Unable to help myself, I smiled. It wasn’t the first time either. And it wasn’t just simple smiles here or there. Apparently, I liked to giggle in Cooper’s presence, too.He’s so funny!His sense of humor put me at ease quickly.
I glanced over at Tee, who’d been watching me intently, a sneaky smile on her lips. Straightening my face, I shot her a death glare and a soundless command to “get out.” Because I knew what my friend was thinking, and I refused to go there.
She stood up quickly. “I’m going to check on Mehki.” She waved. “Be right back.”
Once she’d left the room, I slid into the chair next to Cooper. His cologne was working its magic on me again. Today, he smelled like lemons and mint. I tried to ignore the compulsion to sit closer. “So listen…” I cleared my throat. “I must admit I’m a little intrigued.”Damnit. If I could go back and reword that sentence I would. It felt like I’d stepped onto a mine field, because I couldn’t decide if I was intrigued by the project itself or him.
He tossed me a little half-smirk. “Care to elaborate?”
I blinked, snapping my attention away from his lips. “Oh.” I released a shaky breath. “Um… About this business between my Aunt Lou and your grandfather.”
His tongue darted out to lick his lips and he leaned in. “Honestly?” he murmured.
Like a moth to a flame, I moved closer, too. “Yes.”
“I think they had something going on.”
My mouth fell open. “No.” I pulled back. “No way.”
Nodding, he said, “Oh yeah. Speaking as a man, I’m not going to restore someone’s house if I didn’t have a past—or a future—with them. One that includes sex.”
A nervous laugh burst free. “Really?” The question came out more sultry than curious.
“Damn straight.”
I stared at Aunt Lou’s portrait again, and wondered if Cooper’s grandfather was the man that had made her so happy in it. “You might have point,” I mused, giving him a sidelong glance. “I say we do some digging.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Our gazes locked. The intensity in his dark eyes was turning me inside out. Forcing myself to look away, I stood and ventured over to the picture window in the front of the house. “There are some personal things I still have to go through. I think I’ll do that tonight.”
“Good.” He joined me at the window. “Ifyou decide to move forward, you’ll need to move to another location, maybe a short-term rental. We’ll need to clear everything out.”
“I’m not staying here now,” I admitted.
“Mind if I ask why?”
With a shrug, I explained, “I’m not sure, actually. If you really want the truth, I figured I’d be back home by now.”
“Charleston, right?”
“Yeah. This trip to Rosewood Heights has been more than I ever expected.”
He arched a brow. “Let me ask you… are you okay with the renovation?”
“Definitely. Your grandfather promised to do this for my aunt. It was obviously somethingshewanted, so I want it, too.”
“Good to know. I do want some of my contractors to come in and do an extensive inspection. I need to know what I’m looking at, if there are any structural repairs that need to be done.”
We hadn’t talked the budget yet, so I asked, “When can you send me a quote? I want to prepare for the expense.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I have to,” I argued. “This is what I do. I’m all about the money.”
“Whatdoyou do?” he asked, ignoring my question again.
The business card I’d given him at the restaurant had little about me other than my name and phone number. I’d made them once I realized I’d have to handle Aunt Lou’s affairs. I shared my title with him, and then went on to offer more details than he’d asked. Absently, I wondered why I felt comfortable telling him so much about my life. But this man seemed to bring out things in me that I thought I’d tamped down years ago. For the longest time, I identified solely as Mehki’s mother, Director of Budget, Friend of Tierra, and Daughter of Benjamin and Theresa Holloway. Yet, with Cooper, I felt like a woman. And the way he looked at me made me feel like anattractivewoman, adesirablewoman. Surprisingly, that was a welcome feeling, one I couldn’t say I didn’t want to experience more of.
