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Taking a deep breath, I turn the handle.
“Uh, Penelope?”
“Eep!” I whirl around to find Declan leaning against the doorframe of his office.
Amusement twitches his lips as he studies me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Thought you might have heard my door open.”
“Oh, no. It’s okay, sorry.” Striving for casual, I tuck my jittery hands behind my back. “Is there something I can help you with?”
To his credit, he doesn’t outright laugh. “I was actually looking for your boss.”
I peer inside the suspiciously quiet room. “Well, as you can see, he’s either late or decided to play hooky.”
“Logan’s never late,” Declan muses. “And I think he’d rather let Javier run him over than miss a day of work.”
I don’t care for that curiousness staring back at me, gliding all over me like he’s trying to sort me out.
“Come on,” he says, leaving my question unanswered. “I could use some assistance next door if you’re not too busy.”
I worry my lip between my teeth, but without Logan here to boss me around, I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to be doing, anyway. “Sure.”
I’m struck by how vastly different Declan’s style is compared to Logan’s. A mist of peppermint steadily puffs from a diffuser in the corner and his wooden shelves are littered with leafy plants. To the left of his desk is a massive wooden table where rolls of blueprints, white pencils, and other measuring knick-knacks are scattered about.
I flip through some of his sketches. “Wow. You made these?”
He rounds the other side, removing one from the bottom of a stack of long rectangle papers. “I did, but I’m struggling with the design for this one.”
Twisting the blueprint for a better view, Declan points to a sketch of an entrance to an elaborate estate. “The trouble is, this project is going to be massive, so I want to put a different twist on it. But for the first time, I’m stumped.”
“Where will this property be in Topica Bay?”
He leans his hip against the table with a smirk. “Now that is top secret.”
“Should’ve guessed that would be the case.”
“Can’t chance our new temp blabbing to our competitors,” he says, and I surprise myself by grinning with him.
“If you’re going for fresh and innovative, then why don’t you try something with a little more… pizazz?” I pluck a charcoal pencil off the table and grab the scratch paper beside it. Haphazardly, I sketch a few additions to what was already there. “Something like this.”
Placing my drawing on top of his, I elaborate, “You could go with an Atlantis-inspired theme with carved columns inside the main lobby and a botanical garden that’s fed by an elaborate fountain. Aquamarine loungers and tons of gold accents all around would be so fun. You could even add built-in bookcases along these two walls, and a coffee lounge over here.”
Declan’s bicep brushes mine when he leans in for a better look. He’s warm and smells like the expensive cologne my dad wears.
“You sure you’re not an architect?” he teases. “You’re a natural.”
Being this close to a beautiful man like him should evoke the same heart-stopping reaction I get when I’m with Logan. But it doesn’t, and it pisses me off.
Tucking my hair behind my ear, I smile timidly. “Thanks. Happy to help.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Logan’s cool voice travels from the door behind us.
Heart leaping to my throat, I spin to find him in a three-piece navy suit with a glare so full of jealousy, it threatens to ignite everything in its path.
My face and neck heat instantly. We weren’t doing anything inappropriate, and even if we were, I don’t know why he cares.
It’s not like we’re together. In fact, we couldn’t be more not together.
I expect Declan to jump away from me, but he boldly wraps an arm around my back and tugs me to his side.
