Squatting down, he tucked the crowbar away into the larger of the two tool bags he’d brought into the house today.
That done, he rose again, looking into her eyes and thinking how incredibly blue they were before saying, “That depends.”
Had she made a mistake in going with this man? She’d trusted Maizie’s recommendation, but maybe Maizie hadn’t actually been able to have him checked out, maybe she was going by someone else’s recommendation. Someone who had something to gain from this man getting work. Now that he’d denuded her kitchen, was he going to hold it for ransom, stretch out the project as long as possible? She wasn’t paying him per diem, but maybe he would begin hinting at “incentives” for finishing faster. Incentives in this case always translated into money.
“On?” she asked, holding her breath and waiting for him to lower the boom.
“On how long it takes you to pick up the kind of stone you want for your floors, whether you want tile or granite for your kitchen counter—both, by the way, come in an array of styles, colors and shapes so there’s a lot to choose from. And then there are the appliances—you get to pick out the brands, the types, the colors, well, you get the picture. The upshot is it can take anywhere from three weeks to six—not to mention that there’s also the delivery to factor in.”
“The delivery to factor in?” she repeated, feeling utterly lost.
Stone nodded, then explained it as simply as he could. She looked a little stunned and he felt rather sorry for her—though for the life of him, he didn’t know why. He’d been in this business for a number of years now, working pretty steadily, thank God, and he’d never really identified with the home owner before. He had no idea why he did this time, but something about the woman got to him and he couldn’t even begin to guess why or how this had come about.
He supposed that Ginny was to blame if anyone was. If she hadn’t asked him that first day if he liked Danni, hadn’t pressed him for an answer while proclaiming that she liked the woman, maybe this thought about being attracted to her wouldn’t be rattling around in his head.
“Some things are shipped from back East,” he told her. “Others might have to come from somewhere in Europe, depending on what you finally pick out.” Stone saw the rather dazed expression on her face intensifying, as if she didn’t know where to begin. There was no denying that she looked rather appealing like that, like a girl—not a woman—who had suddenly realized that she’d lost her way and was in way over her head.
“Overwhelmed?” he asked, managing to successfully hide his amusement.
You have no idea, Danni thought in response.
But there was no way she was going to admit that. At least, not to the extent that she felt it. Danni had made it a point never to let anyone know if she felt outnumbered, outflanked or unequal to a task.
For the last three years, since her father had died, although she made friends as easily as some people breathed, at bottom she felt alone, without anyone to turn to or depend on but herself.
Oh, there’d been a brief period when she’d thought she was in love, around the time of her father’s passing, but she’d discovered that Bill had seen a great deal of potential in her and had gone out of his way to hitch his wagon to her star.
His intention, she’d discovered, was to get a free ride. Exchanging compliments for cash.
When she’d found out that his bottom line involved money, not love, she’d quickly sent him packing. So now she was her own person, no matter how lonely that turned out to be at times.
“Stone,” she confessed, “I don’t have the first clue where to go to find any of this stuff or how to go about finding out.”
He knew she was going to say that, he could feel it in his bones. Lucky for her, he had the solution to her dilemma.
“No problem. I can give you addresses to different stores—there’re a whole cluster of stores that deal with floor, wall and counter coverings on Katella Ave, in Anaheim. They’ve got tile, stone, carpets, tubs, showers, more fixtures than you’d think possible—”
She held her hand up, already overwhelmed by what he was telling her and the images his words were creating in her head.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I’m going to be like Alice in Wonderland, trying to find her way home while some saleswoman besotted with the latest color in rugs yells, ‘Off with her head!’ in the background.”
“You don’t like shopping?” he asked incredulously. He thought all women were born loving to shop. Even Ginny enjoyed going to the mall at her tender age.
“I like ‘browsing,’” Danni emphasized. “This isn’t browsing, this is ‘make up your mind quick or your kitchen stays naked’ shopping. I don’t like shopping under pressure,” she admitted. “And there’s the other problem, I don’t have all that much time to devote to it, which means I’m probably going to wind up settling.” And that didn’t even take into account the problem of possibly being taken advantage of.
Stone thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to suggest. The pro would be that he’d be helping a client, not to mention that there was the added bonus of spending time with an attractive woman who got more attractive each time he saw her.
He had a feeling she wouldn’t even mind if he brought Ginny along. Each evening when he came home, he was subjected to his daughter’s youthful version of the Spanish Inquisition, asking him if he’d seen Danni that day. When he said no, she was disappointed. If he said yes, the questions became more involved. Three weeks into this renovation project and Ginny still hadn’t lost her any of her enthusiasm for the woman. Not to mention that he’d be offering his expertise and guidance to someone who seemed to be badly in need of it. This was an area where he was pretty much of an expert. That was rather heady stuff on its own.
