Halfway through the candle-making, I got up to do a perimeter check, and I took my time, walking around the fence, looking behind the house, and making sure there weren't any lurking, bloodthirsty billionaires—or their henchmen anyway. When I returned, the sun was starting to set, and Evelyn and Tessa were cleaning up, leaving rows and rows of candles in tidy molds to dry on the unused dining room table near the entrance. The room smelled like potpourri, a mix of vanilla, rose, lavender, and faint florals. It was making my head hurt a little, but Evie had already opened all the windows, and Tessa had a box of oils and dried flowers in her arms.
She passed me, squinting. "See if I ever compliment you again."
"Please don't," I said with heavy honesty.
"Hmph." She waltzed through the front door, and when I closed it after her, I found Evie inspecting the candles. For such a disaster, she certainly was fastidious about her craft.
"Are we still hiding from your Nan?" I asked, coming to join her.
She turned a guilty expression my way. "Just a little. She keeps asking how long I'll need a bodyguard and staring at my nose."
I feathered a light touch over the green and brown coloring across the bridge of her dainty nose. "It's not too bad now. Like a bruised apple."
"Maybe you shouldn't give compliments either," she said.
My lips quirked up. "So, I'll make dinner?"
"Yes, thank you. I think you might be a slightly better cook than I am." Her expression pinched with censure. "And you shouldn't have waited three days to tell me you hate avocado."
I threw up my hands, walking back to the kitchen. "You were so earnest about preparing it for me. Every day. In various formats."
She followed me, her cream dress fluttering in a deliciously feminine way as she walked. "You're so… so…healthy, I thought you'd eat it often."
I stopped suddenly, turning around, and she bumped into me. Which, yes, I'd intended. Her soft body bounced against mine, and my groin saluted to attention. I gave her a smoldering look. "Is 'healthy' the first word you were going to say?"
She stared, her hazel eyes wide. "No."
I leaned forward, enjoying the way her lashes fluttered nervously but her body gravitated toward mine. I was conceited enough to know when a woman felt attracted to me and gentlemanly enough totryand ignore it. "What was the first word?"
Her throat slid. "Tall?"
I smiled slowly. "Liar." She flitted a look across my features, down my body, and back again, all innocent speechlessness. I took pity on her and leaned away again. "I had groceries delivered this morning while you were out with the hives. What are you in the mood for?"
Her body seemed to deflate in relief. "Do you like salmon?"
"I love salmon, and yes, I had some delivered." I gestured to the kitchen table for her to sit. "Your turn to supervise."
She sat, her eyes still soldered to me. "You don't have to do all this for me, you know."
I pulled a derisive face. "What, make food? Seriously, who hurt you, kid? You always act like I'm going to demand a pound of flesh for human decency."
Evie winced. "Sorry."
"And stop apologizing." I opened the fridge and took out the fresh salmon filet I'd stocked in there earlier.
"Okay, sor—sure." She slumped in her chair, clearly exhausted. "But do you need help?"
"Don't insult me." I added soy sauce and a jar of minced garlic to the counter. "Did you finish everything you needed today?"
"Yeah," she exhaled, looking around. "For the most part. And you fixed my fence for me, so I don't have to do that tomorrow."
"You need a farm hand," I observed dryly. "One woman shouldn't be running an enterprise like this on her own."
"Hah." Evie let her arms dangle, leaning her head back against her chair. "Maybe someday. I'm not very organized about the 'business' aspect of the whole thing."
I wasn't going to confirm or deny that, but secretly, yeah—she was a tornado of productivity, but it didn't exactly hit in predictable places. As I got to work on the marinade, Evie stood up again, apparently unable to sit still for that long. She meandered back over to me, and her cat joined her in the kitchen, meowing for food. Evie opened a can of puree for it and crouched down, petting her and murmuring silly nothings to her like she did with her bees.
My heart did a double axel. Oh, God, I liked her. I wasn't just physically attracted to the woman, she was also so quirky and delightful.
