Or maybe Nico was dropping by to check on him. They hadn’t talked much because Stone wasn’t ready to tell him that his dream was dead before it even got off the ground. He intended to tell them both, but he wanted to have a backup plan before then.
The engine shut off, so Stone headed for the door. At least he’d gotten dressed, so he didn’t look quite as pathetic as he felt.
He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, only to come to a dead stop when he saw the woman strolling toward him. Her golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her brown eyes glittering with excitement.
Unfortunately, the brown-eyed blonde wasn’t the one he wanted to see. Quite the opposite, actually.
Leah Johnson stopped at the bottom of the steps, presumably for dramatic effect since her beaming smile didn’t waver. “Well, well, well. Long time no see, stranger.”
“Leah.” Stone stared at his former employer’s daughter. “What’re you doin’ here?’
“Hello to you, too.” She flashed a smile, her glossy lips glistening in the late afternoon sunlight.
Stone was at a loss for words, so he stared at her as she took the steps one at a time, slowly approaching. Her smile amplified a few megawatts with every thud of her boots on the wood.
“Miss me?” Her voice dropped an octave, taking on that silly rasp she used when she was trying to seduce him.
Because he didn’t want to be a complete dick, he avoided telling her the truth and went with, “Why are you here?”
She fluttered her lashes. “Don’t play dumb. I know you had that guy call because you were hopin’ I’d chase you down and ask you to come back.”
“What guy?”
Her pencil-thin eyebrows lifted. “Seriously, Stone? I thought we were past this.”
“Past what?” He was sincerely confused. Both by her presence and her reasoning.
Leah leaned in. “Invite me inside, Stone. It’s cold out here.”
He didn’t want to invite her in. Hell, he didn’t want to engage in conversation with her. After the stunt she pulled with the shotgun, Stone had left the Double J hoping never to see her again.
“Fine. Be rude,” she whispered, her smile widening as she slipped past him and into the barn.
Fuck.
Resigning himself to dealing with this shit show, he turned and followed. He left the door open despite the cold breeze that came in with him.
“Wow. This is ... nice.”
Based on her tone, his living space was one level up from a cardboard box on a street corner.
“Leah. Why are you here?” He drawled the words out slowly, trying to rein in his temper.
“Would you mind closin’ the door?” She rubbed her arms. “It’s cold in here.”
His manners prevented him from telling her she wouldn’t be there long enough for him to care whether she was cold. He closed the door and shored up his nerve before he turned around.
“That’s better. Thank you.” Leah sighed, then put her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. Her expression was no longer playful. “I’ve got a proposition for you, Stone. And I think you’re gonna want to sit down for this.”
***
Reilly pulled down her parents’ driveway, stoppingbeside the D & S Landscape truck parked near the walkway leading to the front door.
Her mother had mentioned she had an appointment with Nico this week. Something about finalizing the details for the changes she wanted to make to the front yard. Reilly figured it was more like a ploy to get Nico and/or Stevie over to the house so her mother could interrogate the people Stone was clearly getting cozy with.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t her mother’s intention, but it certainly was hers, which was why she’d timed this impromptu visit to coincide with that appointment.
As she strolled up the path to the front porch, she checked out the flowerbeds. Her mother’s yard—both front and back—had always been the highlight of the neighborhood. Why she thought she needed a designer to help out was beyond her. Between the various water features—her favorite was the wagon wheel that slowly turned as each cup filled and weighed it down—and the variety of flowers and shrubs, there wasn’t much that could be done to improve it.