The con was...well, he’d be giving up his Saturday, not much of a con in the scheme of things, he supposed. Except that he had a feeling Elizabeth wouldn’t be happy about his working on a Saturday. It did cut into their time together and she really wouldn’t appreciate the fact that the person he was helping was neither a senior citizen nor someone whose face could make a clock stop—except, perhaps to stare in abject admiration.
But then, things between Elizabeth and him had been rather tense these last few weeks, ever since he’d suggested bringing Ginny along on one of their dates. Each time he tried to broach the idea to her, Elizabeth would blatantly change the subject.
While they still continued to see one another, he was beginning to feel that their relationship was facing an expiration date and that date was approaching a wee bit faster than Elizabeth was happy about.
Maybe things would work themselves out and if they didn’t, well, maybe they weren’t meant to. But he felt he shouldn’t waste time reflecting over it.
He made up his mind and proceeded full speed ahead. “Would you like some help with selecting some of the things you need for the renovations?”
At this point, she was opened to any suggestions. “You mean like a crib sheet or a book to help navigate me through the wonderful world of renovations?”
Maybe she didn’t want him butting in, he thought. Some people thought of this as a very private process, wanting the house to reflect their taste and no one else’s.
“Well, I don’t have a crib sheet or a book like that,” he told her, “but I’m pretty good at making recommendations if I see the material firsthand.”
She wasn’t sure where he was going with this. For the most part, after their initial meeting, he’d been working on his own here, which was why she’d decided to touch base with him. But so far, he’d only been tearing things down, not building them up.
“Are you offering to buy the materials for me?” Danni asked.
Maybe he needed to spell this out for her. “I’m offering to take you to the stores and give you the benefit of my experience.”
A rush of pure relief washed over her. Suppressing a squeal of joy, Danni threw her arms around his nec
k and cried, “Offer accepted!” with such enthusiasm, Stone started to laugh.
The sound, since she’d thrown her arms around him to express her relief and thanks via an impromptu, warm hug, seemed to rumble right through her. Rumble through her in such a way that it felt almost seductive and exceedingly sensual.
It was then that she realized just how close her face was to his.
How close her mouth was to his.
And then, as an unknown, unforeseeable force suddenly seemed to grip her, her mouth wasn’t close to his anymore. It was now occupying the same exact space, the same exact coordinates as his.
One second, there was laughter, the next, that laughter had given way to silence.
And passion.
Unexpected passion.
An entire moment packed so solidly with passion that there wasn’t room for anything else.
Certainly not any common sense.
But the next moment, common sense returned, moving back in and making a valiant attempt to regain control of the situation, as well as of the two participants in that situation.
As with everything else that transpired in her life, Danni took full blame for what happened. It never occurred to her to do otherwise, to blame someone else for causing this lapse in control. She was at fault.
“I’m sorry,” she all but whispered, not knowing exactly where to look, yet unable to tear her eyes away from his. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Understood,” he replied, trying to regain his own composure.
In his case, it involved discovering that his insides were utterly scrambled. He might have not been the person to initiate the kiss between them but he had certainly been a willing participant the second he realized what was happening.
Moreover, he hadn’t been plagued by pesky rules of decorum, or even remotely entertained the thought that this shouldn’t be happening, or that he was being disloyal to Elizabeth, or even—laughingly—that his client was forcing herself on him because she’d misinterpreted his signals.
For the life of him, Stone had no idea what sort of signals he gave off. But he did know one thing for certain—Danni Everett had a sweet, sweet mouth and she was one hell of a kisser.
So much so that he was more than willing to go through the whole process again.
And again.
Danni dragged in a shaky breath, not bothering to pretend that she was unaffected by what had just taken place here. “I guess you won’t be accompanying me to any of the stores this Saturday.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “Was it that bad?” he finally asked, then, in case she wasn’t following his thought process, he elaborated, “The kiss, was it that bad?”
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. How had he come to that conclusion?
“No. No,” she sputtered loudly. “It was wonderful.” The word echoed back to her and she could feel her cheeks beginning to burn. “I mean—I just thought that you wouldn’t want to go with me after I just...well, because I just...”
The woman seemed to be drowning right before his eyes. Taking pity on Danni, Stone decided to come to her rescue. “Expressed your relief and gratitude with a friendly kiss?” he suggested.
Again she could only stare at him. “You consider that a friendly kiss?” she asked incredulously. If that was just friendly, then what did this man consider to be a torrid kiss?
“Well, it certainly wasn’t a hostile one,” he told her with a wide, amused grin.
When he grinned like that, his face transformed, changing from that of a man who looked as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and who appeared to be the very embodiment of solemnity, to one who looked more like a free-spirited boy than a man. A very handsome, sexy, appealing, free-spirited boy. “We can pretend it never happened if that makes you feel more comfortable,” he said.
“It would,” she admitted, wishing that it could actually be that easy. But then, if it had never happened, she wouldn’t have felt—and still be feeling—that small, amazing thrill vibrating all through her.
