“Thanks.”
A quick flash of a smile — one that made him warm a little, even though he guessed they wouldn’t share anything more than kisses tonight, either.
Then again, kissing Delia was plenty exciting all on its own.
She paused to press her lips against his cheek as she went past, and he reached over to squeeze her hand before she made her way to the tiny foyer and let herself out the front door.
The house felt much smaller with her gone.But that was all right; he’d be over at her place soon enough, and besides, this wasn’t anyplace where either of them intended to live.
No, the flip property was just a way of keeping himself occupied and making a little extra cash in the bargain.
Well, that and ensuring he and Delia would have a reason to see each other pretty much every day…not that he thought he needed to worry about that.She might not have given any signs that she was ready to jump into bed with him, but at least she’d made it obvious enough that she enjoyed spending as much time in his company as possible.
And he was okay with that.
Delia’s home wasn’t as big as his, but it was still a good thousand square feet larger than the house they were currently flipping.As always, he found himself relaxing almost as soon as he walked in the door; the decor had a sort of eclectic farmhouse/coastal vibe, very different from the stark black and white splendor of his thoroughly remodeled mid-century home.
Not for the first time, he wondered where the two of them would live if they ever formalized their relationship.He felt at home in Delia’s house, but he would have preferred something larger, and definitely a backyard with a pool.And although she’d had a lot of input in the design of his house, Caleb knew she’d mostly gone along with his wishes when it came to the decor and that it was probably a little too modern for her.
Most likely, they’d need to meet somewhere in the middle.Which was fine; he really liked his house and felt at home there…but he knew he’d also make a mint if he decided to sell it.
Win/win.
Of course, he knew he was getting a little ahead of himself.He and Delia might have known each other for almost six months now, but they’d only taken that real quantum leap in their relationship three weeks ago.He guessed it was going to require a decent chunk of time before they started seriously talking about any possible futures together.
As he’d guessed, Delia was already barefoot by the time he got to her house.Not that he had a problem with that; she always kept her toenails polished, unlike her fingernails, and she had very pretty feet.
It looked as if she’d been sorting through that day’s mail when he arrived, because she had two small stacks sitting on the kitchen island in front of her, probably separated into what she wanted to keep and what she could go ahead and toss.Caleb didn’t get nearly as much mail, but he’d been trying to keep a somewhat low profile ever since he got to Las Vegas.Also, he’d only been in his current house for a few weeks, whereas he knew Delia had owned this place for going on three years.
A bottle of pinot noir also sat on the island, and she picked it up and poured some into a stemless wine glass that waited nearby, then handed it over to him.
“What’re you in the mood for tonight?”
He could think of a whole lot of things, although he knew she was only asking about what he wanted to order in.Delia Dunne had many sterling qualities, but being a good cook wasn’t one of them.It made sense; she lived alone and worked long hours, and whipping up a gourmet meal every night wasn’t very practical.
“Whatever sounds good to you,” he said.By that point, he’d sampled most of the nearby places that delivered or that DoorDash would fetch, and they were all decent.For him, it was more about being there with her than what they were having for dinner.
Her mouth pursed.Whatever gloss she’d been wearing for most of the day had worn off by now, but her lips were full and rosy without it.
And he knew all too well how luscious those lips felt when they were placed against his.
She picked up a small, somewhat crumpled envelope and frowned as she opened it and gazed down at its contents.
“What is it?”he asked, hoping it wasn’t bad news.
But no, that wasn’t a standard business-size envelope, but more the kind used for invitations and that sort of thing.God knows he’d seen plenty of them while he was growing up, since his parents were active socially and always seemed to be attending charity banquets and balls and golf tournaments.
All part of the façade his father had worked very hard to maintain.No, nothing to see there, only a prosperous upper-class family like thousands of others.
Well, except for the part where Daniel Lockwood was half demon and possessed a set of powers that most mortals couldn’t begin to dream of.
Delia smiled at him at once, as though she guessed she needed to reassure Caleb that the envelope hadn’t contained anything compromising.“It’s a wedding invitation from one of my cousins in Chicago.I sort of vaguely remember my mother saying something about Olivia getting engaged a while back.”
“Olivia’s your cousin?”
“Yes — my aunt Vicky’s youngest daughter.”
Now that they had that straightened out, Caleb couldn’t help asking, “So…you’re going to Chicago for the wedding?”
