“Not quite,” Gwen said apologetically.“I’m sorry, but I just can’t decide between those two cabinet colors.”
“And you can’t pick paint until you decide on the cabinets.”He nodded.“No worries.I’ve got the samples down in the truck.Let me go get them, and we’ll look again.”
“Thanks, Jesse.I’m sorry to be such a pain.”
“You’re not, not at all,” he assured her with a wink and a smile.“Be right back.”
Chloe watched him go, and the second the door closed behind him, collapsed against the wall.
“You gonna make it?”Gwen asked.
“I should’ve taken a Valium before I came over here.”
“You have Valium?”
“No, but I should’ve gotten some.”Chloe turned her head.“I can’t think when that man smiles at me, Gwen.It’s like my brain just shuts off.”
Gwen nodded.“It’s the dimple.I wonder if men know the power of the dimple?”
“That one knows,” Chloe said darkly.“I can see it in his eyes.‘I will hypnotize you with my dimple,’ they say, ‘and you will be my love slave’.”
“Are you getting enough sleep?”Gwen asked.
“No, because every time I close my eyes I picture that dimple between my legs.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“Maybe you coming over here was a bad idea.”
“I told you so,” Chloe began, then clamped her mouth shut when the door opened and Jesse walked back in carrying a pair of cabinet doors.
“Okay, let’s take a look at these.”He crouched to prop them against the wall, then looked up when the door opened again.“Hey, there.How’d the meeting go?”
“Long.”Knox walked in, his smile apologetic, and Chloe’s mouth went dry.He was wearing the long gray overcoat and a suit, his silver hair loose.Architect Knox, in all his polished, sophisticated glory.“Sorry.”
“No worries.”Jesse stood.“We’re just going over cabinet choices one more time.”
Knox nodded, his eyes going to Chloe.There was something in those eyes that tugged at her, low in the belly, then he turned to Gwen.“What are you thinking?”
“Well,” Gwen said while Chloe tried to remember how to breathe, “I really like the orange.Love it, actually.But then what would I paint the walls?Nothing goes with orange.”
“And the blue?”Knox prompted.
Gwen shrugged.“It’s okay.”
“Go with the orange,” Jesse said.
“Really?”Gwen chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes uncertain behind her glasses.“It’s not too bold?”
“I don’t think so,” Knox said.“We’ll keep the countertops white, and I think you should go with white for the walls, too.”
“Oh, but white’s so plain,” Gwen protested.
“Not with these cabinets,” Jesse said.“Chloe?What do you think?”
When three pairs of eyes turned her way, Chloe had to scramble to bring her brain online.“Ah…I think Jesse’s right,” she managed.“You have all your art, that’s plenty of color for the walls.And the cabinets can be the star of the show.”