“All right, it never happened,” Stone told her with a nod of his head. He put his hand out to her, as if to seal the deal.
Danni put her hand in his and they shook on it. But deep down, that didn’t change a thing.
The kiss had happened and she would remember it happening for a long, long while, there was no getting around that. Because that kiss, begun in innocence and sheer exuberance, had shaken the foundations of a world that she believed to be secure. Humdrum, but definitely secure.
Just went to show her that she couldn’t count on anything being true these days. Not even, she thought with a deep pang, herself. And that had been her last bastion of hope, being able to count on herself, being able to know what to expect from herself.
Being able to rise to the occasion, no matter what it was.
Now she no longer knew.
“So,” Stone said to her, “if you’re sure you’ll be available, I can swing by around ten Saturday morning, pick you up and we can hit a few of those stores, get started on the selection process.”
Danni nodded numbly, belatedly realizing that she was still holding his hand. Feeling awkward, she instantly released it and dropped her hand to her side.
“Oh, would you mind if I brought Ginny along?” he asked her.
Mind? She welcomed it. “No sitter?” she guessed.
“Something like that.” Well, now he was stuck with the story, he thought, even though he knew that Virginia would be around. “I could call around to see if I could find someone at the last minute—”
“To come with us?” she asked, not really following him.
“No, to watch Ginny.” He didn’t like lying and he knew he wasn’t very good at it because he disliked it and being lied to.
“No need for that,” Danni told him. “I’d love to have Ginny along.” She’ll make the perfect chaperone, Danni thought in relief. “I’ve missed her enthusiasm.”
“She certainly has that,” Stone agreed.
And she’ll have even more of that when I tell her she’d be coming along with us Saturday.
The only element interfering with this scenario was telling Elizabeth that he wouldn’t be able to see her Saturday afternoon because he was going to be busy, working.
Well, technically, he was, Stone silently insisted.
He knew that wasn’t going to sit well with the woman and he began to brace himself for the torrent of displeasure coming his way.
Even so, he caught himself really looking forward to Saturday.
Chapter Ten
“You’re breaking another date with me?”
Elizabeth Wells’s voice went down an octave as she came to the end of her sentence.
Rather than put off the ordeal, Stone had decided to get it over with as soon as he came home. He called Elizabeth on her cell a few minutes after he’d walked in and greeted his daughter and sister.
He could gauge Elizabeth’s displeasure by whether her voice rose or fell from its normal range. If it went up an octave or so, she was annoyed, but could be persuaded to come around and make the best of it. If her voice went down, the way it did now, then she was really angry, immovable and her forgiveness wouldn’t be forthcoming any time soon.
She made it sound as if he canceled dates on a regular basis. He could only recall twice, and both had been for legitimate reasons.
“It doesn’t happen that often,” he pointed out.
“Often enough,” Elizabeth informed him coolly. “I don’t like coming in third, Stone. I can handle second once in a while, but not third.”
He could almost hear the icicles forming in her voice. “Third?” he questioned. He had no idea what she was talking about.
“Yes, third,” Elizabeth emphasized. “After your work and your daughter. My job is just as demanding as yours, Stone. Probably more,” she told him haughtily. “I haven’t canceled on us even once.”
For a moment, he lost his temp
er. What had started out as an exceedingly pleasant relationship with a great deal of promise had progressively become less so. The list of red flags he needed to ignore grew rather long.
He knew for a fact that Elizabeth looked down at anyone who worked with their hands, feeling intellectually superior to them. He suspected that the only reason she was still willing to see him was because he had a degree in engineering and had worked in aerospace until the industry had all but disappeared from Southern California.
His ties to the area had him reinventing himself and using his fall-back skill from when he was working his way through college: carpentry. That eventually led to his getting a general contracting license and graduating from making cabinets to building and remodeling almost anything.
Since Elizabeth worked for the mayor’s office and had a degree in political science, she saw herself a cut above the people he associated with. Her attitude was getting to be a bit much to overlook.
“Did your boss ever ask you to?” he asked Elizabeth pointedly.
“What?” She snapped out the word impatiently. Elizabeth didn’t like being on the receiving end of questions that challenged her statements.
“Did your boss ever ask you to cancel your plans for the evening and work on something he needed done ASAP?” Stone asked, deliberately enunciating each word so that there was no mistaking his meaning.
“That’s not the point,” Elizabeth informed him frostily.
“I think it is.” This had all the earmarks of escalating into a full-fledged argument and he didn’t want that. Taking a breath, Stone focused his efforts on calming down. After a half a beat, he tried again. “I’ll make it up to you, Elizabeth.”
“Don’t bother,” she snapped just before she slammed down the phone.
Stone stared at the phone receiver in his hand for a long moment, debating whether or not to call Elizabeth back and find some way to smooth the woman’s ruffled feathers.
But then he wondered if he really wanted to make amends.
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