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On how this evening goes.”
“Sounds loaded.”
“Could be.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not in the mood for mind games right now.”
“Ironic, considering that’s your job.” He winked.
I rolled my eyes and turned to the woodpile, pretending not to notice the heat building between us, or how much I craved that damn mouth on mine again.
“You’ve done too much. Really, thank you. Seriously.” I looked back at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He nodded toward the house where a huge stack of wood leaned against the brick. “It’ll take some time to get the rest of this chopped up but you’ve got enough to last you for the next few cold nights. And, yes, each piece is cut in the exact same dimensions, and stacked in perfect symmetry.”
I slapped his arm. “I’m notthatneurotic.”
“I noticed there were no logs inside yesterday.” Of course he’d noticed. “Where’s your current stack?”
“Current stack of what?”
“Newspapers.Wood,Rose, where’s your current stack of wood?”
“Oh. Well, I’ve, ah, never used the fireplace.”
He looked at me as if I’d sprouted wings.
“Have you ever built a fire at all?”
I cleared my throat. “No.”
His eyelids flittered in the closest thing to an eye roll without actually being an eye roll. He turned and took off up the hill.
“Follow me.”
My pleasure.
When we reached the wood pile, he stacked two logs in my arms, then filled his own.
“Walk next to me.”
