Ethanchuckled and then moved around Beau so he could give him a brief tour of thedownstairs. “Living room,” he said, pointing to the large den. The entire frontand rear walls of the house were made up entirely of glass; therefore, the denwas brightly lit, highlighting the bamboo floors, the stainless steel accents,and even the leather furniture.
“Diningroom.” Ethan motioned to the small breakfast nook that was tucked away behindthe kitchen, once again overlooking the back of the house, the windows offeringa stunning view of his swimming pool. Although he liked the view from thatroom, he rarely used it because sitting at the table by himself just feltawkward.
“Kitchen,”he told Beau as they went through the arched entryway that led to the kitchenwhich sat on the southwest corner, facing the front of the house. Each andevery time he saw the kitchen, Ethan’s breath would stutter in his chest. Itwas by far his favorite room and the one he spent most of his time in. Itwasn’t a known fact, but Ethan loved to cook. Even if he only cooked for one.His mother swore he’d inherited that trait from her.
RememberingBeau was behind him, he turned, nodding his head toward a hallway on the farside of the living room. “And there’s a bathroom and one guest room down thathall.”
Hecouldn’t bring himself to mention that his bedroom was upstairs. If he waslucky, he’d give Beau the hands on tour of that room soon enough.
Oncein the kitchen, Ethan rummaged through the refrigerator, looking for somethingto make. He’d gone to the store a couple of days ago, so there were plenty ofoptions. He just wasn’t sure what to prepare for Beau. Ethan was tempted tocook for him, but then again, it would require more time and patience than hefelt they had at the moment.
“Anyrequests?” he asked, glancing over the top of the refrigerator door at Beau whowas leaning against the wall in the doorway, watching him. His sexy arms wereagain crossed over his bulky chest.
Ethan’smouth watered and suddenly he was starving… but not for anything he would findin the refrigerator.
??
Beautried to appear casual.
Hewas pretty sure he failed.
Leaningagainst the wall, he watched Ethan move through the immaculately designedkitchen. He wondered if the guy knew how intensely sexy he was. Even more so whenhe was comfortable in his own surroundings. He doubted Ethan even tried, butthe powerful way he moved could almost be considered erotic. He lacked thegrace that some men had, but he exerted an underlying self-assurance that was atotal turn on.
Damn.
“I’mnot picky,” Beau answered Ethan’s question. “At least not when it comes tofood.”
WhenEthan’s eyebrow lifted in that smooth, confident way, Beau smiled. Yes, he wascertainly picky about the partners he chose to be with. In fact, Ethan was thefirst man that Beau found himself openly attracted to. Well, aside from Zane,but even Beau could admit that was different.
Verydifferent.
Hisattraction to Zane had been laced with confusion, uncertainty. Almost like anexperiment. A way to confirm that he wasn’t whom he had been pretending to be.With Ethan, he knew exactly what he wanted, and he wanted so much more thanmere minutes rolling in the sheets.Thiswas what he wanted, the easyconversation, the interaction that made his heart burst with excitement.
Beaucared for Zane. They were friends. But that’s all they were. Zane was a manthat Beau could rely on when times were tough or when he needed someone to talkto. A man who would have his back when things got tough and high five him whenthere was something to celebrate.
However,when it came to Ethan…
WithEthan, Beau felt entirely different.
Sure,there was an attraction. Intense and exquisite. Confusing in its own right, butnot in the same way. Beau knew what he wanted with Ethan. He’d known it for awhile. And the opportunity to get to know him better was right here in front ofhim. Beau only hoped he didn’t blow it.
“Sandwich?”Ethan asked.
Beaunodded. “Sounds perfect.” And quick, something Beau was certainly in the moodfor. “What can I do to help?” he asked as he pushed off the wall and took twosteps across the kitchen until he was practically pressing against thebreakfast bar facing Ethan.
Ethannodded toward a door as he said, “Grab the bread out of there.”
Beaudidn’t hesitate before he was opening the oversized pantry, instantly takingstock of the food selection. Everything was organized neatly on each shelf, andthere was more food in Ethan’s pantry than Beau had bought in probably threemonths. There were boxes and jars and cans, all of which were lined up in whatappeared to be some sort of order that must’ve made sense to Ethan.
Ashe reached for the bread, – having to choose between white and wheat – heskimmed the cans. Mostly vegetables, beans, and even a couple of cans ofravioli. It was odd how personal it felt to be perusing Ethan’s food supply. Heliked the feeling, strangely enough.
“Doyou like to cook?” he asked Ethan, pulling the loaf of bread out of the smallbox it was kept in.
Ethanlooked up at him, pausing as he sliced a fresh tomato on a cutting board.“Yeah.”
Beaunoticed the uncertainty on Ethan’s face, as though admitting that he enjoyedcooking was a part of himself he didn’t like to reveal.
“Well,we’ll get along nicely, then,” Beau said easily, setting the wheat bread downin front of Ethan before turning to the built-in refrigerator that took up themajority of one wall.
