Page 17 of Married at Midnight

CHAPTER SIX

At five o’clock, Ellie stopped work for the day. After she’d showered and changed into a comfortable pair of leggings, a long cream-colored sweater, and her favorite brown boots, she headed for the kitchen.

On the table was a bouquet of yellow-and-orange flowers that hadn’t been there before, with a handwritten note that read:

Meeting you again was the best thing that’s happened to me all year. —C

She looked around the kitchen. Had Connor come home? Ellie moved to the back door and tried the knob. It remained locked, so she opened the door and looked outside as though expecting to see Connor waiting there. With a shake of her head, she moved back inside and closed the door, leaving it unlocked. She listened to the silence. There was no one home besides her, yet somehow flowers had magically appeared. Maybe Connor had come home during the day and had left them for her as a surprise?

A thrill moved through her that she couldn’t hold back at his thoughtful gesture. Grinning, she returned to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea.

Sitting at the table, she admired her cleaning work, trying not to think about the fact she would have to do the very same cleaning to the second and third floors tomorrow.

Right now every surface before her glistened, even if the ugly wallpaper curled halfway down the wall, and the paint was faded and dull in each and every room. At her feet sat the cat. Zanzibar still hadn’t deigned to let her touch him, but he hadn’t left her side since arriving at the house.

They’d be friends from a distance.

The back door flew open, and Ellie whipped around to see Connor stride into the house. His presence filled the kitchen, and she suddenly realized how empty the home had been while he was gone. She’d been alone before Connor had come into her life. So why was she suddenly looking for company?

“How’d you know I’d be in the kitchen?” she asked, setting her cup down on the table.

“I didn’t.” He stepped inside and shut the door against the wind. “The front door was locked, and I forgot to bring the key with me. The doorbell is obviously broken. When I knocked, no one answered, so I thought I’d try the kitchen door.” He didn’t remove his coat. “You’ve been busy,” he said, looking around the kitchen. “Did you clean the whole house?”

“Just the first floor.”

He frowned. “Why didn’t you wait for a cleaning crew?”

She shrugged. “I’m used to being busy. I needed something to take my mind off—”

“Me?” Suddenly all his focus was on her.

“Believe it or not, I have lots of things to think about that don’t involve you, Grayson.”

“Darn,” he replied. “Because I thought about you all day.”

She was startled by his admission. “Am I supposed to be charmed?”

“I suppose that was too much to hope for.” His rueful laugh filled the kitchen as he set his messenger bag on the table. From the front pocket, a piece of sheet music slid out.

Ellie picked it up. “What’s this?”

He plucked it from her grasp before she could get a good look at the title. “You should know.” He gave her a smile that was both sexy and shy.

She frowned, not understanding.

His gaze dropped to her feet. “When did we get a cat?”

“Your grandmother’s lawyer brought him by.”

Connor bent down and ruffled the cat’s fur. “Now I recognize you. Hello, Zanzibar.”

Ellie didn’t know whether to be offended that he could pet the cat, or grateful someone could.

“Get your coat. I want to show you something.” He stood. His gaze moved from her hair to her breasts, which were barely outlined beneath her thick sweater, to her hips. There was something warm and inviting in his look.

Heat flooded Ellie’s cheeks as she stood. Hiding her face from further inspection, she hurried down the hallway to retrieve her coat. The entire way, she could feel Connor’s gaze on her back. She opened the front closet and retrieved one of the coats she’d moved there earlier today. “Where are we going?”

He offered her his arm. “I wanted to take you for a ride in the prototype of my self-driving car.”