“Yep,” she replied before spinning around and leaning into her car.
For some reason, I felt the need to keep talking. “You know I’m not like those guys you date in the city? I don't need you to thank me. You did that the other night.”
Grace stood up and shut the door, a navy blue box in her hand. One I recognized instantly. “What guys do I date?” Grace questioned, and I felt like I’d been caught out.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does, Cole. If you’ve got something to say, then come on. Out with it. I want to know who you think I am.”
Her words felt like a dare, but it wasn’t one I was about to back down from.
“You know, city boys.”
“Well, what other sort of ‘boys’ are there in the city?” Grace asked, looking smug. She enjoyed watching me squirm, and I had no one to blame but myself. I’d put my foot in it, and now I had to try to dig my way out of it hopefully with my balls still intact.
“You know. Rich, suit-wearing boys.”
“Oh, you mean men with jobs?” Grace countered, and the corner of my mouth curled up. I don’t know what was more attractive. Grace’s smart-ass attitude, her mouth-watering curves, or her scent that was potent enough to drive a man to distraction.
“Men who don’t know how to treat a lady,” I countered, keeping my voice strong.
“And you do, do you?”
“Oh, sweetheart, you’ve got no idea,” I replied cockily with images of Grace dancing around my kitchen barefoot andwearing nothing but my shirt and a smile. Tangled in my sheets and her belly swollen with our child scattering my brain.
Grace cocked her hip to the side and held out the box with one hand. “Good thing I’m just here to drop this off and say thanks again for your help.”
Chapter five
Grace
Ihad no idea what I was doing. Me being here was all Georgia’s fault. Then she’d gone and recruited Gabriella and now I was screwed. Guilted into buying the brownies and showing up on Cole’s doorstep uninvited, but damn, the man looked good.
When I met him the other day, I couldn’t get past the way he smelt. Between being completely intoxicated by his scent and the fact I was beyond embarrassed, I hadn’t really been paying too much attention to how he looked, but now I couldn’t look away. Everything from his bare feet to the worn denim jeans that hung low on his hips and the gray henley that fit him like a glove had my hormones in overdrive. But it was his forearms that didme in. Tanned. Muscled. They were arms I remembered being held in and wanted to crawl back into. But that wasn’t why I was there.
“It’s not much,” I murmured weakly, thrusting the box in his direction.
“I recognize the box. It’s from the Clever Cookie, so whatever is in there is going to be delicious. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Cole. I’m supposed to be the one thanking you. If you hadn’t helped me …” Honestly, I didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened. I probably would’ve ended up sitting in the dirt crying and waiting to be eaten.
“You’re more than welcome, Grace. Anyone would’ve done the same,” Cole confirmed, and I knew he was right. Out here they would’ve anyway. At home, well, in the city, they would’ve walked straight by me and looked the other way, pretending not to see me so they didn’t have to help or feel guilty about it.
“I should …”
“You got the brownies?” Cole exclaimed as he lifted the lid.
“They’re my favorite, and I wasn’t sure what you liked, but I figured you can’t go wrong with chocolate.”
“You’re right. You can’t,” Cole confirmed with a wide, beaming smile pulled across his face showing his perfectly straight teeth.
I dug my hands in my pockets and looked around. It was so quiet out here. Other than the lights from Cole’s porch, everything was dark, but it was somehow beautiful. You could see the stars. You could hear the crickets chirping. You could hear yourself think. I hadn’t thought I’d missed Wattle Creek, but maybe a country girl was still buried deep inside me somewhere.
Cole’s house was gorgeous. With a huge wrap-around porch, I could imagine spending nights just like this one, sitting out here with a cup of tea, curled up in a porch swing, enjoying the peace and quiet. Even though it needed some work, I could picture itall. Garden beds overflowed with flowers that not only gave the house color and character but also smelt like home.
I needed to get out of here before I asked if I could move in. “I should go,” I told Cole. “Enjoy your brownies.”
“You’re not staying to share them with me?”
