He bit his lower lip. “I’m dying to show it to someone.”
Despite what I’d said about needing to work, I wanted more than anything to blow off my responsibilities for a little while and have a little adventure. Core memories. “How could I say no?”
Chapter Twenty-four
Evan
“This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine.”
The Tempest
I unlocked the gorgeous front door, feeling exactly as giddy about the space as I’d been when the owner showed me around. It wasn’t a cheap rental, but ever since I was a kid, I’d coveted these historic homes. When I found the listing, I crunched numbers and decided it would be worth starving a little for a place like this. It gave me ideas. Like, getting a dog. Buying real furniture. Settling in.
“It has a backyard,” I said, as we stepped into the foyer.
Elizabeth breathed in. “These places always have that certain smell, don’t they?”
I sniffed the air. “It’s like Monticello but with more Pine-sol.”
She snorted. “It’s musty, but not in a bad way. Like a library. Or a shoe.”
I laughed. “A shoe?”
“Not afoot. Like leather and old paper. It’s nice.” Her eyes softened, a little dreamy. “I love the new library, but to be honest, I miss the old space too, the dank lair of it, all heavy with dust, like being buried alive with knowledge.”
“Yikes,” I said, laughing at her description. No wonder she was a writer. I had no response to that, but I understood what she meant. Instead, I waved her in to the den, boasting hardwood floors and a fireplace. All empty now.
“Oh, my God,” Elizabeth said. “Look at these built-in bookshelves.”
“Of course, you’d notice that.” They were pretty cool though, floor-to-ceiling with glass doors. I could picture her books all collected there. I shook my head. Where the hell had that come from?
We continued into the modern kitchen. “Bas would love this. I’m hoping he’ll want to come here and cook for me.”
After a quick peek at the mudroom and laundry, we headed upstairs. Elizabeth squealed over more built-in bookshelves in the study. “Where do those steps lead?”
“I have to show you.” I led her through the door into the bonus room.
“It’s like a secret lair. You have to put in a fake bookcase to hide the entrance.”
I’d been daydreaming about what to do with that hidden space. Maybe make it a game room. But I could suddenly picture Elizabeth tucked away in a corner on an oversize bean bag with a paperback on her knee.
“My lair is back this way,” I said, trying to keep my thoughts on level earth. I directed her back across the landing to the bare bedroom.
She went straight to the walk-in closet, snickering. “Oh, I bet you have quite the wardrobe. Don’t you, Mr. Spurlock.”
She spun around with a coquettish grin, mocking me, and I was consumed with the same urge that struck me in the weather office yesterday—and in the car Saturday night. I had a primal need to lift her onto the window ledge and let her wrap her legs around me.
I raked my fingers through my hair and stepped away, but she stalked closer, her eyes locked on mine, and it was clear she’d read my thoughts somehow. Her smile faded, replaced by a look of pure hunger, and fuck if that didn’t make my cock sit up and take notice.
She moved closer. “You know, I never did get to find out what happens when the barometer rises.”
I chuckled. It was weird how her dorky humor made me want to kiss her even more. Turned out what got my motor revving was someone being playful, treating me like a person and not a piece of meat.
She lifted on her toes, higher, closer, until I couldn’t ignore her intent. “Elizabeth,” I said.
“Evan.” Her eyes narrowed. “We’re not coworkers. So what’s your excuse this time?”
I had no good excuses. I wanted to explore whatever this was, but what exactlywasthis? We still didn’t know each other well. She started out a fiction, and I still worried about placing my trust in someone who didn’t fully exist.
