“But I asked first.”
He cocked his head. “Fine then. This is the place where I’ll be livin’ soon. Now, what’s your excuse?”
She unconsciously ran her hands down the waist of her skirt, drying the moisture gathered on her palms, wishing her temperature would cool. “I’m going to measure the windows for some curtains.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to do something nice for my sister. I don’t know what else to give her for a wedding present.”
He nodded. “That’s thoughtful.”
Her lips twitched into a small smile. “Thank you. The idea just came to me tonight. It might not be the best sewing job in the world, but I’ll certainly try my hardest.”
“I’m sure you will, but–” He bent and picked up the lantern she’d left in the hall. “Won’t you need some light to measure the windows?”
She silently groaned from her obvious brain shutdown. She stepped toward him and snatched the lantern, and then moved back to the window. After placing it by her feet, she reached into the pocket of her skirt and withdrew the measuring string. She stood on her tiptoes to measure the top of the window but realized she wasn’t tall enough.
As she extended her reach, goosebumps trickled all over her body. Jesse must be watching her. How did her body know? And worse, why did it have to react whenever he was around?
“Do you need any help?” he asked.
She glanced over her shoulder and wished he’d remove that ridiculous sensual grin. “No. I can do it.” But after a few more tries, she gave a heavy sigh in defeat and lowered her arms.
“Jesse? Would you help me, please?”
He laughed. “What did you say? I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
She threw him a resentful glare. “All right, this once, I’ll admit I need your help.”
Jesse’s laughter grew until he stood beside her. “You’re not any good at this measurin’ thing, are you?”
Irritated, she shook her head. “If you had any eyes in your hard head, you’d see I’m not tall enough to measure the top.”
“True, but–” He pulled the string from her fingers and stretched it out on the bottom of the window. “The top is the same size as the bottom, so just measure the bottom. It’s easier.”
She released a growl-like huff as she snatched the string from him and proceeded to measure.
Jesse stood close, and his nearness was uncomfortably pleasant, crazily twisting her emotions out of control. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed his gaze skimming over her body. Her face burned.
Angrily she lowered the string to her waist, keeping her gaze toward the window. “Would you please stop looking at me?”
“Can’t. There’s nothin’ else to look at.”
“Then go some place else.”
“You don’t like me lookin’?”
“No,” she clipped.
“Liar.”
She met his stare and lifted her chin stubbornly. “I’m not lying.”
His attention moved over her hair, face, and body, and he gave her a cocky grin. “Tell me somethin’, Summer. What were you dreamin’ about when I first came in?”
She swallowed hard, and she knew her heated face gave away her thoughts. “Well, if you must know, I was just fanta—umm–” She cleared her dry throat. “I mean, I was imagining what it would be like to be married and living in a place like this.”
His grin widened. “You were fantasizin’, huh?”
