Page 57
A second later, Kieran walked into the kitchen, hair damp from a shower. He smiled brightly when our gazes met, glanced at Lena, and cleared his throat. “Morning. Surprised to see you both.”
Lena took another sip of her coffee. “I’m about to leave for work. Got a late start to the day.”
I shrugged. “I wanted to start working on the new shop.”
“Oh, did you still want some help?” He raised his eyebrows. “I’m free until the library meeting this evening.”
The idea of being alone in the shop with Kieran again, after what had happened the previous night, made heat bloom in my chest—and shoot straight down to my groin. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. “That would be great, actually, if you don’t mind.”
He smiled again, his eyes soft, and he nodded. “Happy to help.”
“Okay. Well, I’m off,” Lena said. “See you two later.”
We both said goodbye and a moment later, Lena had left the kitchen and was shutting the front door behind herself. Neither of us spoke—or even moved—until the sound of her car’s engine could be heard retreating down the street.
I took a slow breath once I was sure she was gone and put my cup down. “Morning.”
Kieran’s cheeks were flushed and his bottom lip was pinned between his teeth. I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I closed the gap between us and pulled him in for a soft kiss.
“Morning,” he echoed when we parted.
“You sure you want to spend the morning with me shopping for paint and stuff?”
He laughed. “I’m a designer. That’s one of my favorite things to do.”
“It’s a date, then.”
We kissed again, getting lost in each other for what was probably a long time. The kisses were slow and deliberate as we held each other closely, in no hurry to move on. That is, we were in no hurry until the front door banged open.
We jumped apart, my heart racing with panic.
“Fuck, that was loud. Sorry! Forgot my bag,” Lena called from the entryway. “Got it now. See you tonight.”
“Shit,” Kieran muttered as the front door closed again.
Adrenaline coursed through me, making my hands tremble a little. I nodded in agreement. “That was close.”
He let out a shaky laugh and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Let’s get going before we get ourselves into trouble.”
“Deal.”
It took a lot of deliberation but eventually, Kieran and I picked out a vinyl tile pattern that looked like stone and loaded a shopping cart with the tile supplies before heading to the paint department. I was grateful for his presence—not only because of his expertise, but also because I was genuinely enjoying spending time with him.
He picked out several paint chips in muted colors and placed them against a box of tile. “Thoughts?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “I want color.”
“Okay. That’s something I can work with.” As he studied the paint, I shamelessly admired his body—the long lines of his strong back, his defined biceps, the swell of his very nice ass.
When he turned to face me, I realized I’d been caught, my gaze darting up to meet his a second too late. A slow smirk spread over his face. “Now, Ellis,” he said playfully. “Were you just checking me out?”
My face heated, a warmth pooling deep in my stomach at the same time. “Guilty as charged.” I glanced down at his groin. “Maybe later I can share my findings.”
He grinned and looked down for a moment. “How about these colors?” He placed a few more paint chips and I leaned over the cart to get a better look.
“I like the yellow,” I said, pointing. “Or the orange.”
“Really?” His eyebrows rose. “I’m a little surprised. You’re normally such a serious guy. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a sunflower yellow fan.” He paused for a moment. “You know what we could do? We could use the yellow and the orange. And…” He turned and pulled a few other colors—a raspberry red, a dark purple, and a deep indigo. “You could paint the walls in a gradient. Like a sunset. You could do vertical or horizontal. I honestly think horizontal might be easier, so it starts bright yellow over by the waiting area and the sunset wraps around until it’s indigo by the main entrance on the other side.”
